Competition juries announced for 68th BFI London Film Festival

The 68th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express today announces its jury line-up for this year’s festival awards. The Official Competition jury is led by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe who is celebrated for his incisive documentaries that take on the role of unpacking the most influential works of master filmmakers and dissecting seminal screen moments.

His most recent offering Chain Reactions, winner of the Venice Classics Lion Award for Best Documentary on Cinema at the 81st Venice International Film Festival 2024, widely considered to be his best film yet, was commissioned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of iconic cult horror movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the profound impact it had on five artists over the years. As well as Chain Reactions, Philippe’s critically acclaimed body of work includes 78/52 (Sundance 2017), Memory: The Origins of Aliens (Sundance 2019), Leap of Faith: William Friedkin (Venice 2019, Sundance 2020) and Lynch/Oz (Tribeca 2022).  

“Over the past few years, I’ve had the great privilege of screening many of my films at the BFI London Film Festival, which feels like home to me,” said Philippe. “This year, in addition to the UK premiere of Chain Reactions, I’m beyond honored to serve as jury president for the official competition. I greatly look forward to working with my fellow jury members, learning from their insights and perspectives; and I’m excited to experience a new facet of an event that means more to me with each passing year.” 

Philippe is joined this year by award-winning film industry and trade journalist Manori Ravindran (The Ankler, Variety, Broadcast) and critically acclaimed and award-winning American filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard, Bob Marley: One Love, We Own This City). 

The First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) jury will be headed up by acclaimed British writer and director Dionne Edwards whose universally praised directorial debut Pretty Red Dress, was a breakthrough hit in 2022. Edwards is a 2019, Screen International ‘Star of Tomorrow’ and an alumnus of the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriting and Directing Labs. Edward’ TV directing credits include the upcoming Disney series A Thousand Blows, created by Steven Knight and Netflix’s Everything Now.  

“I’m stoked to be Jury President of the Sutherland Award at the 68th BFI London Film Festival,” says Edwards. “LFF is my home festival, where I debuted my first feature, and it has been instrumental in my filmmaking career so far. I can’t wait to explore and support this year’s cinematic visionaries debuting their first features.” 

Alongside Edwards will be Artistic Co-Director of the Munich Film Festival Julia Weigl and Curator of Film Programs at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and former Senior Director of Film Programs for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Bernardo Rondeau. 

June Givanni will lead the jury selecting the winner of the Grierson Award for Best Documentary. Givanni is an award-winning film curator, archivist and international consultant in Pan-African Cinema for forty years, founder of the June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive, and BAFTA 2024 winner of the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award recipient.

Givanni said: “I could not imagine that when I was lucky enough to attend the 1987 BFI Awards at which a friend and colleague John Akomfrah was given the Grierson award for his 1986 masterpiece Handsworths Songs, (in the presence of one of my screen idols the phenomenal Bette Davis) that 37 years later I would have this surprising honour to join this year’s distinguished Grierson Documentary Jury and to feast on the wonderful crop of 2024 nominated films from around the world, as Chair.”  

Joining Givanni on the jury this year is: BAFTA Breakthrough 2023 writer and director Ella Glendining, whose latest film Is There Anybody Out There won the BFI and Chanel Filmmaker Award, along with Creative Director of Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading all-documentary festival, Raul Niño Zambrano. 

The list is rounded off by LFF and BIFA 2023 award winning writer and director Chloe Abrahams, whose debut feature The Taste of Mango had its world premiere at True/False 2023, with the film going on to win the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the BFI London Film Festival 2023, followed by the BIFA for Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary. She will lead the jury selecting the best short film.    

Abrahams comments: “I’m honoured and super excited to return to LFF this year as president of the shorts jury. I’ve always admired and enjoyed the inventiveness and experimentation that’s possible in the short format, and I look forward to immersing myself in the program!”  

Joining Abrahams will be BFI London Film Festival and Encounters International Film Festival 2023 Short Film Award winner Simisolaoluwa Akande (The Archive: Queer Nigerians), and rising UK filmmaker and Screen Star of Tomorrow George Jaques, whose film Black Dog was nominated in the First Feature category at LFF 2023. 

The BFI London Film Festival Awards are a celebration of the most exciting, innovative new films and cinematic storytelling. Creative, beautiful and often provocative, the nominees showcase an incredible range of talent from across the world.  

“Each of our 2024 jury members are leading talents in their fields,” said Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director. “We’re excited to welcome them to BFI London Film Festival this October and have the opportunity to introduce them to the films in competition.” 

The ever-popular Audience Awards will also return for 2024, with audiences being able to vote for their favourite work they saw at this year’s festival. Three awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary and Best Short will be awarded; 2023 winners of LFF Audience Awards were Gassed Up (Best Feature), Festival of Slaps (Best British Work) and The Taste of Mango (Best Documentary).