Log in to My Time Out for your personalised guide to what's on in London. It's fast, easy and FREE!

Time Out critics’ picks of the London Film Festival

The best films from across the globe playing at this year's festival

Most viewed films

  1. Moonrise Kingdom
  2. The Dictator
  3. Prometheus
  4. Snow White and the Huntsman
  5. What to Expect When You're Expecting
  6. Men In Black 3
  7. Cosmopolis
  8. Avengers Assemble
  9. The Raid
  10. Dark Shadows
More most viewed films

Time Out's LFF survival guide

'Dodgy' Derek Adams doles out all his top tips for securing tickets at this year's festival, plus reveals some essential survival tactics

  • 1. The Artist

    Dir Michel Hazanavicius

    This French ode to silent cinema is getting some major Oscar buzz.

  • Fassbender's character Brandon in Steve McQueen's Shame

    2. Shame

    Dir Steve McQueen

    Michael Fassbender stars as a sex addict in this latest directorial effort from artist Steve McQueen.

  • 3. We Need To Talk About Kevin

    Dir Lynne Ramsay

    Lynne Ramsay makes a superb return to cinema with this expressionist literary adaptation.

  • 4. The Kid With a Bike

    Dirs Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne

    Belgium's Dardenne brothers return to what they do so well: small-scale and profoundly lyrical character studies.

  • 5. Footnote

    Dir Joseph Cedar

    Don't miss this wry Israeli comedy about warring academics.

  • 6. Michael

    Dir Markus Schleinzer

    This low-key study of paedophilia was one of the critical hits at this year's Cannes.

  • 7. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

    Dir Nuri Bilge Ceylan

    Another slow-burning masterpiece from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

  • Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson play sisters in the acclaimed US indie

    8. Martha Marcy May Marlene

    Dir Sean Durkin

    Elizabeth Olsen is fantastic in this creepy cult deprogramming chiller.

  • 9. Wuthering Heights

    Dir Andrea Arnold

    Britain's poet of slum life turns her eye to Emily Brontë's classic novel.

  • 10. Sleeping Sickness

    Dir Ulrich Köhler

    A poignant and surreal take on 'Heart of 'Darkness' set in the world of African aid workers.

  • 11. Sleepless Nights Stories

    Dir Jonas Mekas

    The maestro of the American underground hangs out with his chums in this charming diary film.

  • 12. Darwin

    Dir Nick Brandestini

    A fascinating chronicle of life in California's Death Valley.

  • 13. I’m Carolyn Parker

    Dir Jonathan Demme

    The American stalwart director's labour-of-love documentary about the legacy of Hurricane Katrina.

  • 14. I Wish

    Dir Hirokazu Kore-eda

    One of Japan's finest living filmmakers delivers another absolute corker.

  • 15. Sket

    Dir Nirpal Bhogal

    Inner-London street gang movies get a pleasing dose of girl power.

  • 16. The Great Bear

    Dir Esben Toft Jacobsen

    A lovingly crafted, Pixar-esque animation about what happens if you stray in to the woods.

  • 17. Almayer’s Folly

    Dir Chantal Akerman

    A magnificent return to feature filmmaking from Belgian artist/auteur, Chantal Akerman.

  • 18. Correspondence: Jonas Mekas – JL Guerin

    Dirs Jonas Mekas & Jose Luis Guerin

    Two modern greats pass cinematic notes to one another.

  • 19. Wild Bill

    Dir Dexter Fletcher

    Yes, the Brit character actor has moved behind the camera for this more-than-solid debut.

  • 20. Oslo, August 31st

    Dir Joachim Trier

    This young Norwegian director gives us an eventful day out of rehab.

  • 21. Last Days Here

    Dirs Don Argott & Demian Fenton

    An enlightening, depressing doc on the lives of Virginian doom metallers, Pentagram.

  • 22. Stopped On Track

    A moving meditation on death from the director of 'Cloud Nine'.

  • 23. Miss Bala

    A hard-and-fast action flick about Mexican drug cartels as delivered from the perspective of a beauty queen.

  • 24. Las Acacias

    A quite road trip to romance in this Uruguayan charmer.

  • 25. Two Years at Sea

    A masterful achievment from British artist filmmaker Ben Rivers.

  • 26. The Jewel

    Italian actor Toni Servillo excels in this fast-paced corporate satire.

  • 27. Early One Morning

    Jean-Pierre Darroussin doles out early morning gunishment to his office colleagues.

  • 28. Dreileben

    A fascinating trilogy of dramas from Germany.

  • 29. Take Shelter

    Michael Shannon is at his bug-eyed best in this apocalyptic thriller.

  • 30. Better This World

    A rivetting doc that shows the stark reality of America’s post-9/11 surveillance state.

  • 31. Without

    Strong US indie about a young woman caring for a catatonic, wheelchair-bound old man.

  • 32. Back to Stay

    The deserving winner of three awards at the Locarno Film Festival.

  • 33. Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

    Pip Chodorov's personal journey through experimental movies.

  • 34. Elena

    Russia's Andrei Zvyaguintsev makes a superb return after 2007's lacklustre 'The Banishment'.

  • 35. Bernie

    A very odd and intruguing little picture from Richard Linklater.

  • 36. Corpo Celeste

    A potent Italian debut about girlhood and religious awakening from Alice Rohrwacher.

  • 37. Headhunters

    A dizzying action thriller based on a novel by Norwegian crime writer, Jo Nesbø.

  • 38. Like Crazy

    Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin excel as the leads in this American indie romance.

  • 39. The Screen Illusion

    The ever industrious Mathieu Amalric reuturns to the director's chair with this modern update of a Pierre Corneille play.

  • 40. The Boy Who Was a King

    A jaw-dropping documentary about a Bulgarian child king-turned-champion of democracy

  • 41. The Loneliest Planet

    A slow, psychologically dense study of a couple on a backpacking holiday.

  • 42. Weekend

    Andrew Haigh's frisky, London-set romance is fast becoming the talk of the festival.

  • 43. Snowtown

    Justin Kurzel's hard-hitting and artful chronicle of Australia's 'Bodies in the Barrels' muders.

Head back to our LFF homepage



Email Tweet Share

Share your thoughts

  • or log in into My Time Out
  • *
  • *
* Mandatory fields for leaving a comment