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Festival coverage

London Film Festival

6 October – 17 October 2021

The Tragedy Of Macbeth
The Tragedy Of Macbeth

This year's edition of the festival will run as a hybrid event, featuring in person screenings and online from October 6 to 17. Several of the films will also be simultaneously screened at partner venues elsewhere in the UK. The festival will open with The Harder They Fall and close with Macbeth.

Other years (21)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Sediments
    Review preview for Sediments

    In its quiet, observational way, Sediments gets closer to the experience of what it means to be trans than any number of more direct interrogations.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Just as the Earth is, our inner selves are made up of many layers that make up our identity and tell the story of our existence.
  • The Taking
    Review preview for The Taking

    Philippe’s incisive, forthright approach leaves no room for apologism.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A documentary exploring the use of Monument Valley in film.
  • Hinterland
    Review preview for Hinterland

    With backdrops which hark back to early German expressionism, looking for all the world like a Robert Wiene or FW Murnau set, Hinterland is a visual treat.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Returning to a Vienna they hardly recognise after two years in a Russian PoW camp, a group of Austrian soldiers are hunted by a sadistic serial killer.
  • Earwig
    Review preview for Earwig

    Earwig invites you to listen, to put out feelers, to scurry.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    Somewhere in Europe, mid-20th century. Albert is employed to look after Mia, a girl with teeth of ice. Mia never leaves their apartment, where the shutters are always closed. The telephone rings regularly and the Master enquires after Mia’s wellbeing. Until the day Albert is instructed that he must prepare the child to leave...
  • Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
    Review preview for Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash

    With characters coming and going continually, the film is wildly uneven in tone, sometimes broadly comic, sometimes painfully dark. In many ways this suits its efforts to address the chaotic nature of life.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    The tale of an impotent man who tries to assert his masculinity through fighting but cannot come to terms with his past.
  • 8 Bar - The Evolution of Grime
    Review preview for 8 Bar - The Evolution of Grime

    8 Bar makes light work of sketching the conditions that shaped the music, betraying a canny understanding of the music industry’s politics, as well as the changing shape of music sales in the 00s.

    Sunil Chauhan · 4 out of 5
    Documentary tracking the history of Grime music.
  • Cop Secret
    Review preview for Cop Secret

    This film is nothing if not derivative. Except, therein lies its beauty.

    Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
    Mismatched buddy cop spoof.
  • Leave No Traces
    Review preview for Leave No Traces

    If Matuszyński’s film tends towards soap opera in places and could definitely do with a trim here and there, its long running time does allow the grind of what happens to play out in ways that emphasise the sheer slog of it.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Poland, 1983. The country is shaken by the case of Grzegorz Przemyk - a high school student beaten to death by militia. Based on true events, the film follows the story of Jurek - the only witness of the beating, who overnight became the number one enemy of the state.
  • Between Two Worlds
    Review preview for Between Two Worlds

    Binoche gives her all, stripping away any vestiges of actressy pretence to assimilate herself in the community while at the same time investing her performance with an authentic conviction.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    Marianne Winckler, a well-known author, goes to live in northern France to research for her new book on the subject of job insecurity. Without revealing her true identity, she gets hired as a cleaner, working with a group of other women.
  • A Tale Of Love And Desire
    Review preview for A Tale Of Love And Desire

    A film that celebrates the joy and fears associated with youthful lust, while exploring ideas of internal cultural conflict, without making it feel tacky or like a diatribe.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Ahmed’s world is thrown off-balance when he encounters Farah, newly-arrived from Tunis, who challenges everything he thought he knew.

A–Z of London Film Festival 2021 reviews

Features