This year’s London Film Festival was held from October 7th - 18th. Here are the Black-led films from this year’s programme.
14th
Dir. Ava DuVernay
Follows filmmaker Ava DuVernay as she speaks with scholars, politicians, and legal experts about the 14th Amendment, exploring who gets to belong in America and the ongoing fight over birthright citizenship. -IMDb
Ana, en passant
Dir. Fernanda Salgado
Lost in an unfamiliar city, Ana encounters Alice, her exact double, and begins following her. When they finally meet, both women confront their inner depths and forge new identities through shared memories and urban landscapes. -IMDb
Clarissa
Dirs. Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri
Based on Mrs Dalloway. Follows a Lagos society wife preparing for a party while reflecting on her youth and the choices that led her to marry a respected man instead of her poet boyfriend. -IMDb
Congo Boy
Dir. Rafiki Fariala
Robert dreams of a career in music, but civil war is tearing his country apart. When his parents are thrown into prison, he is left to look after his siblings, juggling daily life and determined to follow his dream. -IMDb
Dao
Dir. Alain Gomis
While preparing for her daughter's wedding in Paris, Gloria remembers the ceremony years before in Guinea-Bissau which consecrated her father as an ancestor. -IMDb
FLORID
Dir. Billy Lumby
Jamal, a young man who hears voices, struggles to balance his medication and drug use, with his musical ambitions and romantic desires. -IMDb
House of the Wind (La maison du vent)
Dir. Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Josette (75) lives alone in Yaounde, Cameroon. All her children have left for "better lives" in the West. Josette hopes that one of them will come back to live near her. She meets a young woman and the two women become very close. -IMDb
I Love Boosters
Dir. Boots Riley
A group of shoplifters take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven by stealing her clothes and reselling them at a lower price, what they call "fashion-forward philanthropy." -IMDb
In the Shadows
Dir. Anthony Wonke
Refugee Ramla Ali secretly pursues boxing against her parents' wishes to become the first Somali-British professional boxing champion, while navigating love, racial and cultural barriers. -IMDb
Julián
Dirs. Louise Bagnall, Guillaume Lorin, Mark Mullery
A heart-warming story about family, imagination and the power of self-expression. -IMDb
Let Them Be Seen
Dir. Nolitha Mkulisi
In Tapoleng, a forgotten town, the church once sheltered residents from apartheid. Now, a new faith takes root, bringing fresh spiritual practices and community empowerment. -IMDb
Marie Madeleine
Dir. Gessica Geneus
In Jacmel, Haiti, prostitute Marie Madeleine lives freely outside society's rules. When she meets Joseph, a devout evangelical believer, an unlikely bond forms. As his faith wavers, she draws him into a world of desire and freedom. -IMDb
Misty Green
Dir. Chris Rock
Years after her Hollywood breakthrough, a talented actress whose career has stalled fights for her second act. -IMDb
Mouse
Dirs. Alex Thompson, Kelly O'Sullivan
In 2002, best friends Minnie and Callie's relationship is upended on the eve of their senior year. -IMDb
Prima Facie
Dir. Susanna White
Follows Tessa, an ambitious defense lawyer. She expertly represents her clients, including those who are accused of sexual assault. However, she finds out that the law does not provide justice after being raped by a coworker. -IMDb
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
Dir. Daniel Oriahi
A rich patriarch's delicate family falls apart when his youngest of four wives cannot have a child. -IMDb
Tutu
Dir. Sam Pollard
Rare footage and personal accounts reveal Desmond Tutu's journey to becoming a champion for the oppressed, driven by his faith, hope, and belief in forgiveness's power. -IMDb
Variations on a Theme
Dirs. Devon Delmar, Jason Jacobs
The Tiger Award winner at this year's Rotterdam Film Festival is a gentle and enchanting portrait of an octogenarian goat herder in South Africa's Kamiesberge. -IMDb
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
Dir. Bassam Tariq
Follows Latif, a devoutly religious hitman, who embarks on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children after his wife dies, confronting forces closing in and beliefs threatening to unravel. -IMDb