Acclaimed Filmmakers to Judge Top Entries at BFI London Film Festival

The 2025 BFI London Film Festival is set to showcase a remarkable lineup of films, and the festival has now unveiled its esteemed jury that will oversee the official competition. Elizabeth Karlsen, the co-founder of Number 9 Films and acclaimed producer of films like Carol and Made in Dagenham, has been named the jury president.

Joining Karlsen on the jury are filmmaker Kahlil Joseph, known for his work on the acclaimed BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, and Pulitzer-Prize winning film critic Justin Chang. The trio will be tasked with selecting the best film from a diverse array of entries, including Nia DaCosta's Hedda starring Tessa Thompson, Jonatan Etzler's Bad Apples led by Saoirse Ronan, and Mona Fastvold's The Testament of Ann Lee featuring Amanda Seyfried.

Elsewhere, the festival's first feature competition, the Sutherland Award, will be judged by a jury headed by British filmmaker and co-founder of Factory Fifteen, Kibwe Tavares. Tavares, who made his feature directorial debut with The Kitchen in 2023, will be joined by Zurich Film Festival's Anja Fröhner and director Nadia Latif.

The Grierson Award for best documentary will be decided by a jury led by Eloïse King, whose debut feature doc The Shadow Scholars premiered at last year's LFF. King will be joined by Josh Siegel, curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and Reece Goodwin, curator at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

The short film competition jury will be chaired by Ming-Jung Kuo, the artistic director of the Singapore International Film Festival, with British Filipino writer-director Matty Crawford and animation director Lee Ott rounding out the panel.