BFI London Film Festival closes with Jesse Eisenberg's 'The Debut'

The 70th BFI London Film Festival drew to a close on Sunday 18 October 2026 after 12 days of screenings across the capital. The closing-night gala was the UK premiere of Jesse Eisenberg's musical comedy The Debut, starring Julianne Moore, at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall. Juries, which had been announced earlier in October by festival director Kristy Matheson, picked the Official Competition, First Feature, Documentary, Short Film and Immersive Art & XR winners during the closing ceremony. Red-carpet premieres over the preceding weekend had generated extensive social-media attention around Leicester Square and the Southbank, with industry events, panels and immersive strands running in parallel at the BFI Southbank, Curzon Mayfair and Prince Charles Cinema. Time Out London's weekend guide highlighted the festival's final day as a top cultural event for Sunday, alongside Halloween openings and the finale of Frieze Week sculpture programming in Regent's Park. The festival remains the UK's largest public film event and a key autumn fixture in the London cultural calendar.