By Beverly Andrews
As the BFI London Film Festival 2025 draws to a close, with over 247 films screened—features, shorts, series, and immersive works—it seemed only right, given the sheer scale of the programme, to offer not one but two reflections on this year’s event. This is part two. While many films dazzled in the moment, only a select few have stayed with me in the weeks since the festival ended. These are not necessarily the loudest or most publicised titles, but those that spoke to deeper truths—about grief, resilience, identity, and the precarious state of our planet. They are the films that refused to leave my thoughts.
Films Deferred for the French Film Festival
There were two films that unquestionably stood out at this year’s festival. However, I will be featuring them in my upcoming coverage of the French Film Festival next month, as both works will also be screened there. These are the devastating The Voice of Hindi Rajab and acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident. Both films have dominated conversations at Cannes and Venice, each earning top awards. Notably, Panahi’s film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, making him the only director ever to have won the top prize at Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.
The Thing with Feathers
The Thing with Feathers is a haunting and exquisitely realised adaptation of Max Porter’s novel Grief Is the Thing with Feathers. It explores bereavement with extraordinary emotional intelligence. Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a career-defining performance as a father struggling to raise his two young sons after the sudden death of his wife. As a children’s author, his imagination becomes both his refuge and his torment when one of his fictional creations—a crow—materialises in his home. The crow, a metaphor for grief itself, relentlessly pecks at his emotional wounds until they are finally confronted and released. This is a deeply cathartic film, offering a poetic meditation on loss and the arduous journey toward healing.
Below the Clouds
Environmental anxiety was a prevailing theme across this year’s festival, and Below the Clouds, directed by Gianfranco Rosi, is among the most compelling explorations of this issue. Shot in striking black and white, the film documents communities living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano that could erupt without warning. Despite this looming threat, what emerges is not a portrait of fear, but of resilience.
Rosi’s camera follows fire service call handlers navigating emergencies ranging from wildfires to domestic violence, archaeologists mourning the destruction of priceless sites, and teachers dedicating themselves to students whose minds are elsewhere. This is the third instalment in Rosi’s informal trilogy on Italian life, following Fire at Sea and Sacro GRA. Like its predecessors, Below the Clouds captures the dignity and humanity of ordinary people living under extraordinary circumstances.
Hamlet
A bold reimagining of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, directed by Aneil Karia and starring Riz Ahmed, proved one of the festival’s most provocative and unforgettable features. Set within a wealthy British-Asian family in contemporary London, this adaptation brings the narrative startlingly into the present. Riz Ahmed delivers a revelatory performance, portraying Hamlet not only as a man consumed by grief and betrayal, but as someone contending with societal forces that seek to define and control him.
This dual internal and external struggle lends new urgency to Hamlet’s descent into madness. The film feels uncannily relevant in today’s climate of political distrust and rising authoritarianism. It deserves serious consideration for major awards, particularly for Ahmed’s extraordinary lead performance.
Black is Beautiful: The Kwame Braithwaite Story
This documentary is an essential tribute to photographer Kwame Brathwaite, a visionary artist who transformed the global perception of Black identity and beauty. Credited with popularising the phrase “Black is beautiful,” Brathwaite used his camera to celebrate dark skin, natural hair, and Black fashion long before such imagery was embraced by the mainstream.
The film charts his extraordinary career, from photographing cultural legends like Bob Marley and Miles Davis to documenting African leaders during the post-independence era, including Nelson Mandela. More than a biographical documentary, this is a reclamation of cultural history—positioning Brathwaite not only as a photographer, but as a revolutionary figure who reshaped visual culture from within.
Love, Brooklyn
Love, Brooklyn is a lyrical and emotionally rich homage to one of New York’s most storied boroughs. Rather than treating gentrification solely as a political or economic issue, the film explores it through emotional and cultural lenses, as experienced by upwardly mobile Black artists, journalists, and creatives who are both witnesses to change and participants in it.
Anchored by an outstanding performance from André Holland, the film navigates questions of belonging, identity, and heritage. Visually compelling and narratively tender, Love, Brooklyn stands as a beautiful testament to community, memory, and place.
Big, Bad Wolf
Amid a festival rich with heavy themes, the animated short Big, Bad Wolf offered a moment of joy and hope. In a global climate where migration is often weaponised for political gain, this charming piece instead celebrates diversity and the richness of cultural coexistence. It reminds us, gently and beautifully, that stories can be powerful tools for empathy.
While countless films competed for attention at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, only a select few left a lasting imprint—echoes that continue to resurface long after the lights have dimmed and the red carpets have been rolled away. These works did more than entertain; they challenged, consoled, and provoked reflection. Whether exploring the raw terrain of grief, confronting the realities of environmental crisis, reclaiming cultural identity, or reimagining classic narratives for a new era, each of these films demonstrated cinema’s enduring ability to speak to the deepest parts of the human experience. They are not simply films to be seen—they are films to be remembered.
Author
Beverly Andrews
Beverly Andrews is a London-based arts journalist and filmmaker whose work explores global cinema, identity, and the politics of storytelling. Her writing has appeared in international publications and she is a regular contributor to film festivals across Europe, North America and the Middle East.
