London Film Festival Adds Cynthia Erivo and Andrew Scott Talks

The BFI London Film Festival is expanding its 70th edition beyond screenings, bringing Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Ava DuVernay and other major film figures into a new series of career-focused Screen Talks. The festival is scheduled to run from October 7 through October 18, 2026.

The announced lineup also includes Brad Bird, James Gray, Jesse Eisenberg, John Malkovich, Mahershala Ali, Naomi Ackie, Sofia Coppola and Danny Boyle. Together, the guests span acting, directing, animation, independent cinema and large-scale studio filmmaking, giving audiences several entry points into the creative process.

Stars connect current projects with longer careers

Scott’s appearance arrives alongside his role as actor Ian Charleson in Elsinore, the festival’s opening-night film. Erivo is expected to discuss a stage-and-screen career that includes her Tony-winning Broadway performance in The Color Purple and film roles in Harriet and the Wicked movies.

Eisenberg will be at the festival as both actor and filmmaker. His latest directing project, The Debut, is set as the closing-night gala, linking his talk to one of the edition’s most prominent premieres. Coppola, DuVernay and Bird will each be able to draw on distinct bodies of work, from intimate character studies and historical drama to animation and franchise filmmaking.

Danny Boyle takes the conversation beyond London

Most of the talks will take place at BFI Southbank, but Boyle’s event is planned for HOME Manchester. Organizers describe it as the festival’s first Screen Talk held outside London, a notable step for a program whose identity is tied closely to the capital.

The sessions are also expected to be available through BFI Player and the BFI’s YouTube channel, extending access beyond in-person ticket holders. That digital component turns the talks into more than festival extras: they can become a public archive of conversations with filmmakers and performers working across several generations of cinema.

With the full film lineup still to come, the Screen Talks give the anniversary edition an early sense of scale. The roster balances recognizable stars with filmmakers whose work has shaped animation, prestige drama and contemporary independent film.