The BFI London Film Festival 2025 ended on a high thanks to Julia Jackman’s superstardom 100 nights of heroes casting.
The Canadian filmmaker was joined by Emma Corrin, Maika Monroe, Amir El-Masry, Richard E. Grant and Felicity Jones at the city’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday evening to conclude an almighty series of premieres for the LFF. Lead actors Nicholas Galitzine and Charli XCX were not in attendance.
Jackman’s second feature film, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Isabel Greenberg, is a visually stunning fantasy set in a fairytale kingdom. Cherry (Monroe) is married to Jérôme (El-Masry) and lives a seemingly idyllic life. But the couple has yet to conceive an heir, so when Jerome runs away and his dashing friend Manfred (Galitzine) arrives with dastardly intentions, Hero (Corrin), Cherry’s cunning and loyal servant, is forced to concoct a plan to distract Manfred by telling captivating stories about rebellious women.
“I’ve been dreaming of making this movie for a long time,” Jackman said on stage. “And actually, to be honest, I didn’t know if I’d get the chance. So to be here with you guys is amazing. Thank you so much for coming.”
Corrin, star of The Crown, Nosferatu And Deadpool and Wolverineadded of creating the character of Hero with Jackman: “A lot of that was in Julia’s incredible adaptation. …The all-knowing wisdom of Hero – she (has) confidence and knows who she is and there’s a real relief in playing someone like that. We talked a lot about that and (about) the success of comedy.”
Monroe – best known for last year’s horror hit Long legs – said Jackman’s script was “so incredible, unique and so beautiful.” She said: “Even reading the script, I could imagine this fantasy world. I fell in love with Cherry. … (There) was just this feeling of needing to play this role.”
The Hollywood Reporterthe review of Venice Critics’ Week — where 100 nights of heroes got its world premiere in August – described the feature as “quirky, magical and surprisingly dark.” Leslie Felperin wrote that “viewers may begin to expect that anything could happen – like pop superstar Charli XCX appearing in a supporting role as a hapless bride with almost no lines but a sumptuous assortment of jewel-toned dresses”.
It marks the end of another BFI London Film Festival after 11 days of star-studded screenings which brought together stars including George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Daniel Craig, Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jacob Elordi, Josh O’Connor, Oscar Isaac, Paul Mescal, Jessie Buckley and Daniel Day-Lewis, flocking to the London cinema. South shore.
The festival kicked off on October 8 with the European premiere of Rian Johnson Wake Up Dead Man: A knife-edge mystery and welcomed the castings of Jay Kelly, Hamnet, Frankenstein, Springsteen: Deliver me from nowhere, After the hunt, Die my love, Bugonia, Ballad of a Little Player, Sentimental value And Is this thing lit? among others.
The festival also welcomed some of the industry’s most famous directors and actors for Screen Talks sessions at the BFI Southbank, including Yorgos Lanthimos, Daniel Day-Lewis, Richard Linklater, Jon M. Chu, Chloé Zhao and Lynne Ramsay.
“It’s not enough for a film to have an incredible cast: the film must truly stand on its own two feet,” said Kristy Matheson, director of the London Film Fest. THR during the opening gala. “We’re really trying to find a program that has a lot of different textures, that really feels like it reflects the city that we live in.” We want a very wide geographic distribution.
“We want different types of stories, because here in London,” she continued, “the cinema audiences are incredible. They see great films here every day of the week. They really know their cinema, so we have a standard to meet.”
A total of 247 titles — consisting of feature films, short films, series and immersive works — from 79 countries premiered at this year’s festival, with official wins going to Martel’s film. Landmarks (Our Earth), that of David Bingong Travelers (The Travelers), as well as A woman, a bra by Vincho Nchogu and Coyotesdirected by Saïd Zagha.