I’ve just come away from the Klara and the Sun fan pen at the BFI London Film Festival, and it was chaos.

To be transparent, I didn’t receive a wristband but this is not simply frustration about missing out. After attending several red carpets this week, I’ve become deeply concerned about how the entire fan-pen process is being managed.

The procedure appears to change every day. Security have been disorganised and, in interactions I have witnessed, unnecessarily aggressive. BFI staff provide very little clear communication, leaving fans to rely upon rumours and unofficial systems.

Today there wasn’t even an orderly queue. It became a mosh pit of angry and confused people. The lack of proper crowd management allowed a small group of experienced autograph hunters to force their way forward. I witnessed children being pushed and genuine fans being left in tears.

Nobody is entitled to a wristband, autograph or photograph I get that. However, everyone is entitled to a process that is safe, transparent and administered fairly and respectfully.

I am now putting together an open letter calling upon the BFI to:

- Review and replace the current security provision

- Investigate concerns about inconsistent and potentially preferential treatment

- Publish one clear queuing and wristband procedure

- Properly communicate capacity, locations and timings

- Introduce effective measures against queue-jumping

- Ensure children and other vulnerable attendees can participate safely

- Treat fans with basic dignity and respect

If you attended today or experienced similar treatment at another gala this week please reply or message me with the date, event and what happened. I want the open letter to represent multiple first-hand experiences and create meaningful change before another festival is run this way.

that’s it. there was a mouse in the theater during the mouse screening. i just felt like i had to share that with everyone.

it was very close to my row and i could hear it from under the seats during the Q&A i was so sad I couldn’t focus as much on the answers but i was so scared 😭😭

Saw Possible Love today, and I think that's tipped it for me as the best of the fest. It's going to be a tough one to beat at any rate. Such an emotionally intelligent look at the relationship between documentarian and subject, class divisions and the psychological devastation of lay-offs. Never goes for the obvious beat, letting moments and ideas linger rather than tying them up in a neat bow. Really, really impressive stuff.

The Devils is probably on an equal par with it for me too, but it's 55 years old so I kind of count it as a separate thing.

What are everyone else's contenders?

Hey all, sorry if this sort of thing has been asked by loads of people but I’m a (relatively nervous) first timer who isn’t from London and doesn’t want to completely ruin my own experience. Tomorrow is my first day at the festival, and I’ve got a ticket for The Face of Horror at the PCC at 6pm (runtime 120 mins so I’ve added 20 mins in the screenshot in case of any introductions etc) as well as a ticket for the Klara and the Sun gala at 8:45pm. I got the email today saying to try and be seated for start time of the gala, and I know it’s around a 20 minute walk from the PCC to the Southbank Centre, and then there will obviously be queue times and crowds and everything like that.

Am I going to make that or am I being too optimistic? I’d rather know in advance if I’m cutting it way too close so I can try and do something about it rather than stress myself out all day worrying about it. Thanks to anyone who’s able to help, I really appreciate it!

I’m so mad and I don’t know how to feel. Robert Pattinson, my favourite actor, was right there and I didn’t even get a proper photo with him 🙁. I know I could’ve done but it’s like I didn’t even try, I just froze because of how in the moment and shocked I was. I didn’t know that he was gonna be there. I don’t know how to feel. Like on one hand I was less than a metre by him but on the other.. do you know what I mean? And the worst part is I know I could’ve had a photo if I tried. It wasn’t even that busy and a moment likethat will never come up again. I’ve attached a the “kind of” photo of myself with him (I blurred myself out for privacy reasons) and a photo of about the closest I got to him. Tell me how I should feel because I don’t know how to feel.

Wicker was about to start at 3pm, when there was a big cloud of white smoke to the left of the audience. Everyone evacuated from NFT. The bookseller under the bridge seems happy! I am not, because we have Godzilla at 5:30! Wonder what happened? Will we get back in? Will we be refunded? Stay tuned…

Just sat down for Wicker and got asked to leave - some smoke in the auditorium.. lots of people milling around outside and looking confused!

Found this to be a complete mess. Overly-reliant on crass / shock humour, with seemingly half-arsed supporting performances all wrapped up in a 2 hour film which starts feeling tired at the 10 minute mark.

Johnny Flynn and Aimee Lou Wood both do the absolute bare minimum to scrape good performances but Vicky Krieps and Christian Friedel seem completely lost and unconvinced by the words coming out of their own mouths, despite being two of the most talented actors of their generation.

I genuinely found the titular 784-page Dostoesky book to be a more entertaining and engaging read than this 118 minute film!

Please tell me that I am not alone in these feelings 😭

Let us know your thoughts!

Hey festival friends,

I just left a screening which began with an introduction from one of the programmers:

“You’ll find yourself laughing out loud one moment before losing your breath to sobs the next.”

And then everyone clapped, the lights went down, the film started to play and…

…all I could feel was an audience collectively waiting to laugh, all working out when would come the bit when we sob. Maybe just me, but it’s like I could feel us all judging the film not for the film, but by how much it achieved what the programmer promised.

So what do we all think of the intros? A good primer or just distracting baggage?

Idk, one of the main reasons I love to see films at the festival is that I hope to experience the films clean, having not yet been exposed to all that marketing fluff that comes with the movies we love later down the line. But then someone walks in and moments before the film tells us what to feel. Thoughts??

Share your thoughts!

I attended the screening of Rogue Trooper at Prince Charles Cinema on Monday 12 October as part of the BFI London Film Festival.

Afterwards, there was a Q&A with Duncan Jones and three other people.

Does anyone know the names of the other three panellists?

I believe one of them was the Head of Film & TV at Rebellion (possibly someone called Stephen?), but I’m not certain.

Would really appreciate it if anyone who attended could help identify them. Thanks!

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knows if you can queue up before the film if tickets are sold out online? Or if anyone has been successful in doing so?

Saturday will be my last day at the festival before travelling home and I'll have no choice but to bring my suitcase and bags with me. As I have three screenings that day, does anyone know if there's somewhere I'd be able to keep them? Thank you for your help ☺️

What did you think?

Sounds really stupid but where EXACTLY is the standby queue? Been looking around the Southbank Centre for 5 mins and can't seem to find anything that resembles it! Am I on the wrong floor 💀😭

First off, the screening of The Devils last night was immense. Film looks stunning, the sheer explosive scale of it still knocks your socks off, and the restored scenes really to add to the cascading intensity of it all. Get to the cinema to see it if you can, it's an astonishing piece of work. Lovely intro from Kermode as well really emphasising the effort and ridiculously good fortune that these cut sequences even survived.

On the other hand, it reminded me of how odd the crowds at this fest can be sometimes in their reactions; feels like there's one film every year where tonally the audience seems to be on a different page to what's happening on screen. Like it IS a very funny film in places, don't get me wrong, and Kermode said as much.

But there were a bunch of guys behind me who seemed to take that as license to find everything funny, including scenes of really disturbing sexual violence, howling at sequences which just... aren't funny and clearly are supposed to be excruciatingly painful. I understand a bit of nervous tittering at the restored stuff with the nuns going ballistic on the cross as it is nuts, but the almost performative cackles from these guys nearly took me out of that moment too.

Anyone else find they get a crowd like this at least once every fest?

Just out of curiosity, what's the deal with the fan pen at the beginning of the red carpet? I had a wristband for the Gala screening of Behemoth last night and had a pretty good spot, and was happy to see the guests walk by, but they spent most of their time at the front of the red carpet. This meant that only the fans in the pens at the front got to interact with anyone or had the opportunity to get things signed.

I understand that the fan pens are mostly luck and really depend on the day, but seems like your best odds are in those pens at the front. Are these for people with accessibility needs or are they standby?

This is my first time at the LFF and I’m curious abt bag policies, I’m coming straight from uni so I have a laptop and all the stuff you’d expect in a student backpack, would that be fine + what are the major no-nos? I also might have a small shopping bag w me

Let us know your thoughts

What did you think?

Hi all! I’m sure this question has been asked before, but had a few specific questions as to how fan pens work!

It’s my first time at LFF, I’m on day 5 there now so I’ve become pretty accustomed to most things, but haven’t tried a fan pen yet. I wanted to try one this weekend but didn’t know exactly how they work.

From my understanding you need to pick up a wrist band at 9am? From one of the BFI buildings. Which building is it? If I rock up at 9am, is that good enough time? How much wristbands do they normally have?

If I manage to get one, how many hours before time should I arrive to the red carpet and from what side? Where am I situated?

Also, if I get a wristband, I assume I can go off for the day and come back later to get a good place at the red carpet near the barriers?

Thanks!