London Film Festival Clocks Largest In-Person Audience In 10 Years

deadline.com:

The British Film Institute today said that its annual London Film Festival clocked its largest in-person attendance for a decade during this year’s edition, which ran from October 9 – 20.

Figures published by the BFI said attendance across both free and paid-for in-person screenings and events at London venues increased by 92%, with 49% of tickets being booked by first-time LFF attendees.

Overall, 230,342 attended the festival in person, an increase of 18% from 2023’s 194,960. “Our biggest thanks go to the artists and industry colleagues from the UK and across the globe who fueled our collective curiosity this year,” BFI London Film Festival Director Kristy Matheson said in a statement this afternoon. “It was a delight to see audiences engage with each other and this programme – proving once again the joy and comfort we all find in screen culture.” The BFI today also announced the winners of the festival’s audience awards.

Darren Thornton’s comedy-drama Four Mothers, about one Irish son juggling four very different mothers, won the Audience Award for Best Feature.