From Cal McMau’s prison scrapper Wasteman, to Ronan Day-Lewis’ unconventional debut Anemone, Wonderland highlights the hidden gems to look out for from BFI London Film Festival 2025.
Believe it or not, a total of 247 titles from 79 countries made the cut at the 69th BFI London Film Festival this October. Official competition winners like Lucrecia Martel’s Landmarks – winner of the Best Film award – were announced on Sunday, applauding the chosen few films showcased alongside a long list of headline gala screenings, global premieres, documentaries, shorts, and so much more.
Obvious Oscar contenders from last year’s LFF included special presentations of The Apprentice, Conclave, Nickel Boys, and A Real Pain. Fast forward to now, where Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident and Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother had their moments, plus Jay Kelly, The Secret Agent, and The Voice of Hind Rajab. But what of the films that slipped quietly through the noise, the ones destined to find their audience through whispers and word-of-mouth fanfare?
Here, Wonderland guides you through six of the finest films flying under the radar from this year’s BFI London Film Festival…
Wasteman by Cal McMau
Like Bronson and Scum before it, Wasteman shows no mercy as a brutish, palpable indie drama that captures the current state of British prisons. Inmates fight to death, and shanks genuinely feel like they are inches away from piercing your eyes. Full of blood, sweat and tears– to say the least – its visceral and voyeuristic approach makes for an uncomfortably thrillingwatch.
Rising star David Jonsson and The Hunger Games-turned-hardman Tom Blyth exhibit incredible chemistry in their respective lead roles, with a mutual dedication to tackling difficult subject matters , including mental health and drug abuse. Prepping for the role of kingpin Dee, Blyth switched up his diet for salty, high-protein food, as heavy as the story itself.
Twinless by James Sweeney
Without spoiling too much, this rib-tickling dark comedy sees actor-filmmaker James Sweeney and Teen Wolf’s Dylan O’Brien take turns as two different sets of twins engaging in a quadruple power play. Sweeney especially thrives as Dennis, a snarky twink ridiculously fixated on O’Brien’s Roman, a convincingly played straight himbo dudes dude grieving the death of his brother.
Containing one of the most shocking plot twists to hit festival screens this year, Twinless is ambitious, knows no bounds and goes the extra mile in subverting expectations of the sugary sweet queer romance sold to you by its colourful promo poster. Less of the Greek tragedies, the Cinderella stories, the Dante’s Infernos. More of this, please!
Hedda by Nia DaCosta
Calm before the inevitable self-destructive storm, Tessa Thompson plays a menace to polite society who cannot be restrained in Nia DaCosta’s queer adaptation of the 1891 Henrik Ibsen classic. A raucous, raunchy romp of a film, Hedda is perfectly tailored to all you Bridgerton fans out there, and any moviegoers who yearn for a period piece with a floral embroidered yet freshly modern flair.
In the spirit of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, DaCosta’s reimagining, full of juicy one-liners, charts a course from hedonism to heartache, thanks to the unravelling of a deadly love triangle amidst the most messy of opulent party scenes. Look out for a fabulous dolly zoom and a cracking performance from Nina Hoss as Eileen, old flame to Hedda Gabler.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You by Mary Bronstein
This bold and brave drama has plenty to say about the painful truths of motherhood and the psychological toll of raising a child. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is Bronstein’s second feature as director following 2008’s Yeast, which starred a young Greta Gerwig. Here, Rose Byrne captivates as Linda, who has trouble dealing with a sick daughter, a huge hole in her ceiling, and Conan O’Brien as her therapist. Insert panic-inducing sound design when the world around you begins to collapse.
Both serious and silly, with amusing appearances from A$AP Rocky and Ivy Wolk, it pushes buttons as an unforeseen laugh riot promising a surreal first-class ticket to parental hell. You get the best of both worlds.
The Souffleur by Gastón Solnicki
Willem Dafoe goes full Inland Empire mode, in this Lynchian movie about a veteran hotel manager at the InterContinental Vienna. Perhaps the most barmy entry out of the entire LFF bunch, The Souffleur thrives on unexplainable vignettes of dry humour to illustrate the divisive last days of a beloved establishment. At the heart of it, the hotel’s renowned soufflé recipe.
Dafoe’s Lucius Glantz runs this tight ship like the navy. Upon realising news of a realtor’s plan to demolish his baby to the ground, the chaos commences, and it’s hidden behind the corners of every hotel floor. Poking fun at the hospitality industry and the etiquette that defines it, Solnickibreaks all the rules and then some.
Anemone by Ronan Day-Lewis
From the hands of the son of Daniel Day-Lewis, Anemone is a beautiful and (very) blue-looking first-time feature. It boasts unconventional still composition, running almost like a mood piece you’d find in a prestigious gallery, which is fitting considering the 27-year-old’s already many artistic talents. Driven by a thematic strand of poignant familial dynamics, it touches on the traumas of The Troubles. Slow and steady, it may not be for everyone.
But to Day-Lewis’s credit, he’s proven his worth by pulling his triple Oscar-winner dad out of retirement for an unexpected comeback that calls your attention. They also wrote the script together! Speaking on the collaborative process, Ronan detailed “It was a surprise to both of us when it became something tangible that we were both happy with and genuinely wanted to enter into this world.”
Words – Douglas Jardim
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