NFTS Talent Takes Centre Stage At BFI London Film Festival 2026

From cinematography and composing to directing, editing and sound, talent developed at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) can be found throughout the 2026 BFI London Film Festival. 

 
Across this year’s exciting 12-day programme, LFF will present 251 features, shorts, series and immersive works from 88 countries. An impressive number of NFTS graduates have contributed to films screening in some of the festival’s most prestigious strands, including four Galas and nine titles in the First Features Competition, while the shorts programme features both student-made and alumni-led work.

The roll call spans established, internationally recognised alumni including director Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, alongside a new generation of filmmakers making their mark, with NFTS talent represented across virtually every stage of the filmmaking process. 

Among the major films receiving the red-carpet treatment at this year’s Festival is Fatherland, produced by NFTS graduate Lorenzo Gangarossa, while cinematographer Natasha Braier brings her distinctive visual style to Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters. 

Oscar-winning NFTS graduate Dario Marianelli has composed the score for the highly anticipated stop-motion Wildwood from LAIKA Studios, while Simon Chase serves as Dialogue Editor on Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy, Wild Horse Nine which is already garnering early Oscars buzz.  

The NFTS is also strongly represented in the First Feature Competition. Animol includes NFTS graduates Herbert Butler as Digital Intermediate Supervisor and Steven Eniraiyetan as First Assistant Director.

A particularly impressive concentration of NFTS talent can be found on the Lagos set Lady, with graduate Alana Mejia Gonzalez serving as Director of Photography and Ines Adriana as Sound Designer. Behind the scenes, fellow alumni Jonathan Fransman, Kamila Serkebaeva, Max Park, Phoebe Sutherland and Victoria Thomas have also contributed across legal and business affairs, executive production, production and development, and producing roles.
 
Several recently completed NFTS made films will premiere in this year’s programme including Dance of the Spirits, Eyeliner and I Was Kidnapped. 

Jon Wardle, NFTS Director said: “The BFI London Film Festival is one of the great showcases for filmmaking talent from the UK and around the world, and it is always a source of enormous pride to see the contribution of NFTS talent reflected so strongly across its programme. What stands out again this year is not only the number of our graduates involved, but the incredible range of roles they occupy. From directors, producers and cinematographers to composers, editors, sound teams, designers and the many specialists whose expertise brings a production to life, NFTS graduates can be found at every stage. It is particularly exciting to see films made at the School sitting alongside work from established alumni who are now leading their fields internationally. Congratulations to everyone represented at this year's Festival.”
 

See the full list of NFTS alumni across LFF!

Galas

Elsinore Editor Valerio Bonelli
Artificial Cast PA Alice Fontana
Fatherland Producer Lorenzo Gangarossa; Production Sound Mixer Tarn Willers; Development Suervisor: Our Films Chiara Ventura
I Love Boosters DoP Natasha Braier
Ink DoP Alwin H Kuchler; Art Director Owen Robertson; Props Buyer Yasmin Al-Naib; Crowd 3rd Assistant Director Daniel Pachalski; Script Supervisor Lucy Hatherley
Prima Facie Production Sound Mixer Danny Hambrook; Supervising Art Director Seeta Lingam; Standby Props Petula Langlais
Tender Loving Care Script Supervisor Jessica Hof; Floor Runner Yaz Evans
Wild Horse Nine Dialogue Editor Simon Chase
Wildwood Composer Dario Marianelli

Official Competition

7 Miles Out Editor Raluca Petre; Production Sound Mixer Kieron Wolfson; Sound Effects Editor Matis Rei; Stockport Recordist & Editor Jake Fielding; Boom Operator Doug Templeton; Casting Assistant Leila Ali
Glaxo Editor Livia Serpa
The Idiots Co-Writer Brid Arnstein 
Woman Unknown Co-Producer Lukas Trimonis; Production Designer Sabine Hviid

First Feature Competition

Animol Digital Intermediate Supervisor Herbert Butler; First Assistant Director Steven Eniraiyetan
Lady DoP Alana Mejia Gonzalez; Sound Designer Ines Adriana; Producer Kamila Serkebaeva; Executive Producer Max Park; Associate Producer Victoria Thomas; Senior Legal & Business Affairs Executive: Film4 Jonathan Fransman; Production & Development Executive: BFI Phoebe Sutherland
Masc Sound Designer/Rerecording Mixer Ines Adriana; Dialogue Editor Kevin Langhamer; Additional Boom Operator Ava Doyle;Additional Sound Recordist Andrew Ford;  Additional Sound Mixer Will Rowe; 3rd Assistant Director Dominic Crane
Our Share of Sand Casting Associate Kerry Grainger; Production & Development Executive: BFI Phoebe Sutherland; Development & Production Executive: Film4 Alice Whittemore

Documentary Competition

Dependence Director Grace Harper-Brighouse; Editor Vera Simmonds
Queer Edward II Supervising Sound Editor Siim Skepast; Rerecording Mixer Itzel Gonzalez Estrada

Love

Lemonade Script Editor Karol Griffiths
Petrolheads Director/Co-Writer Emil Langeballe

Debate

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Writer/Director Clio Barnard; Editor Maya Maffioli; Rerecording Mix Technician Itzel Gonzalez Estrada; Sound Designer Paul Davies; Sound Effects Editor Siim Skepast; 2nd Assistant Sound Carys Ellis; Floor Runner Yaz Evans

Laugh

The Fox Executive Producer Daniel Negret
Too Many Beasts Co-Writer Jérémie Dubois
It Gets Worse Music Editor Hannah Barnett; 2nd Assistant Sound Emily Compton; 1st Assistant Accountant Sharon Soor

Dare

Filipiñana Production Designer Tatjana Honegger; Colourist Vlad Barin; Senior Legal & Business Affairs Executive: Film4 Jonathan Fransman;       Development & Production Executive: Film4 Max Park
Rose Producer Johannes Schubert

Thrill

Black Church Bay Producer Kamila Serkebaeva; Casting Associate Kerry Grainger; Story Consultant Jack Casey
Heysel 85 Composer Anna Bauer

Cult

Hot Spot Production Sound Mixer Panagiotis Papagianopoulos
Rogue Trooper DoP Dan Atherton; Compositor Pietro Abati; Producer’s Assistant Carolina Cordero
The Face of Horror Producer James Bowsher

Journey

Florid Supervising Sound Editor Dario Swade; Additional Rerecording Mixer Itzel Gonzalez Estrada; Associate Producer Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer; Production Manager Danielle Goff; Post Production Supervisor Shaheen Schleifer; Floor PA: Dailies Rory Marsh; 2nd Assistant Camera: Dailies Niels Hallé
In the Shadows Key 1st Assistant Sound Barry Coxhead
Visionquest Concept Artist Romain Hemeray; Workshop Supervisor: Millennium FX Kate Walshe; Assistant Script Supervisor Cover Charlie Toney; Data Manager: 2nd Unit Dailies Alessio David Ciattini; Sound Trainee India Holdstock; Sound Trainee: Dailies Andrew Ford; Camera Trainee: Dailies Gemma Mancinelli; Trainee Accountant Jonas Babics

Create

Making Marie Antoinette Executive Producer Chiara Ventura

Family

Aller and Retour Co-Director Lucia Bulgheroni
Julián Executive Producer David Yates; Editor Owen Peters

Short Film Competition

Fareye Sound Designer Jake Fielding; Foley Artist Ross Wilkes-Houghton
Into the Forest Director/Co-Writer Antonin Niclass; Editor Raluca Petre; Composer Fabio Amurri; Sound Etienne Compis

Other Shorts

The Animals DoP Ebba Hult; Editor Mdhamiri Á Nkemi
Bermuda Riots Are Different Directors Matt Mead and Alyson Thompson
Dance of the Spirits [NFTS] Director/Animator Andreea-Lorena Florea; Producer Claud Cunningham; Screenwriter Alfie Kelly; DoP Catharina Scarpellini; Production Managers Jeanet Froidurot & Chrystal Holder; Sound Recordist/Sound Designer/Dubbing Mixer Jacob Stone; Editor Karin Raksanugraha; Composer Katrina Rose; Colourist Nidhi Kullu
Eyeliner [NFTS] Director/Animator Aisha Boudjillouli; Producer Densu Moseti; Screenwriter Tommy Hurst; DoP Monaya Abel; Production Designer Chell Young; Production Managers Shannon De Kempe & Shreya Desai; Coordinating Modelmaker Robby Baldwin; Modelmakers Alfie Strudwick, Beatrice Babbo, Chloe Rushbrook, Cristian Ciumac, Lizzy Kelsey, Emma Tanner, Isabel Carpenter, Maddie Stringer, 
Rahab McQueen, Rita Castelo Branco & Yaxxy Wong; Sound Recordist Adam Burkholder; Editor/Online Editor Ettel Velázquez; Sound Designer/Dubbing Mixer Mingxi Xu; Composer Ben Moss; VFX Supervisor Bingqing Li; Colourist Maddalena Oberti
(Failing to Make) A Documentary about my Sudanese Family Writer/Director/Producer Sid Elbadawi
Fishbrain Sound Designer Antek Rutczynski; Sound Effects Editor Markus Andreas; Foley Artist Ross Wilkes-Houghton; Script Supervisor Jessica Lipinski; 1st Assistant Director Julian Lara-Cid
Forgotten Spaceman Sound Designers John Cohen & Rob Szeliga; Colourist Mara Ciorba
Free Eliza (Notes on an Anatomical Imperfection) DoP Luciana Riso
Hindsight Producer Danielle Goff; Sound Designer Jake Fielding
I Was Kidnapped [NFTS] Director/Animator Dhananjay Barangule; Producer Iggy Engler; Writer Tommy Hurst; DoP Carolina Lobo Nunes; Production Designer Michela Negretto; Production Manager Kato Boels; Dubbing Mixer Jingya-Joya Li; Sound Recordist/Sound Designer Jiaren Liao; Editor Rafael Luis Fernando; Composer Filip Badiar; Colourist Scott Harrison
Laundreams DoP Nanu Segal; Editor Donya Majidi-Maguire
Meatmylk Producer Tora Young
Micro Bangs Editor Max Cavalli; Assistant Editor Margot Newcombe
Paper Plane Co-Producer Solomon Golding
PLEASE DoP Donna Wade
The Sorrows of Young Charlotte [NFTS] Director Shir Ariya; Producer Faye Wilson; Writer Charlie Stockdale; DoP Will Arcinas; Production Designer Zoe Cavendish; Editor Bea Hardy; Sound Mixer Magdalena Matusek; Sound Editor/Dubbing Mixer/Sound Designer Bon-Yu Liao; Composer Jonah Raes; 2nd Assistant Director Thomas Bakken; Production Managers Nat Downs & Gwen Bagni
Untitled Woman DoP Krzysztof Trojnar

Congratulations to all the NFTS graduates, students and tutors whose work is being celebrated at this year's festival!

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The BFI London Film Festival will run from 7th to 18th October 2026. To explore the festival programme and find out more, click here.