London Film Festival (LFF) Surprise Films 1985 - 2023
Every single 'Surprise Film' shown at the BFI London Film Festival (LFF)
List activity
683 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
38 titles
- DirectorMichael MannStarsAdam DriverShailene WoodleyGiuseppe FestineseSet in the summer of 1957, with Enzo Ferrari's auto empire in crisis, the ex-racer turned entrepreneur pushes himself and his drivers to the edge as they launch into the Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy.
- DirectorMark MylodStarsRalph FiennesAnya Taylor-JoyNicholas HoultA young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
- DirectorMike MillsStarsJoaquin PhoenixGaby HoffmannWoody NormanWhen his sister asks him to look after her son, a radio journalist embarks on a cross-country trip with his energetic nephew to show him life away from Los Angeles.
- DirectorBenny SafdieJosh SafdieStarsAdam SandlerJulia FoxIdina MenzelWith his debts mounting and angry collectors closing in, a fast-talking New York City jeweler risks everything in hope of staying afloat and alive.
- DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsIn 2002, an artistically inclined 17-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsTom HanksAaron EckhartLaura LinneyWhen pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger lands his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight's passengers and crew, some consider him a hero while others think he was reckless.
- DirectorDuke JohnsonCharlie KaufmanStarsDavid ThewlisJennifer Jason LeighTom NoonanA man crippled by the mundanity of his life experiences something out of the ordinary.
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsMichael KeatonZach GalifianakisEdward NortonA washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiZiyi ZhangJin ZhangThe story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsBradley CooperJennifer LawrenceRobert De NiroAfter a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsGreta GerwigAdam BrodyLio TiptonA trio of girls set out to change the male-dominated environment of the Seven Oaks college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind.
- DirectorRowan JoffeStarsSam RileyAndrea RiseboroughHelen MirrenCharts the headlong fall of Pinkie, a razor-wielding disadvantaged teenager with a religious death wish.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreWilliam BlackJimmy CarterAn examination of the social costs of corporate interests pursuing profits at the expense of the public good.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsMickey RourkeMarisa TomeiEvan Rachel WoodA faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHugh JackmanScarlett JohanssonAfter a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJudi DenchBob HoskinsChristopher GuestLaura Henderson (Dame Judi Dench) buys an old London theater and opens it up as the Windmill, a performance hall which goes down in history for, amongst other things, its all-nude revues.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiThomas Haden ChurchVirginia MadsenTwo men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJack BlackMike WhiteJoan CusackAfter being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsJulianne MooreDennis QuaidDennis HaysbertIn 1950s Connecticut, a flustered housewife faces a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in the outside world.
- DirectorScott HicksStarsAnthony HopkinsAnton YelchinHope DavisWidowed Liz Garfield and her son Bobby change when mysterious stranger Ted Brautigan enters their lives.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsBen StillerRobert De NiroTeri PoloMale nurse Greg Focker meets his girlfriend's parents before proposing, but her suspicious father is every date's worst nightmare.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsRussell CroweAl PacinoChristopher PlummerA research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff DanielsJoan AllenTwo 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.
- DirectorJonathan MostowStarsKurt RussellJ.T. WalshKathleen QuinlanA man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsGeena DavisSamuel L. JacksonYvonne ZimaSamantha Caine lives in a small town with her daughter. Eight years ago she emerged, two months pregnant, from a nearby river with no memory of her past or who she is. However, she's getting closer to finding out about her past.
- DirectorRobert LongoStarsKeanu ReevesDolph LundgrenDina MeyerA data courier, literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsJohn CusackDianne WiestJennifer TillyIn New York in 1928, a struggling playwright is forced to cast a mobster's talentless girlfriend in his latest drama in order to get it produced.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsDaniel Day-LewisMichelle PfeifferWinona RyderA tale of nineteenth-century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMeryl StreepBruce WillisGoldie HawnWhen a fading actress learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsWinona RyderGena RowlandsLisanne FalkAn anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsJeff DanielsJulian SandsJohn GoodmanA new species of South American killer spider hitches a lift to a small California town in a coffin and starts to breed, leaving a trail of deaths that puzzle and terrify the young doctor newly arrived in town with his family.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsAl PacinoEllen BarkinJohn GoodmanA detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsMichelle PfeifferAlec BaldwinPaul LazarA mobster's wife hates her lifestyle, but gets a chance to change it when her husband is killed - if the Long Island mob and the FBI let her.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsTom BerengerMimi RogersLorraine BraccoA married New York cop falls for the socialite murder witness he's been assigned to protect.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsPaul NewmanTom CruiseMary Elizabeth MastrantonioFast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsMichael DouglasTerrence MannMichael BlevinsHopefuls try out before a demanding director for a part in a new musical.