LGBTQ+ Stories at London Film Festival 2026

Highlights of London Film Festival 2026 include a selection of stories spanning queer love in later life, hidden histories, trans elders, masculinity and identity, parenthood, first love and the lives that previous generations were forced to keep secret.

Queering the London Film Festival

ELSINORE, dir. Simon Stone (UK)

Opening Night

Andrew Scott is a towering presence in this singular account of Ian Charleson’s life, capturing the moment when he faced his own mortality as he prepared to play Hamlet at the Royal National Theatre.

Simon Stone’s film, written by Stephen Beresford (//Pride//), details Ian Charleson’s decision to step into the National Theatre’s production of Hamlet following Daniel Day-Lewis’ departure, even though he was dying of AIDS.

Andrew Scott, who so movingly portrayed a man racked by grief in All of Us Strangers (LFF 2023), here ascends to new heights in his performance. He captures the tumult and humanity of Charleson, who grapples with his condition (his scenes with Olivia Colman’s doctor are a veritable masterclass in screen performance) while revelling in the joyful process of co-creation and the importance of fellowship in embodying a character as complex as Shakespeare’s haunted Danish prince.

With a stellar cast that also includes Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Juliet Stevenson, Adeel Akhtar and Peter Mullan, Elsinore skilfully shifts gear between the ebullience of rehearsals and performance, and the profound reality of life on the precipice of the unknown. It’s a stunning achievement by Stone (The Daughter, LFF 2015 The Dig, LFF 2021), who has crafted a stirring ode to an extraordinary life, the strength of community and resistance, and the triumph of art.

CLUB KID, dir. Jordan Firstman (USA)

A jaded New York club promoter finds his messy lifestyle upended when he discovers he has a son, in Jordan Firstman’s hilarious feature directorial debut. A decade of drinking, drugs and clubs is finally starting to take its toll on Peter. The unexpected arrival of an infant son means it’s finally time for him to get his life together. How hard can it be? The perfect skewering of millennial malaise that is also deeply touching; it’s easy to see why Club Kid was one of the most talked-about films at Cannes.

LA BOLA NEGRA, dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo (Spain)

A genre-defying queer epic, rooted in the legacy of beloved writer Federico García Lorca, this is majestic and uniquely original filmmaking from Spanish duo Los Javis. Spain, 1932. A young man awaits word on whether he has secured membership at the local casino. In 1937, a young nationalist soldier guards a republican prisoner.

Jump to 2017, and an unexpected document is inherited by an historian from his grandfather. These timelines and a breathtaking cinematic audacity shape this dazzlingly constructed and performed triptych about communication, inheritance, silence and memory. There’s even a glorious cameo by Penélope Cruz.

FRANK AND PERCY, dir. Sean Mathias (UK)

Roger Allam and Ian McKellen excel as the titular characters in this adaptation of the West End hit, about finding connection beyond your sixties. Meet Frank and Percy, an unlikely pair, who strike up a friendship while dog-walking on Hampstead Heath. Soon enough, their platonic bond quietly blossoms into something far more tender. Featuring a star-studded ensemble including Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Derek Jacobi, Ncuti Gatwa and Siân Phillips, this charming tale of late-blooming love is both a warm-hearted and soul-searching gem.

QUEER EDWARD II, dir. Theo Rollason (UK)

This all-archival tour de force takes us behind the scenes of Derek Jarman’s Edward II, set against the backdrop of the anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation of 1980s Britain. In 1991, filmmaker Derek Jarman started production on

Edward II, just as queer life in the UK was under renewed threat from the British government. Seamus McGarvey captured all the drama on set in a previously unseen treasure trove of behind-the-scenes footage.

Queer Edward II masterfully reanimates this archive in a vigorous and radical reflection on the power of art as a form of protest.

THE MAN I LOVE, dir. Ira Sachs (USA)

Ira Sachs cements his position as one of the great chroniclers of New York life with this tender, earthy portrait of the city’s gay scene in the 1980s. Rami Malek delivers a career-best performance as the effervescent Jimmy George, uncompromising in his pursuit of passions and artistic exploration. His doting boyfriend Dennis (a lovely turn by Tom Sturridge) and a tight-knit community envelop Jimmy, but the spectre of AIDS is never far from view. Written and performed with a seemingly effortless grace,

The Man I Love is a gem of a film.

BLACK CHURCH BAY, dir. Rhys Marc Jones (UK)

A school teacher must deal with the aftermath of the disappearance of one of his students in this gripping drama starring Tom Cullen and Joe Locke. In a sleepy Welsh fishing village, the secretive schoolteacher Barry and his student Jasper spend a clandestine weekend together. But the following week, when Jasper doesn’t attend school, Barry must decide what lengths he will go to to cover up his private life. Black Church Bay is a tense and thought-provoking drama that affirms Rhys Marc Jones as an exciting new voice in queer filmmaking.

EASTER, dir. Mokya Shin (South Korea)

Sekja, an ageing charismatic Korean trans burlesque star, is front and centre in this gloriously singular film about life. As the spotlight fades and ornate costumes are put away, Sekja, an elder in the Korean adult entertainment scene, reflects on her life. We are made privy to her thoughts on love, connection and being honest narrators of our own story. Intriguing dance sequences and astonishingly lush aesthetics bring Sekja’s story to life, making Easter a glorious, often touching feast of thought and image.

MASC, dir. Bertil Nilsson (UK)

With lyricism and understated humour, Bertil Nilsson’s distinctive debut follows Robin as he moves through temporary jobs and tentative relationships in search of a place to belong. With careful attention to gesture, movement, and the expressive possibilities of the body, Nilsson crafts a rich portrait of a young autistic queer man of multiple heritages who shapes a sense of self at his own pace. Exploring expansive notions of masculinity and sexuality, the film opens up new avenues for self-expression. Carried by tactile cinematography and a remarkable ensemble cast, it uncovers moments of tenderness within the rhythms of everyday working life.