BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival
About This Event
BFI Flare is the British Film Institute's LGBTQIA+ film festival. It started in 1986 as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and is now one of the main stops on the queer festival circuit. It runs for about twelve days in March, mostly at BFI Southbank on the South Bank, and some of the programme is also available online on BFI Player.
It's a cinema festival, not a party. You buy tickets for individual screenings, many followed by Q&As with the filmmakers. The programme is split into three strands: Hearts, Bodies and Worlds. BFI members can book first, and the big screenings and the opening and closing galas sell out in the first days of public booking. Seats often come back as returns. The BFI Southbank bar and riverside terrace act as the festival's meeting point between films.
The 40th edition ran March 18 to 29, 2026. It showed 65 features and 63 shorts from 48 countries, including 31 world first screenings. The BFI's wrap report counted 41,283 attendances, up 32 percent, partly thanks to two anniversary exhibitions. The 2027 dates hadn't been announced when we checked. The BFI announced the 2026 dates in early December 2025, and the festival is normally held in the second half of March.
Where to stay during BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival
via Stay2225 gay bars, clubs & saunas from our guide Purple outline = where the gay scene is concentrated
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Videos
BFI Flare at 40 | Celebrating 40 editions of London's largest LGBTQIA+ film festival
