London Indian Movie Competition unveils 2026 line-up

New Delhi: The London Indian Movie Competition (LIFF) will return for its seventeenth version with a star-studded line-up that includes Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and a reunion of the forged of the enduring British comedy sequence ‘Goodness Gracious Me’.

The competition, which additionally contains the Birmingham Indian Movie Competition and Manchester Indian Movie Competition, will probably be held throughout London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Bradford. It’s supported by the ‘BFI Viewers Initiatives Fund’, awarding ‘Nationwide Lottery’ funding.

LIFF will open with the European premiere of ‘52 Blue’, directed by Ali El Arabi of ‘Captains of Zaatari’ fame. The approaching-of-age drama stars Adil Hussain and Neha Dhupia and can display screen at BFI Southbank on July 9 earlier than travelling to Birmingham, Sheffield and Higher London.

One of many main sights of this 12 months’s version is ‘Aamir Khan in Dialog’ at BFI Southbank on July 16, marking the twenty fifth anniversary of his Oscar-nominated interval sports activities drama ‘Lagaan’. The movie may also be screened at BFI IMAX on July 12.

Khan will communicate concerning the making of the 2001 movie and replicate on his journey from youngster actor to one in all India’s largest stars. “As ‘Lagaan’ completes 25 years, it’s onerous to place into phrases what this journey has meant. We made the movie with a whole lot of perception, ardour and honesty, by no means imagining the form of find it irresistible would obtain and proceed to obtain all these years later,” Khan mentioned.

“I’m actually delighted that this milestone is being celebrated with a screening on the BFI. To see ‘Lagaan’ nonetheless join with audiences throughout generations and throughout geographies could be very particular,” he added.

The competition’s Central Gala will reunite the forged of the groundbreaking ‘BBC’ sketch comedy sequence ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ on July 11. Actors Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nina Wadia and Kulvinder Ghir, together with writer-producer Anil Gupta, will come collectively to revisit the present’s enduring impression on British tv and South Asian illustration.

LIFF may also host ‘India’s AI & Movie Future’, billed as Europe’s first showcase of Indian movies incorporating AI and rising applied sciences into the inventive course of. The occasion, scheduled for July 11 at BFI Southbank, will function brief movies chosen by a global jury headed by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

Among the many UK premieres on the competition is ‘In Search of the Sky’ by Jitank Singh Gurjar, which follows a younger man with disabilities and his aged mother and father as they journey to the Kumbh Mela in search of solutions and hope.

Bangladeshi cinema may also have a robust presence by the UK premieres of ‘Grasp’ by Rezwan Shahriar Sumit and ‘Roid’ by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, each of which screened on the Worldwide Movie Competition Rotterdam 2026.

Different highlights embrace Neel Dutt’s household drama ‘All About Weddings’, Priyankka Saha’s ‘Anmol: Lovingly Ours’ and the UK premiere of the 4K restoration of Pradip Krishen’s cult traditional ‘In Which Annie Offers It These Ones’, written by and that includes Booker Prize-winning writer Arundhati Roy.