What's On This Week: LFF Opens, Wong Kar-wai on 35mm and IDOLS at Prince Charles
What's On
What's On This Week: LFF Opens, Wong Kar-wai on 35mm and IDOLS at Prince Charles
Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October 2026: the London Film Festival begins, Grimmfest opens in Manchester, and an East Asian cinema week with something on almost every day
The Hong Kong Film Festival UK wrapped up last weekend, and the autumn festival season takes over. The BFI London Film Festival opens on Wednesday, Grimmfest kicks off in Manchester on Thursday, and Prince Charles Cinema has a Wong Kar-wai lunchtime on 35mm and a Satoshi Kon night to close the week.
Here is everything East Asian that is on, day by day, with a look at what is coming next.
Wednesday 7 October
The London Film Festival opens
BFI London Film Festival, 7 to 18 October, London and UK-wide
The BFI London Film Festival opens its 70th edition with 251 works from 88 countries. Its East Asian line-up includes Hirokazu Kore-eda's LOOK BACK in competition, Lee Chang-dong's POSSIBLE LOVE as a gala, Takashi Yamazaki's GODZILLA MINUS ZERO on the BFI IMAX, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's ALL OF A SUDDEN and Zou Jing's A GIRL UNKNOWN. The big Kore-eda and Godzilla dates fall next week, but two of the headline titles play within this one.
Also still in cinemas: Na Hong-jin's HOPE is still in cinemas, including Genesis Cinema in Mile End, and our HOPE Blu-ray is available to reserve if you would rather wait for the home release.
Thursday 8 October
Wong Kar-wai at lunchtime, J-horror at night
Prince Charles Cinema, London / Grimmfest, Manchester
At 12:30pm, Prince Charles Cinema screens IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000) on 35mm. Wong Kar-wai's 1962 Hong Kong romance, with Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as neighbours who slowly realise their spouses are having an affair, is one of the great films of its decade and worth seeing on film rather than a screen at home. A lunchtime slot is also easier to fit into a week than a late show.
IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, directed by Wong Kar-wai, Prince Charles Cinema, Thursday 8 October, 12:30pm, 35mm
If you want it at home as well, the Criterion Blu-ray of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is on the Terracotta store, and the follow-up 2046 picks up Tony Leung's story again.
That night, Grimmfest opens in Manchester (8 to 11 October, Odeon Great Northern). The one Asian title in the programme is NEVER AFTER DARK, Dave Boyle's Japanese horror reboot about a travelling psychic who helps lost souls cross over, at 10:25pm. It plays again at Celluloid Screams in Sheffield on 25 October and at Mayhem in Nottingham on 18 October.
NEVER AFTER DARK, directed by Dave Boyle, Grimmfest, Thursday 8 October, 10:25pm
If the original J-horror is more your speed, RING is on our shelves.
Friday 9 October
A Girl Unknown at the ICA
Zou Jing, China and France, 128 minutes, ICA Cinema 1, London, 8:25pm
Zou Jing's debut A GIRL UNKNOWN is a coming-of-age drama about a girl adopted during China's one-child policy, who as a teenager in the 1990s is still searching for somewhere she belongs. It won prizes at Cannes in the Critics' Week sidebar, and screens at the ICA on Friday evening as part of the London Film Festival's Journey strand. Book through bfi.org.uk/lff.
Sunday 11 October
A gala in the afternoon, a premiere at night
Royal Festival Hall, 5:15pm / Prince Charles Cinema, 8:45pm
At 5:15pm, Lee Chang-dong's POSSIBLE LOVE plays as an LFF gala at the Royal Festival Hall. It is his first film since BURNING in 2018, and it won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice. The cast is led by Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. It plays again on 14 October at the Royal Festival Hall and on 18 October at the Vue West End, and it is also in the London Korean Film Festival programme at BFI Southbank on 3 November.
POSSIBLE LOVE, directed by Lee Chang-dong, Royal Festival Hall, Sunday 11 October, 5:15pm (LFF gala)
Then at 8:45pm, Prince Charles Cinema closes the week with Satoshi Kon's PERFECT BLUE, the psychological thriller about a pop idol whose life starts to blur with her new acting career. It is preceded by the European premiere of IDOLS, a 20 minute short film directed by Matt Halsall and produced by Pierce Conran. A wannabe K-pop idol turns up at the home of a famous actress, and the two look identical. It was an official selection at Fantasia 2026.
PERFECT BLUE, directed by Satoshi Kon, Prince Charles Cinema, Sunday 11 October, 8:45pm, with IDOLS
Matt and Pierce are long time friends and supporters of Terracotta Distribution, so we are delighted to help spread the word.
Coming Up
Wednesday 14 October: LOOK BACK and GODZILLA MINUS ZERO at the London Film Festival. Kore-eda's LOOK BACK plays at BFI Southbank (5:45pm) and again on 17 October at Prince Charles Cinema. GODZILLA MINUS ZERO plays on the BFI IMAX on 14 and 16 October, and at Prince Charles on 16 October. Our GODZILLA MINUS ONE 4K UHD is in stock if you want to catch up first.
Mayhem Film Festival, Nottingham, 15 to 18 October. Broadway hosts three Asian titles: YOU ARE THE FILM, Makoto Ueda's 68 minute Japanese sci-fi comedy, on Friday 16 October at 4:15pm (Third Window Films handles its physical release); GHOST IN THE CELL, Joko Anwar's Indonesian prison horror, on Saturday 17 October at 6:45pm; and NEVER AFTER DARK on Sunday 18 October at 6:45pm. Full festival passes are still available.
Friday 16 October: IT'S MY TIME. Bai Xue's Chinese drama, with Michelle Yeoh and Liu Haoran, opens in UK cinemas from Central City Media. Michelle Yeoh plays a seventy-year-old who refuses a quiet life in a nursing home and learns to solve a Rubik's Cube under the coaching of a former champion. Early listings are at regional cinemas, including Bolton, Cambridge, Sheffield and Stockport.
Saturday 17 October: Japanese Film Club. Japanese Film Club has TOKYO SONATA, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's family drama, at the Rio in Dalston at 5:45pm, and Masayuki Suo's SHALL WE DANCE? in a new 4K restoration at Ciné Lumière in South Kensington, also at 5:45pm. The 4K restoration of LINDA LINDA LINDA plays in Brighton and Montrose the same day, and at the Lexi in Kensal Rise on 21 November.
London Korean Film Festival: tickets on sale now. The 21st edition runs 2 to 16 November across BFI Southbank, Ciné Lumière and the ICA. The opening gala is THE JOURNEY TO GYEONG-JU on 2 November, with director Kim Mi-jo and actor Lee Jung-eun, and the closing gala is TRISTES TROPIQUES on 16 November, with director Park Hoon-jung. Lee Chang-dong's POSSIBLE LOVE plays on 3 November. Full programme and booking at koreanfilm.co.uk.
KUNG FU HUSTLE at Kung Fu Cinema, Sunday 25 October, 6pm. Stephen Chow's 2004 kung fu comedy, with a short film beforehand, at the Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton. Kung Fu Cinema is London's monthly martial arts night, and we are proud to be supporting it.
Later in October and November. Japanese Film Club also has PENGUIN HIGHWAY at the Rio on Sunday 25 October at 10:30am and RINGU at the Phoenix in East Finchley on Saturday 31 October at 5pm. If you want the original at home, RING is on the Terracotta shelves. Zhang Yimou's RAISE THE RED LANTERN returns in a 4K restoration from Friday 6 November. Leeds International Film Festival runs 29 October to 15 November, with tickets on sale from 9pm on Thursday 8 October.
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