Storyville documentaries Blue Bag Life and Casa Susanna will also screen to festival-goers.

The BBC has backed a bumper crop of films selected for this year’s BFI London Film Festival (LFF), including several by first and second-time British filmmakers.

The Damned Don’t Cry (Les Damnés Ne Pleurent Pas), Fyzal Boulifa’s second film backed by BBC Film, the feature filmmaking arm of the BBC, will screen in the Official Competition for the Best Film Award, following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Blue Jean, from debut feature filmmaker Georgia Oakley, starring Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes and newcomer Lucy Halliday, is in the First Feature Competition and will also premiere in Venice before coming to London.

Joining Blue Jean in the First Feature Competition is Medusa Deluxe, the debut feature from Thomas Hardiman, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August. Pretty Red Dress, the debut feature of Dionne Edwards starring Natey Jones, Alexandra Burke and newcomer Temilola Olatunbosun will receive its world premiere in London.

The Eternal Daughter, the latest film from Joanna Hogg, which continues her creative collaboration with Tilda Swinton, will have its UK premiere in London as a Special Presentation, following a world premiere in Venice. Both The Eternal Daughter and Blue Jean have also been selected for the Toronto Film Festival, where Allelujah, directed by Richard Eyre with a stellar cast including Jennifer Saunders, newcomer Bally Gill and Judi Dench, will have its world premiere before its European premiere as a Special Selection in London. Allelujah opens in UK cinemas on 17 February 2023.

The festival will also host the European premiere of Aisha, written and directed by Frank Berry, starring Letitia Wright and Josh O’Connor, which first screened at the Tribeca Festival in New York.

Ruben Östlund’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness, starring Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean, will screen as a Special Selection before opening in UK cinemas on 28 October. Also selected for the London Film Festival is Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells’ debut feature Aftersun, which won a jury prize in Cannes Critics’ Week and received its UK premiere at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival. Aftersun opens in UK cinemas on 18 November. Triangle Of Sadness and Aftersun will both have their North American premieres in Toronto.

The nine BBC Film features are joined by short film My Eyes Are Up Here, directed by Nathan Morris, which will be shown as part of the short film programme.

Two films backed by Storyville, the BBC’s international feature documentary strand, have been selected for the London Film Festival: Blue Bag Life, a film by Lisa Selby, Rebecca Lloyd-Evans, Alex Fry, Josie Cole and Natasha Dack Ojumu, will have its world premiere, alongside the UK premiere of Casa Susanna, directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, which is in the Documentary Competition for the Grierson Award and will also shortly be seen in Venice and Toronto.

Eva Yates, Director of BBC Film, says: “Congratulations to all the filmmakers and their teams, backed by BBC Film, who have been selected for this year’s exceptional programme at BFI London Film Festival. It is particularly significant that, included in these titles by many of the most exciting filmmakers working today, are outstanding debuts from three British women filmmakers.”

In response to the sudden death of Charlbi Dean, which was announced this week, Eva Yates added: “Now and during the festival, our thoughts are particularly with the loved ones and colleagues of Charlbi Dean, whose Triangle Of Sadness sees its UK premiere during LFF.”

Emma Hindley, Interim Lead Commissioning Editor of Storyville, says: “We’re delighted for the teams behind Blue Bag Life and Casa Susanna, two incredibly compelling documentaries from Storyville that we’re proud to bring to UK audiences.”

Additionally, a virtual reality version of Storyville title On the Morning You Wake (To The End Of The World), which is currently available on BBC iPlayer, will be presented as part of the festival’s LFF Expanded strand.

The 66th BFI London Film Festival takes place on 5-16 October.