Film festival season is a busy time, and with so many festivals across the UK (and further from home), it can be tricky to keep up with all the wonderful work our grads are making and starring in, which is why it’s so exciting when we realise that a collection of grads are involved in the same festival.
Earlier this year, we highlighted three grads who were involved in the 2025 BFI Flare Festival. Now, with the annual BFI London Film Festival officially open, we wanted to share five exciting presentations that feature OSD grads! Click on the film titles below to discover more about the film and reveal which OSD grad (or grads!) are involved.
H is for Hawk
In 2014, Helen Macdonald released her memoir H is for Hawk. The book details the year following the sudden death of Helen’s father, where the Macdonald family purchases and trains a Eurasian goshawk to help them through their grief.
The book went on to become a Sunday Times Bestseller and won multiple awards, including the Samuel Johnson Prize (now the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction), which annually recognises the best non-fiction book in the English Language. Now, the film adaptation is featuring at the BFI London Film Festival, with OSD graduate Claire Foy in the lead role of Helen.
Claire Foy graduated from our One Year Course in 2007. Since then, she has built a supremely successful career with two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe to her name. She is best known for her role as the young Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s The Crown. Her other credits include Amy Dorrit in the BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit, Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall, and leading roles in 2023’s Oscar-nominated film Women Talking and 2024’s BAFTA-nominated film All of Us Strangers.
Claire isn’t the only OSD grad in H is for Hawk; fellow One Year Course grad Angus Cooper also features in the film.
Graduating in 2023, Angus quickly secured work in Netflix’s popular 2024 action-crime drama Black Doves. Not to give away the plot for those of you who haven’t seen the show yet, Angus takes on a character whose misadventures are at the epicentre of the show’s action. Earlier this year, he starred in 1536 at The Almeida Theatre in London alongside fellow grad Tanya Reynolds.
With two OSD grads featuring in this hotly anticipated film, H is for Hawk is certainly one to watch! The screenings happening as part of the film festival are almost all sold out, so be sure to book your tickets to be in with a chance of watching this emotionally charged adaptation before its general release.
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Sunday 12th October at Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall
Tickets available at the time of posting -
Sunday 12th October at Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall
Tickets available at the time of posting -
Monday 13th October at Curzon Soho
Tickets Sold Out
The Death of Bunny Munro
Nick Cave’s 2009 novel The Death of Bunny Munro has been adapted into a six-part miniseries starring Matt Smith. The series is set to premiere later this year on Sky TV, but the first two episodes will be shown as part of a special presentation at the BFI London Film Festival. The story follows the titular Bunny Munro, who, following his wife’s suicide, takes his nine-year-old son on a chaotic road trip across Sussex. The series features OSD grads Georgina Fairbanks and Nye Occomore.
Georgina graduated from the Three Year Course in 2013. Most recently, she starred in the show Wilko: Love, Death & Rock ‘n’ Roll, which follows the life of British rock legend Wilko Johnson after he was misdiagnosed and told he had only a year to live. Georgina plays Irene, Wilko’s wife, and has been involved in the project since its initial research and development workshops in 2023. Since then, the show has had sell-out runs at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Southwark Playhouse, and the Leicester Square Theatre.
Fellow Three Year Course alum, Nye, graduated in 2023. He is currently making his professional stage debut in the new stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s iconic novel Death On The Nile. The production is touring nationally, with stops including the Theatre Royal in Bath, Chichester Festival Theatre, Theatre Royal Glasgow, and the Grand Opera House in Belfast.
Nye has a number of screen credits under his belt already, with his first leading role in a feature film coming to cinemas later this month: Truth and Treason. The film is based on the true story of Helmuth Hübener, a teenager who fought against the Nazi regime in Germany. Nye plays Solomon Schwarz in the film, and you can catch him in the trailer here.
Tickets for the special presentation at BFI Southbank are currently sold out, though there are sometimes resale tickets available and standby queues, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the BFI London Film Festival website for more information. Failing that, you’ll have to wait until the series releases on the 20th November to catch Nye and Georgina in action!
Anemone
The return to screen of one of the country’s most celebrated actors, Daniel Day-Lewis, would have been a landmark event, whatever the film, but Anemone is made all the more exciting by the fact that Daniel Day-Lewis co-wrote the film with his son Ronan Day-Lewis, with Ronan also making his directorial debut.
The film follows the reunion of two estranged brothers. Set in a remote cabin, the pair are forced to confront their upbringing and the separate journeys they took as a result of generational and lived trauma. The film, also starring Sean Bean and Samantha Morton, promises to be an intense exploration of the bonds between fathers, sons and brothers.
Featuring in Anemone is OSD One Year grad Angus Cooper, who is also featured in H is for Hawk with Claire Foy. An exciting couple of weeks ahead for Angus! This will no doubt be a must-watch film for all film fans, so if you can’t catch it at the BFI London Film Festival, then be sure to check it out once it hits cinemas on the 7th November.
You can read more about Angus by opening the H is for Hawk box above.
Tickets for all the screenings of Anemone are sold out, but you can keep an eye on the BFI website for information on resales and standby queues.
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Tuesday 14th October at BFI Southbank
Tickets Sold Out -
Thursday 16th October at Curzon Soho
Tickets Sold Out -
Sunday 19th October at Curzon Soho
Tickets Sold Out
More Life
More Life takes the hyper-performative world of live-streaming to create a beautifully observed story about a group of old friends who reunite to celebrate one of their own opening a gallery show in Copenhagen.
Featuring in More Life is OSD Three Year grad Dipo Ola. Since graduating in 2018, Dipo has worked on an impressive string of projects. From Baghdad Central for Channel 4, to Landscapers for HBO/Sky, to We Hunt Together for the BBC (where he starred opposite fellow OSD grad Babou Ceesay).
Most recently, Dipo starred as DI Russell Carter in the BBC series Ludwig, opposite David Mitchell.
Palestine 36
Award-winning Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir is both writer and director for this powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936. Palestine 36 made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and has been put forward as Palestine’s entry for the “Best International Feature Film” category at the forthcoming Academy Awards. Before its presentation at the BFI London Film Festival, Palestine 36 will have a special presentation at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Set during the 1936 Palestinian uprising against British colonial rule, this historical drama draws on rare archival footage to contextualise the unfolding story, which was shot entirely in the region in which the story is set. Among the stellar international ensemble cast is 2021 Three Year grad Finlay James.
Before his graduation, Finlay was announced as one of the top 10 ‘Actors in Training’ by Warner Bros for their virtual casting initiative. Finlay was chosen from over 2,000 performers graduating from 280 different training institutions worldwide. Palestine 36 is Finlay’s first film since graduating, and we’re beyond proud to see his work be part of this important and timely film.
Screenings for Palestine 36 are all sold out, but it is worth checking the website for information on extra ticket releases or standby queues.
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Friday 17th October at Curzon Mayfair
Tickets Sold Out -
Sunday 19th October at Curzon Soho
Tickets Sold Out
100 Nights of Hero
Based on the graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg, 100 Nights of Hero is set in a fairytale kingdom whose patriarchal society leaves Cherry in danger after she is unable to conceive an heir for her husband, Jerome. Determined not to let anything happen to her, Cherry’s maid, Hero, concocts a plan to tell Cherry captivating stories of rebellion night after night. Featuring an all-star cast including Emma Corrin, Richard E Grant, and Charli xcx.
Amongst the star-studded cast is OSD Three Year grad Kerena Jagpal. Kerena graduated in 2021 alongside Finlay James. Since graduating, she has performed at the Camden Fringe, in two UK theatre tours, and on screen for ITV, Netflix, and the BBC. Her successful run earlier this year as Laila in the stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns saw her perform at her home-town theatre, the Birmingham Rep, for the first time as a professional actor.
Her television credits include the 2024 Outnumbered Christmas special, 3 Body Problem (Netflix), and ITV’s Birmingham-set crime drama DI Ray. Kerena recently spoke with Spotlight about her career to date and her reflections on South Asian representation in the arts sector. It’s well worth a read if you’re interested in learning more about Kerena!
100 Nights of Hero is the closing night gala presentation for the BFI London Film Festival, so tickets are understandably sold out. But, as ever, you can check the website for more info on how you might be able to grab a last-minute ticket.
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Sunday 19th October at Southbank Centre Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Sold Out -
Sunday 19th October at BFI Southbank
Tickets Sold Out -
Sunday 19th October at Curzon Mayfair
Tickets Sold Out
What a round-up of OSD graduate work! Five projects, six grads, seven days. If you’re lucky enough to have tickets for any of these presentations, do keep an eye out for our fabulous OSD grads.
Congratulations to all our grads featured here! It’s a wonderful achievement to be part of the BFI London Film Festival in any capacity; you all have so much to be proud of.