London Film Festival to show joyous Matilda and Glass Onion - director

This year's London Film Festival will feature "joyous bits of cinema" that leave the audience "uplifted", its director has said.

The 66th festival, run by the British Film Institute (BFI), is being held at South Bank and runs until 16 October.

An adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical will kick-off the event, while Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be its closing film.

There will also be screenings at venues in 10 cities across the UK.

Festival director Tricia Tuttle said the opening and closing films were deliberately chosen to be a contrast to a lack of "light stories" in films this year.

"There are some incredible films across the whole programme which are darker, more complex in terms of themes and stories, and take you to much darker places," she said.

"They're responding to the world that we live in, which is a pretty troubling place, and you see that in the cinema this year."

She added the decision to begin the festival with Matilda The Musical "felt very special", because "it's a really joyous story about underdogs getting their own back and it's a great female-centred story as well".

Engaging new audiences is also a priority for this year's festival organisers, and the event has expanded its programme of free events to meet demand during the cost-of-living crisis.

There will be £5 tickets available for 16-25 year-olds and a free programme of events on offer, including short film screenings and online screen talks, including Hollywood actors Jennifer Lawrence and Bill Nighy.

An immersive programme will also return to the festival with its Expanded programme, ranging from interactive stories utilising iPads, to performance pieces that use augmented reality.

The festival will be Tricia Tuttle's last, as she will step down as BFI festivals director after 10 years at the organisation.

Her goal for this year's event was to help revive film and cinema screenings, which she said had suffered a "knock in the last couple of years", following the global pandemic.

"The exhibition industry during the pandemic really suffered economically, a lot of independent cinemas are struggling, they're still struggling but you can see audiences coming back", she said.

"I just would love if the festival helps to reinvigorate that excitement with audiences and we remember that it's great to have infinite choice at home but watching something collectively in a cinema is also really an incredible special experience."