Movie Magic.

A Night at the BFI London Film Festival

At the end of what can only be described as a very sociable week (for me, that’s saying something), I found myself getting suited and booted for the first Friday of the 2025 BFI London Film Festival.

Now, if you know me, you’ll know my social battery is roughly the size of a cracked, broken 8 year old iPhone. By Wednesday I’m usually one polite nod away from ghosting society entirely. But and it’s a big but, the promise of a night of films at The Royal Festival Hall with the BFI London film festival, was enough to give me a glorious second wind. Two film Galas. Yes, two! Back-to-back. I felt like a cinematic Daley Thompson.

The films in question? George Clooney’s new Netflix venture J. Kelly, and Bugonia, the latest collaboration from Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos. But more on those in a moment…

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The Gala: Sparkle, Red Carpets, and a Dash of Nostalgia

The evening’s double gala took place at one of my favourite venues in the city, the Royal Festival Hall. The place was buzzing. Rows upon rows of flashing cameras, journalists with notepads at the ready, and the unmistakable hum of collective excitement from film fans who’d clearly been waiting all day for a glimpse.

It felt special. like a real film premiere. The kind that used to dominate arts coverage when I was reporting for ITV’s This Morning and Channel 5. Back then and beyond, premieres were events you dressed up for. They were glittering, glamorous, chaotic. Proper events. Then came the pandemic, and with it, a certain dimming of that communal spark. For me anyway.

But this night? The lights were back on. The magic had returned.

I’m not one to put movie stars on pedestals (they’re just people with better lighting), but I am someone who deeply believes in their art form. What filmmakers manage to do against all odds, what they pull from imagination and collaboration, to screen, still blows my mind.

Personally, cinema has been a kind of quiet salvation. Over the past few years, as I’ve navigated grief and all the untidy feelings that come with it, the ritual of sitting in a dark room watching stories unfold has been more than escapism, it’s been therapy. When the lights go down and the opening titles roll, all the browser tabs in my brain close. It’s mindfulness in Dolby Surround.

So to stand there, watching a genuine celebration of film, and to be part of it, felt unexpectedly comforting. Like coming home.

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Red Carpet Nerves (and Brushed Teeth)

Now, confession: Recently I’ve avoided red carpets like this. For whatever reason that specific energy wasn’t for me and hasn’t been for a few years. Plus there’s always that nagging fear that not one photographer will raise their camera when I step on. But this time, I thought, SOD IT.

I’d brushed my hair, brushed my teeth (double threat), and decided to strut into the firing squad of flashbulbs with absolutely no shame. It was joyous.

Moments later, I was ushered into my first film of the night.

Ps they actually did take my picture. And remembered my name.

(THANK FUCK)

Photography: Gareth Cattermole - Getty Images.

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Film One: J. Kelly (dir. Noah Baumbach, Netflix — out Dec 5 2025)

So let’s talk about George Clooney and Adam Sandler.

If you’d told me a few years ago that those two would star together in a Noah Baumbach film, I’d have assumed you’d overdosed on popcorn butter. And yet, it works. It REALLY works. Their chemistry is excellent.

Baumbach’s J. Kelly is a wry, bittersweet road movie about a once-famous movie star Jay Kelly (Clooney) an aging icon grappling with his own mythology sets off on a journey through Europe with his loyal manager, Ron (Adam Sandler). What begins as a professional trip slowly becomes something deeper, as the two men confront their pasts, the people they’ve loved, and the uneasy legacies that fame leaves behind.

Clooney is magnetic, charming, self-deprecating (as always), but slightly haunted here. And Sandler, is the most grounded, vulnerable I’ve seen him since Uncut Gems, but here he swaps crippling anxiety for patience. He’s the emotional glue of the film; every eye roll, every sigh…

Their chemistry is fantastic, the kind of vibe that only happens when two men have loved each other (professionally and platonically) for far too long. I found their dynamic personally really triggering and relatable, that messy mix of gratitude, guilt, and co-dependence that comes with someone who’s helped shape who you are, for better or worse.

The film wanders, it broods and is full of feeling. The director gives us space to breathe, to sit with these two men as they wrestle with fame, failure, and forgiveness. I walked out genuinely moved.

A Quick Sip, Then Onward

There was just enough time to dash to the afterparty, grab the closest glass of booze, make a small yet beautifully weird amount of eye contact with Lenny Henry! (I’m a big fan), and then sprint (gracefully ish) to the next screening. Two galas. One night. I was unstoppable.

WOOF.

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Film Two: Bugonia (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos out Oct 31, 2025)

By the time I sat down for Emma Stone’s Bugonia, I was running purely on adrenaline, prosecco, and Clooney fumes. And thank God because this film is BONKERS. In the best possible, way.

The plot follows two conspiracy-obsessed men who kidnap a powerful biotech CEO played by Stone, because they’re convinced she’s an alien. Yes, that’s the actual story. And yes, it’s exactly as weird as it sounds.

Possibly weirder.

But here’s the thing: under the chaos and the shaved head, it’s brilliant. It’s about paranoia, power, belief, and how far people will go to make sense of the world when the truth feels too untidy.  And because it’s Yorgos Lanthimos, everything is slightly off-kilter. people speak in strange rhythms, laugh at the wrong moments, and make you feel at times very well… uncomfortable and weirded out, a lot like you’re the one losing your mind, yet still completely captivated.

Emma Stone? Unstoppable. Again. She plays Michelle, the CEO who goes from composed corporate goddess/baddass to chaotic captive, and my opinion, it’s one of the most brilliant performances she’s ever given. She flips between terror, rage, manipulation, and complete surrender. Which was kinda hypnotic.

Jesse Plemons, meanwhile, continues his streak of being completely fkn terrifying.

As we’ve seen in their previous collaborations, Emma, Jesse, and Yorgos have developed a deep understanding of one another. This synergy creates a natural flow in this film that felt effortless.

The film itself? Equal parts black comedy and  psychological horror. It’s funny, creepy, absurd, and, like most of Lanthimos’s work deeply human under all the madness. You’ll either love it or want to run for the exit. I absolutely ADORED it.

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Two Galas, One Night

So there. I did it. Two films, one pit stop afterparty, and an unshakable grin plastered across my face. By the end of the night I felt like I’d just come off a long-haul flight to nowhere (but a happy nowhere.)

What a treat. What an absolutely wonderful evening.

So cheers to the BFI London Film Festival, to Becky Inman for the invite, and to every person who worked behind the scenes to make it all happen. You reminded me that movies for all their glitz, weirdness, and popcorn stickiness, are still magic.

And for that one night for me, that magic was alive and well on the Southbank.