The 2025 Into Film Festival boasts another packed programme of screenings and events, with over 75 films playing across over 3,000 screenings and events, in more than 600 venues, all across the UK.
As well as the usual smattering of popular blockbuster hits from the past year, across this year's programme of films, we'll also be exploring animation from around the world, including the Oscar-winning Flow; thought-provoking and inspiring documentaries, featuring everything from trips to the South Pole to a surprising mash-up of Shakespeare and Grand Theft Auto; various literary and stage adaptations, and many more films that simply allow us to revel in the joy of the cinematic experience.
Bookings for this year's Into Film Festival are now live. Places will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and many events will book up very quickly, so be sure to secure your places as soon as possible. And remember - the Into Film Festival is entirely free! To book your places you'll just need to be logged in to your Into Film Account.
Find out more about this year's programme and if you don't already have one, sign up for an account below.
Stranger than Fiction
As ever, as well as fiction films, the Into Film Festival also offers non-fiction stories that address a number of real-world issues.
This year's selection of documentaries includes national treasure David Attenborough's latest exploration of the natural world, as he takes a big screen look at how oceanic wildlife can impact the future of our planet, and Fighters, a film which offers the inspiring account of a lower-limb amputee boxer who advocates for disability equality in sports. Meanwhile, Shakespeare-video game hybrid Grand Theft Hamlet sees a production of the famous play take place entirely inside the world of a Grand Theft Auto video game, while Endurance offers a remarkable insight into Shackleton's ill-fated 1915 expedition to the South Pole and the modern-day scientists who retrace its steps.
Endurance (PG)
This dual-narrative National Geographic documentary uses astonishingly restored archive footage to show the original voyage of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew in 1915, as they attempt to cross Antarctica, while a team of modern day researchers try to find his shipwrecked vessel.
Browse screenings
Fighters (12)
Matt Edwards, a lower-limb amputee boxer, is determined to break down barriers and become a professional fighter representing his country, but finds his dreams blocked. This documentary is a powerful portrayal of why it’s important to keep fighting the good fight for a more inclusive society.
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Grand Theft Hamlet (15)
This documentary is a surprisingly poignant look at the power of art to bring people together, as two people make a daring attempt to stage a production of Shakespeare's famous play entirely within a Grand Theft Auto video game.
Browse screenings
Ocean with David Attenborough (PG)
This sequel continues the story of Miles Morales, a Spider-Man from a different universe, with the ground-breaking animation of the original taken to dazzling new heights.
Browse screeningsAdaptations and Reimaginings
A number of titles in this year's programme may be familiar to audiences already, having proved popular in other mediums before making their way to the big screen. All of these films were hugely successful at the box office in their own right, and have the added benefit of being compared to their original versions for further study. We've got films adapted from comic books (Dog Man), musical stage shows (Wicked), children's books (Paddington in Peru) and even those remade and reimagined into live-action after their original animated releases (Lilo and Stitch). Which versions will your young people prefer?
Dog Man (U)
This action-packed animated comedy, about a police man who becomes fused with his own faithful pooch, is based on the best-selling children’s book series by Dav Pilkey, and opens up conversations about family, friendship and embracing our differences.
Browse screenings
Lilo & Stitch (U)
The stage musical, beloved for more than two decades in the West End and on Broadway, makes its journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event telling the untold story of the witches of Oz.
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Paddington in Peru (PG)
With enjoyable references to some iconic scenes from film history, and plenty of shenanigans from delightful baddies, this third film in the Paddington franchise further promotes the themes of chosen family and inclusivity.
Browse screenings
Wicked (PG)
The stage musical, beloved for more than two decades in the West End and on Broadway, makes its journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event telling the untold story of the witches of Oz.
Browse screeningsAnimation Around the World: New Animated Voices
This year's line-up is once again full of brilliant animated films, offering a range of styles, formats, and techniques to dazzle attendees of all ages. Not only are the films themselves stimulating, but they also demonstrate how animation - and the film industry as a whole - is developing exciting new voices in the medium all over the world.
Pixar are a familiar company to most of us, and their latest innovation launches off into space in Elio; we have Academy Award-winning, non-dialogue adventure Flow from Latvia; a hugely moving Claymation from Australia which is nevertheless also full of laughs in Memoir of a Snail; while French stop-motion Savages explores themes around the natural world and conservation.
Elio (PG)
With some beautiful imagery, this moving environmental documentary follows two brothers in India, who devote their lives to healing birds that fall from the polluted skies.
Browse screenings
Flow (U)
In a serene world where the last vestiges of humanity are being worn away by nature, a small black cat finds itself caught by the rising waters. Completely dialogue-free and with a brilliantly innovative visual style, 'Flow' creates an immersive animal-filled world that feels fresh and alive.
Browse screenings
Memoir of a Snail (15)
From the same animator behind cult classic 'Mary and Max', this gritty stop-motion Claymation takes an emotional look at childhood, trauma and grief, uplifted by a sense of hopefulness and offbeat humour that will be engaging for mature young audiences.
Browse screenings
Savages (PG)
From the makers of My Life as a Courgette comes a charming and beautifully crafted story about a young person’s journey through environmental awareness – and self-discovery – that invites us into the vivid heart of the rainforest and to connect with our own sense of adventure and justice.
Browse screeningsTalking Points
Our line-up could never be compete without films that provoke, engage, and inspire debate around the topics, themes, subjects, and issues that affect our lives and our world.
After winning four Academy Awards at this year's ceremony, Conclave - and its examinations of the process behind deciding a new pope - was thrust further into the spotlight after the death of Pope Francis in April 2025, while British filmmaking icon Mike Leigh's latest offering, Hard Truths, centred on a Black working-class mother with mental health difficulties and her family in modern-day London.
Meanwhile, 2073 is the latest film from Asif Kapadia, a dystopian documentary-fiction hybrid which asks questions about the future of society. Similarly, new documentary Future Council - from the filmmaker behind 2040 - sees an inquisitive group of teenagers set off on a road trip across Europe to lobby powerful leaders to take action against climate change.
2073 (15)
A genre-bending documentary by master archival storyteller Asif Kapadia, this frightening and thought-provoking film is an urgent rallying call for change as a young woman fends for herself in the desolate city of New San Francisco, decades a catastrophe known only as ‘the event’.
Browse screenings
Conclave (15)
Secretive and solemn, a conclave is a gathering of cardinals that meets to elect a new Pope of the Catholic Church. This gripping political thriller invites us behind the closed doors of the Vatican to experience the intensity of such a process in a story of twists, turns and battles for power.
Browse screenings
Future Council (U)
In this playful yet challenging documentary from ‘2040’ filmmaker Damien Gameau, an international group of young people – frustrated by the lack of action on climate change and pollution - embark on a journey across Europe to lobby and challenge powerful leaders to take action.
Browse screenings
Hard Truths (12)
This realist film about an anxious and depressed Black woman comes from legendary British filmmaker Mike Leigh and tackles strong themes of mental health and grief, treading a fine line between hilarious and heartbreaking without ever losing sight of its humanity
Browse screeningsAnd so much more...
The above is just a mere taster of what's on offer at this year's Into Film Festival, with over 75 titles showing in total, as well as numerous special events, talks, and Q&As with the talent behind the films and other screen industry professionals.
Browse the full catalogue and find events near you below.
The Into Film Festival is possible thanks to the support of Cinema First and multiple partners across the cinema sector.
