The Into Film Festival Programme

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 go live on the morning of Wednesday 10 September. Places will be on a first-come, first-served basis, so add a reminder to your calendars now to ensure you don't miss out on the films you want, as many events will book up very quickly. 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 so you're ready to go when bookings go live on the morning of Wednesday 10 September.

• Set up a free Into Film Account

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.

Adaptations 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?

Animation 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.

Talking 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.

And 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.

Check back after bookings go live on the morning on Wednesday 10 September when you'll be able to browse the full programme of over 3,000 events across the UK and secure your free places.

The Into Film Festival is possible thanks to the support of Cinema First and multiple partners across the cinema sector.