London is home to some of the most prestigious film festivals, with BFI Film Festival being the highlight of the festival season. From Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho to Panah Panahi’s Hit the Road and Laura Wandel’s Playground, this year’s edition has given audiences a thrilling cinematic experience. Now that the festival has ended, let’s take a look at some of the countries that stood out the most throughout the competition.

“Battle of the Sexes gala screening at th” (CC BY 2.0) by Bex.Walton

Finland

Finland had quite a few screenings at the 65th edition of the film festival, including Compartment No. 6 by Juho Kuosmanen, which shared the runner-up Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Festival, The Gravedigger’s Wife by Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, and Invisible Demons by Rahul Jain. Although none of them won any of the prizes, Compartment No. 6 is believed to be Finland’s entry nomination to the 2022 Oscars. Besides films, Finland scored two entries at LFF Expanded, a festival that platforms immersive performances that include VR technology, augmented reality, and 360 films.

This accolade is hardly a surprise: Finland is a technologically advanced country that has embraced digital changes throughout all industries, succeeding in most.

For example, the country has become quite a big player in the Nordic iGaming industry in recent years, with Finnish players spending quite a bit of time and money in online casinos listed on comparison sites like Kasinonetti. Online casinos in Finland are modern platforms, offering the best on the market, in terms of games selection and bonuses. The sheer abundance of casinos on the market has led to the operation of online directories, which rank casinos based on customer reviews. These directories also take into account factors such as whether casinos offer a wide plethora of payment methods, including the likes of bitcoin, exemption from taxation, competitive bonuses and fast withdrawals.

In addition, Finland host the biggest names in the industry, bringing innovative features and a variety of themes to both beginners and veteran players. Moreover, to keep everything in-house and to ensure the success of Finnish businesses, the state only allows local marketing and designs on their platforms. The country prides itself on local talent and remains on the cutting edge of technological developments, adopting them across the entertainment industry.

Iran

London film festival’s most prestigious prize – Best Film Award went to Panahi’s Hit the Road, an Iranian road movie. The film tells the story of hardship as a family trying to make a run for the border. During their road trip through northwest Iran, each one of them deals with the feelings of having to say goodbye differently, but they are all brought together by some funky 70s Iranian pop.

The director is the son of Jafar Panahi, an esteemed Iranian filmmaker, who is currently banned from leaving the country because of his ‘propaganda films’ against the state. Although Iranian films look simple at first glance, most of them deal with serious political contexts, which is why they either get banned or censored. The movie industry there is highly monitored and a lot of filmmakers have to obey strict censorship rules.

“Red Carpet – London Film Festival – Fant” (CC BY 2.0) by spiritquest

Belgium

Another debut at this year’s BFI Film Festival was Wandel’sPlayground. The Belgian director has achieved acclaim with the Sutherland award for it. In her first feature film, Wandel presents us with the tale of siblings attempting to overcome bullying. As mentioned by critics, the film is one of the most intimate pieces ever made about formative years, which we can all identify with.

The Belgium film industry has been underrated for many years even though it has produced quite a few critically acclaimed films, like The Broken Circle Breakdown, Bullhead, and Daens. Filmmakers everywhere even choose it as co-production partners because of its tax shelter that gives incredibly high tax exemption to those investing in the country’s audiovisual landscape.

The 65th BFI London Film Festival edition has shown us some impeccable films, abounding in feelings and experiences, whilst also being worthy of many prizes. Countries all over the world have entered their submissions and for those who haven’t started watching them, now is the time.