Try telling Londoners that cinema is dead and they will direct you to the BFI Imax cinema on the Southbank, where Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is still playing to sold-out houses nearly three months after its release. But if you’ve been there, done that, 2026 still has some surprises left up its sleeve, and plenty of other titles will be jockeying for your consideration once the Oscar landscape starts to take shape.
For the moment, that race is still wide open; luckily, Deadline’s Contenders Film: London event taking place Saturday at the Ham Yard Hotel is here to help you make sense of an already overcrowded calendar. Our event is a one-stop shop for movie fans, packed with preview clips, star-studded panels and insider insights from behind-the-scenes players.
A good place to start would be two animation world premieres coming to the capital in October. We open the day with Pixar’s neo-noir science fiction mystery Ray Gunn, welcoming writer-director-producer Brad Bird and composer Michael Giacchino to the stage. Later in the day, we’ll have director-producer Travis Knight, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, composer Dario Marianelli and costume designer Deb Cook on hand to present Laika’s magical stop-motion fantasy Wildwood.
Back in the real world, director Danny Boyle will accompany writer James Graham and actor Jack O’Connell for a discussion of their new collaboration Ink, which tells the story of Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of British tabloid newspaper The Sun in 1969. From the documentary world, directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, with elite ski mountaineer Jim Morrison, will share stories about the making of Everest: The Other Side.
Legendary British director Mike Leigh returns to Contenders with his latest and possibly last film, Tender Loving Care. Starring Widow’s Bay Emmy winner Kate O’Flynn, who will be joining him for the event, it tells the story of a professional carer trying to get her life back on track after a breakup. Similarly, writer-director Guy Nattiv will be joined by Carrie Coon to take questions about The Liberation, their ’80s-set tale of a woman who leaves her family to join an all-female cult.
Being Heumann is the latest from Siân Heder, who last came to Contenders with her 2021 Oscar winner CODA. Joining will be the film’s star Ruth Madeley, who plays real-life American disability rights activist Judith Heumann, and casting directors Bernard Telsey and Adam Caldwell. Afterwards, Austrian writer-director Marie Kreutzer will take the stage for her drama Gentle Monster, joined by actress Léa Seydoux.
Fresh from their success at the Toronto Film Festival, “Los Javos” — the Spanish writer-director-producer team of Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — will present their literary, multi-stranded period drama La Bola Negra with actors Miguel Bernardeau, Guitarricadelafuente, Carlos González and Penélope Cruz.
We end with two extremes; first Cruz sticks around to join Florian Zeller with their film Bunker, in which a married couple (real-life partners Cruz and Javier Bardem) hit a rock in their relationship over the husband’s commitment to building a billionaire’s safe room. Then we’re off to outer space to meet the creative team behind sci-fi spectacular Project Hail Mary: cinematographer Greig Fraser and production designer Charles Wood.
In addition, surprise guests — look out for a festival favorite that won a significant award at Cannes — are likely to be in the mix.
It’s going to be quite a day, so follow along with our panel coverage on Deadline.com and on social via #DeadlineContenders. And check back Monday when we launch the event’s streaming hub with all the panel videos.
Below is Saturday’s schedule, with order subject to change.
Contenders London 2026 Lineup
NETFLIX
Ray Gunn
Brad Bird (Writer/Director/Producer)
Michael Giacchino (Composer)
Ink
James Graham (Writer)
Danny Boyle (Director)
Jack O’Connell (Actor)
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Everest: The Other Side
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Director/Producer)
Jimmy Chin (Director/Producer/Director of Photography)
Jim Morrison (Elite Ski Mountaineer and Film Subject)
BLEECKER STREET / STUDIOCANAL
Tender Loving Care
Mike Leigh (Writer/Director)
Kate O’Flynn (Actor)
Marion Bailey (Actor)
The Liberation
Guy Nattiv (Writer/Director)
Carrie Coon (Actor)
LAIKA
Wildwood
Travis Knight (Director/Producer)
Caleb Deschanel (Cinematographer)
Dario Marianelli (Composer)
Deb Cook (Costume Designer)
APPLE ORIGINAL FILMS
Being Heumann
Siân Heder (Writer/Director/Producer)
Kevin Walsh (Producer)
Ruth Madeley (Actor)
Bernard Telsey (Casting Director)
Adam Caldwell (Casting Director)
NETFLIX
Gentle Monster
Marie Kreutzer (Writer/Director)
Léa Seydoux (Actor)
La Bola Negra
Javier Calvo (Writer/Director/Producer)
Javier Ambrossi (Writer/Director/Producer)
Miguel Bernardeau (Actor)
Guitarraicadelafuente (Actor)
Carlos González (Actor)
Penélope Cruz (Actor)
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
Bunker
Florian Zeller (Writer/Director)
Penélope Cruz (Actor)
AMAZON MGM STUDIOS
Project Hail Mary
Greig Fraser (Cinematographer)
Charles Wood (Production Designer)
ALEXANDER
Ben’Imana
Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo (Writer/Director)
