Half of the 10 films competing for the Best Film award at the 2018 British Film Institute London Film Festival, announced on August 29, have a woman as a director or co-director. “This year’s line-up showcases the enormous depth and diversity of talent working in the global film industry today,” the British Film Institute’s announcement page reads. The festival will commence on October 10 and will continue till October 21.

The 10 films selected for the Official Competition section are Birds of Passage directed by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, Destroyer by Karyn Kusama, Happy as Lazzaro by Alice Rohrwacher, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead by Ben Wheatley, In Fabric by Peter Strickland, Joy by Sudabeh Mortezai, The Old Man & the Gun by David Lowery, Shadow by Zhang Yimou, Sunset by Laszlo Nemes and Too Late to Die Young by Dominga Sotomayor.

The Jury president is Lenny Abrahamson, who was nominated for an Academy Award for directing Room (2015). For the first time in the history of the London Film Festival, the Best Film winner will be awarded amidst a public audience at a special screening on October 20.