Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday announced the full lineup of films that would have their world premieres during the upcoming festivities.
The festival, which will take place from Oct. 5 to Oct. 16, will feature 22 world premieres in total.
Among the headlining films that will be premiering to the masses is Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, an animated stop motion retelling of the classic story in del Toro's signature monstrous style.
The film is one of three Pinocchio projects that are being released in 2022.
Also having its world premiere during the festival is Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical, based on the 2010 Broadway musical and 1988 book of the same name.
Directed by Matthew Warchus, the film will serve as the festival's opening night gala, one of the most prestigious honors available at the upcoming London event.
Another notable film making its debut is My Father's Dragon, a highly anticipated animated feature from Irish director Nora Twomey. The film is based on the 1948 book of the same name, and is expected to garner significant acclaim.
Screenwriter Dionne Edwards will also be making her directorial debut with Pretty Red Dress, which will follow a South London family and how their lives seem to revolve around an unexpected piece of clothing.
The film stars West End theatre standout Alexandra Burke.
Another directorial debut will be Klokkenluider from Neil Maskell. The upcoming comedy film stars British mainstays Jenna Coleman and Tom Burke.
While the festival mainly headlines feature films, there are also episodic television shows that premiere as well.
Notably, the western romance series The English, starring Emily Blunt, will be shown to the world for the first time at BFI. The show was produced by the BBC and Amazon Studios.
The ITV series A Spy Among Friends starring Guy Pearce as an MI6 double agent, and Amazon comedy series Mammals, starring James Corden and Sally Hawkins, will also both premiere.
The festival will be closed out by the highly anticipated Rian Johnson whodunnit Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery -- though it will not be the film's world premiere.
Among international film circuits, the London Film Festival has become continuously more prestigious, and competes annually with the likes of the Venice Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.
BFI notes that the total number of world premieres taking place during the festival has jumped from 11% to 15% since 2019.
"Galas, competitive features, short films -- across all sections of the program, this is perhaps the richest overall selection of world premieres we have had the privilege of hosting at BFI London Film Festival, and we want to give these artists a moment in the sun before the full program launch," said festival director Tricia Tuttle. "Securing world premieres for their own sake is never an aim of our audience-facing festival, but it is an honor that these filmmakers and artists entrust us to help them to launch their beautiful work."
The full lineup of world premiere films at the BFI London Film Festival can be seen here.
