Hamnet and 1917 producer Pippa Harris and The Zone of Interest producer James Wilson are set to participate in individual spotlight conversations at the 70th BFI London Film Festival’s Industry Forum in October.
Harris, who co-founded Neal Street Productions with Sam Mendes, is currently filming The Beatles – A Four Film Cinematic Event, four separate theatrical biopic films about the British quartet starring Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson. Mendes is directing the project.
Harris will join LFF for a deep dive into her pioneering work, including The Beatles films, as well as discussing the challenges of development and production and her relationship with filmmakers and talent across her career. Her credits include Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA winning films Hamnet and 1917, Oscar and BAFTA nominated Revolutionary Road, British box office hit The Magic Faraway Tree with Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy and Jarhead. Harris is also behind a raft of hit TV productions including Call the Midwife, Penny Dreadful, Britannia, The Hollow Crown and Stuart, A Life Backwards.
Prominent indie producer Wilson, who has been in the business for more than thirty years, will join LFF to discuss his career and bold creative collaborations. He has worked with visionary indie filmmakers to great creative and commercial success on films including Oscar and BAFTA winning The Zone of Interest and Under the Skin, both from Jonathan Glazer, Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here, Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, Aneil Karia’s Hamlet, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s 20,000 Days on Earth and Sophie Fiennes’ The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology.
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In the conversation, Wilson will touch on his key career moments from his years at Fox Searchlight Pictures and Film4, where he was a production executive on films such as Sexy Beast and Dancer in the Dark through to the creation of his own company JW Films.
“This year our industry programme puts a spotlight on producers and the vital role they play in shepherding artistic visions from their earliest stages through to the screen,” said BFI London Film Festival Director Kristy Matheson. “I’m delighted that industry colleagues will have the opportunity to hear from Pippa Harris and James Wilson – two esteemed producers whose unique creative careers have given us some of the most memorable and critically acclaimed films of recent years.”
The 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival takes place October 7-18, 2026. The Industry Forum Spotlight and Discussion events take place October 8-15.