Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to close LFF

Michael McDonagh, Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell expected to attend.

by Amber Wilkinson

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Photo: Courtesy of London Film Festival

Michael McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, will close the 61st edition of the London Film Festival on October 15.

It is expected that the director and stars Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell will attend the screening, which will be the UK premiere after it makes its debut in Venice this August.

The film charts the story of Mildred Hayes (McDormand), who decides to take matters into her own hands after her daughter's murder remains unsolved after months - taking on the town's police chief William Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement goes from bad to worse.

The film also features Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Zeljko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Clarke Peters, Samara Weaving, John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage.

LFF director Clare Stewart said: “We are thrilled to be closing the 61st BFI London Film Festival with Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. By turns riotously funny and deeply sobering, this all-too-relevant film confronts division and conflict in small-town America and is driven by a blistering performance from Frances McDormand.”

McDonagh added: “I’m excited to bring this film back to my home town for its UK premiere. I’m more than proud of it and if there are any fans of In Bruges still out there, I don’t think they’ll be disappointed.”

The festival has previously announced that the European premiere of The Battle Of The Sexes, starring Emma Stone, will be the American Express gala. The full line-up will be announced on August 31.

Share this with others on...
News

Precision filmmaking Casey Walker on setting rules, layering complexity, and making Home Bodies

A dangerous woman Rebecca De Mornay on finding characters' truth and making The Gentleman Thief

Divine transformation Eriko Katagiri on the itako tradition and When You Open The Door

Learning to let go Gloria Mercer and Bethany Brown on filming sex, drugs and A Safe Distance

Framing a feature Michele Fiascaris on expanding his short Rain Catcher into a rain-slicked noir thriller

A heroine of the people Avid Liongoren on the Filipino animation industry and Zsazsa Zaturnnah

More news and features

We're bringing you news, reviews and more from the Fantasia International Film Festival.



We're looking forward to the Locarno Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Frightfest.

We've recently brought you coverage of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Muslim International Film Festival, Docs Ireland, Sheffield DocFest, ImagineNative, Tribeca and Cannes.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


Dinard Amira Casar to head jury, plus opening film announced


San Sebastian Leigh, Naishtat and Larraín among those joining line-up


Fantasia Nighborn is Cheval Noir Best Film; full list of award winners announced


Frightfest Full line-up announced


Sarajevo Festival to honour Asghar Farhadi and present tribute programme