[1][2] Steve McQueen's historical drama Blitz opened the festival on 9 October 2024, being the third film by McQueen to do so after Widows in 2018 and Mangrove in 2020.
[3] Morgan Neville's animated documentary film Piece by Piece closed the festival on 20 October 2024.
The partner venues for the festival included:[6][7] The following films were selected for the Galas section, which screens world, European, and British premieres:[8] The following films were selected for the Special Presentations section: There were four competition sections, each with a different selection of films and different juries.
Most of the out-of-competition films have been organised into strands, each based on a different mood or emotion.
The short film programme was divided into the following nine sections.