# American Filmmaker Sam Pollard to Head Up London Film Festival Official Competition Jury

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/american-filmmaker-sam-pollard-to-head-up-london-film-festival-official-competition-jury/
- Published: 2026-09-30T13:35:02+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-30T19:54:07+00:00
- Original publisher: The Hollywood Reporter
- Original article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sam-pollard-president-bfi-london-film-festival-juries-jury-1236716883/
- Topics: Celebrity, Elections, Entertainment, Film, Government, Politics, UK, World

## Key points

- Sam Pollard appointed president of BFI London Film Festival's Official Competition jury
- Four competition juries announced with leaders across documentary, feature and short films
- Jury presidents recognised for recent acclaimed work and industry awards and nominations

## Summary

The BFI London Film Festival has announced its 2026 competition juries, with renowned American filmmaker Sam Pollard presiding over the Official Competition jury that will select the festival's best film award. This appointment recognises Pollard's distinguished career spanning decades, marked by Peabody and Emmy Awards, an Academy Award nomination, and numerous acclaimed recent works including Tutu, which won the Peace Film Prize at the 2026 Berlinale.

The festival has also confirmed the leadership of its other three major competition juries: British-Egyptian actor and producer Amir El-Masry will head the First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) jury, having won a Scottish BAFTA for Limbo; British-Indian writer Sandhya Suri will lead the documentary competition (Grierson Award) jury, recently garnering an Oscar shortlist nomination for her narrative debut Santosh; and producer Helen Simmons will chair the short film jury, bringing BAFTA-nominated credits to the role. Each jury includes additional members selected for their expertise and standing within the international film industry.

## Coverage

- [The Hollywood Reporter: American Filmmaker Sam Pollard to Head Up London Film Festival Official Competition Jury](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sam-pollard-president-bfi-london-film-festival-juries-jury-1236716883/)
- [Deadline: London Film Festival: Sam Pollard To Lead Official Competition Jury](https://deadline.com/2026/09/london-film-festival-sam-pollard-official-competition-jury-1237142872/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.