The 56th BFI London Film Festival begins in just 3 weeks and tickets are already on sale. Under the new director Clare Stewart, this year’s festival comes with a few changes.

There are more venues for a start, the festival this year has spread further across London to venues such as Hackney Picturehouse, Rich Mix in Shoreditch and the Ritzy in Brixton. There is a return to former festival venue Odeon West End, as well as regular central London venues; Odeon Leicester Square, Vue West End and the home of the festival, BFI Southbank.

Tim Burton's Frankenweenie to open London Film Festival 2012

Also new for this year, the programme selections for the first time in the festivals history, films will be grouped by themes; Love, Debate, Dare, Laugh, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Sonic, Family and others. The programme selections this year do not disappoint; with the premier of Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie opening the festival and classic take on Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations closing, these two films are backed up with breathtaking premieres of the Rolling Stone’s documentary Crossfire Hurricane (with the Stones rumored to appear at the Gala screening), a directorial debut from Dustin Hoffman and new films from some of European cinema’s big hitters such as Michael Haneke, Francois Ozon and Jacques Audiard.

Shane Meadows' iconic This Is England

Alongside this years screenings, there are shorts programmes dealing with everything from the relationships between friends and family, complex obsessions and intimate human connections. And that is not to mention the event screening of Shane Meadow’s iconic movie, This is England, which will be accompanied by a live score.

CALM’s Lisa Balderson will be reporting back from the festival and reviewing a selection of it’s offerings, so watch this space!