Paws, Camera, Action! Four legged wow at BFI London Film Festival

There were scene stealing dogs aplenty at the 2026 London Film Festival. From a fabulously groomed Afghan hound with an inheritance to the dogs bringing unexpected romance to Hampstead Heath, this year’s festival proves that cinema’s most memorable characters don’t always walk on two legs.

At the 2026 BFI London Film Festival, some of the most intriguing stories begin with a wagging tail, a mischievous bark or a dog that simply refuses to stay out of the picture. Plus,  contribution of dogs in the world of film is recognised at the Fido Awards where the top gong is the BFI Best in World. 

BFI London Film Festival. celebrates filmmaking from around the world, with stories spanning love, comedy, music and family drama. And while the human stars may command the red carpet, the festival’s canine connections offer plenty to celebrate. From prize-winning Afghan hound Prince caught up in a family inheritance dispute to two dogs - Toffee and Bruno - whose daily walks help spark an unexpected romance, our four-legged friends are proving that sometimes the smallest characters leave the biggest paw prints.

It is fair to say that titular Afghan Prince was the film that jumped out first and wowed Fidos Jury members.. This Afghan Hound its owners house. 

Imagine being so beloved that your owner leaves you the family fortune. Now imagine that the rest of the family isn’t remotely pleased about it.

Welcome to Prince, Federico Borgia’s darkly comic Uruguayan-Argentine film, featuring a best-in-show Afghan hound whose glamorous existence takes an unexpected turn after his devoted owner, Isabel, dies.

Suddenly, the family pet becomes the centre of a ruthless custody battle.

It is a deliciously absurd premise. In most households, the dog belongs to the family. In Prince, the family discovers that it may belong to the dog instead.

Sometimes, the most important thing a dog can do is take its owner for a walk.

In Frank and Percy, director Sean Mathias brings Ben Weatherill’s stage play to the screen, with Ian McKellen and Roger Allam playing two older men whose paths cross while walking their dogs on Hampstead Heath.

What begins as an everyday encounter gradually develops into a tender relationship, exploring companionship, loneliness and the possibility of finding love later in life.

The film’s canine companions, Toffee and Bruno, are part of the everyday ritual that brings Frank and Percy together. Their walks create opportunities for conversation, familiarity and the sort of connection that might never happen if everyone simply stayed at home scrolling through their phones.

The film’s warmth lies in its recognition that love doesn’t always arrive with fireworks. Sometimes it begins with a shared pavement, a familiar face and two dogs who seem perfectly happy to let their humans take their time.

And who needs a dating app when your dog has already done the introductions?

Carol Morley’s 7 Miles Out takes audiences into the world of adolescence, grief and the emerging punk movement of 1970s Britain.

Adapted from Morley’s semi-autobiographical novel, the film follows Ann as she struggles to come to terms with her father’s death and discovers escape, friendship and creativity amid the musical energy of Manchester.

The specific canine moment is when teens meet and furry friend is party to the party.

In Being Heumann, Cinnamon is the dog who interrupts a Civil Rights Showdown

Not every memorable canine story comes directly from a film.

The history of the American disability rights movement includes the remarkable 1977 Section 504 sit-ins.  An anecdote associated with the story describes a dog called Cinnamon allegedly causing concern for Joseph Califano, then Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, who was reportedly worried that the animal might escape and bite demonstrators outside his home.

Making Marie Antoinette, is a documentary assembled from behind-the-scenes footage captured by Eleanor Coppola - during the making of her daughter Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film. A cheeky pug features prominently in this behind the scenes tale of creativity, craftsmanship and collaboration and,, yes, canines. The cheeky plays Mops - one of the foreign trappings the doomed Queen was stripped of as she crossed the border into France to wed Louis.

Behemoth! features a standout Corgi duo.

Few things are less threatening than a corgi.  The contrast between adorable dogs  and music suggesting imminent catastrophe is a wonderfully cinematic idea. A harmless pursuit suddenly feels like an epic confrontation; an ordinary garden becomes the setting for a high-stakes thriller.

Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! stars Pedro Pascal as Alex Serian, a gifted cellist returning to Los Angeles after years on the road. That makes the idea of a pair of corgis accompanied by ominous music particularly appealing. The humour lies in the mismatch between the dogs’ innocent appearance and the soundtrack’s insistence that something momentous is happening.

As ever dogs hit the mark in the movies and BFI LFF 2026 was no exception. A number of canine contenders for the Fido Awards at BFI HQ this coming February were seen at the festival. We’ll find out next year which pooches got prizes and one lucky dog might scoops BFI Best in World.