The festival opens in London's famous Leicester Square with the premiere of Ron Howard's film Frost/Nixon, a portrayal of the historic 1977 encounter between disgraced ex-president Richard Nixon and British TV presenter David Frost.
The LFF artistic director Sandra Hebron said the festival was set to be the "best ever" and will feature 15 world, 14 international and 20 European film premieres.
The festival will also include five Russian films, including Alexei Uchitel's movie Captive, set in Chechnya, Alina Rodinitskaya's short documentary Amazons and Shultes, written and directed by Bakur Bakuradze depicting the relationship between 20-something Moscow pickpocket and thief, Shultes, and his new recruit 10-year-old Kostik.
Two Russian films have been nominated for The Sutherland Trophy, Sergei Dvortsevoy's movie Tulpan set against the dramatic backdrop of the Kazakh steppe. The films tells the story of ex-sailor Asa (Askhat Kuchinchirekov) who dreams of owning his own herd of goats but needs to marry the only available woman in the area first. Tulpan won the Un Certain Regard award earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.
The other Russian film up for an award is Valeriya Gai Germanika's debut, Everyone Dies But Me, set in a Moscow secondary school and focused on the lives and insecurities of three teenage working-class girls and their friendship.
The festival will also see the European premiere of W, Oliver Stone's controversial biopic of U.S. President George Bush and the first public screening of Quantum of Solace, featuring Daniel Craig as James Bond.
The LFF will run until October 30.
