AUTUMN ARTS FESTIVALS

Get your fill of film, literature and visual arts at this month’s hottest events…

MARGATE NOW

25 September–10 October

This year’s programme of exhibitions, installations, performances and talks is centred around the Kent seaside town’s Sunken Garden, where artists will take on themes of nature and ecology. Highlights include a film by Holly Slingsby and a sound installation by Francesca Ter-Berg.

CHELTENHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL

8–13 October

With guest curators Bernardine Evaristo, Joan Bakewell

and Talk Art podcast hosts Russell Tovey and Robert Diament, expect a diverse line-up of writers and performers here – with everyone from Ed Miliband to Bob Mortimer.

BFI FILM FESTIVAL

6–17 October

Like many festivals, this celebration of cinema settled on a hybrid format for 2020, with 50 virtual screenings for the first time. The big screen is back at BFI Southbank this year, as well as a handful of independent cinemas across the UK, but the at-home showings and talks are here to stay.