MUMBAI: The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival closed with the world premiere of Sam Taylor Wood‘s John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy.

The director attended the screening along with the star cast that included Aaron Johnson, Kristen Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff and David Morrissey.

The debut director said that it was a "huge honour" to be closing the festival and dedicated the film to the late Anthony Minghella, who produced her short film Love You More. 

The closing night gala rounded off two weeks of screenings and industry events, including the festival‘s first stand alone awards ceremony. BFI director Amanda Nevill, who introduced the film at the Odeon Leicester Square, described it as the "highest profile London Film Festival we‘ve ever had".

According to festival organisers the festival saw record attendance this year with audiences increasing from 115,000 last year to 124,000 this year.

The festival has had as many as 15 world premieres, 193 feature films and 113 short films from 46 countries. There were 515 screenings and 553 filmmakers, with 277 of the filmmakers from outside the UK.