Jesse Eisenberg Musical Comedy The Debut Closes London Film Festival

The musical comedy film The Debut directed by Jesse Eisenberg closed the 70th BFI London Film Festival on October 18, 2026. The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported that Eisenberg and lead actress Julianne Moore introduced the film to a audience at the Royal Festival Hall. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the screening received applause and laughter from attendees. [1][2][10]

The Debut features Julianne Moore as Mona, a neglected housewife who joins a community theater production. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Paul Giamatti co-stars in the feature as a character named Jerry who directs the theater play. [1]

In competition awards at the festival, Sergei Loznitsa won the best film award for his feature Imperium, Variety and Deadline both reported. Variety and Deadline noted that the official competition jury was chaired by documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard. [3][6]

Eisenberg is an American actor, playwright, and filmmaker. As FTMQ Entertainment reported earlier, Eisenberg previously confirmed that he declined to reprise his role as Mark Zuckerberg in the Aaron Sorkin film project titled The Social Reckoning. [9][12]