By Travis Johnson
Get ready for a massive dose of the best cinema the UK has to offer, as the British Film Festival rolls into town for another year.
This year’s opening night film comes direct from opening the 61st BFI London Film Festival: Andy Serkis’ (The Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes) directorial debut, Breathe, starring Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge, The Amazing Spider-Man) and Claire Foy (The Crown) in the inspiring true story of a couple who refuse to give up in the face of adversity. This will be the film’s Australian premiere.
Closing the show this time around is Finding Your Feet, a heart-warming golden years rom-com starring Imelda Staunton (Pride), John Sessions (Florence Foster Jenkins) and Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’s Baby).
Other highlights this year include the must-see documentary, Manolo: the Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards, a look at the life and work of celebrated designer Manolo Blahnik; Tulip Fever, starring Academy Award winners Alicia Vikander and Christoph Waltz; the highly anticipated Goodbye Christopher Robin, focusing on the relationship between children’s author A. A. Milne and his son; and Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, which stars Annette Bening and Jamie Bell as Hollywood icon Gloria Grahame and her much younger lover.
All up 26 contemporary and retrospective films will screen nationally, exclusively at Palace Cinemas, with other titles including The Death of Stalin, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Jawbone, 6 Days, Another Mother’s Son, one of John Hurt’s final films, That Good Night, the early Morrissey biopic England is Mine, and Mary Shelley, starring Elle Fanning as the mother of science fiction herself.
Fans of the classics will be well pleased with the Classic Clues – Solving a British Mystery retrospective stream, which includes four Agatha Christie Classics, plus a special screening of the 50th anniversary restoration of Antonioni’s 1966 classic, Blow-Up.
The Cunard British Film Festival is on in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, and Brisbane from late October, for full details and tickets, head for the official site.
