It is with great delight we announce that the festival will include the recently opened Palace Regent Ballarat in Victoria in its national locations, bringing the first taste of the Palace film festival experience to the region.

The Festival is also pleased to welcome aboard naming partner Russell Hobbs, the iconically British appliance brand, established in Britain in 1952.

Dean Hammerton, Brand & Communications Manager, Asia Pacific says “We are very honoured to lead the partnership with Palace Cinemas at this year’s Russell Hobbs British Film Festival. Since the day Bill Russell and Peter Hobbs founded Russell Hobbs in Surrey UK, we’ve always done things in a recognisably British way with the goal of making everyday life a little bit easier. As a proud British brand, with a dash of style and history intertwined – we are very excited to support the celebration of British cinema and culture.”

Opening this year’s festival is the Premiere of BLITZ, Steve McQueen’s visually stunning period drama depicting pivotal moments of World War II in London. The powerful and sweeping portrayal of British life during these events, which arrives direct from its London Film Festival Premiere, features stellar central performances from Saoirse Ronan and Paul Weller, in addition to exceptional newcomer Elliot Heffernen who plays 9 year old George.

Closing this year’s Festival is the exclusive Australian Premiere of the highly anticipated WE LIVE IN TIME. Featuring beautifully nuanced performances from Oscar nominees Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, this heart rendering romance delves into the profound question of how to make the most of the time we have in this world.

Screening in special Festival previews one week prior to official opening, and during the festival, is WIDOW CLICQUOT. This British/French co-production based on a true story offers an effervescent portrait of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” otherwise known as Veuve Clicquot.

Aylin Tezel’s directorial debut FALLING INTO PLACE is screening in its Australian Premiere at the Festival. The tender drama follows Kira (played by Tezel) and Ian, each fleeing their own personal struggles, who cross paths during a winter weekend on the Isle of Skye. Their connection is profound but when they return to London, they must both confront their past.

The Festival is excited to present the romance FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE, featuring a commanding ensemble cast including Pierce Brosnan and Helena Bonham Carter. Polly Steele’s beautiful story follows Nicholas and Isabel who are destined for each other, As ghosts, fate and the sheer power of true love pull them together, so too does life threaten to tear them apart.

The Russell Hobbs British Film Festival opens on Wednesday 6 November in Melbourne, Ballarat, Adelaide, Perth Byron Bay, Canberra and Brisbane and Thursday 7 November in Sydney, concluding on Sunday 8 December in all cities.

The full programme to be announced and tickets on sale in mid-October.

The Russell Hobbs British Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Melbourne: 6 Nov – 8 Dec, The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Penny Lane, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema
Ballarat: 6 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Regent Ballarat
Canberra: 6 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Electric Cinemas
Brisbane: 6 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Barracks, Palace James Street
Adelaide: 6 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth: 6 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Raine Square, Luna on SX, Leederville and Windsor
Byron Bay: 6 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Byron Bay
Sydney: 7 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Norton Street, Palace Moore Park, Chauvel Cinema, Palace Central
www.britishfilmfestival.com.au

We are delighted to announce the first highlights from the programme which feature some of the most anticipated films of the year – from powerful true stories and literary adaptations to biographies and documentaries. With 20 new release titles plus a retrospective on Dame Helen Mirren and some restored gems, this year’s selection sees British cinema at its best.

The MINI British Film Festival will open nationally with MILITARY WIVES from director Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty, 1997). Kristin Scott Thomas leads this inspiring drama about the bravery of the women of war, and the power of the music that saved them.

And closing the Festival, will be the highly anticipated film THE GOOD LIAR. Based on the widely acclaimed novel by Nicholas Searle, Oscar-winning screenwriter Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, 1998) directs this wicked thriller featuring magnificent lead performances by Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen.

Other highlights include:
HOPE GAP, led by the brilliant and layered performances of Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, and BAFTA winner Josh O’Connor, this is a powerful story of finding hope after a marriage breakdown.

Uplifting and picturesque comedy FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS tells the true story of the part time Cornish sea shanty group that hit the big time.

Off the back of the smash hit Oasis – Definitely Maybe, we see Liam Gallagher’s revealing and entertaining expedition from the wilderness of booze and legal battles to his attempt to stage the greatest comeback in rock history in LIAM GALLAGHER: AS IT WAS.

A stellar cast lead by Keira Knightly feature in Oscar-winning director Gavin Hood’s OFFICIAL SECRETS, a superb true-life political thriller about an accused British whistle-blower who leaked information about the Iraqi invasion.

Ken Loach returns after his Palme D’Or-winning I, Daniel Blake, with SORRY WE MISSED YOU. Another brilliant study of a struggling working-class couple caught in a hopelessly exploitative system.

And audiences at festivals world-wide have fallen head over heels for ROMANTIC ROAD – the eccentric and adventurous road-trip documentary charting an elderly British couple’s ambitious journey across India in their 1936 Rolls Royce.

In addition to the latest films, this year’s festival retrospective MIRROR ON MIRREN features some rarely seen hidden gems from Helen Mirren’s back catalogue, including: THE AGE OF CONSENT (1969), SAVAGE MESSIAH (1972), O’LUCKY MAN (1973), THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE (1994), CALENDAR GIRLS (2003) and THE QUEEN (2006) for which Mirren won an academy Award for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II.

The full programme will be announced in early October.

2019 Mini British Film Festival
Sydney 29 Oct – 24 Nov, Palace Verona, Palace Chauvel Cinema, Palace Central,
Palace Norton Street
Melbourne 30 Oct – 24 Nov, Palace Balwyn, Palace Cinema Como, Kino Cinemas,
Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Astor Theatre Brisbane 30 Oct – 24 Nov, Palace Barracks, Palace James St.
Canberra 30 Oct – 24 Nov, Palace Electric Cinemas
Adelaide 30 Oct – 24 Nov, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth 30 Oct – 24 Nov, Palace Cinema Paradiso, Luna on SX and The Windsor
Byron Bay 30 Oct – 13 Nov, Palace Byron Bay
www.britishfilmfestival.com.au

The last thing she needs is someone else to look after, let alone someone who dribbles, snores and eats from the kitchen bin!! Yet, like it or not, her Grandmother has bequeathed her a very spoilt dog, Patrick – her pug. Surely she must have had her reasons?!

Apparently not, as this four-legged interloper proceeds to cause chaos in all aspects of Sarah’s life. But then something remarkable happens. Patrick, with all his stubby, stumpy attitude, begins to turn her life around…

Patrick is in Australian cinemas November 8!
www.facebook.com/WaltDisneyStudiosAUNZ

Based on the inspirational true-life romance between Botswanan King Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) and his British wife, Ruth Williams Khama (Rosamund Pike), A United Kingdom is a British period piece set in the 1940s, following an interracial union in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British government, the tribal elders of Botswana and the apartheid government of South Africa.

The film concentrates on the couple’s journey as they move to Bechuanaland (modern-day Botswana) and face similar obstacles of racism while Seretse tries to convince his people and the British government that he should be king, and that his marriage to a white woman is a separate matter of personal choice. Amma Asante, who also directed Belle, beautifully captures this defiant and enduring love story while shining a light on a complex and painful chapter in British history.

Khamas’ son, Ian Khama, is currently the democratically elected president of Botswana and the family cooperated in the making of this film. Releasing December 26, 2016.

www.aunitedkingdomfilm.com

Competition will be drawn 19 December 2016, winners will be notified by email.

The film’s numerous faults mostly lie in the script. It’s so by the numbers, it seem Saunders wrote it in her sleep. But this misses the film’s main appeal, that of getting to hang out with Eddy and Patsy again. Saunders’ success in roping in most of the original actors from the multiple seasons of the television show also adds to the appeal. The well-chosen cameos are just icing on the cake.

The story revolves around Kate Moss; copious quantities of mind-altering substances, parties and well, that’s about it. There is no real character enlightenment and everyone seems little changed from the years since the show’s last run. Even being the feature length film that it is, it plays out more like an extended telly movie.

All these criticisms aside though, the film is just a fun trip down memory lane and keeping all the player’s narcissistic tendencies and selfish behaviours intact is the way it should be. Because who really wants to see a kinder and more mature Ab Fab?

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/abfabmovie

It is perhaps a result of the popularity of geek chic in recent times that a movie about an athlete who goes to the Olympics and comes dead last in his event has become a commercial viability. Such a story has precedence in truth, of course, with Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, a British ski jumper that was so far behind the competitive field of his Olympic peers that he endeared himself to people the world over for simply having the guts to ‘have a go’.

It must be said from the outset that there is a great disparity between this film and the facts in terms of the peripheral characters and some of the locales. Indeed, Eddie Edwards himself has claimed that only 5% of the story portrayed in the film is true. But that 5% represents the spirit of the man and his unshakeable determination to achieve his goals. In, perhaps, a Lord of the Rings fashion, the details may, at times, deviate significantly from the source but the broad strokes feel right and we receive a message that is in keeping with how we remember things panning out.

Star, Taron Egerton, first appeared on our radar in Kingsman: The Secret Service and with his hugely endearing performance in the title role here, he marks himself as an actor to watch. Hugh Jackman brings his usual infectious charisma to his fictitious, disgraced athlete come ski jump coach. And even Christopher Walken appears as another (albeit fictitious) character.

Eddie the Eagle may not be entirely true to life but it is true to tone. The film is funny and heartfelt and speaks to a worthwhile theme of never giving up on your dreams – even if you’re (relatively) crap at it.

Stuart Jamieson
www.foxmovies.com

Well it was also the first time I had ever laid eyes on Maggie Smith, who played the sea goddess, Thetis. And to my 12-year-old eyes, Maggie looked positively ancient. Of course, she was a spritely 47-year-old then (I say ‘spritely’ because that’s how old I am now) but she has grown older as I have grown older and, as a result, she has always looked ‘old’ to me.

At 81, it’s fair to say she has earned that mantle now but one thing that has not faded with her age is her performance acumen. Indeed, it’s better than ever and she’s an actress who has embraced her age beautifully if not being classically beautiful herself – and there is a great beauty in that in an industry that demands otherwise.

Having seen The Lady in the Van it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Maggie Smith playing the part of the titular ‘Miss Shepherd’. As wonderful as Smith’s thespian peers are, neither Judy Dench (too staunch) nor Charlotte Rampling (too classy) nor Helen Mirren (too young!) would be such a natural fit. Smith possesses just the right measure of hard-nosed frailty and acerbic humour that makes her perfect for the part.

In a time of pandering ‘oldies’ movies whose prime purpose is to be light-hearted and uplifting, whilst touching lightly on the issues of growing old (Quartet, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel etc.) it’s refreshing to find a film aimed at this market segment which actually has some artistic merit. The Lady in the Van isn’t alone, of course, the recent Youth and 45 Years attest to a recent push to make the ‘grey’ film segment more than just entertaining fluff.

The film is interestingly structured and well told from the point of view of playwright, Alan Bennett, played to perfection by Alex Jennings in a dual role representing Bennett’s two states of mind.

Bennett’s story is laced with comedy but it would be a mistake to call the film a comedy. The film is being marketed as such, however, and it is possibly suffering somewhat because of this in the eyes of its audience. It would be more accurate to call the film a drama with comic elements. And thank goodness for these comic elements, as it would be a tough watch otherwise!

The Lady in the Van is an excellent film. It’s so good, in fact, that it beggars belief that Sony shelved it for nearly 12 months! A film of this quality is clearly worthy of a Boxing Day release, not languishing in release schedule hell like some B grade turkey. And a film of this quality is worthy of a viewing from anyone of any age.

Stuart Jamieson
www.sonyclassics.com

Hailed as the “saviors of guitar bands” alongside The Strokes and The Libertines, emerging in the summer of 2010 with blend of retro surf punk, Ramones guitars and Everly Brothers pop hooks, their high octane, ultra-melodic sound saw them instantly adopted as the hot new guitar band on the block.

The London four-piece – Justin Hayward-Young (vocals/guitar), Freddie Cowan (guitar), Arni Arnason (bass) and Pete Robertson (drums) had only formed in early 2010, but in early 2011, debut album ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ quickly achieved platinum status (watch their performance of hit single ‘If You Wanna’ here). Just 18 months later, the follow-up, ‘Come Of Age’, hit Number One (watch the clip for ‘No Hope here).

The Vaccines’ game-changing third album ‘English Graffiti’ released May of his year embodies elements of the old sound merged with a completely different sonic palette, and are some of the best songs of their career thus far!

The Vaccines 2015 Australian Tour
Saturday November 7 – Riverstage, Brisbane
Sunday November 8 – The Triffid, Brisbane
Thursday November 12 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Saturday November 14 – The Domain, Sydney
www.thevaccines.com

Kicking off on November 28 in Brisbane and playing Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland throughout December, the tour will see Sheeran playing his biggest venues to date; becoming the first ever musician to perform an Australian and New Zealand stadium tour entirely solo. Every single sound on stage will be produced by his voice, guitar and a series of loop pedals, filling the stadiums with hypnotising layers of sound.

This will be Sheeran’s second tour of 2015 and fifth visit in four years. His sold-out March/April tour saw him perform in front of close to 190,000 fans across Australia and New Zealand to rave reviews:

‘It takes a special kind of courage to walk onto an arena stage with nothing but a guitar, a loop pedal and your voice, but at the age of 24, not only did Ed Sheeran take Rod Laver Arena with the confidence of a veteran songwriter, he single-handedly blew the roof off… surely Sheeran’s most ambitious tour to date, but evidently his best.’ – The Age

‘…seems to get better and better at commanding attention and filling the biggest of rooms, all on his own.’ – Sydney Morning Herald

‘Seeing Sheeran construct each song right before your ears felt like watching someone weaving a musical tapestry.’ – The New Zealand Herald

‘I doubt that that there’s ever been louder screams in the arena or more passionate singing than there was on Friday night.’ – Stuff.co.nz

His November/December tour will follow over a year of relentless touring across the globe in celebration of his best-selling sophomore album x (out now through Warner Music).  The Grammy-nominated Brit’s tour schedule includes more than 170 shows, appearances at Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park and Southside Festival and selling out both London’s Wembley Stadium and New York’s Madison Square Gardens three times over.

x, featuring hits including lead single ‘Sing’, fan favourites ‘Don’t’ and ‘ Thinking Out Loud’ and current single ‘Bloodstream’ (ft. Rudimental), was Australia’s highest-selling album of 2014 and spent six weeks at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart last year.

Adding to the impressive list of achievements and accolades that the 24-year-old performer has received in his four years and two albums, Spotify have named Sheeran the most-streamed artist in the world. In 2014 alone, his tracks garnered over 860 million streams. In the same year he was also named the biggest-selling artist on iTunes in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.

Sheeran’s ability to sell out shows across the globe with just an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal to create pitch-perfect harmonies and driving percussion is testament to his prodigious musical talent.

Whether this will be the first or tenth time that you will witness his live show, Sheeran guarantees to have you on your feet and singing along from the first song to the encore. It’s no surprise that the love for Ed Sheeran in Australia and New Zealand is strong and tickets are renowned for selling out almost instantly – be quick to secure yours!

Ed Sheeran 2015 Return Australian Tour
Saturday 28 November – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Wednesday 2 December – nib Stadium, Perth
Saturday 5 December – AAMI Park, Melbourne
Sunday 6 December – AAMI Park, Melbourne
Wednesday 9 December – Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Saturday 12 December – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
www.edsheeran.com

In 2014 the band returned to the studio for some writing sessions at Aaron Dessner’s (The National) garage studio in Brooklyn, New York, before laying down tracks with producer James Ford (Arctic Monkey’s, HAIM, Florence & The Machine) in London. They released their third studio LP ‘Wilder Mind’ earlier this year. Marcus Mumford has described Wilder Mind as ‘a development, not a departure’ as the band expand their musical horizons whilst retaining key elements of their sound.

Mumford and Sons have had a long and prosperous relationship with Australia, we fell in love with the Brits right before the rest of the world cottoned on. 2009’s ‘Sigh No More’ drew us in, 2012’s ‘Babel’ got us hooked, and 2015’s ‘Wilder Mind’ is continuing to deepen our fascination. It flew into the ARIA charts, giving the band their first Aussie #1 week of release. The latest video for their single ‘The Wolf’ charts the band over 48 hours at the 2015 Bonnaroo Music & Arts festival in Tennessee in the USA. You can watch it here.

The band spent the beginning of the year performing intimate shows for fans in Berlin, London, LA and NYC, and are now in the middle of a world tour, playing huge headline shows in major cities around the globe. Earlier this year they also announced the return of their personally curated two day Gentlemen Of The Road Stopover Festivals in small and unique towns in the UK and USA. They are being joined by friends like The Flaming Lips, My Morning Jacket, Ben Howard, Primal Scream, James Vincent McMorrow, and rock superstars The Foo Fighters.

Mumford & Sons All Day Show Presented by Gentlemen Of The Road
Joining them as an exclusive Australian appearance, in the Domain will be UK singer songwriter and 2015 NME solo artist of the year Jake Bugg. At the tender age of 21, he has multiple platinum selling; chart-topping records, critical acclaim, sell out tours and a career trajectory most young musicians can only dream of.

Maryland synth pop collective Future Islands, whose epic live shows have been commanding attention from music lovers world wide, largely thanks to the astonishing performance antics of frontman Samuel T Herring. His unique delivery mesmerising live audiences everywhere they go.

Adding a splash of indie pop rock to the line up are fellow Brits, The Vaccines, the darlings of the UK music critics thanks to their time warped tunes that take heed from the 60’s, 70’s and 80s, delivered with dose of 2015 London.

Local heroes The Jungle Giants will hit the stage at the Domain fresh off the back of touring their second album Speakerzoid. From teenage sensations to accomplished road warriors, their indie rock tunes have made them you tube sensations and triple j favourites.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn’t totally bewitched by the voice of Melbourne’s Meg Mac, the Air Award and 2014 triple j Unearthed Artist of The Year award winner, brings her intoxicating live show to sweeten up the Domain.

Brisbane’s Art Of Sleeping will open the day with their signature expansive folk rock, with multiple singles floating about the airwaves, and a string of glowing reviews for their recent headline shows, they provide the perfect avenue to ease your way into a day long musical feast.

Mumford & Sons Wilder Mind Australian Tour
Saturday November 7 – Riverstage, Brisbane
Thursday November 12 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Saturday November 14 – The Domain, Sydney
www.mumfordandsons.com