British Film Festival

Top Picks

Two old friends vacation at a prestigious hotel in the Swiss Alps. Fred is a suave socialite and retired composer who the British royal family is pestering to play again. Mick is a film director rushing to complete a screenplay. Together they muse sympathetically and with curiosity at those that surround them; including their children’s confused love lives, Mick’s enthusiastic young writers, and the hotel guests.
????? Cine Vue
????? IMDB

Loosely based on Madame Bovary, this overlooked masterpiece follows Rosy, resident of a small Irish village and daughter of local innkeeper Tom Ryan. Rosy is unhappily married to a drab schoolmaster Charles Shaughnessy, who is completely against type. Edgy and unsatisfied, she begins a dangerous affair with British officer Randolph Doryan, despite the tension of Wartime and the threat of her nationalist neighbours finding out. Her indiscretion has far reaching consequences however, leading to tragedy and ultimately disgrace.
????? IMDB

Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance is an inspirational true story of Welsh racing glory branching from the village of Cefn Fforest, one of the poorest mining valleys in Wales. When Jan Vokes, a barmaid at a local working men’s club, overhears a regular discuss his part ownership of a racehorse, she decides to breed one of her own. Going into business with the man and her husband Brian she purchases a thoroughbred mare and pairs her with an aging stallion. To raise the foal, they unite with 23 friends in the village who form a syndicate paying just £10 a week. To the astonishment of the racing elite, the horse, aptly named Dream Alliance grows up to be an unlikely champion. The victorious times do not last however, and the glory takes a disastrous turn.
????? Cine Vue
????? IMDB

Close friends Rupert and Gerald begin a relationship with two sisters; the schoolteacher Ursula and the free-spirited artist Gudrun with whom they share a morbidly surreal affection. After a shockingly bizarre incident, they eventually wed, taking a joint honeymoon to Switzerland. Infidelity and death mars their joyous holiday however, and in the midst of this madness the aloof Gerald and the eccentric Gudrun embark on sexual exploration as both try to comprehend the notion of a perfect relationship.
????? IMDB

Based on a novel, then turned into a Tony award-winning play, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is the story of a teacher who encourages romantic and political idealism in her precocious students, educating them in matters of love and art over cold hard facts. Her controversial teaching style captures the attention and indignation of the school’s headmistress, Miss Mackey. Unfazed by this Miss Brodie falls into a complicated tryst with fellow teacher Mr. Lowther. When her politics indirectly causes a tragic event, Jean begins to unfold, questioning everything she believes in.
????? IMDB

A fascinating look at Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the pioneers behind the style of live-action puppetry made famous by British TV hit Thunderbirds. The original creators Lady Penelope and Parker themselves present a sentimental, honest and in-depth account of the original team utilising rare archived footage as well as brand new interviews from the surviving cast and crew and clips from the shows themselves. The film explores the creative process which the team remark on with hilariously dry wit. There is always a sense of fun throughout, with ingenious recreations of the techniques used, and awe-inspiring pyrotechnic wizardry.
????? Cine Vue
????? IMDB

British Air Force pilot Peter Carter is returning to England after a dangerous bombing mission that has left his plane badly damaged. When he believes he will not make the trip back to land, he contemplates death. Before he makes this fateful decision he contacts June, a radio operator that he will spend his last moments conversing with. Amazingly, Peter miraculously survives, and with a new lease on life returns to June and they fall in love. Complications arise when a divine messenger from heaven visits Peter, telling him that his survival was not part of the plan and a case for his mortality begins with judge, jury and executioner in tow!
????? IMDB

Star Wars is a phenomenon that reshaped cinema forever, but it is a lesser known fact that it owes its enduring legacy to its very first days in humble Elstree Northern London. It is 1976 and George Lucas starts filming the cinematic canon here, but this documentary is not a simple making-of, it is a fascinating account that personally delves into ten on-screen extras lives. These people, unaware how big Star Wars would become, appear briefly in a movie that defined a new era of the Hollywood Blockbuster. This documentary paints an intimate portrait of them and follows their altered lives after being involved with the second biggest franchise in film history, an enduring legacy they carry with them today.
????? IMDB

Based on the stunning and inspirational biography of a genuine mathematical genius in the early twentieth century, this closing night gem is a treasured retelling of Srinivasa Ramanujan’s life. Through sweeping period detail and compelling theory the film reiterates how important Ramanujan’s work was; following his life from meek beginnings in Madras to great renown in Cambridge where his knowledge proves both a blessing and a curse.The movie depicts how the Cambridge University Professor G.H. Hardy who, while initially resistant, is eventually inspired and captivated by the Indian mathematician’s ground breaking theories. The complex evolution of their friendship is beautifully realised and as they transcend race and culture through mutual respect and understanding, Ramanujan’s trailblazing theories shine through the ignorance and prejudice around him.
????? IMDB

Melbourne Schedule Table
Date Palace
Balwyn
Palace
Brighton Bay
Palace
Cinema Como
Wednesday
28
October
Youth
(7.00 PM)
Youth
(7.00 PM)
Youth
(7.00 PM)
Thursday
29
October
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(1.30 PM)
Women in Love
(1.30 PM)
Ryan’s Daughter
(2.30 PM)
Friday
30
October
Filmed in Supermarionation
(1.30 PM)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(1.30 PM)
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(1.30 PM)
Saturday
31
October
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(2.00 PM)
Women in Love
(3.45 PM)
Sunday
1
November
Ryan’s Daughter
(12.15 PM)
Monday
2
November
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(1.30 PM)
Women in Love
(1.30 PM)
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(6.30 PM)
Tuesday
3
November
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(4.30 PM)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(4.00 PM)
Wednesday
4
November
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(6.30 PM)
Ryan’s Daughter
(2.00 PM)
Thursday
5
November
Women in Love
(1.15 PM)
Elstree 1976
(6.30 PM)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(1.30 PM)
Filmed in Supermarionation
(6.30 PM)
Friday
6
November
Saturday
7
November
Women in Love
(3.45 PM)
A Matter of Life and Death
(4.15 PM)
Sunday
8
November
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(2.00 PM)
Elstree 1976
(1.30 PM)
Ryan’s Daughter
(12.15 PM)
Monday
9
November
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(1.30 PM)
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(6.30 PM)
Filmed in Supermarionation
(1.30 PM)
Tuesday
10
November
Ryan’s Daughter
(2.30 PM)
Filmed in Supermarionation
(8.45 PM)
A Matter of Life and Death
(6.30 PM)
Elstree 1976
(8.30 PM)
Wednesday
11
November
Women in Love
(6.30 PM)
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(6.30 PM)
Thursday
12
November
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(6.30 PM)
Friday
13
November
Women in Love
(6.30 PM)
Filmed in Supermarionation
(1.30 PM)
Saturday
14
November
A Matter of Life and Death
(1.30 PM)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(3.45 PM)
Sunday
15
November
Ryan’s Daughter
(12.30 PM)
Filmed in Supermarionation
(6.45 PM)
Women in Love
(6.00 PM)
Monday
16
November
Ryan’s Daughter
(7.30 PM)
Tuesday
17
November
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
(8.30 PM)
Wednesday
18
November
The Man Who Knew Infinity
(7.00 PM)
The Man Who Knew Infinity
(7.00 PM)
The Man Who Knew Infinity
(7.00 PM)
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