The 2023 Cunard British Film Festival presented by Palace will bring the finest British filmmaking, production and acting to Palace Electric Cinema on 2-29 November.
Many of Britain’s most enduring and well-known faces feature in this year’s stunning selection including Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Spall, Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson in her final film.
The 2023 Festival will open with the premiere of One Life starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, direct from its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Based on a deeply moving true story of kindness and compassion that was almost forgotten for 50 years, Hopkins delivers a remarkable performance as Sir Nicholas Winton, also known as the “British Schindler”, who helped rescue hundreds of children from Europe on the verge of World War II.
The Festival centrepiece is The Critic, a wickedly mischievous reimagining of Anthony Quinn’s novel Curtain Call, featuring an all-star cast led by Sir Ian McKellen and Gemma Arterton.
Closing the Festival is the Australian Premiere of Wicked Little Letters, based on a true scandal of the 1920s. It stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley as neighbours in a small town whose residents start receiving anonymous, expletive-laden letters.
The inimitable Sir Michael Caine stars in what is rumoured to be his final film, The Great Escaper. Starring alongside the late Glenda Jackson, the pair bring to life the true story of a war veteran who made global headlines when he escaped from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy to commemorate fallen comrades.
Revered filmmaker Ken Loach continues to examine social and human rights issues in his final film The Old Oak, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes International Film Festival.
In the biographical drama Dance First, Gabriel Byrne brings Samuel Beckett to life, exploring the complex public and private life of the Nobel Prize-winning playwright.
Richard E. Grant, Julie Delpy and Daryl McCormack come together in the literary thriller The Lesson, about a young writer who takes a job tutoring the son of an arrogant literary giant.
Notions of masculinity, self-discovery and gender expression are explored with honesty and insight in writer-director Dionne Edwards’ beautifully poignant Pretty Red Dress.
Festival favourite Timothy Spall leads a diverse ensemble in comedy Northern Comfort which follows a group with a chronic fear of flying who are stranded in freezing Iceland; bittersweet comedy Sweet Sue focuses on Sue as she re-enters the dating scene after many years; plus black comedy The Trouble With Jessica, a brilliant ensemble piece featuring Rufus Sewell and Olivia Williams, about the dissolving relationship of two couples and the deadly behaviour of an unexpected dinner guest.
Dame Helen Mirren brings Israel’s historic Prime Minister Golda Meir to vivid life in Golda, showcasing a performance befitting one of the most iconic and influential political leaders of the twentieth century.
Turn the clock back a few decades and Helen Mirren becomes the priestess Caesonia in the controversial Caligula (1981). A highlight of the festival retrospective ‘Britain’s Finest Leading Ladies’, Caligula – The Ultimate Cut will be presented in 4K, featuring an unprecedented amount of never-before-seen footage.
Other retrospective highlights include the 4K restoration of Howards End from revered filmmaker James Ivory; The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, with Maggie Smith’s Oscar winning performance as the unconventional teacher at a conservative school in the 1930s; The Remains Of The Day, a deeply moving drama based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro; Women In Lovefrom iconoclast Ken Russell; and Morgan – A Suitable Case For Treatment about an eccentric artist struggling to win back his upper-class wife, played by Vanessa Redgrave.
This year’s Festival Special Presentation is Ken Russell’s daring, risky and mad Tommy in a stunning 4K restoration.
The 2023 lineup showcases a superb selection of documentaries. My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock offers a fresh profile of the masterful movie maker and his practice; Jackie Stewart, a compelling documentary profile of Formula 1 World Champion, team owner and legend of the sport; Mad About The Boy, the inspirational story of Noël Coward, told in his own words and music; and Anton Corbijn’s profile of Hipgnosis, the iconic album art design studio that rock royalty used during the 1970s designing iconic album covers for bands including Pink Floyd, Wings, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC in Squaring The Circle – The Story Of Hipgnosis.
Historical thriller In The Land Of Saints And Sinners stars Liam Neeson, Kerry Condon and Ciarán Hinds; Kindling is a tale of friendship from the executive producers of The Kings Speech and Soul Surfer, following a group of young men who return to their hometown to turn their friend’s final days into a celebration of life and friendship; and The Fence, a coming-of-age story set amongst the streets of 1980s Bristol, which follows a council estate kid out to settle the score with local thieves.
Adapted from the smash stage show, Greatest Days features all the hit songs of British pop icons Take That. It follows five best friends who have the night of their lives seeing their favourite boy band in concert.
The Cunard British Film Festival opens on Thursday 2 November in Canberra, ending on Wednesday 29 November; www.britishfilmfestival.com.au
CW has 5 x Cunard British Film Festival passes to be won (general sessions only).
ENTER to win
To enter, email [email protected] with ‘British Film Festival’ in the subject field. Tell us your name, full contact details (including street address) and which film you’d most like to see at this festival. Entries close 9am Thursday 2 November 2023 and winners drawn same day. One entry per person. Entrants must be aged 18+.
