Mostly British Film Festival 2013 Films

From the producers of “Billy Elliot” comes another delightful musical exploring the lives of a bunch of school children in pre-Thatcher South Wales who appear to have had their dreams snatched from them. The film features songs from David Bowie, … Continue reading →

A crime boss’ daughter is intent on welcoming the New Year by jumping off a bridge overlooking the town of Derry. She is rescued by a stranger whose brother, she learns, has vanished, and her father and his henchman may … Continue reading →

"Full of youthful energy and good cheer'' Cinemablographer

A wounded IRA member faces betrayal on all sides when the British put a price on his head. Director Carol Reed (“The Third Man,” “Fallen Idol,” “Our Man in Havana”) blends film noir with poetic realism in a taut character … Continue reading →

British Film Academy Award - Best British Motion Picture 1947

A British agent sets out to uncover the hidden facts behind a British government employee’s suicide. Based on John LeCarre’s first book, “A Call For The Dead”—in which his famous spy character George Smiley makes his debut—it is one of … Continue reading →

Set in London during the years between the two world wars, it was the most successful British film of 1944 and launched David Lean’s stellar career (“Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Bridge on the River Kwai”). The British general strike, the … Continue reading →

"This second of David Lean's four collaborations with Noël Coward provides a fascinating picture of the way we were.'' Radio Times

This is a romantic, bittersweet drama about two married people who meet at a suburban London train station and become romantically involved. The lovers, a hospital physician and a housewife, brilliantly played by Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, struggle with … Continue reading →

A cross between “Rachel Getting Married” and “Downton Abbey,” this delectable family drama even stars “Abbey’s” Elizabeth McGovern in a similar role as the self-possessed matriarch of an English country manor with marriage-age daughters.  Set in the early 1930s, the … Continue reading →

"Spot-on production values and a fine cast'' Hollywood Reporter

An infectious musical set in the remote Outback in 1960s Australia at a time of great social unrest. It weaves a “Dreamgirls”-like story of four sisters who are desperate for a pop music career- even though their traditionalist family  objects … Continue reading →

"Vastly appealing true-life musical comedy'' Variety

Highly politicized, this film has become a cult favorite among Brits, who see the parallels between the Thatcher-era the story depicts and the present. The central character is a 12-year-old boy in coastal England in 1983 who falls in with … Continue reading →

BAFTA Best British Film

Director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty team up again for the third part of his  ”Glasgow Trilogy” (after “My Name Is Joe”  and “Sweet Sixteen”). It’s a story of love across the ethnic divide. A young Catholic teacher falls … Continue reading →

C'esar for Best European Film

Award winning British actress Helen McCrory (Cherie Blair in “The Queen”)  plays a successful middle aged career woman in this intriguing mix of erotic drama and post 9/11 thriller. As a Bristol-based aeronautical engineer, she meets a 24-year-old Algerian student … Continue reading →

Nominee 2012 Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film, Edinburgh International Film Festival

This small budget, 2006 surprise hit will make audiences fall in love with it all over again. The story of a developing friendship, romance and musical collaboration is set in Dublin. All of the music in the film was written … Continue reading →

A juicy Aussie thriller about money, love and revenge. Filmed in the beautifully scenic Flinders Ranges of South Australia, the film takes all the noir elements – the femme fatale, the big score, the out of town drifter – and … Continue reading →

“Burning Man” was recently nominated for 10 Australian Oscars, the second highest number in the country’s history. Matthew Goode, so memorable in “A Single Man,” takes on a challenging role of a man in search of himself. His life is … Continue reading →

Narrated as well as directed by world famous British ventriloquist Nina Conti, this offbeat documentary examines  the underappreciated art of ventriloquism. There are scenes of Conti’s past live performances as well as the work of other ventriloquists demonstrating the skill … Continue reading →

A fear of going deaf is on most people’s list of worries of  becoming somehow disabled. This touching documentary focuses on three individuals for whom the fear has become a reality.  A couple of questions are posed: What happens to … Continue reading →

"A unique insight into the human condition....likely to stay with you long after the credits have rolled.'' DocGeek

Director Michael Apted returns with a new installment of the “7 Up” series, in which he lays bare the lives of the same group of Brits he has studied at seven year intervals starting in 1963 when they were seven.  … Continue reading →

"One of the towering achievements in the history of documentary filmmaking.'' Philadelphia Inquirer

A small town cinema in rural Ireland becomes the setting for a dramatic struggle between faith and passion, Rome and Hollywood and a man and his conscience. Father Barry (Martin Sheen) sees his chances of going back to Rome and … Continue reading →

Terry George is known for directing masterful but grim dramas like “Hotel Rwanda” and “In the Name of the Father.” Who knew all along he had a comedy in him?  It’s a fish story  starring Brendan Fraser as an Irish … Continue reading →

An early chapter in the life of the Beatles is explored in this fascinating drama set in the dreary rathskellers of Hamburg in the early 1960s where the pre-fame Beatles have gone to solidify their act. At that point they … Continue reading →

On Entertainment Weekly list of "50 Best Movies You've Never Seen''

Shortlisted for an Academy Award, this is a story of a Somali boy who is faced with falling into the pirate life, or rising above to choose the path of an honest fishing man. A war torn developing country presents … Continue reading →

BAFTA/LA Short Film Prize Winner

A  masterful drama about contemporary Tehran and members of its underground art scene. An actress whose theater group has been banned  meets an Australian-Iranian at a rave and sees moving to Australia with him as a way out of her … Continue reading →

Best Picture, Fort Collins TriMedia Festival

Based on a true story, this film follows a black couple who face prejudice and conflict at the height of apartheid in 1970s South Africa. Despite much adversity and danger, they somehow remain curiously interwoven as if connected by a … Continue reading →

In the opening scene a Colombian aviator (Demian Bechir, Oscar nominee for “A Better Life”) is forced to crash land his plane near a quiet Irish town– to much local astonishment. They wonder who this handsome but unintelligible stranger is … Continue reading →

This court room drama tells the true story  of an aboriginal man ( David Ngoombujarra from “Rabbit  Proof Fence” )  who is charged with the rape and murder of a nine year old white girl in Australia during the 1950’s. … Continue reading →

“It's To Kill a Mockingbird Down Under'' BBC.

An informant has been at the center of many a political thriller up to the present TV series “Homeland.”  The intense Closing Night film focuses on a young single mother (Andrea Riseborough) whose brothers are restless members of the IRA … Continue reading →

"Comes together with measured intelligence and artfully apportioned suspense'' Variety