Announced today is the spectacular programme of thirty-six films, including five retrospectives featuring in the 2026 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival. This year’s unmissable line up will screen from 28 October to 6 December at Palace Cinemas, Palace Nova and Luna Palace Cinemas across the country.
Audiences can look forward to performances from a host of Britain’s finest stars including Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ian McKellen, Saoirse Ronan, Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo and Bill Nighy. New works from directors Danny Boyle, Mike Leigh, Anton Corbijn and Andrew Haigh, plus James McAvoy‘s directorial debut are highlights of this year’s programme which features stirring dramas, fascinating documentaries, retrospective anniversaries and delightful comedies.
The festival is delighted to welcome back naming partner Russell Hobbs.
Dean Hammerton, Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific, said:
“We’re delighted to return as naming partner of the 2026 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival, celebrating the storytelling, creativity and character that Britain is known for. At Russell Hobbs, we believe great design and innovation should be for everyone, and we’re proud to support a festival that brings outstanding British stories to audiences across Australia.”
Opening the Festival is the drama MY DUCHESS from acclaimed director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) starring Dame Joan Collins as Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor. After the Duke’s death, Wallis retreats to her Paris châteaux surrounded by aides including her exploitative lawyer Suzanne Blum, played by Isabella Rossellini.
The Closing Night film is the Australian Premiere of the highly anticipated biographical drama ELSINORE directed by Australian Simon Stone. Andrew Scott delivers an unforgettable performance as the legendary actor Ian Charleson as he embarks on his final role in London’s National Theatre production of Hamlet.
In a Festival exclusive, PRIMA FACIE starring Cynthia Erivo will screen in special Centrepiece Premiere sessions. Erivo commands the courtroom in this gripping legal drama that follows a brilliant barrister forced to confront the justice system she once fiercely defended, adapted from Suzie Miller’s award-winning play.
Directed by Anton Corbijn (Control), mystery thriller A TALENT FOR MURDER stars Academy Award® winner Dame Helen Mirren as Patricia Highsmith, the legendary author behind The Talented Mr. Ripley. Based on the play Switzerland from Joanna Murray-Smith, the story imagines a strange confrontation between a literary agent and Highsmith, deliciously entangling history and myth.
One of the most talked about films to hit the festival circuit of late is romantic comedy WICKER. Starring acclaimed British actress Olivia Colman and the brilliant Alexander Skarsgård, this hilarious, raunchy and irresistible fable tells the tale of an ostracised fisherwoman and the husband she wishes for.
From award-winning director Danny Boyle, intoxicating drama INK follows the tumultuous rise of The Sun, the newspaper that Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb moulded to become Britain’s most influential tabloid. Starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy, Ink presents a fierce, funny and deeply unsettling examination of the moment News learnt how profitable it could be to provoke outrage.
Based on true events, visceral historical drama THE UPRISING stars Andrew Garfield as a grief-stricken labourer in the 14th Century who ignites a peasant’s revolt in an England ravaged by plague, poverty and growing distrust of the Crown.
The much-loved Bill Nighy stars in the poignant drama 500 MILES, which follows a broken family that must come together as two young boys embark on an epic journey to reunite with their estranged grandfather. Set across breathtaking landscapes of Ireland, from iconic locations in Dublin to the sweeping Dingle Peninsula.
A family faces an unsettling moral dilemma in QUEEN AT SEA as their mother’s dementia shatters her ability to be in control of her own decisions in this drama starring Juliette Binoche and Tom Courtenay. Led by compelling performances, the film won the Jury Prize at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival.
Richard E. Grant and Claire Foy lead the cast of SAVAGE HOUSE, a darkly comedic, cautionary tale of greed, ambition and power. Two desperate social climbers in 18th century England sacrifice everything to host the aspirational dinner party of their dreams, in this sumptuously crafted period piece.
A deliciously twisted satire starring Saoirse Ronan, BAD APPLES follows a desperate teacher whose terrible decision transforms her classroom for the better, in an examination of how easily doing the wrong thing can start to feel right.
In what may be legendary British director Mike Leigh’s final film, TENDER LOVING CARE paints a deeply poignant portrait of resilience, compassion and love. Recently winning Best Film and Best Screenplay at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, this beautifully uplifting drama examines the complexities of ageing, family and learning to embrace life’s inevitable changes.
Heartwarming comedy THE INCOMER, starring Domhnall Gleeson, follows two siblings whose lives are upended when a council official arrives to evacuate them from their remote Scottish island home.
In moving comedy from writer-director Nick Moorcraft (Fisherman’s Friends: One and All, BFF22) MOTHER’S PRIDE, Jonno Davies stars as Cal, a man rediscovering purpose and connection as he returns to his small country hometown to re-invigorate his family’s pub on the brink of closure.
And in deeply nostalgic comedy ONCE UPON A TIME IN A CINEMA writer/director David Gleeson delivers a powerful love letter to the cinema experience, as he draws on personal experience of growing up in a family of cinema owners.
The brilliant selection of documentaries and true stories in this year’s Festival is led by the intimate portrait of ‘the king of the chat show’, Sir Michael Parkinson in the world premiere of PARKY. Over a career spanning five decades, ‘Parky’ was beloved by millions, knighted by the Queen and interviewed thousands of personalities ranging from Muhammad Ali, Billy Connolly, Kylie Minogue, Bob Hawke, Madonna and many more who feature in this revealing documentary.
HILL is a captivating and deeply personal portrait of British Formula One champion Damon Hill, proving that for him, the race to victory was a psychological one. Piecing together archival footage with intimate interviews, Hill paints a gripping picture of what it takes to be a world champion.
In THE MATCH (El Partido), the story of the iconic match between Argentina and England, played at the Azteca Stadium during the 1986 FIFA World Cup, is narrated by football legends Gary Lineker and Jorge Valdano and features rare archival footage.
Winner of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance, EVERYBODY TO KENMURE STREET is an inspiring and powerful documentary with re-enactments featuring Dame Emma Thompson. Showcasing the strength of community, it captures the 2021 immigration raid that sparked an unprecedented uprising in Glasgow.
THE LOST CHILDREN OF TUAM is a dramatisation of the powerful true story, starring a superb Monica Dolan, of the amateur Irish historian who pieces together the disturbing truth about her Galway hometown’s mother and baby home.
The directorial debut from James McAvoy, CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN’, is based on outrageous true events. Two aspiring Scottish MCs devise an audacious scheme to achieve their dream of a record deal by posing as an established Californian rap duo, with varying degrees of success.
Fionn Whitehead and Alan Cumming star in comedy BORGES AND ME based on Jay Parini’s acclaimed memoir of a graduate student on an unexpected journey with renowned writer Jorge Luis Borges in 1970s Scotland.
Featuring an all-star cast led by Haley Bennett, witty period drama VIRGINIA WOOLF’S NIGHT & DAY follows a passionate astronomer who does everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage in 1910 London.
Whilst in EXTRA GEOGRAPHY, the feature film directorial debut of Molly Manners starring Alice Englert, two teenage best friends in an English girls’ boarding school grapple with the challenges of friendship, academics and growing up, welcoming the chance for love.
In BUTTERFLY STROKE Judy Davis stars as a determined swimming champion who wants complete control over her life, so heads to Switzerland to access legally assisted dying — but her headstrong granddaughter gatecrashes her plans in this heartfelt drama.
Set along the beautiful and striking landscapes of the northwest coast of Donegal, Ireland, THE THREE URNS is a delightful comedic drama starring Ciarán Hinds as a man returning to his home country to spread the ashes of his beloved wife.
From British director Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers) comes the quietly devastating drama A LONG WINTER, adapted from Colm Tóibín’s acclaimed novel, that follows a young man’s unexpected reckoning that reshapes his world.
And in FRANK AND PERCY, Sir Ian McKellen and Roger Allam deliver charming performances as two older gentlemen who find an unexpected connection while walking their dogs on Hampstead Heath.
ONWARDS AND SIDEWAYS stars Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney as strangers who discover they have a lot in common and find an unexpected bond in this romantic drama about finding the joy in life.
In the heartfelt coming-of-age romantic comedy SUNNY DANCER, starring Bella Ramsey, a summer camp for teens with cancer is the setting for a celebration of love, friendship and overcoming adversity.
For the whole family is FLAVIA, a fun 1950s mystery adventure. Featuring an all-star ensemble including Martin Freeman and Toby Jones, an eleven-year-old amateur sleuth must investigate a murder at her old manor-house home when her father comes under suspicion of the crime.
In a celebration of British cinema history, the festival is thrilled to present the following anniversary screenings:
HAMLET — 30th Anniversary Kenneth Branagh’s four-time Oscar®-nominated masterpiece presents a fresh and gripping take on Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy of familial betrayal and revenge.
LAST ORDERS — 25th Anniversary A reflective drama about a group of lifelong friends who gather to reminisce, featuring a stellar ensemble cast including Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay and Helen Mirren.
THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN — 45th Anniversary This visually stunning, five-time Oscar®-nominated reimagining of the classic novel uncovers the sometimes blurred line between the lives of actors and their characters.
THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH — 50th Anniversary Presented in a stunning 4K restoration, Nicolas Roeg’s visionary science-fiction landmark stars David Bowie in his first major film role.
And in tribute to Pauline Collins, the classic comedy-drama that earned her an Oscar® nomination – SHIRLEY VALENTINE – will feature in the Festival. Collins plays the middle-aged Liverpudlian housewife who is unexpectedly invited on a trip to the sun-soaked Greek islands, where she dares to fulfil long-lost desires,
The Russell Hobbs British Film Festival opens on Wednesday 28 October in Sydney, Melbourne, Ballarat, Byron Bay, Canberra and Adelaide, Thursday 29 October in Brisbane and Thursday 5 November in Perth.
Tickets are on sale now at the website:
Website: https://britishfilmfestival.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/britishfilmfest/
Hero image: Still from The Incomer.
Watch the Festival trailer below:
The Russell Hobbs British Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Canberra: 28 Oct – 29 Nov Palace Electric Cinemas
Adelaide: 28 Oct – 29 Nov, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Melbourne: 28 Oct – 29 Nov, The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Penny Lane, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, Palace Church St
Ballarat: 28 Oct – 29 Nov, Palace Regent Ballarat
Sydney: 28 Oct – 29 Nov, Palace Norton Street, Palace Moore Park, Palace Central
Byron Bay: 28 Oct – 29 Nov, Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas
Brisbane: 29 Oct – 29 Nov, Palace Barracks, Palace James Street
Perth: 5 Nov – 6 Dec, Palace Raine Square, Luna on SX, Leederville and Windsor
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