PREVIEW: 2024 RUSSELL HOBBS BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL

The 2024 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival returns to Palace Cinemas nationwide this November with a line up that includes such notable names as Saoirse Ronan, Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law and Tim Roth.

The event opens with the Australian Premiere of BLITZ, Steve McQueen's period drama depicting pivotal moments of World War II in London and starring Saoirse Ronan (pictured, below), Paul Weller and highly-touted newcomer Elliot Heffernan. The Oscar-nominated Ronan also fronts THE OUTRUN, as a woman who returns to Scotland's Orkney Islands, seeking to reconcile with her troubled past.

Closing the festival is the premiere of WE LIVE IN TIME (pictured, top), starring Oscar nominees Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in a romance that delves into the profound question of how to make the most of the time we have in this world.

The 2024 Festival Centrepiece is Mike Leigh’s HARD TRUTHS, a darkly humorous examination of a hypersensitive woman’s impact on her family, blending compassion with Leigh’s signature attention to detail. Family dynamics are also explored in Andrea Arnold’s BIRD, the story of 12-year-old Bailey (newcomer Nykiya Adams), who seeks solace in nature as her distracted father remarries.

Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche star in THE RETURN, an adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, a distinctly British spin on the classical work with an all-star cast. Another  British/French co-production is WIDOW CLICQUOT, the rousing true story of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” otherwise known as Veuve Clicquot.

Attending the festival is Aylin Tezel, whose directorial debut FALLING INTO PLACE 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. One of the U.K.'s rising talents, Tezel will be joining audiences in person in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for a series of Q&A events.

Alicia Vikander and Jude Law star in the historical drama FIREBRAND, set during the final months of King Henry VIII's reign who, alongside his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, faces the perilous challenges of the Tudor court. The adaptation of the best-selling novel CONCLAVE stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal entrusted with the secretive task of selecting a new Pope, but in the Vatican's sacred halls, uncovers secrets that could destabilize the Roman Catholic Church.

Pierce Brosnan and Helena Bonham Carter lead an ensemble cast in FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE, Polly Steele’s tender story of Nicholas and Isabel who seem destined for each other, but whose path to true love is anything but straightforward. And romantics will also enjoy THE SALT PATH starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs as a couple who embark on a 630-mile coastal walk after losing their home and facing a terminal diagnosis. 

Unconventional rom-coms abound, including AND MRS, the bittersweet tale of a bride-to-be (Aisling Bea) who, after losing her fiancé unexpectedly, is determined to proceed with the wedding; THE RADLEYS, which depicts an ordinary family hiding a dark secret - they’re vampires; and, CHUCK CHUCK BABY, a musical comedy set in a Welsh chicken processing plant.

In the music-themed sidebar ‘Brit Rock to Brit Pop’, documentarian Nick Broomfield uncovers the true story of the creative force behind what would become the world’s greatest rock band in THE STONES AND BRIAN JONES; iconic rock band Led Zeppelin’s electrifying 1973 Madison Square Garden performances are captured in THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME (pictured, right); and a feast for Blur fans, with the epic concert film BLUR: LIVE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM, and the doco BLUR: TO THE END.

Retrospective screenings of some of the U.K.’s most adored films pepper the 2024 title roster. Marking its 25th anniversary and presented in restored 4K is Lynne Ramsay’s debut feature RATCATCHER, a haunting portrayal of a troubled childhood. In tribute to the late Dame Maggie Smith, James Ivory’s A ROOM WITH A VIEW will be screened, alongside the documentary MERCHANT IVORY, a celebration of the 44-film collaboration of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory.

And a strand entitled ‘History Restored’ features classic British dramas, many on the bigscreen for the first time in decades. In a new 4K restoration, winner of six Academy Awards A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS examines Sir Thomas More's moral stand against King Henry VIII's divorce; based on the novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, James Ivory’s epic melodrama HEAT AND DUST features parallel stories of love and cultural clash in 1920’s India; Kenneth Branagh's gritty, blood-soaked 1989 rendition of HENRY V; Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn in THE LION IN WINTER, the grand tale of King Henry II's family power struggles; and Ken Russel’s THE MUSIC LOVERS, a biography of composer Tchaikovsky's tumultuous life, with career-best performances from Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson.

The 2024 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.