The British Film Festival is bringing the best of British film to Australia, with selected highlights now showing and coming soon to cinemas. 

The Penguin Lessons

Previews on Sunday, 6 April

The Russell Hobbs British Film Festival presents a premiere preview screening of Peter Cattaneo’s The Penguin Lessons, based on Tom Michell’s witty and moving memoir of the same name. Enjoy a glass of Prosecco on arrival before immersing yourself in this delightful adaptation.

Starring two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan, this poignant dramedy from Oscar-nominated director Peter Cattaneo explores an Englishman’s personal and political awakening after he adopts a penguin during a cataclysmic period in Argentine history. 

Inspired by the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976, Tom (Coogan), expecting an easy ride, discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside-down.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, this story of wit, warmth and humour, counterintuitive discoveries and cute penguin antics, is a heartwarming tear-jerker for the whole family. 

The Return

Now showing

After 20 years away, Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has returned from the Trojan War, but much has changed in his kingdom. 

His beloved wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) is a prisoner in her own home, hounded by suitors vying to be king. Their son Telemachus faces death at the hands of these suitors, who see him as merely an obstacle to their pursuit of the kingdom. 

Odysseus has also changed – -scarred by his experience of the Trojan war, he is no longer the mighty warrior from years past–but he must rediscover his strength in order to win back all that he has lost.

Conclave

Now showing

The pope is dead. The throne is vacant.

From director Edward Berger, Conclave follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events — selecting the new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.

Small Things Like These

Previews from 30 March, Release Thursday 10 April

In his first role since his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy returns to his roots in the intimate Irish historical drama Small Things Like These with a masterclass performance in subtlety and nuance. Based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Claire Keegan, the quietly affecting drama is a worthy adaptation and a searing exploration of morality.

Picture: Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus in The Return.