British & Irish Film Festival 2024: Everything you need to know

British and Irish Film Festival 2024 New Zealand

The British & Irish Film Festival is back for its second edition, bringing the best of the 2024 Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) lineup to New Zealand cinemas as well as selected Cannes Film Festival favourites.

The festival runs from 23 October to 13 November 2024 across New Zealand. Participating areas include:

Arrowtown (Dorothy Browns)
Auckland (The Bridgeway, The Capitol Cinema, Lido Cinema, Monterey Cinemas Howick, Rialto Cinemas Newmarket)
Blenheim (Event Cinemas Blenheim)
Christchurch (Academy Gold Cinema, Deluxe Cinemas, Lumiere Cinemas, Town Hall Cinemas)
Dunedin (Rialto Cinemas Dunedin)
Hamilton (Lido Cinema Hamilton)
Havelock North (Event Cinemas Havelock North)
Kerikeri (Cathay Cinemas)
Masterton (The Screening Room)
Matakana (Matakana Cinemas)
Napier (Globe Theatrette)
Nelson (State Cinemas)
New Plymouth (Len Lye Cinema)
Palmerston North (Event Cinemas Palmerston North)
Tauranga (Luxe Cinemas)
Wānaka (Cinema Paradiso)
Wellington (Embassy Theatre, Light House Cuba, Light House Pauatahanui, Light House Petone, Penthouse Cinema & Cafe, Embassy Theatre Deluxe)
Whanganui (Embassy 3)
Whitianga (Mercury Twin Cinemas)

Festival Director Fergus Grady is “excited to add Howick in Auckland, Napier, Whanganui, Masterton, and Rangiora to this year’s festival circuit” and plans on growing the festival further into regional New Zealand in the coming years.

Opening the festival direct from TIFF & Telluride film festivals comes "Conclave" starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, & Isabella Rossellini. Audiences have been wowed by the film and the premiere was full of gasps, cheers and applause, with the film now being widely discussed as a potential Oscar winner. Ralph Fiennes is also at his charismatic best in "The Return", in which he stars alongside the fantastic Juliette Binoche in their first on-screen pairing in 28 years.

The festival features a diverse line-up of narrative and documentary titles. Aside from the anticipated awards season titles such as "Conclave" and Andrea Arnold's "Bird", I highly recommend that you catch a screening of two excellent documentaries: "Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger" and "Merchant Ivory".

The former explores the influential career of filmmaker duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, who have written and directed some of Britain's seminal films such as "Black Narcissus" and "The Red Shoes". It is a fascinating dissection of their work and strong collaboration, complemented by rare archival footage and a narration from Martin Scorsese.

"Merchant Ivory", on the other hand, explores another filmmaking partnership with James Ivory and Ismail Merchant. They are the duo behind Merchant Ivory Productions and the beloved period pieces in the last 30 to 40 years, some of which are featured in this festival.

Both documentaries are crucial in the power of cinemas as a result of strong relationships and could be a great reference point for cinephiles and aspiring filmmakers.

See below the full list of participating films.

Opening Night Film

Conclave

Conclave

From Oscar-winning director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), Conclave is a riveting religious thriller that follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events–selecting a new Pope.

Centre Stage

We Live in Time

The Return

Reunited for the first time since The English Patient, Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche star in this gritty retelling of Odysseus' return home from war. After 20 years away, Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognisable. The King has finally returned home but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan war.

We Live in Time

Oscar nominees Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh deliver beautifully nuanced performances in this creatively structured romance drama from BAFTA-winning director John Crowley (Brooklyn, The Goldfinch). Tobias (Garfield) and Almut’s (Pugh) relationship has never had a dull moment. Since meeting after Almut accidentally ran over Tobias with her car, their time together has been chock-full of striking scenarios.

Enjoy the Drama

Bird

American Star

Ian McShane brings his brooding star power and presence to this gritty, intelligent and entertaining action thriller.

Bird

Starring Barry Keoghan and tackling themes such as identity, sexism, loneliness, and class struggle, "Bird" is a compelling, ultimately joyous ode to the wondrous transition from childhood to adolescence.

Firebrand

In blood-soaked Tudor England, Katherine Parr (Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander), the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII (Jude Law), is named Regent while tyrant Henry is fighting overseas.

Four Letters of Love

Nicholas and Isabel are made for each other, but fate does not always choose the easiest path to true love. As destiny pulls them together, so do family, passion, and faith drive them apart. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham-Carter and Gabriel Byrne.

Hard Truths - New Addition

Directed by legendary filmmaker Mike Leigh and direct from the Toronto International Film Festival, "Hard Truths" is a a fierce, compassionate, and often darkly humorous study of family and the thorny ties that bind us. Reunited with Leigh for the first time since multiple Oscar-nominated Secrets and Lies, the astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way.

Lies We Tell

The daunting, rambling estate of Knowl is no home for a young woman on her own, and certainly not for Maud (Agnes O’Casey, The Miracle Club)-just 18 years old. Freshly burdened with the sudden death of her father and granted inheritance to his entire estate when she comes of age at 21, Maud is alone, unschooled in the ways of society, and vulnerable. Winner of two Irish Film Awards.

Poison

Based on the acclaimed play by Lot Vekemans, "Poison" follows estranged couple Lucas (Tim Roth, Pulp Fiction) and Edith (Trine Dyrholm, Mary & George), who haven't seen each other in ten years. Prompted by a mysterious summons from Edith, the couple reunite at a tragic location from their past

Tarrac

Aoife Ni Bhraoin (Kelly Gough, Broadchurch) returns home to help her father Brendan ‘The Bear’ (Lorcan Cranitch, Róise & Frank) in his recovery from a heart attack. Set against the backdrop of traditional Irish rowing, Naomhog, and filmed in Irish Gaelic.

The Salt Path

Based on the Sunday Times best-seller by Raynor Winn, "The Salt Path" is the profound true story of husband and wife, Raynor (Gillian Anderson) and Moth (Jason Isaacs) Winn’s 630-mile trek along the beautiful but rugged English coast, from Dorset to Somerset.

Widow Clicquot

Based on the New York Times best-selling biography, "Widow Clicquot" is a visually impressive tale of resilience that leaves a pleasing aftertaste on the palette. The film tells the true story of the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (Haley Bennett, Cyrano) who, at the age of 20, became Madame Clicquot after marrying the scion of a winemaking family.

Music Lovers

blur: Live at Wembley Stadium

blur: To The End

An intimate moment in time with this most enduring of English bands, who have been at the heart of British culture for over three decades.

blur: Live at Wembley Stadium

This unforgettable 2023 performance saw blur perform their iconic and much-loved songs for 150,000 fans in a transcendent, once-in-a-generation performance that delivered a sweep of ecstatic 5-star reviews.

Music History

The Stones and Brian Jones

The Stones and Brian Jones

Nick Broomfield’s engrossing new documentary uncovers the true story and legacy of Brian Jones, the founder and creative genius of The Rolling Stones. As a schoolboy aged 14, Nick Broomfield met Brian Jones, by chance, on a train. Brian was at the height of his success, with the world at his feet, yet just six years later he would be dead

Love and Laughter

Chuck Chuck Baby

Chuck Chuck Baby

A film of love, loss and music set amongst the falling feathers of a chicken factory set in Wales.

The Problem with People

Set in beautifully lush Irish countryside, is a heartwarming comedy about family, world peace... and sheep. Honouring his father’s last wish to reunite with the American side of his family, Irishman Ciáran (Colm Meaney, Layer Cake) calls his cousin, Barry (Paul Reiser, Mad About You), out of the blue with the offer for him to visit his homeland

The Radleys

Based on the best-selling novel by Matt Haig, and co-written by comedian Jo Brand, "The Radleys" is a scarily relatable black comedy with a bite. The Radleys are an ordinary family, or at least that’s what the neighbours think. No one would suspect that behind all of this, the Radleys hold a dark secret...they are vampires.

Timestalker

The hilariously inventive "Timestalker" is a romantic comedy about the eternal humiliation that is the search for love, spanning the most romantic epochs of history right into the future.

Take Inspiration

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger

High & Low – John Galliano

Directed by Academy-Award winner Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) delves into the captivating and complex life of the flamboyant and iconoclastic head designer at Dior, John Galliano, who soared to unimaginable heights before experiencing a public downfall that shattered his career.

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger

Martin Scorsese first encountered the films of Powell and Pressburger when he was a child, sitting in front of the family TV. When their famous logo came up on screen, Scorsese says, "You knew you were in for fantasy, wonder, magic-real film magic."

Wilding

Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling memoir by the same name, the visually stunning "Wilding" tells the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, 400-year-old estate. Isabella and husband Charlie Burrell battle entrenched tradition, and dare to place the fate of their farm in the hands of nature

Merchant Ivory

Merchant Ivory

Howards End

Nominated for nine Oscars and winning three at the 1993 Academy Awards, this dazzling adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel has cemented itself as a classic of the genre. Set in Edwardian England, class distinctions and troubled relations affect the relationships between two families and the ownership of a cherished British estate known as Howards End.

Merchant Ivory

The first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory (Oscar-winning writer of Call Me by Your Name), and producer Ismail Merchant.

The Remains of the Day

In 1993, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson reunited with the acclaimed Merchant Ivory filmmaking team for this extraordinary and moving story of blind devotion and repressed love. Based on the best-selling novel by Novel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro.