The 2026 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival features an unmissable line up 36 films, including five retrospectives which will screen from 28 October to 29 November at Palace Byron Bay and Ballina Cinemas.
Audiences can look forward to performances from a host of Britain’s finest actors 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 program which features stirring dramas, fascinating documentaries, retrospective anniversaries, and delightful comedies.
The key highlights include opening night 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.
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. The film is 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.
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.
Closing the Festival 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.
For session times, tickets and more visit britishfilmfestival.com.au.
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