Five Must-See Films at the 2018 British Film Festival

Since launching around the country back in 2013, the British Film Festival keeps standing out for three reasons. Yes, it ranks among Australia's most obvious cultural film fests; however, it's also a star-studded affair, and a popular one. If you're keen not only for a slice of Old Blighty, but to watch well-known talents do what they do best, then prepare to spend a few weeks staring at the big screen.

2018's lineup keeps hitting those same marks. Why mess with a good thing? Running in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra until November 14, this year's program includes Kiera Knightley's latest star turn, a four-film tribute to Michael Caine that'll blow the bloody doors off, and Star Wars' Daisy Ridley in a playful take on Hamlet — plus these, our five must-see picks.

ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

Anna and the Apocalypse is a zombie movie. It's a high-school comedy. It's a Christmas flick. And, it's also a musical. Just when you thought you'd seen every take on the undead available, this all-singing genre mash-up pops up to prove you wrong. A crowd-pleaser at overseas festivals, it's based on the BAFTA-winning short Zombie Musical — and, story-wise, follows the eponymous Anna (Ella Hunt) as she reacts to the rather inconvenient fact that her Scottish hometown of Little Haven is now filled with the shuffling masses hankering for brains.

YARDIE

After coming to fame with to The Wire, Idris Elba is no stranger to sprawling crime dramas that chart the next generation's involvement in the drug trade. With Yardie, however, he's stepping behind the camera rather than appearing in front of it. The actor's feature directorial debut hops between Jamaica and London, and between the 70s and 80s, at it charts the path of Denis. As a boy (Antwayne Eccleston), he watches his brother get gunned down on the streets of Kingston. As a young man (Aml Ameen), he finds himself selling cocaine in the UK and seeking revenge. The result is a film with vibrant style, that knows what it wants to be and knows when it's hitting familiar beats.

PETERLOO

Whenever Mike Leigh has a new film, it's reason enough to rush to the cinema. The great director has seven Oscar nominations to his name for the likes of Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky and Another Year, and tends to alternate between character-based and historical-leaning dramas. With his latest, Peterloo, he's operating in the latter camp, examining a momentous event in Britain's past. The feature is named after and explores a massacre in Manchester in 1819, when 700 working folks were injured — and 15 killed — during a peaceful pro-democracy gathering. Yes, it sounds more than a little relevant today.

STAN & OLLIE

To the world, they were Laurel and Hardy — one lean and English, the other rotund and American, and both funnier and more famous when they were hitting the stage and screen together. Starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, Stan & Ollie delves into the story behind the fame, when the comedians were approaching the end of their career. The film arrives in Australia fresh from premiering at the London Film Festival, and closes out BFF with the promise of laughs, love and excellent performances. Indeed, when it comes to spot-on casting, it's already a winner.

THE HAPPY PRINCE

Another blast from the past in the BFF program, another look at a well-known figure past their heyday, and another well-known actor making their filmmaking debut, too. With the dreamily tragic The Happy Prince, Rupert Everett steps into Oscar Wilde's shoes — and it's a role that he was born to bring to the screen. Writing and directing as well, Everett approaches Wilde's dying days in a rundown Parisian hotel room with both passion and sorrow, two traits that the poet and write knew well. It's a hardly a happy portrait, despite the name, which riffs on one of Wilde's works. That said, interweaving flashbacks to fonder times and co-starring Colin Firth, it does Wilde justice.

The 2018 British Film Festival tours Australia until November 14, screening at Sydney's Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinemas from October 23 to November 14; Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay and The Astor Theatre from October 25 to November 14; Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace Centro from October 24 to November 14; and Perth's Cinema Paradiso, Raine Square Cinemas, Luna on SX and Windsor Cinema from October 25 to November 14. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the festival website.