British Film Festival 2020

Overview

Following its debut in New Zealand last year, the British Film Festival will once again celebrate the finest filmmakers and acting talent the British Isles has to offer. Twenty films make up this year's bill, including coming-of-age comedies, Palm d'Or-nominated dramas, music documentaries and heart-warming romances.

Highlights include Misbehaviour, in which Keira Knightley helps recreate the true story of feminist protesters at the 1970 Miss World competition in London; Summerland, a World War II-set romantic drama led by Gemma Arterton; and folk-horror thriller Fanny Lye Deliver'd, about a woman in 17th-century Shropshire whose unhappy marriage gets a shake up by a younger couple on the run.

The lineup also features a range of premieres such as feline Christmas film A Gift From Bob, the Belle & Sebastian-scored indie flick Days of the Bagnold Summer, and rock 'n' roll doco Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm which features performances by Queen, Robert Plant, Iggy Pop and Oasis. Monty Python's timeless comedies The Holy Grail and Life of Brian complete the bill.

The British Film Festival will run from 19–29 November in Auckland and Wellington, before touring the rest of the country. In Wellington it will screen between The Penthouse, Light House Petone and Monterey Upper Hutt.