Mostly British Film Festival 2015

     


The Mostly British Film Festival heads into its seventh year with twenty-eight new and classic feature films and documentaries from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and South Africa. There is something for everyone in this mix of dramas, film noirs, rom coms, thrillers, biopics and stories based on historical events. 

The festival opens February 12 with "71"one of the best reviewed British films of the year, a conspiracy thriller set against the Irish Troubles starring Jack O?Connell ("Unbroken"). The centerpiece on February 19 will feature "The Riot Club," a new film from Lone Scherfig ("An Education") about a secret society at Oxford that brings out the worst in its young members.

The festival will honor Malcolm McDowell?s more than 40-year career with a three-day event February 20-22. It starts with a reception on Friday evening at the Century Club-- an elegant 19^th century house remodeled by Julia Morgan-- followed by a Q & A with McDowell and a screening of "Time After Time," shot almost entirely in San Francisco. His films "If" and "Aces High" will show Saturday and Sunday morning at the Vogue.

The popular British Noir night on Friday the 13^th shows the moody "I, Anna," starring Charlotte Rampling (directed by her son Barnaby Southcombe) as a lonely, seductive divorcee who attracts the attention of Gabriel Byrne.

"The Turning" based on short stories from Down Under, starring Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne and Hugo Weaving. On the 16^th Irish night introduces Ken Loach's new film "Jimmy's Hall," about a social hall that becomes a political football. South Africa's winning entry, "Winnie Mandela," casts Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson as Nelson Mandela's wife and Terrence Howard (new Fox series "Empire") as the revered South African leader. 
 

Romantics should catch "Standby," in which "Mad Men's" Jessica Pare rekindles a love affair at the Dublin airport; "My Accomplice" about a wayward Irishman returning to his rural home to reconnect wth his ex.

Other standout programs include "Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn," a poignant documentary about the least understood "Gone With the Wind" cast member and "Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands," a silent reenactment of two decisive World War I battles restored by the British Film Institute. Watch for "Evergreen" and "First a Girl," a double feature with these 1930s movies displaying the talents of Jessie Matthews -- Britain?s Ginger Rogers, except she doesn't need Fred.

The festival will be held at the Historic Vogue Theater, one of the oldest movie theaters in the U.S. It was purchased in 2007 by the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to saving older movie houses--more information at sfntf.org

Festival passes are on sale now at the Vogue Theater and at mostlybritish.org and at cinemasf.com. Passes include free admission to Opening Night and the Centerpiece party. Please visit mostlybritish.org for more information. Individual tickets go on sale January 19.