Mostly British Film Festival 2025
MOSTLY BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL OPENS FEBRUARY 6 THROUGH FEBRUARY 13, 2025 AT THE VOGUE THEATRE , 3290 SACRAMENTO STREET.
AT THE VOGUE BOX OFFICE
The Mostly British Film Festival is pleased to announce our special guest Hugh Bonneville who on February 8 will discuss his storied career from the Vogue stage. The program begins at 7 p.m. preceded by a red carpet welcome to the beloved British actor who is making a career of playing everyone’s favorite Dad including, of course, in Downton Abbey. A sneak preview of Paddington in Peru screens on February 13 with Bonneville as Paddington’s loving adoptive father in this popular franchise.
The festival is comprised of 26 films from the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and India, half of them local premieres.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERES AT MOSTLY BRITISH
Opening night film on February 6 is the touching true-life comedy The Penguin Lessons starring Steve Coogan and Jonathan Pryce and from Peter Cattaneo, director of The Full Monty. Coogan gracefully portrays an English teacher at a posh academy in Buenos Aires who discovers his students’ comprehension of poetry increases when his pet penguin is by his side. Imagine Dead Poet’s Society only with a penguin as a co-star.
February 13’s closing night is the French film Jane Austen Wrecked My Life set at Shakespeare & Company, the legendary British bookstore in Paris, where a perpetually single and deeply unhappy clerk escapes into Austen’s novels, yearning for the happy ending she finds in these romantic tales.
Shoshana on February 7 is both a political thriller set in late 30s Palestine under the Britsh Mandate and a powerful love story between a Polish Jew who is a fervent Zionist and a British police inspector. Can they make their romance work under crushingly difficult circumstances?
On February 12, on the cusp of Valentine’s Day, the festival screens Falling Into Place, another fervent romance sure to get hearts aflutter. It’s the story of a German artist living in London who meets a struggling musician at a local pub on the Scottish Isle of Skye. Visually stunning early scenes show the pair playfully running and jumping along the isle’s irregular MOSTLY BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL coast. But can their love survive the pressure of their shaky careers?
Also playing on the 12th is The Way My Way , based on a best- selling memoir of an Australian adventurer who feels compelled to walk the famous Camino de Santiago, trekking 800 kilometers on the pilgrims trail in France and Spain. The film captures the stunning beauty of the landscape and the physical and emotional pain of the Aussie trailblazer and his fellow travelers.
Pierce Brosnan, the most underrated superstar actor, lights up the screen on February 10 in The Last Rifleman playing an aging former soldier 21 years older than Brosnan’s actual age. He is a WWII vet who escapes from his care home in Northern Ireland to travel to France for the 75th anniversary of the storming of Normandy, and the audience cheers him on his way.
DOCUMENTARIES AT MOSTLY BRITISH
For documentary film lovers, Mostly British will screen Never Look Back on February 8, introducing audiences to Margaret Moth, an enigmatic video journalist who attained near legendary status with her willingness to get as close as she could to the reality of war in Sarajevo and other trouble spots.
Two documentaries are standouts on the always popular Spotlight on Irish Films on February 9. Housewife of the Year tells of the Irish competition of that name televised in the latter part of the 2Oth century. As women were pitted against each other they revealed bittersweet stories, including lack of contraception, financial powerlessness and consignment to the infamous Magdalene laundries. Sheepland is a study of Orin Barry, a no- nonsense Irish sheep farmer who is also an internationally celebrated visual and performance artist.
INTERVIEWS WITH DIRECTORS
Several ZOOM interviews will put the audience in touch with the directors of the festival films. Amazingly enough these include a chat with 96-year-old James Ivory, the subject of the documentary Merchant Ivory about his long partnership with Ismail Merchant which produced classic films such as Howard’s End, The Remains of the Day and A Room With a View (which plays in its entirety following the documentary on February 10, one of two festival films to star the late great Maggie Smith).
Other prerecorded interviews are with Lucy Lawless, best known for playing Xena in the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess , who makes a stunning directorial debut with the doc Never Look Away. British director Michael Winterbottom also is interviewed about his amazingly prolific career, including most recently Shoshana.
The Mostly British Film Festival is presented by the San Francisco Neighborhood Theatre Foundation and held at the Vogue. Series passes to all 26 films comprising the entire festival and opening and closing parties, with early access into the theatre to choose your seats, sell for $400/$300 (available to people who qualify for discounts). Individual tickets are $20/$17.50 . Opening night including a light dinner is $65/$50. This year there is an option to just buy a ticket to the film at the regular price and not attend the party. Closing night including a dessert after party is $40/ $30. Discounts available to members of SFFILM, Fromm Institute, San Francisco Towers, Calvary Presbyterian Church and seniors 65 and over. Tickets can be purchased at mostlybritish.org and at the Vogue box office.
DOCUMENTARIES AT MOSTLY BRITISH
For documentary film lovers, Mostly British will screen Never Look Back on February 8, introducing audiences to Margaret Moth, an enigmatic video journalist who attained near legendary status with her willingness to get as close as she could to the reality of war in Sarajevo and other trouble spots.
Two documentaries are standouts on the always popular Spotlight on Irish Films on February 9. Housewife of the Year tells of the Irish competition of that name televised in the latter part of the 2Oth century. As women were pitted against each other they revealed bittersweet stories, including lack of contraception, financial powerlessness and consignment to the infamous Magdalene laundries. Sheepland is a study of Orin Barry, a no- nonsense Irish sheep farmer who is also an internationally celebrated visual and performance artist.
INTERVIEWS WITH DIRECTORS
Several ZOOM interviews will put the audience in touch with the directors of the festival films. Amazingly enough these include a chat with 96-year-old James Ivory, the subject of the documentary Merchant Ivory about his long partnership with Ismail Merchant which produced classic films such as Howard’s End, The Remains of the Day and A Room With a View (which plays in its entirety following the documentary on February 10, one of two festival films to star the late great Maggie Smith).
Other prerecorded interviews are with Lucy Lawless, best known for playing Xena in the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess , who makes a stunning directorial debut with the doc Never Look Away. British director Michael Winterbottom also is interviewed about his amazingly prolific career, including most recently Shoshana.
The Mostly British Film Festival is presented by the San Francisco Neighborhood Theatre Foundation and held at the Vogue. Series passes to all 26 films comprising the entire festival and opening and closing parties, with early access into the theatre to choose your seats, sell for $400/$300 (available to people who qualify for discounts). Individual tickets are $20/$17.50 . Opening night including a light dinner is $65/$50. This year there is an option to just buy a ticket to the film at the regular price and not attend the party. Closing night including a dessert after party is $40/ $30. Discounts available to members of SFFILM, Fromm Institute, San Francisco Towers, Calvary Presbyterian Church and seniors 65 and over. Tickets can be purchased at mostlybritish.org and at the Vogue box office.
Mostly British Film Festival 2025
Date and Time
Thursday Feb 6, 2025 Thursday Feb 13, 2025
Location
Vogue Theatre
3290 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, CA
Website
