British and Irish Film Festival 2025
5 - 19 November 2025
The Len Lye Centre Cinema is delighted to be hosting the British and Irish Film Festival in 2025, showcasing the best of British and Irish cinema in an incredible selection of films from festivals around the world, including New Zealand premieres.
Films:
The Choral
Drama/Historical | Director: Nicholas Hytner | TBC | 114 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival 2025 -
From BAFTA-and-Tony-winning writer Alan Bennett and director Nicholas Hytner, the team behind The History Boys and The Lady in the Van, The Choral explores the humour and humanity at the heart of a community facing an uncertain future.
Academy Award® nominee and BAFTA-winner Ralph Fiennes heads up a cracking cast of character actors in this touching period piece.
With a knockout performance from the always-reliable Fiennes, and a compelling story to boot, The Choral is guaranteed to be a hit at this year’s Festival. Book your tickets quickly to avoid disappointment!
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Comedy | Director: Rob Reiner | M | 84 Mins
The long-awaited sequel to the comedy classic This is Spinal Tap is here to turn the Festival up to 11!
Forty-one years after the release of the original groundbreaking mockumentary, the now estranged bandmates David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer) are forced to reunite for one final concert.
The History of Sound
Drama, Historical | Director: Oliver Hermanus | TBC | 128 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Festival de Cannes 2025 -
Based on the acclaimed book by Ben Shattuck, Paul Mescal (Aftersun, All of Us Strangers) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, Challengers) play star-crossed lovers in this sweeping, moving and tender romance from Oliver Hermanus (Living).
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor’s star turns received rave reviews when The History of Sound premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, making this quiet but powerful drama a must-see at the British and Irish Film Festival 2025.
I Swear
Biography/Drama | Director: Kirk Jones | TBC | 120 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival 2025 -
Funny, moving, and deeply human, I Swear tells the remarkable true story of John Davidson, a Tourette Syndrome campaigner whose humour and honesty helped the world better understand the disorder.
Written and directed by Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine), I Swear features an astonishing lead performance from Aramayo, joined by the excellent supporting cast of Maxine Peake (Funny Cow), Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones’s Diary) and Peter Mullan (Trainspotting). A frank, funny and touching story about the transformative power of friendship and community, I Swear is a crowd-pleaser you can’t miss in this year’s line-up.
Glenrothan
Drama | Director: Brian Cox | TBC | 97 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival -
The legendary Brian Cox makes his directorial debut with this compelling family drama, set in the stunning Scottish Highlands and co-starring Alan Cumming.
When his beloved Chicago blues club burns down, Donal (Cumming) returns to his family-owned whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Cumming gives one of his best on-screen performances, opposite Cox who brings gravitas to every scene - both in front of and behind the camera.
Broken English
Documentary | Director: Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth |TBC | 99 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Venice International Film Festival 2025 -
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: BFI London Film Festival 2025 -
Broken English is a bold and imaginative documentary portrait of the inimitable singer, songwriter and icon Marianne Faithfull.
A survivor, provocateur and true original, Marianne spent more than six decades defying expectations, releasing over thirty-five albums while constantly reinventing herself.
Broken English is a genre-defying act of resilience and rebellion — Marianne Faithfull’s final fearless declaration, her defiant swan song.
Words of War
Biography/Drama | Director: James Strong | M | 117 Mins
From James Strong, director of the acclaimed mini-series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Words of War tells the powerful true story of world-renowned journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya.
Politkovskaya’s legacy lives on, and her story serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting the right to report the news without fear of death or reprisal.
Christy
Drama | Director: Brendan Canty | TBC | 96 Mins
- WINNER: Grand Prix, Berlin International Film Festival Generation -
- WINNER: Best Irish Film, Galway Film Fleadh -
Seventeen-year-old Christy is at a crossroads. He’s just been thrown out of his pleasant suburban foster home and moved in with his estranged older brother Shane. As far as Shane is concerned this is a temporary arrangement, but Christy begins to feel at home on Cork’s working class north side. As he makes friends and begins to let the community in, he also reconnects with his past through his seemingly more corrupting extended family, despite Shane’s efforts to steer him away from this crowd.
Winner of The Grand Prix at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, as well as Best Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh, Christy is a punchy drama not to be missed.
Dead of Winter
Action/Thriller | Director: Brian Kirk | R16 | 98 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Locarno Film Festival 2025 -
Witness British screen-legend Emma Thompson as you’ve never seen her before in this tense, gripping, and icy thriller. When she’s unexpectedly hit by a blizzard, grief-stricken loner Barb (Thompson) gets lost among the backroads near a Minnesotan lake.
From Irish director Brian Kirk (My Boy Jack) and featuring a career-best performance from Thompson, this gritty, pulse-pounding trip is guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat.
Moss & Freud
Drama| Director: James Lucas | TBC | 102 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: BFI London Film Festival 2025 -
Ellie Bamber (also starring in Words of War at this year’s Festival) and Derek Jacobi bring the respective supermodel and painter to life in this exquisite drama.
Set in 2002, Kate Moss is at the height of her success and at a moment of transition as she prepares for motherhood. After revealing that one of her life goals is to have her portrait painted by Lucian Freud, the enigmatic artist invites Moss to his studio.
This impressive feature debut from Oscar-winning New Zealand writer/director James Lucas (the film is a UK/NZ co-production) is a tender portrait of self-reflection and an unexpectedly transformative friendship.
Don’t miss the gorgeous visuals, elegant writing and captivating performances of Moss & Freud!
The North
Adventure/Drama | Director: Bart Schrijver | M | 133 Mins
Prepare to be transported to the striking beauty of the Scottish wilderness in The North, a visceral journey through sheets of rain, craggy cliffs and lonesome beaches.
A decade after being best friends and roommates, Chris and Lluis set out on a 600 kilometre hike through the Scottish Highlands. Following the West Highland Way and The Cape Wrath Trail, they spend 30 days together in nature - hoping to rekindle their once-powerful friendship.
Set against the pace and demands of long-distance hiking, The North depicts the intricacies and challenges of both friendship and internal human struggles against the backdrop of the beautifully stark landscapes of the Highlands.
Director Bart Schrijver was inspired to make the film after walking New Zealand’s own Te Araroa hike.
Islands
Drama/Thriller | Director: Jan-Ole Gerster | M | 123 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Berlin International Film Festival 2025 -
Tom (Sam Riley, Control) is the tennis coach at a luxurious island hotel, filling his time between lessons with booze and brief affairs. The arrival of the Maguire family pulls Tom out of his normal routine and he strikes up a relationship with Anne (Stacy Martin, The Brutalist), her husband Dave (Jack Farthing, Spencer) and their son Anton. Tom is unable to shake the feeling that he has met Anne before, and this tension grows between them until one night, Dave goes missing and the police investigation points to both Anne and Tom as suspects. With Islands, Festival audiences are in for a “scorching, sun-frazzled Hitchcockian delight” (The Standard).
Re-Creation
Drama/Mystery | Director: Jim Sheridan and David Merriman | M | 89 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Tribeca Film Festival 2025 -
Part courtroom drama, part true crime documentary, the extraordinarily inventive Re-Creation delves into one of Ireland’s most shocking unsolved crimes.
In 1996, French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier was murdered at her holiday home in West Cork. English journalist Ian Bailey was investigated by Irish authorities, but never faced trial in Ireland - despite the fact he was tried and convicted in absentia by the French government.
With spectacular performances from the ensemble cast, headed by the remarkable Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), Re-Creation is an unmissable entry in this year’s line-up.
Lollipop
Drama | Director: Daisy-May Hudson | M | 100 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Edinburgh International Film Festival 2024 -
In this absorbing drama, Posy Sterling (The Outrun) delivers a powerful performance as Molly, a young mum from East London who has lost everything while in prison.
A glimmer of hope in Molly’s world is reconnecting with her best friend from school, Amina, who also finds herself on hard times. Leaning on their friendship, can Molly and Amina beat the system and take destiny into their own hands?
Book now for this incredibly passionate and moving tale.
Christmas Karma
Comedy/Musical | Director: Gurinder Chadha | TBC | 110 Mins
From visionary British director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham, Blinded By The Light), Christmas Karma sees ones of history’s greatest novels - Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol transformed into a joyous, colourful, feel-good Christmas musical that celebrates modern-day London and all of its vibrant communities and cultures. With an all-star cast and music from Gary Barlow, Nitin Sawhney and Shaznay Lewis, the film features an eclectic soundtrack influenced by gospel, bhangra, carols, rap and classic pop songs. Christmas Karma is a festive British classic for our times, and for generations to come, that promotes a strong message to be kind, choose love and celebrate the present.
Four Mothers
Comedy/Drama | Director: Darren Thornton | TBC | 89 Mins
- WINNER: Audience Award, BFI London Film Festival 2024 -
Edward (James McArdle, Mary Queen of Scots, Mare of Easttown), a novelist saddled with caring for his elderly mother, Alma (Fionnula Flanagan, Waking Ned Devine) finally finds himself on the brink of literary success.
With pressure to go on a US book tour mounting, the last thing Edward needs is his friends jetting off to Spain for an impromptu Pride holiday, leaving their mothers on his doorstep!
Over a chaotic weekend, he has to juggle his burgeoning career with the care of four eccentric, combative, and wildly different ladies.
Book your tickets now for this Irish charmer, winner of the BFI London Film Festival Audience Award!
The Golden Spurtle
Documentary | Director: Constantine Costi | Exempt | 75 Mins
Dating back to neolithic times, few culinary traditions have survived as long as the hearty bowl of morning porridge. Despite its simple recipe of oats, salt and water there is a lot that can vary.
Each year the sleepy highland village of Carrbridge awakens with excitement as locals and competitors from around the globe vie for the honour of winning The Golden Spurtle in the World Porridge Making Championships.
Against the backdrop of the breathtaking Scottish Highlands and infused with whimsical humour of an eclectic cast, The Golden Spurtle captures the humanity of village life and those who visit with spurtle in hand.
Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man
Documentary | Director: Trisha Ziff | TBC | 117 Mins
- WINNER: Best International Documentary, Galway Film Fleadh -
Irish republican leader Gerry Adams is one of the most controversial political leaders and visionaries of our time, having led the people of the North of Ireland from conflict to peace.
Adams was a critical voice in the decision taken independently by the IRA to lay down their arms after their twenty-five-year war against the British. Imprisoned and shot, he was demonised and censored by dominant media as a subversive and a terrorist.
An intensely private man, protecting his family from the public eye, Adams tell his story for the first time in this eye-opening documentary. Interwoven with his words, a wealth of imagery of what is one of the most documented conflicts of our time gives an insight into Adams’ world - relaxed, informal, and uncensored.
Beat The Lotto
Documentary | Director: Ross Whitaker | G | 85 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Dublin International Film Festival 2025 -
Beat the Lotto is a rip-roaring tale about the mathematician who, along with a ragtag syndicate, plotted to fix Ireland’s National Lottery in 1992, captivating the nation and sparking rabid debate.
Director Ross Whitaker fashions this unbelievable true story into a gripping thriller, mirroring the tension felt by the public as the lottery authorities caught wind of the plan.
With insightful interviews and fantastic archival footage, Beat the Lotto is a look back at Ireland in the 1990s and a compelling tale of one man’s attempt to outsmart the system.
Twiggy
Documentary | Director: Sadie Frost | TNC | 95 Mins
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: BFI London Film Festival 2024 -
An intimate, star-studded dive into the birth of an icon, and everything that followed, Twiggy is a look at the life of the greatest ‘it-girl’ of all time.
Director Sadie Frost follows up her 2021 documentary Quant with another deep dive into the story of a fashion legend. This time it’s the model and cultural icon Dame Lesley Lawson - better known as Twiggy.
This slick documentary features a combination of fascinating archival footage and new interviews with stars such as Dustin Hoffman, Paul McCartney, Charlotte Tilbury, Joanna Lumley, and many more.
Telling her story for the first time herself, Twiggy is an exploration of the model’s upbringing, career, relationships, and everything else that has made her the woman she is today.
A Room with a View
Drama/Romance | Director: James Ivory | PG | 117 Mins
A Room With a View captured the attention of the world upon its release, bringing the novel by E.M. Forster to dazzling life in the Florentine countryside and in the well-appointed homes of the English Edwardian upper classes. A comedy of manners with a quick wit and impeccable comic timing, A Room With A View is also a portrait of the quiet solitude that lies beneath Forster’s characters, and of the need for human connection in a world of rigid convention.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Drama | Director: Ronald Neame | M | 116 Mins
Maggie Smith earned her first Academy Award for this beloved period drama, originally released in 1969. Smith plays the titular Jean Brodie, a headstrong and liberated young teacher at a private school in 1930s Edinburgh. Eccentric but inspirational, Miss Brodie prefers to avoid any sort of curriculum in favour of what she feels her young female charges should know about life. Outside of class, a small group of girls compete for her favour, but their initial devotion eventually leads to jealousies, betrayal and tragedy. Based on the acclaimed novel and stage play by Muriel Spark, make time during this year’s Festival to revisit Maggie Smith’s award-winning performance.
