The Dinard British and Irish Film Festival takes place from 1 to 5 October. There are five films in competition as well as a short-film section, documentaries and lots of special showings.
The opening film of the festival is one of several first films directed by actors. My Mother’s Wedding was written and directed by Kristen Scott Thomas, who also stars alongside Scarlett Johansson and Sienna Millet. Scott Thomas is the titular mother, whose daughters are coming to celebrate her third wedding.
James McAvoy directed California Schemin’, based on the true story of two young men from Dundee who want to make it as rappers but don’t think white guys with Scottish accents have a chance. So they reinvent themselves as Americans.
Harris Dickinson (The King's Man, Scrapper) wrote and directed Urchin, based on time spent helping homeless people in London. (On general release in February.)
The festival closes with The Penguin Lessons, based on the best selling memoir by Tom Michell. It stars Steve Coogan as a British teacher who goes to teach in Argentina in the 1970s, discovers the political chaos there and adopts a penguin.
There are documentaries and retrospectives about Alfred Hitchcock, the festival’s mascot, Charlie Chaplin, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the original supermodel, Twiggy, and Irish author Edna O’Brien and English photographer Martin Parr.
Films in Competition
Rupert Everett is the president of the Jury.
Dragonfly by Paul Andrew Williams is in the Under Pressure section of the festival. Andrea Riseborough plays Colleen, who starts helping her elderly neighbour, played by Brenda Blethyn. But are Colleen's intentions disinterested? The two actresses jointly won the Performance award at the Tribeca Festival.
You can watch the trailer here.
Mr Burton by Marc Evans is in the Creative Forces section. It is a biopic about the legendary Welsh actor Richard Burton. Harry Lawtey plays Rich Jenkins and Toby Jones embodies Philip Burton, the school teacher who nurtured the young acting talent and became his adoptive father.
My Father's Shadow by Akinola Davies Jr is in the Stand by Me section. The semi-autobiographical story is set over one day in the Nigerian megalopolis of Lagos during the 1993 electoral crisis. A father tries to guide his two young sons through the sprawling city as political unrest looms. On general release 25 March 2026.
The final two films in competition are from the Frissons section.
The Damned by Thordur Palsson is set in an isolated 19th-century Icelandic fishing village. Along with her crew, Eva, a widow played by Odessa Young, is cursed after choosing not help a sinking ship off the coast.
The Thing with Feathers by Dylan Southern was adapted from the book Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as a grieving father looking after his two sons after their mother's death. A crow, voiced by David Thewlis, which appears to have come to life from one of the father's illustrations, enters the family's life and gives a running commentary.
Dinard British and Irish Film Festival
1 to 5 October
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Dinard Film Festival
Tag(s) : "biopic" "British culture" "comedy" "coming-of-age" "Dinard" "festival" "film" "Irish culture" "Irish films" "Nigeria" "Richard Burton" "video"
