FilmChelt is again honoured to be working with The film Orchestra (TfO). What makes TfO truly special is its heart, which brings together professional and amateur musicians to perform entirely for the love of film music in a full-sized, 65-piece symphonic orchestra under the baton of world-renowned conductor David Curtis.
This aligns with FilmChelt’s values as a charity.
To launch this year’s Film Festival, TfO is returning to the magnificent Princess Hall at Cheltenham Ladies College, on Saturday 24th October for a spectacular, Oscars-style gala event that promises to be the musical experience of the year.
Following last year's groundbreaking debut at FilmChelt 2025, this year’s concert will deliver a programme of Oscar-nominated and winning film scores with an oceanic theme, including iconic soundtracks by legendary composers such as John Williams, Ennio Morricone, and Hans Zimmer.
This year’s performance blends the orchestra with both the TfO Choir and the TfO Youth Choir. A major highlight of the night will be a rare live performance of John Williams' powerful theme to Amistad – ‘Dry Your Tears, Afrika.’
With special guests in attendance and a glamorous red-carpet atmosphere, this unique event is not to be missed. Feel free to ‘dress-up as if you are going to the Oscars’ or ‘come as you are’.
Tickets can be purchased via the FilmChelt website.
The full Film Festival 2026 programme will be announced very soon - keep an eye on the FilmChelt website for full details.
In the meantime, here’s a teaser of what’s to come ….
FilmChelt is thrilled to reveal just four of the many Spotlight Films coming to the 2026 festival. More to follow soon, but for now, discover these fantastic pre-releases that will be shown during the festival.
FJORD
This year's Cannes Palme d'Or winner stars two 2025 Oscar nominees - Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) in a gripping, morally complex drama that you will be discussing long after the credits roll.
LA BOLA NEGRA
The link between three men, the Spanish Civil War, and a lost Federico Lorca masterpiece is gradually revealed in this stunningly mounted, decades-spanning epic.
ALL OF A SUDDEN
A chance encounter blossoms into a life-changing friendship and a shared desire to make the world a better place in this absorbing and richly textured opus from the Oscar-nominated director of Drive My Car.
I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTENING
Clio Barnard's (The Selfish Giant, The Arbor) exhilarating slice-of-life drama is about childhood friends who find life in their 30s very different from what they dreamed of as teenagers.
