‘Mary Poppins’ Leads British Academy’s Film Screenings

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts in Los Angeles is hosting a 21-film, eight-day “British and the Oscar Film Festival” at the Edwards Town Center Cinema starting today at 3 with a screening of “Mary Poppins.”

About half the films are British productions and half are American. What links them are Academy Awards won by Britons for acting, directing, composing and technical work, according to Christopher Toyne, one of the festival organizers.

Among the films are the original 207-minute version of “Ryan’s Daughter” directed by David Lean; Laurence Olivier’s 1944 “Henry V”; Lean’s restored “Lawrence of Arabia,” and “Genocide,” which won the 1982 Oscar for best documentary.

Toyne said “Ryan’s Daughter,” to be shown Sunday at 3 p.m., is particularly noteworthy because the print is “the only projectable copy in existence.” Actually, he said, 12 prints remain of the film, but the British Academy studied them all and found “all the others were in terrible shape, mainly because they’ve faded and suffered chemical damage.”

Toyne added that several stars, directors, writers and composers are expected to attend screenings and to speak before or afterward. Among them: Julie Andrews (at today’s screening of “Mary Poppins”), Ben Cross (at “Chariots of Fire,” today at 7 p.m.), Sir John Mills (at “Ryan’s Daughter,” Sunday at 3 p.m.), Dr. Haing S. Ngor (at “The Killing Fields,” Sunday at 7:30 p.m.), Susannah York and Tony Richardson (at “Tom Jones,” Thursday at 5 p.m.), Sir Richard Attenborough (at “Gandhi,” Thursday at 7:30 p.m.) and Rod Steiger (at “Doctor Zhivago,” Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m.).

The schedule:

Today: “Mary Poppins” at 3 p.m., “Chariots of Fire” at 7 p.m., “Separate Tables” at 9:30 p.m.

Sunday: “Oliver!” at 2 p.m., “Ryan’s Daughter” at 3 p.m., “The Killing Fields” at 7:30 p.m.

Monday: “Henry V” at 8 p.m.

Tuesday: “Genocide” at 6 p.m., “The Red Shoes” at 8 p.m.

Wednesday: “Great Expectations” at 6 p.m., “A Man for All Seasons” at 8:30 p.m.

Thursday: “Tom Jones” at 5 p.m., “Gandhi” at 7:30 p.m.

Friday: “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” at 5 p.m., “Lawrence of Arabia” at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 20: “Born Free” at 4 p.m., “Out of Africa” at 6 p.m., “The Private Life of Henry VIII” at 9 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 21: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” at 3 p.m., “Julia” at 5 p.m., “Doctor Zhivago” at 7:30 p.m.

Edwards Town Center is at 3199 Park Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets: $6 per screening. Information: (714) 751-4184. The films are being presented in conjunction with the Orange County Festival of Britain, a combination arts festival/retail promotion.