Howard Glenn from the theatre said there is a fantastic line up of films from around the world and tickets are now available online.

“For locals, it’s a once a year treat, and for visitors, a chance to visit the beautiful historic township of Dungog and to spend a day at the 100-year old James Theatre,” he said.

Presented by the Friends of the James Theatre Inc, Agog! 2018 will be launched on Friday  at 7pm with the romantic, feel-good French comedy Aurore (M), about a middle-aged woman amid major personal and professional life changes.

The Saturday starts at  11am with The Salesman (M) a powerful drama from Iran that took out the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards.

It is a modern retelling of Arthur Miller’s classic play.

At 1.30pm the Festival will resume with Two is a Family (M), a crowd-pleasing comedy starring the irrepressible Omar Sy, which stormed France’s Christmas holiday season and has charmed audiences internationally, becoming the most popular French-language film of 2017 worldwide.

The afternoon programme continues at 4 pm with a blast of Scandinavian humour in Under the Tree (MA 15+), a delicious black comedy from Iceland about a simmering feud between two neighbouring suburban families that gets out of hand.  

“Our legendary Supper behind the Screen returns, prior to the final film on Saturday night,” said Mr Glenn.

The Festival will finish with Truman (MA 15+), a funny, heartfelt portrait of friendship, and life’s unexpected ups and downs, a critical and popular success in Spain, and an audience favourite internationally.