Ben Wheatley’s (Free Fire) seventh feature, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, will air in the UK on BBC Two over Christmas after its London Film Festival (Oct 10-21) world premiere.

Following LFF, the comedy-drama will screen around the UK in a limited run of Q&A sessions and will forego a theatrical run in favour of a holiday broadcast after being jointly picked up by BBC Films, BBC Comedy and BBC Two.

The UK pic, which is being sold internationally by Goalpost Film in Toronto, focuses on Colin Burstead (Neil Maskell) who hires a lavish country manor for his extended family to celebrate New Year. But his position of power in the family comes under threat from the arrival of his estranged brother David.

Also among cast are Richard Glover, Peter Ferdinando, Mark Monero, Sam Riley, Asim Chaudhry, Joe Cole, Charles Dance, Alexandra Maria Lara, Doon Mackichan, Sinead Matthews, Bill Paterson and Hayley Squires.

Producer Andy Starke said of the release, “It was an amazing experience making the film with such a talented cast and crew and we are extremely pleased to be able to release the film in a way that makes sense of a very complicated releasing landscape – the BBC is the perfect home for Ben’s state of the nation drama.”

Wheatley is currently writing an extended TV series featuring the same characters for future broadcast.