The bfi London Film Festival was a good place to be last night if laughter, music and uplifting times are your thing - and, let's face it, whose thing aren't they? Don't answer that, Justin Lee Collins.

Two uplifting dramas, one slightly more comedic than the other, took a bow on the West End red carpet. Providing soulful uplift and all-round gala glitz were Chris O'Dowd and his cast of golden larynxed songstresses The Sapphires, including Deborah Mailman of Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Secret Life Of Us fame and her three Aussie co-stars.

On the other side of town, Dustin Hoffman was busy introducing his directorial debut to the UK filmgoing world. Like The Sapphires, Quartet also has a musical thrust, giving Brit thesps Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins and Michael Gambon the chance to pair up with Billy Connolly to make sweet music of an operatic nature.

The Sapphires will be landing in our cinemas on November 7, with Quartet clearing its throat politely in advance of a January 4 release date.