Last night’s 61st London Film Festival went off with a bang as the European premiere of Andy Serkis’ Breathe drew elation from the audience.

The 11-day festival will see the capital overrun with film-goers - with venues across the city being turned opened widely and proudly with new films from a range of directors from all over the world.

To kick off the festival was Andy Serkis’ directorial feature debut, Breathe, starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy as Robin and Diana Cavendish, a real-life couple whose lives are changed as Robin contracts polio and the two must fight to make the most of life.

But this story is bigger than just the two of them: once Robin’s comfort is secured after some feisty work from Diana, they then set about making this the reality for the thousands of other severely disabled people, doing so with humour, wit, and incredible bouncebackability.

The producer on the film and co-founder of The Imaginarium Studio, Jonathan Cavendish, is the only child of Diana and Robin and has been, with his mother, working to improve the situation for disabled people and help more and Breathe: Andy Serkis’ triumphant debut more people to have access to what they need, namely in their recent creation of a charity to help severely disabled people go on holidays.

The film is warm and affectionately made, with a far wittier and more upbeat tone that one might expect going into a film which would usually fall into a ‘historical romance’ genre. Diana’s character is well formed - she is a woman of strength and perseverance whose devotion to her husband goes far beyond what one would expect of their marital vows, and she is played with nuance and real power by Claire Foy.

But the stand-out performance comes from Andrew Garfield, who for the majority of the film must convey the full range of emotions explored just by using his face. He himself spoke about learning the rhythms of the ventilator and having to find ways to express emotion while being paralysed, with this fact needing to become second nature in order to really create what was needed. His work is subtle yet packs a real punch, with the brilliant script from Bill Nicholson giving him all the quips and ammo he needs to remain the buoyant, joyful man Robin seems to have been.

The supporting cast are all on top form here, with an impressive turn from Tom Hollander playing subtly different twins acting as both comic relief and a poignant example of the way Robin’s friends and family came together: it really took a village.

Other films in store for film festival fans are the new Guillermo del Toro romantic fantasy starring Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water, and a war epic following the famous R.C Sherriff play, Journey’s End.

Paddy Considine is set to shine in his new boxing film, Journeyman, and the hotly anticipated Battle of the Sexes, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell as Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs taking to the tennis court in their iconic match.

The London Film Festival opened on October 4th and takes place at venues across the capital until October 15.

Breathe is set for general release on October 27.