The Brisbane International Film Festival's tenth anniversay edition is mounting a retrospective on the work of Roman Polanski and a spotlight on the new UK directors such as Jonathan Glazer.

Australian film La Spagnola, starring Spanish actor Lola Marceli, opens the event, which runs July 26-August 4. Glazer's Sexy Beast closes proceedings.

A panel of judges will convene this year for the first time to decide on the best Asian film, a move in line with Brisbane's long running interest in films from Asia and the Pacific.

Both the Melbourne and Sydney festivals, which are older and bigger than Brisbane, are considering introducing feature competitions, with Sydney tipped to launch one next year to coincide with its 50th anniversary.