Movies. Everyone has a favourite, everyone has a moment they love, either because it makes them laugh or cry or just feel something.
Now, to celebrate 25 years of BBC Films, a selection of brilliant British films are being shown on TV, and I’ve picked my favourites which feel particularly special to me. I think the films are inspiring, and showcase everything that gives British cinema its trademark uniqueness:
1 The British way with feelings
I think what makes British films exceptional is their ability to interweave pathos alongside comedy, so in Billy Elliot – one of my favourite films, we could have had quite a depressing portrayal of the miners’ strike but instead we get an uplifting movie about a boy learning ballet against all the odds.
Every scene in Billy Elliot is quotable, but the one which still makes me grin like a loon is when he's sitting down with friend Debbie who says, "If you want, I'll show you me fanny." Billy's reaction? "Nah, I'm all right."
2 Unexceptional-looking heroes
I've never been a fan of Alan Partridge, in fact I've actively avoided 'him' and when I sat down to watch Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, the opening credits rolled with a North Norfolk Digital logo and everyone sniggered. I rolled my eyes. Ninety minutes of in-jokes? No thanks.
Ninety minutes later, I was so happy to be wrong, it had everything I'd come to expect from a British comedy: an unexceptional-looking hero, inappropriate jokes and a hefty amount of self-deprecation.
3 They make me laugh more than any other comedies
But it's not just confined to the funny men. Look at Made in Dagenham, such a brilliant, feel good film. It's rousing in a way that only British films seem to be. It's a film that, when I have all my girls round, I stick on so we can all cheer when Sally Hawkins makes a stand (literally, she stands on the table to make her very valid argument for equal pay) or when Miranda Richardson screams abuse at her incompetent lackeys.
It's films like these, where the history of it should be common knowledge, that make me feel so incredibly proud of the filmmakers who bother to tell these stories.
4 Me and my mum can find a favourite we both love
When An Education came out, not only did it star the amazing Carey Mulligan in one of her earliest film roles as Jenny, the schoolgirl with big ambitions, but it was set in the 60s when my mum was also a schoolgirl, also smoking Sobranie cigarettes and speaking in French because she thought it sounded cool.
Basically, the film resonated with her. And after years of hearing stories about her childhood, I could actually picture it without the stereotype of the Swinging Sixties getting in the way, making it one of our staples to watch together.
5 They get you crying and that can only be good
If anyone has ever listened to my reviews on BBC Radio 1, they will know that I cry at anything, whether it's tragic, inspiring or hilarious (I've even been known to cry during a love scene - Kate Winslet really IS that good). Looking through the list of films being shown as part of BBC Films’ celebration across BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer, there are barely any I haven't cried in.
But that's the power of cinema. Watching a brilliant woman's mind disintegrate (Iris); seeing a blind man welcome back the love of his life (Jane Eyre); learning the eventual fates of a group of hopeful Oxbridge-bound young men (The History Boys): these are all moments which have stayed with me because of the tears shed during viewing.
I'm thinking about streaming all of my favourites via BBC iPlayer, getting the popcorn in (because contrary to popular belief, as a film critic, I don't actually eat all that much of it) and creating my own film night.
Which films would you include?
Rhianna Dhillon is a film critic for BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra.
A celebration of 25 years of BBC Films starts on Saturday, 16 May on BBC Two. See the full list of upcoming BBC Films being shown on TV on the BBC Films website.
Some films will also be available to watch and download in BBC iPlayer for seven days after broadcast on TV. See what films are currently available in the Films section of BBC iPlayer.
Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.