THE highly successful 2015 Autumn in Malvern Festival is heading towards its conclusion over the next two weekends with illustrated talks and an award-winning film.

Today, distinguished art historian, Timothy Wilcox, talks about Dame Laura Knight's painting during the two world wars.

Based on his extensive new research, he explores Knight's anxieties in Cornwall during the the Great War in contrast to her public recognition during World War II, enjoyed from the seclusion of her wartime retreat in Malvern.

Laura Knight at War and Peace is at Colwall Village Hall, starting at 11am.

And this afternoon Pamela Hurle launches her new book on the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey with a talk at the Coach House Theatre, Grange Road, Malvern.

In her illustrated talk, she explores the history of the nuns who came to Callow End in 1838, and remained there until they relocated to North Yorkshire in 2009.

On Sunday, October 25, the Coach House Theatre is the venue for a screening of Jean Sibelius: Maturity and Silence, Christopher Nupen's award-winning film about the Finnish composer, who was born 150 years ago.

The film, featuring Vladimir Ashkenazy and Elisabeth Soderstrom, won top prizes at the New York and Banff film festivals.

And the last major event of the festival is the Dulcimer World Congress which runs from Monday to Thursday, October 16-29, which brings together players from over 15 countries at Malvern St James School, Avenue Road.

The festival features nine concerts, showcasing the family of stringed instruments that includes such exotic members as the hammered dulcimer, cimbalom, hackbrett and yangqin.

Although many people will hardly have heard of the dulcimer, they most certainly will have heard them played. From John Barry’s classic 1960s film scores like The Ipcress Files to Michael Giacchino’s score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Howard Shore’s for the Lord of the Rings, the music behind David Attenborough’s Life of Plants and many more as well as countless radio plays, the evocative moods created by their distinctive sound have become favourites of many composers for film, TV, radio and the concert hall over the last century or so.

Peter Smith, the festival's founder and artistic director, said: "We've had a very successful year, with a number of sell-outs and near-capacity events. The baroque concert with the European Union Chamber Orchestra was a great favourite."