Padre Pio (2022)
★★★★☆
Abel Ferrara’s Padre Pio links religious fervour, the growth of fascism and socialism, and the Ukraine invasion, and is based on true events culminating on 14 October 1920.
USA
The Holdovers (2023)
★★★★☆
December 1970, a grumpy teacher forced to stay on campus over the holidays gradually bonds with a volatile teenager in Alexander Payne’s latest comedy drama The Holdovers.
BFI LFF 2023: Chasing Chasing Amy (2023)
★★★★☆
In Chasing Chasing Amy director Sav Rodgers explains in a moving documentary of self-discovery what Kevin Smith’s iconic 1997 romcom Chasing Amy has meant to LGBTQ+ people over the years.
BFI LFF 2023: The Holdovers (2023)
★★★★☆
December 1970, a grumpy teacher forced to stay on campus over the holidays gradually bonds with a volatile teenager in Alexander Payne’s latest comedy drama The Holdovers.
Past Lives (2023)
★★★★☆
Universally acclaimed romantic Past Lives is an extraordinary feature debut by US/Korean Celine Song.
Fremont (2023)
★★★★☆
Fremont directed by Babak Jalali is an absurdist but moving look at displacement and the immigrant experience.
Passages (2023)
★★★★☆
Passages is Ira Sachs’ toxic European love triangle set in Paris, starring Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw and Adèle Exarchopoulos.
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (2022)
★★★ώ☆
Bobi Wine:The People’s President: an illuminating Uganda-set National Geographic documentary about the hugely popular musician turned politician who challenged the incumbent, long-serving President.
Scrapper (2023)
★★★★☆
Scrapper, an inventive, award-winning first feature written and directed by Charlotte Regan, was the crowd-pleasing opening film of the Sundance London Film Festival.
Sundance London 2023 – Opening and Closing Films
★★★★☆
Sundance London 2023 Opening and Closing Films
Reality (2023)
★★★★☆
25-year-old former American intelligence specialist Reality Winner is confronted by FBI agents arriving at her home. Based on true events, Tina Satter’s film’s dialogue is directly from the transcript of their tense, transfixing conversation.
Cannes Film Festival 2023: Day 3: 18 May 2023
★★★★☆
Cannes Film Festival 2023: Day 3: 18 May 2023
I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) (2021)
★★★★☆
US festival favourite I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) is a touching, positive indie movie, female written and directed, made during Los Angeles’ lockdown (see the mask use) focusing on the struggles to be independent of a widowed mother who happens to be homeless, black and female – and beautiful.
A Love Song (2022)
★★★★☆
Dale Dickey plays a widow reflecting on life and love and the possibility of connection with an old friend in writer/director Max Walker-Silverman’s tender character study A Love Song.