It is Belfast in 1969, and young Buddy must chart a path towards adulthood through a world that has suddenly turned upside down. Everything he thought he understood about life is changed forever but joy, laughter, music and the formative magic of the movies remain.
Year: UK 2021
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Caitríona Balfe, Jude Hill, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench
Language: English
Duration: 97 Minutes
Cert: 12A
A group of young single men are stuck on a fictional Scottish island, awaiting the results of their asylum claims. A gentle and intelligent performance from Amir El-Masry as Omar, who has carried his grandfather’s oud all the way from Syria, Limbo is a poignant observation of the refugee experience.
Year: UK 2020
Director: Ben Sharrock
Cast: Amir El-Masry, Vikash Bhai, Ola Orebiyi
Language: Arabic, English
Duration: 104 Minutes
Cert: 12A
This witty documentary follows four Sudanese filmmakers whose careers were stalled by a military coup thirty years previously. Their ‘Sudanese Film Club’ decide to reopen an outdoor movie theatre in the face of decades of Islamist censorship and inefficient bureaucracy.
Year: France 2019
Director: Suhaib Gasmelbari
Cast: retired filmmakers Ibrahim Shadad, Manar Al Hilo
Language: Arabic, English
Duration: 95 Minutes
Cert: PG
Set in Bradford, this charming story of autumnal love follows Ali and Ava, who meet through their shared affection for the child of Ali’s Slovakian tenants. Sparks fly between them, but they must conquer not only their pasts, but race, middle age, parenthood and grandparenthood, and the tensions of class.
Year: UK 2021
Director: Clio Barnard
Cast: Adeel Akhtar and Claire Rushbrook
Language: English
Duration: 94 Minutes
Cert: 15
Based on a news story in Japan, this is a subtle drama about a family who steal to supplement their meagre finances. However, events develop when they give shelter to a young girl they encounter while out stealing, building up to an extraordinary ending.
Year: Japan 2018
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando
Language: Japanese
Duration: 121 Minutes
Cert: 15
On the busiest night of the year at one of the London’s upmarket restaurants, head chef Andy Jones is under pressure as he battles with multiple personal and professional crises. This gripping drama was filmed in one shot, chosen out of just four takes, as filming was cut short due to Covid lockdown.
Year: UK 2021
Director: Philip Barantini
Cast: Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Ray Panthaki
Language: English
Duration: 92 Minutes
Cert: 15
An unemployed, unskilled and bored Welshman has one goal – to travel to Denmark, get himself arrested and sent to prison where, according to a YouTube video he has seen, the beds are warm and the water is hot. This heart-warming comedy comes from the award-winning team behind Hinterland.
Year: UK 2020
Director: Adrian Shergold
Cast: Rafe Spall, Simone Lykke, Thomas Gabrielsson
Language: English
Duration: 91 Minutes
Cert: 15
A moving drama about Olga, a young Ukrainian gymnast in Switzerland, working to secure a place at the country’s National Sports Centre. When the Euromaiden civil unrest begins in Ukraine with large protests in Kyiv, anxieties rise as her family gets involved.
Year: Switzerland 2022
Director: Elie Grappe
Cast: Anastasiia Budiashkina, Sabrina Rubtsova
Language: Ukranian
Duration: 87 Minutes
Cert: 15
A powerful and transporting documentary celebrating Black history, culture and fashion. The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, but the footage was mostly unused for 50 years. Includes never-before-seen performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips and more.
Year: US 2021
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Cast: performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone & more
Language: English
Duration: 118 Minutes
Cert: 12
Janis and Ana are both single and became pregnant by accident. They bond in hospital, waiting to give birth, and due to a chance occurrence some time later, their relationship is rekindled. This moving film celebrates the courage of the new mothers, set against a background of fallout from the Spanish Civil War.
Year: Spain 2021
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit
Language: Spanish
Duration: 123 Minutes
Cert: 12
