This simply joyous, hilarious and endlessly enjoyable film is already one of our absolute favourites of the year: a magical, effervescent pleasure that is the very definition of a crowdpleaser. Filmed in stunning black and white with no dialogue, it's an ode to silent films and the art of visual storytelling with a very modern pace. Set in 20s Hollywood, it centres on George (Jean Dujardin, winner of the Best Actor prize at Cannes), a dapper, arrogant silent movie star whose career comes to an abrupt end with the arrival of the talkies while smitten fan Peppy (Bérénice Bejo) is contracted to be the next big star. Audiences have burst into spontaneous applause watching this: go and see why for yourself. Utterly charming and unmissable.

Over 13,000 of you have been to see it here at Watershed, making Michel Hazanavicius' multiple award-winner our most successful film ever (we're thirty years young in June with some 7500 films under our belt, so it's certainly no mean feat). Why has it been so popular? We sat down with Head of Programme Mark Cosgrove to discuss why this joyous silent movie has made such a big noise.

5* "The first time I have actually wept tears of joy... This witty and moving homage to the silent movie era is one of the most purely enjoyable movies in years." Guardian

5* "Heart-swellingly joyful... Visually ravishing and utterly beguiling." Telegraph

5* "Retro but totally modern, frivolous yet fundamentally serious, The Artist is a thing of grace and joy and a great American film - of the sort it takes the French to make." The Independent

"An irresistible reminder of nearly everything that makes movies great." New York Times