Nanni Moretti's warm mix of wry comedy and sombre family drama is his best film since The Son's Room, which picked up the Palme d'Or back in 2001. Here, in lightly disguised autobiographical mode, he tells the story of Margherita (Margherita Buy), a filmmaker anxiously juggling the demands of her career (she is a quasi-mother to her lead actor, played with relish by John Turturro), her teenage daughter, and the decline of her ageing mother, Ada.

With characteristic openness to the big questions and the way they are manifested in our everyday existence, Moretti moves between Margherita's personal and professional lives in a lifelike mix of thoughtfulness and humour. A seductive exploration of familial loss, ageing, gender and, indeed, filmmaking.

• The screenings of Mia Madre on Tue 6 Oct are part of our Cinébites deal: Get 30% off any main dish in the Café/Bar with a valid cinema ticket.

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