Cinébites

Palestine 36 (Palestine’s Official Submission for the Academy Awards®) follows Yusuf as he drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest of 1936 Mandate Palestine.

Celebrated filmmaker Kelly Reichardt (First Cow, Showing Up) directs an unforgettable Josh O’Connor in The Mastermind, her latest Cannes triumph. 

Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

From renowned filmmaker Lynne Ramsay this is a visceral and uncompromising portrait of a woman engulfed by love and postpartum psychosis. Anchored by a ferocious, tour de force performance from Jennifer Lawrence, and co-starring Robert Pattinson.

The Technicolor expressionism of Douglas Sirk reached a fever pitch with this operatic tragedy, which finds the director pushing his florid visuals and his critiques of American culture to their subversive extremes.

Neglected pensioner Elsie finds an unexpected ally in her younger neighbour, bringing brighter days for both of them. But Elsie’s son John resents the way that Colleen has selflessly fulfilled the responsibilities that he has shirked. And simmering tensions bring shocking consequences in a gripping human story straight from the heart of broken Britain.

Based on the beloved novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th-century America.

When a single mother and her two daughters relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, they encounter new challenges and generations of secrets that threaten to upend their family unity.

A self-destructive man leading a dissatisfied life tries to find meaning as a fruit vendor, but a heart attack impedes his ability to work, which turns his dissatisfaction into despair.

A joyful, poignant and unexpectedly funny love story which follows acclaimed poet Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley as they navigate life, love and mortality in the face of Andrea’s terminal cancer diagnosis.

Benedict Cumberbatch gives a magnificent performance in the highly anticipated screen adaptation of Max Porter’s award-winning Grief Is the Thing with Feathers.

Predators is a chilling, thought-provoking exploration of the scintillating rise and staggering fall of the MTV show To Catch a Predator, and the underground world it helped spawn.

A troubled fashion designer strikes up a romance with a much younger woman.

A 15-year-old orphan witnesses the shoot for a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and becomes fascinated by its star, Cristina (Marion Cotillard).

Contemporary cinema’s favourite detective Benoit Blanc returns in Rian Johnson’s sharply penned and devilishly fun reinvention of the classic whodunit.

A lonely widow meets a much younger Moroccan worker in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies.

A shy young man finds his place in the world as the submissive to a handsome biker, in Harry Lighton’s charming, sexy and tender debut.

On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical Oklahoma!.

In 1999 Almodóvar had both critics and audiences swooning as he weaved together this magnificent tapestry of femininity to deliver a high-camp operetta and poignant story of love, loss and compassion.

In a UK immigration removal centre, Nigerian migrant Isio finds hope in an unexpected love that gives her the strength to fight a broken system.

A playful, poignant love letter to cinema, Nouvelle Vague reimagines the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless in an exuberant exploration of the youthful rebellion and creative chaos that shaped the French New Wave.

Todd Haynes’ homage to Douglas Sirk’s style of social critique by way of melodrama, masterfully tells the story of a well-to-do suburban couple in 1950s America, straitjacketed by convention, yet desperate to lead lives they are seemingly denied.