★★★★★, France, Germany, out now, Picturehouse, Reviews, Turkey

About Dry Grasses (2023) (Kuru Otlar Üstüne)

By Alexa Dalby

★★★★★
About Dry Grasses by Nuri Bilge Ceylan is another masterpiece from the Turkish auteur.

★★★★, Australia, Drama, Female Filmmakers, out now, Reviews, Sundance

Shayda (2023)

By Alexa Dalby

★★★★☆
Shayda, the heartfelt first feature directed by Noora Niasari, is a compelling story of an Iranian woman fleeing domestic abuse to seek cultural freedom.

★★★, Berlin Film Festival 2023, documentary, France, out now, Picturehouse, Reviews

Orlando, My Political Biography (2023) (Orlando, Ma Biographie Politique)

By Alexa Dalby

★★★☆☆
Orlando, My Political Biography by trans activist Paul B Preciado is a moving documentary inspired by Virginia Woolf’s novel.

★★★, coming of age, documentary, Female Filmmakers, festivals, First-time filmmakers, out now, Reviews, Scotland, UK

Sheffield Documentary Festival: The Boy and the Suit of Lights (2024) (El niño y el traje de luces)

By Alexa Dalby

★★★★☆
The Boy and the Suit of Lights is a raw documentary by Inma De Reyes that uncovers an insider’s view of some of the tensions between traditional and modern Spain.

★★★, BFI London Film Festival 2023, documentary, out now, Reviews, UK

Wilding (2023)

By Alexa Dalby

★★★★☆
Wilding, based on Isabella Tree’s 2018 book, directed by David Allen, is a lyrical hymn to the self-healing of the English countryside.

★★★, Berlin Film Festival 2022, documentary, France, Icon, On Demand, out now, Reviews, VoD

Heart of an Oak (2022) (Le Chêne)

By Alexa Dalby

★★★☆☆
The Heart of an Oak, directed by Laurent Charbonnier and Michel Seydoux, edited by Sylvie Lager, is a year of magnificent photography in the life of the creatures – animals, birds and insects – that live in or around a huge 200-year-old oak tree in a forest in France.