The Stranger (2025) (L’Étranger)
★★★★☆
The Stranger by François Ozon is an atmospheric adaptation of Camus’ classic.
Venice
Broken English (2025)
★★★★☆
Marianne Faithfull is a much-misunderstood icon. Broken English, this documentary to set the record straight, made near the end of her life by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, also features myriad stars of music and film.
Mother Vera (2024)
★★★☆☆
Mother Vera is an award-winning documentary by Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson that enthrallingly reveals the life of a nun in Belarusia both pre- and post-convent.
Mistress Dispeller (2024)
★★★☆☆
Mistress Dispeller, an intimate documentary with extraordinary access by Elizabeth Lo, shows a unique Chinese practice.
Venice 2025: 27 August-6 September
★★★★☆
Venice Film Festival 2025
A Complete Unknown (2024)
★★★★☆
A Complete Unknown is an excellently written and acted, star-studded (Timothée Chalamet) biopic directed by James Mangold of four crucial early years in the life of iconoclastic genius, musician and poet, Nobel Prize-winning Bob Dylan.
Maria (2024)
★★★★☆
Maria, an emotional biopic, directed by Pablo Larrain, starring an incredible performance by Angelina Jolie as the iconic Maria Callas.
The Universal Theory (2023) (Die Theorie von Allem)
★★★☆☆
The Universal Theory directed by Timm Kröger is a stunning homage to all those black-and-white film-noir mysteries of the 1940s with a dreamlike sci-fi twist.
BFI LFF 2024: Harvest (2024)
★★★☆☆
Life in a remote rural community is disrupted by three intruders and then by a new landlord threatening upheaval in director’s Athina Rachel Tsangari’s drama Harvest.
BFI London Film Festival 2024: Aïcha (2023)
★★★☆☆
Aïcha, directed by Mehdi Barsaoui, is a gripping, thrilling study of the evolution of a young woman as she tries to find a new life and new identity after being assumed dead, amid endemic corruption in Tunisia.
BFI LFF 2024: Maldoror (2024)
★★★☆☆
Maldoror directed by Fabrice du Welz is a dark, tense and moral thriller in its examination of the nature of evil based on a horrific real-life Belgian case.
Venice 2024: Maldoror (2024)
★★★☆☆
Maldoror directed by Fabrice du Welz is a dark thriller based on a horrific real-life case.
VENICE 2024: Aïcha (2024)
★★★☆☆
Aïcha, directed by Mehdi Barsaoui, is a thrilling study of a young woman’s life amid endemic corruption in Tunisia, as she tries to find a new life and new identity.
Venice 2024: The Witness (2024) (Shahed)
★★★★☆
The Witness, directed by Nader Saeivar and co-written with Jafar Panahi, uses women and dance to tell the story of contemporary Iran.