★★★☆☆
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.
★★★☆☆
Who Do I Belong To, an unsettlingly topical first feature by Meryam Joobeur, looks at identity in a post-ISIS world and sets out to challenge perceptions and prejudices.
★★★★☆
When the Light Breaks is a beautiful, poetic study of young people’s grief by Rúnar Rúnarsson.
★★★★☆
The Goldman Case directed by Cédric Kahn grippingly reconstructs the 1976 trial of voluble and charismatic leftist Pierre Goldman and tackles antisemitism and history.
★★★★☆
Girls Will Be Girls, writer/director Shuchi Talati’s first feature, is a well-observed dramatisation of the misogyny that affects the lives of girls and women.
★★★★☆
U Are The Universe is Ukrainian writer and director Pavlo Ostrikov’s gem of an amazing first feature.
★★★☆☆
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.
★★★★☆
The Witness, directed by Nader Saeivar and co-written with Jafar Panahi, uses women and dance to tell the story of contemporary Iran.
★★★★☆
Only the River Flows is a scintillating Chinese neo-noir, the third film directed by Wei Shujun.
★★★★☆
Locarno Film Festival 2024
★★★★☆
Shayda, the heartfelt first feature directed by Noora Niasari, is a compelling story of an Iranian woman fleeing domestic abuse to seek cultural freedom.
★★★★☆
Vintage classic The Small Back Room, Powell and Pressburger’s must-see 1948 noir masterpiece, has been restored and released in new 4K.
★★★★☆
Cannes Film Featival 2024: Un Certain Regard Awards
★★★★☆
Cannes Film Festival Day 10