A romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents; following one man's emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out.

Kristopher (Egill Ólafsson) is a widower who is in the early stages of dementia. Realizing there isn’t a lot of time left before his memories are gone completely, he leaves Iceland and ventures to London, hoping to find his lost love. Flashbacks build up the story of how young Kristopher (Pálmi Kormákur) dropped out of school, got a job washing dishes at a Japanese restaurant, and fell in love with the owner’s daughter, Miko (Kōki). The film cleverly builds suspense in two directions simultaneously. We watch old Kristopher trying to find Miko and wondering if he’ll succeed, and we also wait with nervous anticipation to learn why the two were separated decades ago. Director Baltasar Kormákur masterfully weaves a story that encapsulates the human experience with poetic honesty and emotional depth. This is one of the most genuinely romantic movies of the past few years, not lightweight romantic, but rather romantic in a deep, human way that you can feel in your soul. (Some subtitles)

Iceland 2024 Baltasar Kormákur 121m

Imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he did not commit, an inmate finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity and the transformative power of art. Oscar tipped, this is a remarkable film that soars, and is justly hailed by film critics around the world.

Divine G (Colman Domingo) finds purpose at Sing Sing Prison by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men, including a wary newcomer (Clarence Maclin). When the curtain rises on the beauty they’ve all built, what we witness is a work of art that never papers over the injustices, just as we see the men who are fighting for their humanity in a world that doesn’t value it. This isn’t simply a movie about one man experiencing the power of the arts, but about how such a programme acts as a consistent source of sanctuary for everybody involved. Kwedar’s deft direction works in tandem with fine-tuned drama to craft naturalistic mosaics, drawn from a patchwork of real prison experiences. This film will break your heart and rebuild it stronger than before.

USA 2023 Greg Kwedar 105m

El Eco

The unique ties which bind rural farming communities are examined in this richly textured documentary which depicts all the nuances of a small Mexican community living in the remote village of El Eco.

Documenting life in the small village of El Eco in Mexico’s Puebla over the course of 18 months, we observe its changes in weather, fortune and the temperament of its few, tightly bonded residents in fine degrees. Here, everyone’s welfare hangs on the same unkind elements; with the frost and drought punishing the land, they learn to understand death, illness and love with each act, word and silence of their parents. Will the teenage Montse, prematurely aged by the rigours and responsibilities of a life on the land, break the patten and diverge from the path taken by generations of her ancestors? Salvadoran-Mexican director Tatiana Huezo has somehow crafted this compelling and beautifully observed documentary in such a way that it looks like realist drama. (Subtitles)

Mexico/Germany 2023 Tatiana Huezo 102m

This tense, touching and funny portrait of family dynamics follows three estranged sisters as they converge in a New York apartment to care for their ailing father.

Katie (Carrie Coon) is a controlling Brooklyn mother dealing with a wayward teenage daughter; free-spirited Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) is separated from her offspring for the first time; and Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) is a sports-betting stoner who has never left her father's apartment. We follow the siblings over the course of three volatile days, as death looms, grievances erupt and love seeps through the cracks of a fractured home.

USA 2023 Azazel Jacobs 101m

Gou Zhen

As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, a newly released convict bonds with a black stray and the two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.

A warm-hearted crowd pleaser about an ex-convict - Land (Eddie Peng) - and the canine he befriends, this the latest picture from prolific Chinese director Guan Hu, which elevates the man and dog genre in this moving film in which a lost soul is redeemed by his bond with a trusty mutt. This is a beautiful film that, with few words, reveals a personal drama while reflecting a complex social situation that affects many communities in China. The film makes the most of its blighted Gobi desert backdrop. Cinematographer Gai Weizhe shoots in widescreen, the better to capture the intimidatingly bleak lunar expanses of rock and sand. One of two very good Chinese films in this season’s programme (see also ‘Only the River Flows’). (Subtitles)

China 2024 Hu Guan 110m

Saoirse Ronan astounds as a young woman searching for grace in the face of addiction.

After living life on the edge in London, Rona (Ronan) attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland's Orkney Islands (where she grew up but left more than a decade ago) hoping to heal. As she reconnects with the dramatic landscape where she grew up, memories of her childhood merge with the more recent challenging events that have set her on the path to recovery. This is that rare, effective addiction film with a potent, if simple, message: if you persevere with curiosity and awe of the world, you will open the door to loving yourself as a part of it all. Adapted from Amy Liptrot's bestselling memoir.

UK 2023 Nora Fingscheidt 118m

An architect wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster. This was the most polarizing film at this years’ Cannes Film Festival.

Francis Ford Coppola turns the fall of ancient Rome into a fable about the perils of American capitalistic greed. Caesar (Adam Driver) is a celebrity architect with aspirations to build a utopia in the ruins of New York City, here called New Rome. This is the battleground between Cesar, Mayor Frankyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) and Hamilton Crassus (Jon Voight), head of the national bank. The supporting cast also includes Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Shia LaBeouf and Dustin Hoffman. Premiered at Cannes 2024 to a mixed reception, and as is most often the case, the most interesting films are those that once seen, leave you not knowing if you have seen a stinker, or the best film ever made.

USA 2024 Francis Ford Coppola 138m

ROH

Tumble down the rabbit hole in this ballet adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s famous family story. Journey through Wonderland with Alice and encounter a host of curious characters in Christopher Wheeldon’s unique theatrical interpretation.  

Sat 19 Oct 14:00

Mavka: Lisova Pisnya

A beautiful Ukrainian animation based on a well-known story from Slavic mythology that celebrates the power of love, and the harmony between humankind and the natural world. Screened originally at the 2023 Chichester Film Festival, and brought back this season in support of the local Ukrainian community.

After a long-forgotten war between humans and the spirits of the forest that sees the mountains declared forbidden to humans, Lucas is tasked by the evil Kylina to find the tree of healing that caused the war. Young and naive forest nymph Mavka takes a shine to village artist Lucas, to the strong disapproval of the rest of the forest spirits and humans alike. There are strong ecological themes here, as well as some good old-fashioned fairytale morals about vanity and selfishness. This visually stunning film includes some beautiful Ukrainian folk music with striking close harmonies. (Subtitles)

Ukraine 2023 Oleh Malamuzh & Oleksandra Ruban 99m

Met Opera

Two-time Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s powerful new opera ‘Grounded’, commissioned by the Met and based on librettist George Brant’s acclaimed play, wrestles with the ethical quandaries and psychological toll of 21st-century warfare.

Sun 20 Oct 15:00

To complement our ‘Catching Fire’ special Q&A event and Rolling Stones talk, we present this career-spanning documentary on the band, with concert footage from their ‘A Bigger Bang’ tour.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese documents the Stones' energetic performance at New York's Beacon Theatre. The concert, filmed in 2006, features Stones standards and favourites, plus guest appearances by Buddy Guy, Christina Aguilera and Jack White III. Scorsese takes note of the band's long career with music clips and interviews from previous decades. This is a masterful concert film, one that will appeal to movie lovers and hardcore Stones admirers alike.

USA 2008 Martin Scorsese 122m

In this sharp, visceral and blackly humorous read on showbiz culture and society, a young actor in a cycle of nightmarish auditions takes it upon himself to find a new part to play.

Aden (Nabhaan Rizwan) is a young man who spends most of his time recording self-tapes for parts he never gets. After he receives multiple rejections for a series of terrible commercial auditions, he takes it upon himself to find a new part to play. This is a distressing metaphor for acting as a career, the ways in which we see other people, how we exploit what we see, and the harm that can cause. A seriously talented performer, Rizwan shines in a role that demands every shade in the spectrum from goofy comedy to dark contemplation. The varying characters he plays in auditions are vividly focussed and the layers of emotion Aden feels throughout each moment are easy to identify with.

UK 2023 Naqqash Khalid 95m