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

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