Steve McQueen’s new film follows the story of a group of Londoners during the bombings of the British capital in World War II.

Nine-year-old George (Elliott Heffernan) is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on a journey back home as Rita searches for him. His adventures see him leap from a moving train before finding charity and bigotry, air-raid wardens and criminals (the always wonderful Kathy Burke and Stephen Graham). McQueen does a great job of showing an overview of the Blitz through a series of often powerful and moving moments, somehow making the subject matter feel monumental, even though we have seen documented, honoured and reinterpreted on screen many times before.

UK 2024 Steve McQueen 120m

Andrea Arnold’s latest film premiered in Cannes and stars probably the most impressive British actor of current times – Barry Keoghan.

Bailey (Nykiya Adams) lives with her brother Hunter (Jason Buda) and her father Bug (Keoghan), who raises them alone in a squat in northern Kent. Bug doesn't have much time to devote to them, so Bailey looks for attention and adventure elsewhere, including with a mysterious man named Bird (a riveting Franz Rogowski). Keoghan is superbly attuned to Arnold’s naturalistic style, and in turn, Arnold brings out the best of his softness and charisma. Arnold’s filmmaking is typically robust, buoyed by another great soundtrack of course, and she leaves us with the sentiment that the kids, regardless of life’s trivial circumstances, are going to be all right.

UK 2024 Andrea Arnold 119m

Follows the lives of the Charles family as they deal with themes of family legacy and more, in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano.

Mississippi 4 July 1911. As the white landowners are outdoors enjoying thunderous Independence Day fireworks, young Black men, led by Boy Charles (Stephan James), break into one of their antebellum homes to take a piano with intricate carvings etching his family’s history from slavery to its wood panels. There is conflict from Boy Willie (John David Washington) who is keen to sell the heirloom, and Uncle Doaker (Samuel L Jackson) is a highlight as he takes a comically neutral - but not informed - stance to arguments over the piano and the ghosts shackled to it. This is the third film, after ‘Fences’ and ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, that Denzel Washington has produced from playwright August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle. It’s also the finest.

USA 2024 Malcolm Washington 127m

In 1960, sixteen newly independent African countries enter the United Nations. To the rhythms of a jazz soundtrack, Congo becomes the arena in which the battle over the UN is fought.

As Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe at the UN in reaction to the neo-colonial grab of the resources of newly independent Congo, UN delegates from African Countries are blackmailed. In an incredulous twist Patrice Lumumba’s assassination unites the Afro-Asian block, demanding the UN General Assembly to vote for immediate worldwide decolonisation. In this highly explosive context, the United States government dispatches Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone as Jazz Ambassadors around the world – as a diversion from CIA-backed coups. Cutting between home movies, official texts, historical footage and Patrice Lumumba’s speeches, the film uses an endless rhythm of rumba and jazz to unravel colonial machinations of power in 1960. ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat’ is a huge achievement, one that intertwines the history of jazz and colonisation. (Some subtitles)

Belgium/France 2024 Johan Grimonprez 150m

Winner of five Oscars, including Best Film, Director, Actor and Actress. A true classic which must be seen by all lovers of quality film.

1963. When Korean War veteran Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) gets transferred for evaluation from a prison to a mental institution, he assumes it will be a less restrictive environment. But the tyrannical Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) runs the psychiatric ward with an iron fist, keeping her patients cowed through abuse, medication and sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. The battle of wills between the rebellious McMurphy and the inflexible Ratched soon affects all the ward's patients. This nearly flawless film makes us question our judgments on who is mad and who is sane.

USA 1975 Milos Forman 133m

L'amour Ouf

Set in the 1980s in northern France, actor turned director Gilles Lellouche charts an improbable relationship between Jackie (Adèle Exarchopoulos) from an upper-middleclass family and Clotaire (François Civil) from a modest background.

They grow up in the same town and attend the same high school. Whilst she is dedicated to her studies, he plays truant and becomes involved in a gang. Their paths cross later in life in adulthood and they fall madly in love. Lellouche (who previously came to the French Film Festival with ‘Sink or Swim’), returns with an emotional rollercoaster spanning over 15 years in the lives of star-crossed lovers, leaving us questioning the nature of love or an amour fou. ‘Lellouche’s stages action sequences and tender scenes of young love with finesse and ingenuity’ – IndieWire. (Subtitles)

France/Belgium 2024 Gilles Lellouche 116m

Spot the film-making talents of tomorrow in this selection of garlanded francophone shorts, curated by Martine Pierquin. Full film details are online.

How Do I Know? / Comment Savoir …? - Best short film Cabourg Film Festival 2024. France 18m

Danavan - Apprehension about the arrival of the new next-door neighbour in Quebec. Canada 12m

Montsouris Park / Montsouris - Winner, Leitz Cine Discovery Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2024. France 14m

Sira / Langue Maternelle - Best Film in French, Dakar Court, Senegal 2023. France 24m

Pumpkin / Pupuce - Brussels Short Film Festival –Prix de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles 2024. Belgium 19m

Summer 96 / Été 96 - Animation - Winner of César for Best Animated Short Film, 2024. France 12m

Caregiver / Auxiliaire - A caregiver must break the news of his departure. France 24m

Various 123m

From legendary director Ridley Scott, ‘Gladiator II’ continues the epic saga of power, intrigue and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Be prepared for the biggest spectacle of the season.

Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal from ‘All of us Strangers’) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honour to return the glory of Rome to its people. The amazing cast includes Denzel Washington as Macrinus, Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius plus Derek Jacobi, Matt Lucas and Tim McInnerny.

USA 2024 Ridley Scott 147m

Chiara Mastroianni transforms herself into her father Marcello in this self-reflexive confection from Christophe Honoré.

During a summer that sees her reality fall into disarray, Chiara decides to live as her father. She dresses like him. She speaks like him. She breathes like him. Chiara’s impersonation is so convincing that people around her begin to believe. They call her “Marcello”. For Mastroianni, it’s not just one of her best roles yet, but a way to connect with the father she lost while making sense of her own life. Honoré’s is a comedy as gently silly as it is sincerely sweet. With a delightful cast playing versions of themselves, this film is a funny look at acting, performance, and familial legacy. Cast also includes Catherine Deneuve, Benjamin Biolay, Melvil Poupaud, Nicole Garcia, Fabrice Luchini, Stefania Sandrelli and Hugh Skinner. (Subtitles)

France 2024 Christophe Honoré 120m

Anouk Aimée (1932–2024)

Enigmatic Icon of European Cinema

Following her recent passing, we celebrate the extraordinary film career of this fine actor with a talk, illustrated with a range of clips from her most memorable films.

Sat 7 Dec 10:30 - In the Auditorium

This powerful documentary tells the inspiring story of a Brazilian big-wave surfer and her journey to break records and shatter gender barriers in the world of extreme sports.

At its core, the film follows Maya Gabeira as she trains and competes, battling both physical challenges and societal expectations in her quest to ride the biggest waves in the world. Alongside her, we meet key figures in her life who have influenced her remarkable career. Through breathtaking cinematography and emotional depth, ‘Maya and the Wave’ showcases not just the sport but the human spirit behind it. Johnes skilfully blends action and introspection, delivering a documentary that is both visually stunning and deeply inspirational. The film has garnered widespread praise for its thrilling footage and uplifting portrayal of perseverance.

USA/Brazil 2024 Stephanie Johnes 95m

Un Homme et Une Femme

Written and directed by Claude Lelouch and starring the late Anouk Aimée and Jean Louis Trintignant this romantic classic shows a widow and widower who meet by chance at their children's boarding school and whose budding relationship is complicated by the memories of their deceased spouses.

Lush photography and a memorable musical score by Francis Lai combined to make it one of the most successful French films of all time and launch Aimée’s career on the international arena as well as giving Lelouch his first Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966 and an Oscar for best foreign film. Screened in honour of Aimée who died earlier this year with a filmed tribute by Claude Lelouch. The beautiful French star Anouk Aimée is appropriately mysterious and glamorous. We present an illustrated talk on Anouk Aimee - ‘Enigmatic Icon of French Cinema’ as a companion piece to this classic. (Subtitles)

France 1966 Claude Lelouch 102m

2024 Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear winner. The journey of plundered treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey exhibited in Paris, now being returned to Benin.

From acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (‘Atlantics’), this is a poetic and immersive work of art that delves into real perspectives on far-reaching issues surrounding appropriation, self-determination and restitution. Set in November 2021, the documentary charts 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey that are due to leave Paris and return to their country of origin: the present-day Republic of Benin. Using multiple perspectives Diop questions how these artifacts should be received in a country that has reinvented itself in their absence. Winner of the coveted Golden Bear prize at the 2024 Berlinale, this is an affecting though altogether singular conversation piece that is as spellbinding as it is essential.

France/Senegal/Benin 2024 Mati Diop 68m