2024 Palme d’Or Winner! A young sex worker from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch, but once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Anora (Mikey Madison) is a New York escort and table dancer. One night, her club manager announces that a high roller is in the house, asking for a dancer who can speak Russian. Ani, who is from an Uzbek background, volunteers. The man is the sweet-faced but otherwise appalling and entitled son of an oligarch, and he quickly takes her back to his luxurious apartment and proposes a Vegas marriage. When Vanya’s less-than-delighted father hears the news, he sends some goons round to sort out the situation with his boneheaded son. Scene-stealing leading lady Madison is surely destined for stardom thanks to her role in this high-energy panic comedy that offers a more realistic take than ‘Pretty Woman’.

USA 2024 Sean Baker 139m

When a Cardinal is tasked with leading one of the world's most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of The Church.

Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church. This is a skilfully crafted film with stunning cinematography and a beautiful score that takes many surprising turns, culminating in a climactic reveal that will leave audiences astonished. The A-list cast also includes Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.

UK/USA 2024 Edward Berger 120m

The true story of a French railway inspector who goes up against the Nazis to prevent a trainload of France's most treasured paintings from being stolen… or damaged.

As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) is desperate to take all of France’s greatest paintings to Germany. The French resistance however wants to stop him from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche (Burt Lancaster), is tasked with scheduling the train and making sure everything runs smoothly, but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory. This film from John Frankenheimer (‘The Manchurian Candidate’) is a marvel of old-fashioned action craft.

USA 1964 John Frankenheimer 133m