A crowd-pleasing warm-hearted comedy that has an eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island dreaming of getting his favourite musicians back together.

Kind and chatty Charles (Tim Key) lives alone on the remote Wallis Island. Beautiful and serene with white cliffs and rocky shores (it was shot in Wales), it is not the kind of place where there is a lot of socializing. He dreams of getting his favourite musicians, McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden & Carey Mulligan) back together. His fantasy turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home the Island. Old tensions resurface as the artists reunite now at different phases in their lives. Mulligan and Basden are sublime together, naturally exuding the awkward chemistry of artist exes, with Key thoroughly entertaining as the adorable comedic foil. This is the sort of film that oozes mood and warmth (like the folk songs performed in the film) and is very easy to recommend to anyone.

UK 2025 James Griffiths 100m

En Fanfare

This French spin on Mark Herman’s ‘Brassed Off’ (the British comedy-drama about colliery bands) has a beating emotional pulse of its own. Originally screened as a preview in our Autumn French Film Festival UK.

Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe) is an internationally renowned conductor of the Lille Symphony Orchestra who travels the world. He discovers he was adopted - then also finds out he has a younger brother, Jimmy (Pierre Lottin), who works in a school cafeteria and plays the trombone in a school marching band. While they seem to be worlds apart, their unwavering love of music unites them in difficult circumstances. The third feature film by screenwriter, actor and director Emmanuel Courcol emerges as an immensely touching and melodious work, bringing relationships and music to the fore. (Subtitles)

France 2024 Emmanuel Courcol 103m

Italian Cinema and Neo-Realism

During and after WW2, Italy produced one of the key movements in the history of world cinema. We join the Friends of Ravenna for this special event looking back at one of the most influential movements in world cinema

120m inc Q&A

Tickets £7.50

Tue 17 Jun 18:30

A sublime tale of a government pensioner by the name of Umberto Domenico Ferrari (played brilliantly by Carlo Battisti) in the post-war Italy.

One of the most poignant and moving stories ever told on film, with an unusual theme - what happens to an old man who is left destitute by circumstances (war, inflation) in post-war Italy. Terribly sad and sentimental, yet filled with the visual poetry for which De Sica ('Bicycle Thieves') is deservedly famed. A superb film - withering in its critique of uncaring capitalism - It is hard-edged - there is no solution to Umberto's plight, and the depiction of war-damaged Rome is completely convincing. (Subtitles)

Dane-ye Anjir-e Ma'abed

A mesmerisingly gripping and controlled parable-thriller in which the paranoia, misogyny and rage of the Iranian state are mapped seamlessly onto an ordinary family unit.

Iman (Missagh Zareh) is a judge who sees the benefits for his family in his career’s rapid advancement, but his student daughters (Setareh Malek and Mahsa Rostami) are suspicious of his increasing collaboration with the regime. He is warned not to confide in his wife (Soheila Golestani) as he is encouraged to wave through death sentences without considering the evidence. Iman’s divided loyalties are exposed when his government-issued handgun goes missing, and suspicion falls on the women in his home. Having debuted at Cannes following Rasoulof fleeing Iran in fears for his safety, this film was many critics’ picks for best of the festival. It combines an electrifying generational battle with real-life footage of Iran’s protest movement, and reveals the reasons why people accept toxic regimes and the courage it takes to resist them. (Subtitles)

Germany/France 2024 Mohammad Rasoulof 168m

During a weekend backpacking trip in the beautiful Catskill Mountains, 17-year-old Sam navigates the clash of egos between her father and his oldest friend.

In India Donaldson's insightful, piercing debut, 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome brotherly dynamic, Sam, wise beyond her years, attempts to mediate. But when lines are crossed and Sam's trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch, as Sam struggles with her dad's emotional limitations and experiences the universal moment when the parental bond is tested. Selected in both Sundance and Cannes' Directors' Fortnight, ‘Good One’ is an emotionally expansive work that probes the limits of familial trust, understanding, and ultimately, forgiveness. Out of a tight, terrific cast, it’s Collias’ performance – so potent and contained – that gets under your skin. With echoes of the stylish US Indie cinema that Kelly Reichhardt has made so brilliantly.

USA 2024 India Donaldson 89m

50th Anniversary Restoration. Light the Rock n' Roll spark with a Flame in the guise of Dave, Noddy, Jim and Don and their showcase of the rise and demise of rock band Flame.

Set in the hardships of North England's seventies working class society and music scene, this is a fictional tale but based on true experiences and starring the band themselves as the members of Flame. We follow the rise and fall of a pop group at the end of the 1960s – from bold beginnings in seedy clubs to booze-addled endings in spectacular stadiums – this darkly cynical, warts-and-all portrait of a band in freefall amidst the music-industry suits who want a piece of the pie was not what anybody was expecting.

UK 1975 Richard Loncraine 91m

Two parents enter a race against time when they receive a distressing late-night phone call from their daughter after she caused a tragic car accident.

When two distraught parents (Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys) receive a call from their teenage daughter telling them that she has just accidentally hit a pedestrian, they jump in their car, racing to get there before anyone else stumbles across the scene. As they head deeper into the night, disturbing revelations threaten to tear the family apart as they soon realize they might not be the only ones driving down Hallow Road. How far will ordinary parents go to protect their offspring? This suspense thriller features high-intensity performances from Pike and Rhys in what is essentially a close-quarters two-hander set on the anxious journey, bringing comparisons to 2013’s brilliant ‘Locke’ starring Tom Hardy.

UK/Ireland 2025 Babak Anvari 80m

Not only a cinematic journey into the mind of Eileen Gray, but a story about the power of female expression and men's desire to control it.

Delicate, white and ship-like, E1027 is a house, or rather, a work of art, which is perched above a bay on the Cote d’Azur whose wildness was, when it was finished in 1929, the opposite of the worldly charms of nearby Monte Carlo.  Behind it isn’t only the magic of an architectural body come to life, but also the complexity of a trio of brilliant minds, namely the architects Eileen Gray, Jean Badovici and Le Corbusier. Structured like a docufiction which brings together archive images, reenactments and a voice over that gently accompanies the images (mostly that of Eileen Gray speaking in the first person), the film shows moments of intimacy that we can only imagine. Rather than a historical reconstruction based on meticulous analysis the co-directors put architecture in dialogue with cinema in order to bring to life the sensibility of a woman who was a visionary yet is too rarely celebrated. (Some subtitles)

Switzerland 2024 Beatrice Minger/Christoph Schaub 89m

A love story set in Scotland and London that follows romance between Kira and Ian, who met too briefly over a winter weekend while on the run from themselves.

On the beautiful yet brutal Scottish Isle of Skye, German artist Kira (Aylin Tezel) is on a path of self-destruction. She is in the midst of a painful break up with Aidan (Rory Fleck Byrne) and finds herself drunk in a pub. As her night comes to a close, she enters the drunken orbit of fellow self-destructor Ian (Chris Fulton), who is doing his level best to ignore that he has a girlfriend back home in London. The 24 hours that they spend together have the feeling of a therapy session, as their chat and impromptu karaoke session help to slowly strip away their shields that prevent them from being attached. Returning to London they try to pursue their separate lives, but both have to face their past before they are ready to meet again. This is a hopeful film about closure finding beauty in the sadness of its characters, in the luscious landscape of Scotland, in the frenzy of London, and in how fate intervenes and intertwines around our relationships. (Some subtitles)

Germany/UK 2023 Aylin Tezel 113m

Juste Ciel!

Five nuns set their sights on winning the cash prize in a major cycling race to raise money to renovate a dilapidated hospice. The only hitch is that none of them can ride a bicycle.

When the local nursing home finds itself in dire straits and in danger of falling to pieces, it’s down to Mother Veronique (Valérie Bonneton) and the five eccentric sisters of the convent of St. Benedict to find a way to help. Spotting a poster for a bike race with a €25,000 cash prize (and the incentive of a trip to the Vatican for the winner!), the sisters might just have their answer. The only drawbacks are that they are terrible cyclists, and their rival convent, led by Mother Veronique’s childhood nemesis Mother Josephine (Sidse Babett Knudsen), have their own plans for the prize money – and just a little more experience. But God works in mysterious ways! Laurent Tirard’s hilariously absurd comedy will have you rolling in the aisles, and the stunning landscapes of France’s Jura region provide a beautiful backdrop too! (Subtitles)

France 2022 Laurent Tirard 87m

This wildly entertaining adventure is said to be the final offering of this franchise, and boy, have they made it count.

With his trusty team including Grace (Hayley Atwell), Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg); Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) must now confront a sinister AI brain called “the Entity”, the ultimate baddie which is undermining truth all over the world with lies and deepfakes, setting nation against nation, nuclear power against nuclear power. We periodically get a greatest-hits flashback montage of the other seven films in the canon – and of course, a brand-new scene featuring our hero Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) sprinting across the screen. Cruise running is of course just one of the treats we have become accustomed to – we of course, cannot do without Tom hanging on for dear life from one high altitude craft or another, this time, we are treated to an amazing stunt sequence featuring an old-fashioned prop plane. Thrills and spills to boot – this is the perfect Summer flick!

USA 2025 Christopher McQuarrie 169m

Le Temps d’Aimer

A sprawling and poetic French period drama, beginning in the aftermath of World War II and unfolding over two decades, examining a mutually advantageous marriage of convenience that, against the odds, grows into real love.

In 1947 on a beach in Normandy, Madeleine (Anaïs Demoustier), a waitress in a hotel-restaurant and mother of a little boy, meets rich student François (Vincent Lacoste). He is unlike anyone she has met. He studies archaeology at the Sorbonne and, when he slips her a covert glass of champagne at the hotel where she waitresses, he toasts in ancient Greek. This is a substantial, involving drama that evocatively tallies the costs of living on the wrong side of social and sexual conventions in the 1950s and ‘60s. Director Quillévéré weaves a tale of guilt and unsuccessfully repressed desires that takes in homosexuality, race and polyamory. ‘Along Came Love’ portrays a type of bond where shared secrets eventually erupt, leading to both tragedy and release. (Subtitles)

France 2023 Katell Quillévéré 122m

A compelling exploration of engineless sailing through rivers, coastlines and open seas, shot on analogue film over three years.

We delve into the experiences of those who travel solely by harnessing the natural elements, following a diverse array of traditional boats and uncovering the unique rhythms and motivations of engineless navigation. ‘Wind, Tide & Oar’ creates a contemplative space, addressing themes of ecology, heritage, traditional skills and maritime history. Using a 1960s hand-wound camera, Wahl offers a poetic and intimate perspective on a millennia-old craft. Through the film's reveries, sailing becomes a means to explore our interaction with and responsibility to the environment. Inviting reflection on our relationship with nature, our understanding of and commitment to sustainability, and our care for the world around us. Beautifully photographed and edited.

UK 2024 Huw Wahl 84m

Führer und Verführer

Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is in charge of building public support for the Holocaust and for the war that Hitler is about to start.

This biography follows Joseph Goebbels in his last seven years by Adolf Hitler's side. While Hitler is at the height of his power, Goebbels is the creator of the pictures of the flag-waving crowds and of the anti-Semitic films ‘Jud Süß’ and ‘Der Ewige Jude’, preparing the people for the mass murder of the Jews. After the defeat at Stalingrad and the situation becoming increasingly hopeless in late 1944, Goebbels plans the most radical propaganda act, his last staging, with Hitler's suicide, the murder of his family and his own suicide.  The filmmaker has declared the intent of the film is to take us behind the scenes of this murderous regime and show it as it actually was, adding, “For only if we take an up-close look at the biggest villains of history can we strip the masks from their faces and thus disarm the demagogues of the present.” (Subtitles)

Germany 2024 Joachim Lang 135m

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, the world’s greatest love story, as never before seen. Fall in love with Shakespeare’s iconic tale all over again, with this brand new star-studded visionary movie-musical, a breathtaking reimagining of one of the world’s most iconic love stories.

Packed with original songs and music, this innovative twist on the theatrical classic features an incredible cast including Rebel Wilson, Rupert Everett, Jason Isaacs, Rupert Graves and Derek Jacobi. Clara Rugaard and Jamie Ward bring the star-crossed lovers to life. Set from 1301 to 1303, the world’s most famous lovers find themselves central figures in the birth of the Italian Renaissance, and the wars that would end the Middle Ages. Caught in the heart of the battle for supremacy between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire and the Church, ‘Juliet & Romeo’ takes us on an epic journey of battles and betrayal, as the iconic duo turn the tides on history as we know it. But the biggest twist in this most beloved of tales, is leaving the poetry of iambic pentameter in the past. Original pop music rockets the story’s powerful themes right to the heart of our characters in the most surprising, and perhaps most powerful way ever to be imagined before. The greatest love story of all time, set to the greatest music of our time. The screening will include an exclusive recorded Q&A.

122m – No interval

Havumetsän Lapset

A documentary about young people defending Finland's last coniferous forest, exploring environmental feelings and the love story of 22-year-old protagonist Ida.

Young people seamlessly weave into the fabric of nature, swim in crystalline lakes and revel in the calm presence of the ancient trees. But this idyllic harmony is imperilled as the forest faces man-made extinction. Driven by her love for the forest, 22-year-old Ida becomes the leader of the new Forest Movement, coming face to face with industry giants and confronting generational bias. Unfolding as a modern fairy tale in the enchanting embrace of the Finnish forest, ‘Once Upon a Time in a Forest’ is a hopeful ode to nature and its protectors.

(Subtitles)

Finland 2024 Virpi Suutari 93m