2025 Live Action Version

A hugely entertaining live-action remake of the much-loved 2002 animation, where a lonely Hawaiian girl befriends a runaway alien, helping to mend her fragmented family.

Lilo (Maia Kealoha) is an orphaned Hawaiian kid who keeps accidentally getting in trouble. Her elder sister, Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong), is trying to keep her on the straight and narrow after the death of their parents. Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders, director of the 2002 film) is a genetically engineered alien. When he is banished from his home planet, considered too dangerous to live, he escapes to Earth, envisaging a reign of destruction. Instead, he has to pose as a dog and move in with Lilo to evade the aliens tailing him. As Stitch tries to avoid capture and Lilo risks being taken away by social services, these two misfits form an unlikely bond. This has the charm of an ’80s family film such as ‘E.T.’ or ‘Gremlins’ and is one of the best of the recent live-action remakes. It will be a sure-fire hit for the family.

USA 2025 Dean Fleischer Camp 108m

Two Americans end up in Dakar, Senegal with bombs strapped to their chests and ten hours to find out why.

Two seemingly innocent American men (Hus Miller and Cam McHarg) wake up in the streets of Dakar, with bombs strapped to their chests. Following the orders of a mysterious voice (the unmistakable Willem Defoe) in their cell phones, they will run a desperate race against time that will set a whole country on fire and, inadvertently, plunge them into a quest for a deeper meaning to their lives. Congolese filmmaker Herbulot is a rising talent on the international action scene who blends his knowledge of his homeland with a deep appreciation of the history of action filmmaking.

USA 2024 Jean Luc Herbulot 88m

Over seven hallucinatory days, a village with no name, in an undefined time and place, disappears.

In Athina Rachel Tsangari's (‘Chevalier’, ‘Dogtooth’) tragicomic take on a Western, townsman-turned-farmer Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry Jones)and befuddled lord of the manor Charles Kent (Harry Melling) are childhood friends about to face an invasion from the outside world: the trauma of modernity. The feral spirit of the world is gorgeously evoked throughout, with Sean Price-Williams’ cinematography a standout. Shooting on film, he embraces the organic qualities of the medium: the edge of the frame is ragged and mossy. Music is also part of the tapestry: the women sing hauntingly lovely traditional Scottish folk songs then the fiddles whip up a frenzy of boisterous bad behaviour. There is a wildness and a pagan spirit to this film’s energy.

UK/Germany/USA/France/Greece 2024 Athina Rachel Tsangari 131m

In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other... and him.

At the age of seventy, after years of consolidating his empire, the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to abdicate and divide his domain amongst his three sons. Taro (Akira Terao), the eldest, will rule. Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu), his second son, and Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) will take command of the Second and Third Castles but are expected to obey and support their elder brother. Saburo defies the pledge of obedience and is banished. There is not a wasted second in this film, Kurosawa took film spectacle to new heights, continuing to extend his own powers after the acclaim of ‘Rashomon’ and ‘Seven Samurai’. The film celebrates 40 years in 2025 with this new remastered release.

Japan/France 1985 Akira Kurosawa 160m

David Cronenberg’s latest sees an innovative businessman and grieving widower build a device to connect with the dead inside a burial shroud.

Karsh, played by a smirking Vincent Cassel whose face and wiry grey hair make him a dead ringer for Cronenberg, has created GraveTech, a wired cemetery that allows mourners to watch their loved ones decompose in real-time, either with an app on their phones or via the monitors affixed to the top of each headstone. Karsh believes his morbid invention will allow people to maintain a meaningful relationship with the bodies of their life partners, even in death. The film also stars Diane Kruger and Guy Pearce. Cronenberg drew on his own wife’s death for this brilliantly cerebral thriller about the physicality of grief.

France/Canada 2024 David Cronenberg 120m

A husband-and-wife rediscover nature’s beauty and a renewed sense of vitality in this heartstring-pulling adaptation of a true-life tale.

Fifty-somethings Ray Winn and her husband Moth (Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs) receive a bad health diagnosis and court-ordered to vacate the only home they’ve known as a family due to insurmountable circumstances. They decide to walk the South-West Coast Path – the longest (630 miles) uninterrupted footpath in England – from Minehead to Poole along the Devon, Cornwall and Dorset coast armed only with a tent, limited supplies, very few clothes and the travelogue that inspired this trek. Helene Louvart’s excellent cinematography is a real highlight with filming locations including Padstow, Clovelly, Ilfracombe and some of the most beautiful rugged coast in the country, but do see if you can spot the scenes filmed at our very own West Wittering. This portrait of loss, humanity and rebirth is adapted from Raynor Winn’s personal memoir, with Anderson and Isaacs’ intimately textured performances standing out.

UK 2024 Marianne Elliott 115m

We are delighted to present this Special Preview as the first film of the Festival. In Celine Songs’ follow up to ‘Past Lives’, a young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.

Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a professional matchmaker torn between former love John (Chris Evans) and a dazzling new possibility Henry (Pedro Pascal). Lucy is very good at her job, as we see when she cajoles a reluctant bride on her wedding day to go through with the marriage. At that wedding Lucy meets the groom's rich, handsome brother, Henry, and is served a drink by John, the ex she broke up with after five years, who is still a struggling actor working the wedding as a waiter. Should she choose her poor ex over her wealthy new suitor? Johnson, Evans and Pascal make for a starry love triangle in this rom-com… but dismiss it as typical rom-com fare at your peril. ‘Materialists’ is something far more original and captivating: a piercingly honest exploration of love and money and the inevitable connection between the two.

USA 2025 Celine Song 116m

PREVIEW FOOD (Wed only)

Step into the culinary delights of the Festival's new Special Preview Supper Party at Brasserie Blanc.

Indulge in substantial canapés and plentiful, mouth-watering platters.

Immerse yourself in the vibrant festival atmosphere as you mingle with fellow festival lovers, and get ready to kick off the evening in style.

Party: 18:00 / Film: 20:00 / £35.00

The arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.

In the early 19th century in the English village of Meryton, the arrival of wealthy bachelors, most notably Mr. Darcy (Laurence Olivier), stirs up the families with single daughters. Among those is the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters, including the spirited Elizabeth (Greer Garson) and her pretty older sister, Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan). As Mrs. Bennet (Mary Boland) aggressively tries to pair off her girls, Elizabeth crosses swords with the imperious Darcy. The film’s spirit is entirely in keeping with Austen's sharp, witty portrait of rural 19th century society, together with some extravagant costumes.

USA 1940 Robert Z. Leonard 118m

Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis keep this joyous Billy Wilder comedy fizzing from start to finish. 

Two Struggling musicians witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and are now on the run from the Mob. Jerry (Jack Lemmon) and Joe (Tony Curtis) cross-dress into an all-female band. In addition to hiding, each has his own problems; One falls for another band member (Sugar Kane - voluptuously played by Monroe), but can't tell her his gender, and the other has a rich suitor who will not take "No," for an answer. ‘Some Like It Hot’ is effortlessly fluent, joyous and buoyant: a high-concept comedy that stays as high as a kite, while other comedies flag. "Nobody's perfect" is the last line. Wilder, Lemmon, Curtis and Monroe come pretty close.

USA 1959 Billy Wilder 121m

This is a beautiful documentary that follows a revered Buddhist abbot in the remote northern region of Laos as he navigates the challenges of a sacred life under a communist regime.

An ambitious spiritual leader, Abbot Onekeo Sittivong defied convention by establishing a new school for his country's poor and undereducated children. But something else is happening at this school in a misty forest. The abbot and his fellow saffron-robed monks and young novices are working tirelessly to revitalize ancient Lao Theravada Buddhist practices and education almost lost to history. Of the many scars left by the Vietnam War, little is known in the West of the lasting revolution in the small but pivotal country of Laos, where the U.S. carried out its “Secret War”, which changed the country from a 600-year-old monarchy to a communist-run state. On the surface, this is a story of breaking the cycle of poverty and ignorance through education. The abbot, however, believes the novices’ path is about much more. ‘Saffron Robe’ follows his dream to safeguard the traditions and wisdom of a rich culture against the encroachments of a modern world by passing this heritage on to future generations. (Subtitles)

Laos/USA 2024 Jane Centofante 86m

A beautiful, heart-warming – and often funny - story that seeks to explore the fragile interplay between grief, human connection and the redemptive power of kindness.

Anne (Sarah-Jane Potts) is grieving the loss of her partner to the point of becoming mute.  She takes herself to the Canary Islands to spread his ashes, and just maybe, get her voice back, along with her place in the world. After an unwelcoming arrival, she finds herself wandering the streets until a chance encounter with another troubled traveller, Bill (David Ganly), offers an unexpected opportunity which could heal or crumble each of their lives. Potts has a magnetic screen presence, anchoring the film with a blend of vulnerability and resolve, portraying Anne as both fragile and fiercely determined to reclaim her life. It is hard to believe that this is the work of a first-time director (Millson is better known as an actor), achieving here a wonderful film with echoes of ‘Aftersun’ and ’45 Years’. Winner of Best Feature Film at the 2025 London Independent Film Festival and Berlin Indie Film Festival

"This is a magical film. It's got heart, soul and hope. And it’s laced with jeopardy." Irvine Welsh.

UK 2025 Joseph Millson 88m

L'ART D'ÊTRE HEUREUX

An unknown and unhappy painter suddenly decides to quit his job and move to a small town in Normandie, hoping to be able to create a masterpiece.

Jean-Yves Machond (Benoît Poelvoorde), a conceptual painter whose career came to an abrupt halt following a series of setbacks, decides to leave Brussels and his job as a teacher to settle in Étretat, Normandy, the ultimate embodiment of Impressionism. Here he is seeking inspiration to create his major work that, once presented to the world, will finally earn him eternal glory and recognition. The problem is, he has no idea what he wants to paint... There, between Bagnoule (Gustave Kervern), a figurative painter and bon vivant, a naive, warm-hearted individual who will draw him out of his lethargy with his bonhomie, and the 'charming' Cécile de Mauprès (Camille Cottin), gallery owner and manipulator who will disrupt his concentration, his meeting with the locals will prove decisive for the fulfilment of his plan. A funny film that includes some wonderful locations and will most likely make you want to pick up a paintbrush. (Subtitles)

Belgium/France 2024 Stefan Liberski 90m

An exquisitely textured and reflective documentary about David Lynch’s life as a visual artist, narrated by the idiosyncratic filmmaker.

Getting up close and personal with David Lynch as a visual artist. That’s what this exquisitely textured and reflective documentary offers. Narrated by the man himself, speaking into a lovely vintage microphone from his painting studio in the hills above Hollywood, he takes us on an intimate journey through his youth. He talks about his childhood in a small-town America, his family, the awkward teenage years, his anxieties and fears. Life in general really, along with the people who helped him become who he is. Lynch recounts the influence his youth had on him as an artist and his subsequent move into filmmaking. Combining home movies, stock footage, moody artworks and observations of him working on his paintings and sculptures, ‘David Lynch: The Art Life’ is both an immersive and compelling experience. He’s an entrancing storyteller, delivering a few juicy anecdotes. And the soundtrack, as you’d expect, is deliciously strange, dark and beautiful.

USA/Denmark 2016 Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm 93m

L'HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE

A Paris food delivery cyclist and asylum seeker named Souleymane has two days to prepare his story for a make-or-break interview to secure legal residency.

This is a moving, suspenseful and visceral depiction of the immigrant experience, through several significant days in the life of Souleymane (Abou Sangare), as he waits and prepares for the interview with OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees) that will determine his future. He must not only deal with those who profit from the refugee situation – asylum interview ‘coaches’ and food delivery permit ‘sharks’ to name a couple – he must also decide on whether the truth or a fabricated version of his story will suit his situation best. Great camerawork keeps the viewer on edge, allowing for a more empathetic understanding of Souleymane’s precarious existence. A film rewarded with prizes at many European Film Festivals, yet criminally unreleased in the UK. Non-professional actor Abou Sangare as Souleymane is a true revelation and a name to look out for in the next few years. (Subtitles)

France 2024 Boris Lojkine 93m

Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newborn mutant child. David Lynch's 1977 feature debut is one of those rare films that really deserves its cult status.

Henry (John Nance) resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) left her pregnant, he marries the expectant mother and has her move in with him. Things take a decidedly strange turn when the couple's baby turns out to be a bizarre lizard-like creature that won't stop wailing. This is beautiful and strange, with its profoundly disturbing ambient sound design of industrial groaning, as if filmed inside some collapsing factory or gigantic dying organism. ‘Eraserhead’ is a singular work of the imagination, a harrowing, heartbreaking plunge into the darkest recesses of the soul.

USA 1977 David Lynch 89m