Politics

Ai Weiwei, China’s most famous artist, is one of the ruling party’s most trenchant and charismatic critics – and an astute master of online media. “An essential account of the artist-activist’s rise to international fame.” — The Guardian

Denmark’s fearless Mads Brügger in person with his gonzo documentary. He buys himself a diplomatic post in the Central African Republic and proceeds, envelopes stuffed with cash, to jockey for power and influence.

The life and times of the fearless, fiercely articulate Irish Republican firebrand who became Britain’s youngest elected female MP at 21. “A stirring story told in an endlessly compelling voice.” — Irish Times

A highly affecting documentary about Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was murdered in 2006 after her disturbing reports from Chechnya. “Apt to provoke moral outrage in anyone short of Vladimir Putin.” — Variety

Compelling, seductively humorous doco about Simeon II of Bulgaria’s rollercoaster journey from boy king in 1943 to popular hero in 2001. “A mesmerizingly strange true-life tale– a documentary delicacy to savour.” — Time Out

Meet the very brave and inspiring LGBT-rights activists in Uganda who are fighting a tide of homophobia driven by imported evangelism, political opportunism and tabloid sleaze. Winner of Berlin’s Teddy Award for Best Documentary.

The once thriving popular cinema of Cambodia is vividly evoked through the reminiscences of the few filmmakers and performers who survived the Khmer Rouge. “An elegantly assembled and deeply moving remembrance.” — Variety

Incisive award-winning doco interrogates the framing and persistence of the military legal system that rules Palestinians living under occupation in the same territory as Israeli citizens who live under civilian law.

This sleek, charged picture of ambition, powerlessness and posturing within government transcends the satire or critique of any similar US or UK political thriller: it’s both realistic and utterly surreal. With Olivier Gourmet.

Gael García Bernal stars in the dramatic true story of the poppy advertising campaign that urged Chileans to oust the dictator Pinochet in 1988. “Weirdly funny and rousing, both intellectually and emotionally.” — NY Times

Bold, provocative elite cops vs Jewish terrorists drama from Israel. “The main performances are powerful, the visuals are bold and vivid, the final effect one of the gut having been punched and the mind stirred.” — Hollywood Reporter

In his most visceral and impassioned outing since 1995’s La Haine, actor/director Mathieu Kassovitz has made a propulsive action movie dramatising the extraordinary French military response to a New Caledonia hostage-taking in 1988.

Clive Owen and Andrea Riseborough play a high-odds game of spy and spymaster in this gritty, nerve-wracking Belfast thriller. “Director James Marsh (Man on Wire) is working with riveting assurance.” — Hollywood Reporter

A spirited, entertaining tale of women in a Lebanese village distracting their men from ‘religious war’, directed by and starring Nadine Labaki (Caramel). People’s Choice Award, Toronto International Film Festival 2011.