The Academy

One of the most essential films in Portuguese auteur Manoel de Oliveira vast filmography, this dreamlike 1993 film posits Flaubert’s Madame Bovary into 20th century Portugal’s sun-drenched Douro valley.

The outrageous risk, callous ego and futile hunger that drive a star matador are in the frame of Catalan renegade Albert Serra’s unusual, much-debated take on Spain’s most controversial ritual.

This surreal anime from the mind of a young Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), remains just as unique as it was in the 80s. Returning with a stunning 4K restoration that brings its dreamy visuals to stunning life.

A young, released offender struggles to regain his bearings in São Paulo, forging a tumultuous partnership in love and business with an older sex worker, in Marcelo Caetano’s raw, vital drama.

Shedding new light on Tokyo’s soul, Yuiga Danzuka’s compassionate first feature finds a family attempting to reconcile in a distinctly Japanese manner under the shadow of the city’s relentless redevelopment.

Under the starry sky, two childhood friends realize that they want to share their future together. From the ashes of a funeral pyre, this debut feature from India resurrects an unspoken love with delicate and sensuous images.

Sara Shahverdi’s unique position as a councilwoman in rural Iran invites the audience to share her triumphs and setbacks as she uplifts young women and ruffles conservative feathers by advocating for gender equality.

Australian composer Warren Ellis takes us through a personal tour of music, addiction, rehabilitation and animal conservatism in this inspiring and seamless blend of music biography and environmental advocacy.

Canadian animator Seth Scriver travels to remote northern Manitoba to make a film about his indigenous half-brother Pete, delivering a zany cartoon portrait of First Nations life that defies description.

Sarah Friedland’s award-winning debut is a dignified portrayal of a woman coping with Alzheimer's disease. A mesmerizing central performance by Kathleen Chalfant anchors a film replete with delicacy.

Igor Bezinović casts locals from his Croatian hometown to re-envision the reign of Italian poet and self-styled dictator Gabriele D’Annunzio, in a communal antidote to an era of personality cults.

This incisive drama, from Academy Award nominee Scandar Copti, envelops us into the chaotically intertwined lives of a family navigating the unique challenge of being Palestinians living in Israel.

Coolly compelling and disturbingly plausible, Neo Sora's debut feature is a dystopian teen drama where surveillance, friendship, and political truth collide in near-future Tokyo.

John Woo's influential cops vs. gangsters gun-fu classic comes back to the big screen with a pristine 4K remaster making it a perfect time to revisit or discover one of the greatest action films of all time.

A young single mother takes on a challenging role as a carer for the elderly in this poignant exploration of in-home care. Eager to make a difference in her patients’ lives, Sofie’s compassion is inspiring.

Patricia Rozema’s queer indie comedy from the 80s Toronto New Wave offers a sharp dig at artworld pretensions, even as it celebrates the wild, imaginative power of women.

Déni Oumar Pitsaev’s Cannes-awarded documentary is a lyrical meditation on the dreams of the displaced, as he returns to a valley in the Caucasus in search of a sense of home.

A hypnotic and otherworldly first feature following a man’s mystical journey from the city to his remote home village. Populated with long and immersive takes that highlight the beauty of rural Vietnam.

The long, muddled history of the foundation of Israel and the annexation of Palestine are explored with remarkable objectivity and moral clarity in this gripping and essential documentary composed entirely of rare archival footage from Swedish TV.

When Jim's biological father comes back into the picture after years of being absent, a family questions the true meaning of the word, father. A heartwarming story set against the backdrop of rural France.

Alexe Poukine’s spicy Belgian Cannes hit combines dark wit and sensitivity for the human condition in all its variations, in its story of a mother’s initiation into a taboo marketplace.

The all-consuming dedication of the Japanese Kabuki artist gets its due in an ornate, decades-spanning spectacular of passion and pain that charts the journey of two young trainees.

Romania’s irreverent maverick Radu Jude returns for another off-the-wall savaging of the ills of modern Europe, this time with the villainy of an unaffordable rental system in his sights.

An exquisite mix of visual poetry and subtle eroticism that breathes new life into the coming-of-age genre – this stunning debut feature from Slovenia heralds a bold new young female voice in world cinema.

An intimate, rapturously-lensed exploration of a family struggling with a parental separation, Hlynur Pálmason’s mosaic of snapshots, dreams and memories finds gentle profundity in the slow march of time.

Writer Alex Russell, whose credits include small screen hits Beef and The Bear, graduates to the big screen with this darkly compelling thriller about a desperate wannabe who attaches himself to a singer on the rise.

French auteur Alain Guiraudie continues his Hitchcockian streak with this slippery, eccentric story of a provincial French family in mourning and the chaos that arrives with the prodigal return of a disquieting family friend.

This thought-provoking documentary follows a “mistress dispeller” – a professional specialist in ending infidelity – and intimately interrogates marriage, loneliness and labour in contemporary China.

Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù gives a masterful performance as a stern but loving father that takes his children on an impromptu day trip to Lagos to recover a debt in the midst of a political upheaval.

Masterfully directed with pitch-perfect tension, this award-winning Romanian film orchestrates a captivating portrait of the last days of Ceausescu’s regime, as seen through the eyes of six interconnected characters.

Hot-headed farmhand Eyüp decides to kill foreman Hemme. In this brilliant debut from Turkey, a train of unexpected circumstances derail revenge plans offering an exquisite tribute to the beauty of everyday life.

Maverick filmmaker Alex Ross Perry takes on cult indie rockers Pavement to deliver a music doco unlike anything you’ve seen before. A fittingly absurd and satirical tribute to a band that defined a generation.

In 90s New York, a young police officer must entrap and arrest gay men whose only “crime” is their sexuality, but when he falls for one of his targets the rookie risks losing his career and family in pursuit of love.

A once-celebrated writer chases relevance through petty schemes, fading commissions and awkward self-promotion. Simón Mesa Soto’s character study is biting, funny and deeply attuned to the sadness of creative decline.

This gripping Sundance documentary re-examines the rise and fall of mid-00s hidden camera show To Catch a Predator in a damning investigation into the murky ethics of true crime entertainment.

Three Ivorian women from different generations vie for a better life in an indifferent in Tunisia in Erige Sehiri’s subtle, beautiful and bracing docudrama anchored by her signature naturalism and compassion.

As a Gaza native, photojournalist Fatma Hassona documents aspects of the war in Palestine that foreign journalists cannot access. Her tenacious Palestinian voice will not be silenced in this poignant documentary.

When a reed-cutter finds a girl’s body in the marsh, silence grips his remote Dutch village. Sven Bresser’s debut is an eerily quiet thriller about guilt, violence and the stories that fester when no one speaks.

With unfettered access to Leni Reifenstahl’s personal archive, documentarian Andres Veiel delivers an extraordinarily discerning portrait of the infamous filmmaker that allows audiences to draw their own conclusions.

One of the standouts of Cannes 2025, Carla Simón’s personal exploration of the restlessness of a young woman without parents is a poignant example of the healing power of cinema.

Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho painstakingly recreates the Recife of the 70s dictatorship years in this sprawling, colourful spy thriller like no other. Winner of Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes.

David Cronenberg’s sardonic self-portrait of his own struggle with grief is couched within a chilly and unsettling story of a tech-savant and his morbid invention which brings bereavement into the app age.

Simon doesn't feel as though he belongs anywhere, yet he somehow fits in with a group of voracious, mentally disabled teenagers. This intensely felt debut explores the lengths Simon will go to find his place in the world.

In a world where everyone has a camera in their pocket, the government has cameras on street corners and businesses have cameras in their lobbies, when can you be sure that you're not being recorded and who can you trust?

An immersive journey through the history of rail travel, this dazzling archival documentary captures humanity at its best and worse, bearing witness to both boundless innovation and bitter despair.

This novelistic Argentine mystery invites us down a rabbit hole into a cinematic warren of interwoven stories. A critical and cult favourite regarded as the best film of 2023 by cinephile tastemakers Cahiers du Cinema.

Fresh from Cannes acclaim comes a gripping, mordantly absurd and meticulous study of the inverted logic of state terror from master chronicler of tyranny Sergei Loznitsa.

A young Mongolian family loses their livelihoods following a natural disaster. This docufiction provides a confronting look at their lives and proves that climate change can affect even the world's most remote areas.

Not your average true crime doco, this witty and perceptive deconstruction of the genre is less about the infamous Zodiac Killer case itself, instead shifting focus to reexamine the way crime stories are told.