Cannes

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.

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.

A bracingly audacious political satire, Ari Aster’s modern-day Western utilises an A-list cast (Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler) to ruthlessly skewer the polarisation of post-pandemic America.

A woozy summer of youthful aimlessness morphs into a complex infatuation as a rebellious bourgeois French teen falls for an older Ukrainian bricklayer in this sun-drenched coming of age tale.

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.

Class, religion, and gender intersect in Neeraj Ghaywan’s personal approach to life in Northern India. A life-long friendship is put to the test when a shared dream leads two best friends in different directions.

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 masterpiece of cinematic invention and political bravery, Jafar Panahi’s rousing new film deservedly won the Cannes Palme d’Or and opens NZIFF 2025 on a powerful and inspiring note.

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.

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.

Legendary Filipino auteur Lav Diaz recounts a decade in the life of famed explorer Ferdinand Magellan in haunting and poetic fashion, following his colonisation of SE Asia and his tragic descent into damnation.

A perfectly rumpled Josh O’Connor’s criminal ambitions go awry in Kelly Reichardt’s arthouse art-heist film showcasing the American master of cinematic minimalism at her absolute best.

In the wake of a traumatic incident, a young woman forms a surrogate mother-daughter relationship with her rescuer. As emotional walls come down, doubts arise: is there more to the care offered than simple kindness?

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.

A small mining town avoids the truth behind what plagues a trans community in this prize-winning debut told through the eyes of a young girl, as a myth entrenched in prejudice penetrates beyond words.

Raoul Peck, the acclaimed documentary chronicler of power in America, looks to George Orwell’s writing of 1984 as a prescient guide to our modern era of Trumpian rule and reality manipulation.

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.

A young girl scrambles to prepare a high-stakes birthday cake for a dictator amidst the dangers and deprivations of the Gulf War in this irresistibly scrappy Caméra d'Or-winner from Iraq.

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.

Visionary director Bi Gan invites audiences to a journey through the ages of cinema. In a dazzling kaleidoscope of images, he keeps the flame of the undying love between cinema and audiences burning.

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.

Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his arthouse hit The Worst Person in the World, this piercing and ecstatically moving reflection on family and memory stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning.

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.

A father, accompanied by his son, goes looking for his daughter who has disappeared from a rave in Morocco. When the duo crosses paths with a group of misfits, their trip over the Atlas Mountains gradually becomes a coming-of-age odyssey.

Irreverent humour and empathy in the eye of a storm are key to resilience in Eva Victor’s Sundance-celebrated debut, in which an abuse of power throws a lit student’s existence into disarray.

German cinema celebrated the arrival of a bold new auteur in Cannes, as Mascha Schilinski unveiled her ghostly epic of women in one house visited by catastrophe and its echoes over generations.

A madcap comedy about the perils of open relationships from creative duo Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin that had audiences at Cannes roaring at every twist and refusal to take itself at all seriously.

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.

This gritty and empathetic portrait of addiction and the self-destruction that comes along with it is filled with pitch black humour. Frank Dillane puts on a masterclass as he takes his character to rock bottom.

After her death by dust poisoning, a woman returns as a haunted vacuum cleaner to comfort her grieving husband. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke blends absurd comedy and class politics into a fable that’s as strange as it is moving.

The Dardenne brothers return with a deeply affecting drama exploring the lives of five teen mothers. Hopes and fears steer the young women towards bettering their lives for themselves and their children.