Roxy Cinema

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Greek arthouse original Athina Rachel Tsangari turns her hand to phantasmagoric folkloric unease, in an unusual vision of a village in pre-industrial Britain that is set to tear itself apart.

A film shoot sparks fear and anger when a holy book is desecrated in the name of art in this intense German thriller, fanning the flames of contemporary conflict into a taut and tangly blaze.

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.

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.

Set in a gay-laxy far, far away this crowd pleasing and proudly queer Aussie adult animation delights with its vivid, candy-coloured palette, kinky sense of humour and catchy, upbeat musical numbers.

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.

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.

In the midst of a civil war following a military coup a group of young women in Myanmar organise a strike when the boss of their foreign owned garment factory hasn’t paid them in two months.

A clueless US film crew stranded in rural Argentina desperately search for a story in Amalia Ulman’s savvy culture-clash comedy that offers biting satire, off-kilter cinematography and a wigged-out soundtrack.

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.

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.

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.

What price must a queer individual pay to achieve success in their chosen profession? With dramatic tension that doesn’t rely solely on sex, this erotic thriller poses affecting questions through two unlikely lovers.

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.

This immersive portrait of the time John and Yoko spent living in Greenwich Village is a vivid time capsule of America in the early 70s. A time of extreme political polarisation which may seem uncannily familiar.

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.

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.

Returning from last year’s Festival to screen alongside the rest of his Sex Dreams Love trilogy, Dag Johan Haugerud’s comic drama takes a candid and refreshing look at modern gender roles.

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.

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.

A grieving brother finds an unlikely connection at a support group for siblings who have lost a twin, but his burgeoning bromance threatens to turn into something darker in this uncomfortably sharp-witted comedy.

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.