The Lesson

18 Jan 2017 Directors: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov Bulgaria 2014 111 min Nadezhda, a conscientious English teacher and translator in a provincial Bulgarian town, endeavours to instil morality into her pupils after a series of thefts in her classroom. As the story unfolds, severe complications in Nadezhda’s neatly organised personal life become evident and she… Continue reading The Lesson

Theeb

4 Jan 2017 Director: Naji Abu Nowar Jordan, UK, UAE, Qatar 2014 100 min Set in 1916, on the eve of the great Arab revolt, Theeb unravels in the ruthless heat of Jordan’s desert. In a forgotten corner of the Ottoman Empire, during World War I, lies the campsite of a Bedouin tribe where orphaned… Continue reading Theeb

Still Life

30 Mar 2016 Director: Uberto Pasolini UK, Italy 2014 92 min Eddie Marsan gives a wonderfully restrained and brilliant performance as he plays the unassuming and meticulous council worker John May in this poignant and beautifully observed film. For the past twenty two years, John May has worked tirelessly to locate the next of kin… Continue reading Still Life

The Salt of the Earth

21 Oct 2015 Directors: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado France, Brazil, Italy 2014 109 min In creating a portrait of the great documentary photographer and environmentalist, Sebastião Salgado, Wim Wenders and Juliano Salgado have matched hauntingly beautiful images with illuminating testimony. Breathtaking photos of the Brazilian gold mines in the 1970s, the famine in Ethiopia… Continue reading The Salt of the Earth

’71

18 Nov 2015 Director: Yann Demange UK 2014 99 min Deep in the alien landscape of East Belfast during one of the worst years of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Gary Hook, a young British squaddie fresh from basic training, is accidentally abandoned by his unit in the confusion of a terrifying riot. Wounded, lost and… Continue reading ’71

Phoenix

7 Oct 2015 Director: Christian Petzold Germany 2014 98 min From the director of Barbara and with Nina Hoss in the lead role, Christian Petzold builds up an edgy sense of mystery, betrayal and double take in a superbly crafted melodrama set in post-war Germany. Disfigured concentration camp survivor Nelly (Hoss) has undergone reconstructive facial… Continue reading Phoenix

Difret

2 Dec 2015 Director: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari Ethiopia, USA 2014 99 min Three hours outside Addis Ababa, a bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. The brave Hirut grabs a rifle and tries to escape but ends up shooting her would-be husband. In… Continue reading Difret

Wild Tales

16 Dec 2015 Director: Damian Szifron Argentina, Spain 2014 122 min Szifrón’s zesty black comedy weaves together six short tales of individuals on the verge of a complete meltdown. Frustrated by petty bureaucracy, incensed by a cheating husband, emboldened by extreme road rage or sickened by a desperately unfair and corrupt society, various individuals decide… Continue reading Wild Tales

Trash

17 Feb 2016 Director: Stephen Daldry UK, Brazil 2014 114 min When two rubbish-picking teenagers from the slums of Rio de Janeiro find a wallet amongst the daily detritus of their local tip, little do they imagine that their lives are about to change forever. When the local police show up and offer a handsome… Continue reading Trash