Rentals
Love
Films to fall in love with. Films to break your heart.
When did you last kiss in a cinema? When did you last cry? Could you still believe in romance? Or is it just a fairy tale, a movie you once saw? Cinema's most seductive illusion is to immerse us in the intensity and passion of other people's lives and loves. Our season celebrates the broad sweep of love in film from the swooning silent era to the present day.
Film: Love Lies Bleeding
Love Lies Bleeding Love Lies Bleeding
Romance 2023 104 mins Director: Rose Glass
Rose Glass’s gripping and gory follow-up to Saint Maud finds a lesbian couple drawn into a web of violence in 1980s small-town New Mexico.
Film: Ballywalter
Ballywalter Ballywalter
Drama 2020 90 mins Director: Prasanna Puwanarajah
Seána Kerslake is superb as caustic cab driver, Eileen, who makes an unlikely connection with regular passenger and local comedian, Shane (Patrick Kielty), in Prasanna Puwanarajah’s charming debut.
Film: Unicorns
Unicorns Unicorns
Drama 2023 120 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd
Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd have created a moving romance between an Essex mechanic and a South Asian drag queen.
Film: The Nature of Love
The Nature of Love The Nature of Love
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Monia Chokri
Sharp and sexy comedy that offers a fresh take on desire and fidelity in the 21st century.
Film: Who We Love
Who We Love Who We Love
Drama 2021 94 mins Director: Graham Cantwell
Bullied for her sexuality, Dublin schoolgirl Lily turns to her gay best friend for support in this vibrant coming-out, coming-of-age drama.
Film: Lie with Me
Lie with Me Lie with Me
Drama 2022 98 mins Director: Olivier Peyon
Olivier Peyon’s captivating drama finds an author experiencing powerful emotions as he looks back to his first, youthful love affair.
Film: Femme
Femme Femme
Thriller 2023 99 mins
The lines of seduction, revenge and power are blurred in this tense and stylish thriller about desire and self-loathing, starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay.
Film: Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious Golden Delicious
Romance 2022 120 mins Director: Jason Karman
An Asian Canadian teenager grapples with his identity when he falls for the boy next door in this sweet rites-of-passage drama.
Film: The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys The Lost Boys
Drama 2022 83 mins
Two young men find love in a hopeless place – a youth correctional facility – in Zeno Graton’s powerful and politically resonant feature debut.
Film: The Blue Caftan
The Blue Caftan The Blue Caftan
Drama 2022 123 mins Director: Maryam Touzani
A married tailor falls for his younger apprentice in Maryam Touzani’s richly textured and sweepingly beautiful exploration of love, desire and tradition.
Return to Dust Return to Dust
Romance 2022 134 mins Director: Li Ruijun
Banned in China shortly after its release, Li Ruijun’s Golden Bear-nominated film is a profound and tender love story between two outcasts.
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
Drama 2021 151 mins Director: Alexandre Koberidze
When Lisa and Georgi fall in love their future is threatened by the Evil Eye, which unaccountably changes their appearance overnight in Alexandre Koberidze’s work of cinematic magic and 2021 FIPRESCI winner at Berlin.
Paris, 13th District Paris, 13th District
Comedy 2021 105 mins Director: Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard ventures into new territory with a vibrant take on love and Paris, as four characters cross amorous paths in the modern city.
Summerland Summerland
Drama 2020 100 mins Director: Jessica Swale
Gemma Arterton stars in acclaimed theatre director Jessica Swale’s moving Second World War drama, as a woman rediscovering her ability to love.
Both Sides of the Blade Both Sides of the Blade
Drama 2021 117 mins Director: Claire Denis
Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin, Claire Denis pairs Juliette Binoche with Vincent Lindon as long-term lovers whose domestic bliss is ripped apart when a figure from their past returns.
Tove Tove
Drama 2020 103 mins Director: Zaida Bergroth
A lyrical and romantic biopic of the beloved creator of the Moomins featuring an incredible central performance by Alma Pöysti.
First Love First Love
Comedy 2019 108 mins Director: Takashi Miike
A terminally-ill boxer, a runaway call girl, a double-crossing drugs heist and a gang war; Takashi Miike doesn’t do things by halves.
Film: Sublime
Sublime Sublime
Drama 2022 100 mins Director: Mariano Biasin
A pitch-perfect drama of two adolescent rockers who share a love of making music, but whose passions and hormones collide.
Mothering Sunday Mothering Sunday
Drama 2021 104 mins Director: Eva Husson
In this beautiful adaptation of Graham Swift’s novel, starring Josh O’Connor and Odessa Young, a writer has a creative awakening steeped in books, love and loss.
Far from the Madding Crowd Far from the Madding Crowd
Period drama 1968 165 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Terence Stamp and Julie Christie star in the classic adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s tale of tragedy and passion.
The Big Sick The Big Sick
Comedy 2017 120 mins Director: Michael Showalter
The hilarious, breakout indie comedy about a Pakistan-born comedian and his culture-clash relationship with an American grad student.
Carol Carol
Drama 2015 119 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara illuminate Todd Haynes’ intoxicating adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s beloved novel.
Brooklyn Brooklyn
Romance 2015 112 mins Director: John Crowley
Saoirse Ronan shines as a woman who journeys from post-war small-town Ireland to New York, in Nick Hornby’s adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s best-selling novel.
The Girl King The Girl King
Historical drama 2015 106 mins Director: Mika Kaurismäki
Lush retelling of the story of lesbian monarch Queen Christina of Sweden, combining period drama with a deeply personal love story.
Aviva Aviva
Romance 2020 116 mins Director: Boaz Yakin
Incorporating expressive and exultant dance sequences, Aviva is a restless modern love story that explores the complexities of gender dynamics.
Like You Mean It Like You Mean It
Drama 2016 90 mins Director: Philipp Karner
Writer-director Philipp Garner also stars in this refreshing gay drama, a portrait of a couple trying to make it work in the film world of Los Angeles.
Everlasting Love Everlasting Love
Drama 2014 69 mins Director: Marçal Forés
A thrilling and disturbing exploration of the perils of illicit sexual encounters, beginning when a teacher initiates a tryst with one of his pupils.
Love Is All Love Is All
Documentary 2014 74 mins Director: Kim Longinotto
A hundred years of love and courtship on the silver screen, with music created by celebrated Sheffield singer-songwriter-producer Richard Hawley.
Stories of Our Lives Stories of Our Lives
Documentary 2014 61 mins Director: Jim Chuchu
Five stories of forbidden desire, courageously collected to tell the hidden truths of LGBT life in Kenya.
The Raging Moon The Raging Moon
Drama 1971 112 mins Director: Bryan Forbes
Sensitive and ground-breaking romance between couple who are both wheelchair users, played by Malcolm McDowell and Nanette Newman.
Spring Spring
Horror 2015 110 mins Director: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson
An American tourist in Italy falls for a stunning local woman with a dangerous secret, in this startling horror-romance.
Another Sky Another Sky
Romance 1955 86 mins Director: Gavin Lambert
Two cultures collide in a beautifully photographed love story - an ode to Morocco, its music, its people and way of life.
Blush Blush
Drama 2015 85 mins Director: Michal Vinik
An assured and authentic lesbian coming-of-age drama, boasting a mesmerising and heartfelt lead performance.
Monsters Monsters
Science Fiction 2010 94 mins Director: Gareth Edwards
Gareth Edwards reimagined the monster movie with his highly impressive DIY sci-fi, in which an indie romance blossoms amid the trailing tentacles of an alien invasion.
Ammonite Ammonite
Biopic 2021 118 mins Director: Francis Lee
Francis Lee follows up God’s Own Country with a film that is every bit as immersive, tactile and emotionally powerful, aided by the devastatingly good Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.
Goodbye First Love Goodbye First Love
Drama 2011 106 mins Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
The pangs and pains of young love are artfully and respectfully rendered in this subtle and sensitive drama from Mia Hansen-Løve (Eden).
The Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman
Biopic 2014 111 mins Director: Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in this adaptation of Claire Tomalin’s book about the long-standing affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan.
Blue is the Warmest Colour Blue is the Warmest Colour
Romance 2013 180 mins Director: Abdel Kechiche
The epic, passionate and strikingly naturalistic Palme d'Or-winning romance.
Kiss Me Kiss Me
Romance 2011 107 mins Director: Alexandre-Therese Keining
Mia is engaged to marry a man, but finds herself falling for Frida, who happens to be her new stepmother's daughter.
Something Must Break Something Must Break
Drama 2014 85 mins Director: Ester Martin Bergsmark
A striking 21st-century love story about the passionate relationship between a transgendered teen and a straight man.
The World Unseen The World Unseen
Drama 2009 90 mins Director: Shamim Sarif
Sweeping romantic drama about two Indian women who fall for each other in the hostile environment of apartheid South Africa.
Holding the Man Holding the Man
Biopic 2015 128 mins Director: Neil Armfield
A sweepingly romantic adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s best-selling memoir, an impassioned love letter to his partner, John Caleo.
Film: The Light between Oceans
The Light between Oceans The Light between Oceans
Drama 2016 132 mins Director: Derek Cianfrance
Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander star in Derek Cianfrance’s sweeping romance about a lighthouse keeper, his wife, and the baby they rescue from a drifting boat.
Still the Water Still the Water
Romance 2014 119 mins Director: Naomi Kawase
Naomi Kawase’s visually ravishing, beautifully composed film tells the story of two youths growing up and falling in love on a Japanese island.
Dance Pretty Lady Dance Pretty Lady
Drama 1931 63 mins Director: Anthony Asquith
Passion, tights and tutus are front and centre in this touching tale of a ballerina being romanced by a sculptor in Edwardian London.
The Low Down The Low Down
Comedy 2001 96 mins Director: Jamie Thraves
Aidan Gillen plays an aimless twenty-something who refuses to grow up, even after he starts dating a responsible estate agent, in Jamie Thraves’ slacker romance.
Man Up Man Up
Romance 2015 88 mins Director: Ben Palmer
Simon Pegg’s date is hijacked by Lake Bell in this effervescent urban comedy, a fresh twist on the British rom-com.
Submarine Submarine
Comedy 2011 97 mins Director: Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade’s sweet and quirky directorial debut about a Swansea teen’s travails with his distant girlfriend and warring parents.
Boy Meets Boy Boy Meets Boy
Drama 2021 70 mins Director: Daniel Sánchez López
Two young men fall for each other over the course of a single day in this disarmingly tender debut from director Daniel Sánchez López.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Comedy 2012 111 mins Director: Lasse Hallström
Two London office workers find love on a Yemeni Sheikh's ambitious fishing scheme. Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt star.
Orlando Orlando
Fantasy 1993 93 mins Director: Sally Potter
Tilda Swinton stars in Sally Potter's dazzling interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.
And Then We Danced And Then We Danced
Drama 2019 113 mins Director: Levan Akin
Merab’s world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new dancer in this impassioned Cannes-nominated love story.
Cicada Cicada
Romance 2021 97 mins Director: Matt Fifer and Kieran Mulcare
As a young man embarks on a new relationship, he is forced to face the traumas of his past in this remarkable debut feature.
The Strong Ones The Strong Ones
Drama 2019 99 mins Director: Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo
A quiet, tender romance blossoms in this story of love and courage between two men in search of freedom.
The Deep Blue Sea The Deep Blue Sea
Drama 2011 99 mins Director: Terence Davies
Buried passions boil over in a buttoned-up postwar Britain in Terence Davies acclaimed adaptation of Rattigan's play, starring Rachel Weisz.
Love Is Strange Love Is Strange
Drama 2014 95 mins Director: Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs’s refined Manhattan-set drama sees Alfred Molina’s Ben and John Lithgow’s George in the latter days of a tender, loving 39-year relationship.
I Can't Think Straight I Can't Think Straight
Drama 2009 79 mins Director: Shamim Sarif
The story of an affair between a Palestinian woman and her British Indian friend, from the same team behind The World Unseen.
Babyteeth Babyteeth
Drama 2019 118 mins Director: Shannon Murphy
Seriously ill Milla (Eliza Scanlen) clashes with her parents, who disapprove when she brings home her sketchy new boyfriend Toby, in this tragicomic debut from Shannon Murphy.
Sightseers Sightseers
Comedy 2012 88 mins Director: Ben Wheatley
Young lovers Chris and Tina turn their first holiday together into a rural killing spree in Ben Wheatley's priceless black comedy.
Uncle David Uncle David
Comedy 2009 95 mins Director: Gary Reich, Mike Nicholls and David Hoyle
Celebrated cabaret artist David Hoyle’s debut film is a typically acerbic drama about the disturbing relationship between an uncle and his nephew.
On Approval On Approval
Comedy 1944 79 mins
Splendid lead performances and a well-crafted, witty script make this adaptation of the Frederick Lonsdale play a delight.
Only Lovers Left Alive Only Lovers Left Alive
Romance 2014 123 mins Director: Jim Jarmusch
Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton star as ageless, blood-drinking lovers in Jim Jarmusch’s clever, funny and sexy vampire tale.
Spring Meeting Spring Meeting
Comedy 1941 94 mins Director: Walter C. Mycroft and Norman Lee
A penniless woman’s attempts at matchmaking her way to riches go awry when her son falls for the wrong daughter of a nobleman.
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
Drama 1989 116 mins Director: Jack Clayton
Maggie Smith is astonishing in one of her greatest roles as a spinster who falls for Bob Hoskins’ brash businessman.
Trishna Trishna
Drama 2012 114 mins Director: Michael Winterbottom
Tragedy befalls a young Indian woman when she falls in love with a rich British man in Michael Winterbottom's sharp Thomas Hardy update.
The Chambermaid Lynn The Chambermaid Lynn
2014 90 mins Director: Ingo Haeb
An obsessive-compulsive hotel cleaner (Vicky Krieps) who harbours a fetishistic fascination with her hotel's guests meets an enigmatic dominatrix who changes her world.
American Translation American Translation
Drama 2010 115 mins Director: Pascal Ascandes Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr
A sexually ambiguous Frenchman tours his native countryside with his naive American lover in pursuit of the ultimate thrill.
A Romance of Seville A Romance of Seville
Romance 1931 61 mins Silent Director: Norman Walker
This florid Iberian romance centres on the daring exploits of Ramon as he takes on a group of bandits to win the admiration of true love Pepita, and escape his stultifying arranged marriage.
Black Black
Drama 2015 90 mins Director: Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi
Star-crossed lovers from rival street gangs conduct an illicit affair in this pulsating urban romance.
The Night Has Eyes The Night Has Eyes
Horror 1942 79 mins Director: Leslie Arliss
James Mason stars in this gothic tale of dangerous desire set on the Yorkshire Moors.
The Lovers & the Despot The Lovers & the Despot
Documentary 2016 98 mins Director: Ross Adam and Rob Cannan
Discover one of cinema’s strangest stories: a film director and his star are kidnapped by Kim Jong-il to make movies in the world’s weirdest state.
The Mask The Mask
Melodrama 1953 28 mins Director: Don Chaffey
This Gothic-tinged short melodrama packs a cocktail of infidelity, deformity and jealousy into its tale of love gone sour.
Touched with Fire Touched with Fire
Drama 2015 106 mins Director: Paul Dalio
Two young poets with bipolar begin a highly passionate, volatile relationship that threatens both their futures.
The Man in Grey The Man in Grey
Melodrama 1943 116 mins Director: Leslie Arliss
James Mason, Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger star in the first of the fantastically successful Gainsborough melodramas.
Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet
Drama 1954 145 mins Director: Renato Castellani
Laurence Harvey and Susan Shentall are the star-crossed lovers in the ravishingly filmed 1954 adaptation.
Intimate Relations Intimate Relations
Drama 1997 99 mins Director: Philip Goodhew
Julie Walters and Rupert Graves are at the centre of a sordid love triangle in this pulpy melodrama about seedy shenanigans in 1950s suburbia.
The Power of Love
Love can be heaven, love can be hell and in the romantic epic it's invariably both. Tempestuous relationships create the perfect conditions for high drama. But some of the most memorable love stories are intimate stories that define an intense emotional terrain.
Fools For Love
The course of true love never did run smoothly, and the dating game makes fools of us all, but good humour wins the day in the romantic comedy.
Fatal Attractions
Amour fou is one of film's most darkly alluring themes, and lust, seduction and betrayal can be a deadly game. Intemperate passions bring out our most animal instincts, and poor decision-making can lead to the bloody consequences - as any gun-toting lovers on the run will testify.
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