The Sailor's Return

Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).

Enchanting tale of female empowerment in 19th century France, based on the true story of a famed ‘bearded lady’.

Using an advanced oil painting animation technique, The Peasants is a visually thrilling rendering of Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning tale.

Thorold Dickinson's most dazzling success, based on Pushkin’s 1834 tale of black magic and gambling.

Kubrick charts the rise and fall of an 18th-century charlatan as an acerbic study of self-destruction amid social ritual.

Kon Ichikawa's wildly melodramatic tale of a kabuki female impersonator who exacts a long-delayed revenge.

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender star in Steve McQueen’s fearless, Oscar-winning story of a free man who’s sold into slavery.

This moving documentary shines a spotlight on the backing singers behind some of the great musical hits of the 21st century.

Othello is transposed to the 1960s Soho jazz scene as a malevolent drummer sows mistrust between husband-and-wife jazz luminaries.

Aliens wage war on a tower block after one of their number is bludgeoned by a street gang in this witty, action-packed feature debut by Joe Cornish.

Aretha Franklin, at the height of her powers, returns to the music which nurtured her prodigious talent.

An immersive profile of ground-breaking and influential choreographer and founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Bryan Forbes directs the Oscar-nominated story of a French woman (Leslie Caron) moving to London while unmarried, pregnant, and alone.

This British sci-fi comedy, adapted from a John Wyndham story, follows a man’s search to find the ideal woman whom he briefly meets in a parallel universe.

Billie Whitelaw stars in this tough Tyneside-set crime drama about a gang of criminals who turn against each other following a payroll heist.

A taboo-busting drama about a young married man (Tom Bell) who has an affair with a teenage girl (Olivia Hussey). Directed by Gerry O'Hara.

Tom Bell stars in this short film about a spy's wife who shows herself to be rather adept at espionage, while her husband is away on a mission.

Sleepwalking into submerged depths of memory, a mother’s dream and a daughter’s beckoning, this fascinating film tenderly untangles the knots of the past.

Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.

A striking portrait of an artist deserving of greater recognition, directed by Mark Cousins (A Story of Film).

Johan Grimonprez’s involving film essay, anchored by the rhythm of American jazz, reveals disturbing truths about the decolonial struggle between global political powers.

This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.

Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.