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BFI London Film Festival

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Catch up with a range of recent successes including previous winners of the festival’s top prizes.

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JoylandJoyland

Drama2022128 minsDirector: Saim Sadiq

A conservative family in Pakistan is torn apart when a son falls in love with a transgender erotic dancer, in Saim Sadiq’s riveting queer drama.

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IdaIda

Drama201482 minsDirector: Pawel Pawlikowski

The Best Film winner at the 2013 BFI London Film Festival is an exquisitely shot, moving drama about a Polish nun exploring her family past, from UK-based director Pawel Pawlikowski.

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Lady MacbethLady Macbeth

Period drama201789 minsDirector: William Oldroyd

Florence Pugh shines in this exceptional British debut of a young wife's need for freedom, whatever the cost.

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Lunana: A Yak in the ClassroomLunana: A Yak in the Classroom

Drama2019109 minsDirector: Pawo Choyning Dorji

A city-loving teacher struggling for inspiration travels to the most remote school in the world in this quietly majestic Academy Award-nominated drama.

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Blue JeanBlue Jean

Drama202297 minsDirector: Georgia Oakley

A closeted PE teacher reckons with her identity during Thatcherite Britain in Georgia Oakley’s delicate yet gripping BAFTA-nominated debut.

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LeviathanLeviathan

Drama2014136 minsDirector: Andrey Zvyagintsev

Winner of Best Film at the 2014 London Film Festival, the latest film from Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena) is a gripping study of corrupt politics in modern Russia.

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De Humani Corporis FabricaDe Humani Corporis Fabrica

Documentary2022118 minsDirector: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel

The psychedelic physicality of this mortal coil – journey into the systems that comprise the human body in this fascinating sensory experience.

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BlazeBlaze

Drama2022102 minsDirector: Del Kathryn Barton

In artist Del Kathryn Barton’s dazzling feature debut, a young girl retreats into a fantasy world to cope with witnessing a horrifying act of violence.

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Enys MenEnys Men

Horror202291 minsDirector: Mark Jenkin

Mark Jenkin follows Bait with this chilling, endlessly mysterious folk horror tale, beautifully shot on grainy 16mm.

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KlondikeKlondike

Drama2022100 minsDirector: Maryna Er Gorbach

Set in Donetsk against the backdrop of the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 in 2014, a Ukrainian family attempts to live a normal life amid the absurdity and futility of conflict, in Maryna Er Gorbach’s visually striking film.

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AutobiographyAutobiography

2022115 minsDirector: Makbul Mubarak

This riveting feature debut from Makbul Mubarak patiently details the journey of a young man as he begins to taste power for the first time.

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Pretty Red DressPretty Red Dress

Drama2022110 minsDirector: Dionne Edwards

One dress changes everything for a family in Dionne Edwards’ brilliant debut. Defiant, uplifting and with music at its core.

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Sick of MyselfSick of Myself

Comedy202297 minsDirector: Kristoffer Borgli

She just did what! Attention-seeking Signe will do anything to keep the focus on herself, in this wildly demented comedy.

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Cairo ConspiracyCairo Conspiracy

Drama2022126 minsDirector: Tarik Saleh

A fisherman’s son is offered a place at a prestigious Islamic school in Cairo and finds himself drawn into a religious and political power struggle.

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Name Me LawandName Me Lawand

Documentary202290 minsDirector: Edward Lovelace

Edward Lovelace explores the power of communication and community with this rapturous portrait of a young deaf Kurdish boy.

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It Must Be HeavenIt Must Be Heaven

Comedy2019102 minsDirector: Elia Suleiman

Acclaimed Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman returns with another deadpan take on life in exile that is typically assured and moving.

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Queen of GloryQueen of Glory

Comedy202179 minsDirector: Nana Mensah

In Nana Mensah’s self-assured and charming comedy, a Ghanaian-American woman’s life is thrown into disarray when she inherits her mother’s Christian bookshop.

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HolidayHoliday

Thriller201888 minsDirector: Isabella Eklöf

A lavish trip to the Turkish Riviera goes horribly awry in this disturbing tale of power, exploitation and complicity from the writer of Border.

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The Passion of RemembranceThe Passion of Remembrance

Animation & Artists Moving Image198683 minsDirector: Maureen Blackwood and Isaac Julien

In this London-set drama, the Baptiste family are caught in intergenerational debates reflecting Black viewpoints on life in Britain.

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EOEO

Drama202286 minsDirector: Jerzy Skolimowski

The joint winner of the Cannes Jury Prize and Academy Award-nominated, EO is a strangely wonderful tale where the dark and light of humanity is laid bare.

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The HandmaidenThe Handmaiden

Period drama2016146 minsDirector: Park Chan-wook

Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker) channels Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, to create a sumptuous twisty psychological thriller full of erotic intrigue.

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In FabricIn Fabric

Drama2018119 minsDirector: Peter Strickland

A beautiful blood-red dress unleashes a curse on its wearers in Peter Strickland's erotic and twisted horror.

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19761976

Period drama202290 minsDirector: Manuela Martelli

An unnervingly brilliant portrait of the ways in which the Pinochet dictatorship realised its brute force and pervasive influence, from debut director Manuela Martelli. Winner of the 2022 BFI London Film Festival First Feature Competition.

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RiminiRimini

Drama202290 minsDirector: Ulrich Seidl

Impeccably styled and unflinchingly grim, this darkly humorous tale of a pop star past his prime finds Ulrich Seidl at his audacious best.

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Nil by MouthNil by Mouth

Drama1997129 minsDirector: Gary Oldman

Twenty-five years old and newly restored, Gary Oldman’s BAFTA-winning debut as writer-director remains a magnificent achievement.

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AshkalAshkal

Thriller202294 minsDirector: Youssef Chebbi

The investigation into a series of unexplained deaths hints to the supernatural, in this thrillingly unconventional police procedural.

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Kamikaze HeartsKamikaze Hearts

Drama198687 minsDirector: Juliet Bashore

Juliet Bashore’s queer docufiction, starring Tigr and real-life girlfriend porn star Sharon Mitchell, was shot in and celebrates the heady days of the San Francisco underground in the 1980s.

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MemoriaMemoria

Fantasy2021136 minsDirector: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Tilda Swinton stars in the first English-language feature from master filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul; a mesmerising and beautifully immersive work.

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RafikiRafiki

Drama201883 minsDirector: Wanuri Kahiu

Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.

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Dodes'Ka-DenDodes'Ka-Den

Drama1970140 minsDirector: Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa’s first colour film is an eccentric and joyous account of a group of disparate people living in a city dump.

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WinnersWinners

Drama202285 minsDirector: Hassan Nazer

A quest to return a lost Oscar®-statuette propels this heart-warming comedy; a charming tribute to the power of cinema.

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All is VanityAll is Vanity

Fantasy202172 minsDirector: Marcos Mereles

Marcos Mereles’ archly funny, endlessly inventive and reflexive puzzle piece explores a strange disappearance at a hip London fashion shoot.

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Personal ShopperPersonal Shopper

Drama2016106 minsDirector: Olivier Assayas

Kristen Stewart reunites with Olivier Assayas to play an A-List celebrity's personal shopper, who keeps receiving strange text messages from an unknown source.

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Lynn + LucyLynn + Lucy

Drama201988 minsDirector: Fyzal Boulifa

A lifelong friendship is tested by tragedy in this atmospheric and intense first feature from acclaimed British shorts director Fyzal Boulifa.

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The Colour of PomegranatesThe Colour of Pomegranates

Animation & Artists Moving Image196880 minsDirector: Sergei Paradjanov

The film that Martin Scorsese compared to ‘opening a door and walking into another dimension, where time has stopped and beauty has been unleashed’.

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DogtoothDogtooth

Drama200993 minsDirector: Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos' scary, witty tale of a dysfunctional Greek family is original, ingenious and sadly relevant as a study of parent-child relationships

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The UntamedThe Untamed

Horror201698 minsDirector: Amat Escalante

Amat Escalante follows Heli with a boundary-pushing, mind-blowing mix of sex, sci-fi and social drama.

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The New GirlfriendThe New Girlfriend

Melodrama2014108 minsDirector: François Ozon

Ruth Rendell provides the source novel for this delicious tale of deception and identity, from the master of mischievous melodrama, François Ozon.

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Days of the Bagnold SummerDays of the Bagnold Summer

Comedy201986 minsDirector: Simon Bird

Simon Bird’s directorial debut is a warm and witty graphic novel adaptation about a single librarian trying to reconnect with her introverted, metalhead teenage son.

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Bad Luck Banging or Loony PornBad Luck Banging or Loony Porn

Comedy2021106 minsDirector: Radu Jude

Berlin Golden Bear winner, Radu Jude’s scathing satire finds schoolteacher Emi threatened with dismissal when a private sex tape goes viral.

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ZamaZama

Drama2017115 minsDirector: Lucrecia Martel

Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel returns with a fine adaptation of Antonio Di Benedetto’s existential novel. In her first feature since 2008’s The Headless Woman, Martel creates a richly layered exploration of personal malaise.

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The Painted BirdThe Painted Bird

Drama2019169 minsDirector: Vaclav Marhoul

Based on Jerzy Kosiński’s 1965 novel and a long time in the making, Václav Marhoul’s extraordinary The Painted Bird finds a lone Jewish boy on a dark odyssey towards home during wartime.

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County LinesCounty Lines

Drama201990 minsDirector: Henry Blake

Blistering thriller of a teen groomed to work for a brutal, organised drugs network.

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Neptune FrostNeptune Frost

Musical2021105 minsDirector: Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman

The directorial debut of poet-musician Saul Williams and actor-playwright Anisia Uzeyman is an exhilarating anti-capitalist sci-fi musical entirely shot in Rwanda.

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CreatureCreature

Science Fiction202187 minsDirector: Asif Kapadia

Acclaimed choreographer Akram Khan’s new creation is captured by Academy Award winner Asif Kapadia (Senna), in this immersive and stunning film.

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The LevellingThe Levelling

Drama201684 minsDirector: Hope Dickson Leach

Hope Dickson Leach's hugely impressive first feature about a middle class farming family’s crisis, set against the backdrop of the Somerset floods.

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Frozen RiverFrozen River

Crime200893 minsDirector: Courtney Hunt

Nominated for two Oscars (Best Actress – Melissa Leo - and Best Original Screenplay) Frozen River is a riveting thriller that raises questions about the borders we construct, between countries, communities and each other.

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Rose Plays JulieRose Plays Julie

Drama2021101 minsDirector: Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor

A young woman seeking her biological mother journeys into dangerous territory in this gripping psychological thriller from Irish directing duo Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor.

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DaisiesDaisies

Comedy196673 minsDirector: Věra Chytilová

Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.

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Red RoadRed Road

Thriller2006110 minsDirector: Andrea Arnold

Andrea Arnold’s highly acclaimed film, winner of top prizes at Cannes and the BFI London Film Festival, is a haunting drama about a woman confronting past demons.

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ConsequencesConsequences

Drama201895 minsDirector: Darko Štante

A teenage tearaway is forced to face up to his actions and confront his burgeoning sexuality, in this provocative Slovenian coming-of-age tale.

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The Duke of BurgundyThe Duke of Burgundy

Drama2015104 minsDirector: Peter Strickland

Peter Strickland’s visually and aurally intoxicating tale of sadomasochistic power-play is a daringly erotic sensory feast.

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Being Frank: The Chris Sievey StoryBeing Frank: The Chris Sievey Story

Documentary2018101 minsDirector: Steve Sullivan

Frank Sidebottom was a pillar of alternative comedy of the late 80s/early 90s, and this charming documentary remembers the man behind the papier-mâché head.

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The White RibbonThe White Ribbon

Drama2009143 minsDirector: Michael Haneke

Michael Haneke's Cannes prizewinner, set in a pre-WW1 German village, explores the oppressively strict social conditions that gave rise to Nazism

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Eastern BoysEastern Boys

Drama2012124 minsDirector: Robin Campillo

A gay pick-up turns into a dangerous game of betrayal and violence in this slyly subversive and compelling thriller.

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TimbuktuTimbuktu

Drama201496 minsDirector: Abderrahmane Sissako

Living in the sand dunes just outside the city of Timbuktu, a cattle herder and his wife find their peaceful existence disturbed by forces attempting to dictate their lifestyle.

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GoldstoneGoldstone

Thriller2016110 minsDirector: Ivan Sen

Ivan Sen follows his acclaimed Australian thriller Mystery Road with another distinctive, 'outback noir', with troubled indigenous detective Joe Swan (Aaron Pedersen) again on the trail of murder and corruption.

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The FallingThe Falling

Drama2015102 minsDirector: Carol Morley

Florence Pugh's first film teams her with Maisie Williams as teenage friends at a school cursed by mystery sickness.

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Summer 1993Summer 1993

Drama201798 minsDirector: Carla Simón

An outstanding debut feature charting the emotional journey of a six-year old girl in the aftermath of her mother’s death in early 1990s Spain.

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Little JoeLittle Joe

Science Fiction2019105 minsDirector: Jessica Hausner

Jessica Hausner’s cool, witty and unsettling sci-fi starring Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw.

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Martin EdenMartin Eden

Drama2019129 minsDirector: Pietro Marcello

A stylistically dazzling and ambitious Italian adaptation of Jack London’s autobiographical novel about a self-taught and outspoken working-class writer who climbs the ranks of society.

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The Artist and the ModelThe Artist and the Model

Drama2012105 minsDirector: Fernando Trueba

Fernando Trueba's deeply moving meditation on the artistic process and the nature of humanity, with Jean Rochefort as an ageing artist inspired to paint once more.

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EvolutionEvolution

Drama201582 minsDirector: Lucile Hadzihalilovic

The long-awaited second feature from Lucile Hadžihalilović (Innocence) is a gorgeously surreal coming-of-age tale laced with bizarre body-horror.

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WesternWestern

Drama2017121 minsDirector: Valeska Grisebach

Masculine tensions reaching boiling point in this sizzling, brilliantly observed neo-western, where migrant German construction workers are pitched against villagers in remotest Bulgaria.

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The Great White SilenceThe Great White Silence

Documentary1924107 minsSilentDirector: Herbert G. Ponting

The BFI Archive's restoration of Herbert Ponting's official film record of Captain Scott's tragic expedition to the South Pole, with a new score by Simon Fisher Turner.

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The Wayward CloudThe Wayward Cloud

Comedy2004114 minsDirector: Tsai Ming-liang

Ming-Liang Tsai's outrageous blend of sex, comedy, musical and drama is a daring, controversial and hilarious smorgasbord from one of Taiwan's most acclaimed directors.

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L'avventuraL'avventura

Drama1960137 minsDirector: Michelangelo Antonioni

Antonioni’s masterpiece of modern alienation, with Monica Vitti as the young woman searching for her friend who's inexplicably disappeared.

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Aguirre, Wrath of GodAguirre, Wrath of God

Historical drama197294 minsDirector: Werner Herzog

This early masterpiece from Werner Herzog stars Klaus Kinski as a power-crazed explorer in sixteenth-century South America who leads a band of conquistadors through the Amazon in search of El Dorado.

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The Wild Pear TreeThe Wild Pear Tree

Drama2018189 minsDirector: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning Winter Sleep is a persuasive portrait of a young writer at odds with his hometown and family.

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Winter SleepWinter Sleep

Drama2014197 minsDirector: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Modern master filmmaker Nuri Bilge Celyan’s Palme d’Or winner: an extraordinary, epic drama.

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Once Upon a Time in AnatoliaOnce Upon a Time in Anatolia

Crime2011151 minsDirector: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

A modern masterpiece from major filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, following police and prosecutors as they escort a murderer through the bleak Anatolian steppes in search of a buried body.

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Appropriate BehaviourAppropriate Behaviour

Comedy201586 minsDirector: Desiree Akhavan

Desiree Akhavan directs and stars in this witty, razor-sharp and fearless comedy following the sexual misadventures of a bisexual Brooklynite.

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The ArborThe Arbor

Biopic201090 minsDirector: Clio Barnard

Clio Barnard's film about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar mixes reconstruction, interviews (performed by actors) and scenes from the plays.

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UnrelatedUnrelated

Drama200896 minsDirector: Joanna Hogg

On a Tuscan break a fortysomething woman finds herself drawn to the company of a group of partying teens, including a young Tom Hiddleston (in one of his earliest roles).

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Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights

Drama2011129 minsDirector: Andrea Arnold

Andrea Arnold's bold re-imagining of the Emily Brontë classic.

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ChemsexChemsex

Documentary201580 minsDirector: William Fairman and Max Gogarty

A hard-hitting and often graphic documentary about the 'chemsex' sub-scene in London’s gay community.

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Mystery RoadMystery Road

Crime2013121 minsDirector: Ivan Sen

An Aboriginal cop returns to his hometown to solve the brutal murder of a teenage girl, uncovering a web of corruption and a growing body count, in Ivan Sen's acclaimed Australian riff on the Western genre.

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Talking about TreesTalking about Trees

Documentary201994 minsDirector: Suhaib Gasmelbari

Beautifully shot documentary about four members of the 'Sudanese Film Club' who decide to revive an old cinema.

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The Draughtsman's ContractThe Draughtsman's Contract

Period drama1982107 minsDirector: Peter Greenaway

Peter Greenaway became a director of international status with this witty, stylised, erotic country house murder mystery.

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Kelly + VictorKelly + Victor

Drama201390 minsDirector: Kieran Evans

In modern Liverpool, a couple meet and begin a transgressive, sexually charged affair set against a background of crime and encroaching danger.

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Trans-Europ-ExpressTrans-Europ-Express

Thriller196695 minsDirector: Alain Robbe-Grillet

This stylish, cult 1966 erotic thriller stars French New Wave icons Jean-Louis Trintigant and Marie-France Pisier.

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A Zed and Two NoughtsA Zed and Two Noughts

Animation & Artists Moving Image1985117 minsDirector: Peter Greenaway

Following a fatal car crash involving a swan outside a zoo, twin-brother zoologists Oliver and Oswald become fascinated by the processes of decay.

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Dark HorseDark Horse

Drama201186 minsDirector: Todd Solondz

Todd Solondz directs Selma Blair and Jordan Gelber in this delightfully dark satire as romance blooms between a toy collector and a depressed woman.

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The TribeThe Tribe

Drama2014132 minsDirector: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy

A new arrival at a school for young deaf people is drawn into a nightmarish world of crime and brutality, in this audacious and acclaimed modern classic told in unsubtitled sign.

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Spanking the MonkeySpanking the Monkey

Comedy199495 minsDirector: David O. Russell

David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) made his feature debut in 1994 with this biting black comedy, which caused a stir with its incestuous subplot and portrayal of adolescent restlessness.

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DogmanDogman

Drama2018103 minsDirector: Matteo Garrone

Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone presents a masterful tale of twisted friendship, not-so-petty crime and revenge.

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