Black Orpheus

Arguably the most acclaimed of Bergman's early films, this charts the unsteady relationship between a girl bruised by her parents’ unhappy marriage and a sailor tired of years at sea.

This intoxicating drama about an adolescent girl's sexual awakening launched the careers of both its star Abbie Cornish and director Cate Shortland.

Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or-winner, about an octogenarian couple trying to cope when a stroke leaves the wife partly paralysed and speechless.

Mismatched lunchboxes lead to an unlikely romance in this exquisite Indian drama, brimful of tantalising food and elegantly delivered wisdom.

The world’s troubles recede, at least for a moment, in this intimate drama about an affair between a Finnish man and a Syrian immigrant.

A chance encounter reconnects two men in this heart-breaking lament on love, lust and missed opportunities.

Julie Dash’s groundbreaking Daughters of the Dust remains urgent and poetic and continues to resonate, most recently inspiring Beyoncé’s Lemonade.

The power of kinship is explored in Carol Morley’s drama-documentary, drawn from real life and resonant with the way we live now.

Denzel Washington takes the lead in one of the great screen biopics, directed by Spike Lee.

Sam Pollard's resonant exploration of the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.

A young mixed heritage man confronts the psychological complexities of his identity in this essential, truly cinematic discovery for anyone interested in Black British cinema.

Robert Altman revisits the 1930s city of his childhood, vividly recreating its jazz clubs, speakeasies, political corruption and lively crime scene.

Koreeda's lyrical fantasy challenges the viewer to reflect on the experiences that most make life worth living.

Koreeda’s first fiction feature is an exquisite meditation on loss, loneliness, uncertainty, and coming to terms with the past.

The on and off-screen character of Toshiro Mifune, Japan’s first international movie star, is explored in this illuminating documentary exploring the life and legacy of this mercurial icon.

Mikhail Kalatozov’s epic about the Cuban Revolution is breathtaking both for its scope and the audacity.

Koreeda’s subtle, moving account of the tensions within a family is his most Ozu-like film.

Koreeda’s drama about four children left to fend for themselves is a heartbreaking study of childhood neglect.