The screening on 16 November will be followed by an online Q&A with the director Tenzin Sedon, moderated by Chris Berry (KCL).

Screening in partnership with King's College London, this is a rare chance to see this accomplished full-length documentary about daily life in Lhasa by Tibetan director Tenzin Sedon. She explains that 'in the film, three narratives are joined by place, time, and urban change, by filming ordinary people on the prayer road (Kora), I embarked on a journey to reconnect with my hometown.' 

Over the last two decades, a Tibetan New Wave has burst onto the filmmaking scene in China. Although male-dominated, there are more women filmmakers now. Tenzin Sedon’s other films include A Taste of Life (2014) and Takui Alley (2017-2019). A Road of Prayer was nominated for the Hot Docs Crosscurrents Doc Fund, the CCDF, and Docs Port Incheon. She is currently studying for her MFA at New York University’s famous Tisch School of the Arts.

This screening is in memory of Heather Yijiao Dong. Special thanks to Gu Wen for introducing us to Tenzin Sedon.

Independent Candidate is an observational documentary following Fiona Lali’s and her Revolutionary Communist Party’s (RCP) 2024 parliamentary campaign in Stratford & Bow, East London. The film sets out to capture the everyday reality of grassroots politics and the determined energy of RCP’s activists. They are running to win, but the film’s focus is the campaign more than the result, as Fiona and her comrades organise to bring their vision of radical change directly to the people.

Event supported by Santiago Alvarez In Memoriam International Documentary Film Festival (FIDSA)

Before Independent Candidate, we will screen FIDSA Newsreel Nr. 2 (10 mins), which will be introduced by its director Rodrigo Vázquez Salessi.

FIDSA Newsreel Nr. 2 (19/03/2025) documents a discussion on the state of documentary film production and distribution, held during the 2025 edition of the FIDSA Film Festival in Santiago, Cuba. Prominent internationalist filmmakers including Gordon Main, Lázara Herrera, Alejandra Guzzo, and others, share insights into the challenges of sustaining independent documentary cinema amid global market pressures and digital platform monopolies.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Fiona Lali and director Teilo Vellacott.

Fidel Up Close is already being lauded as “the definitive documentary on Fidel Castro”.

Fidel Up Close: An intimate portrait of Fidel Castro delves into the lesser known facets of Fidel Castro’s personal and intimate life from the perspective of those closest to him, including his children, close family members, collaborators, delegates, employees and some detractors. The documentary spans Fidel’s early years that led to the insurgency against dictator Fulgencio Batista and features never before publicly released footage.

The film will be followed by a live Q&A with Eduardo Flores, the film's co-director. The film is presented by Alborada Films.

Cinematic trailblazer and Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau’s latest film offers a quiet revolution in genre filmmaking, employing techniques borrowed from horror and body horror that lead us through a family’s story of fear and pain, ultimately chronicling their journey towards love, compassion, and acceptance.

The Garden Cinema View:

Arriving on a tide of mixed festival responses, Alpha is shaping to be Julia Ducournau’s most divisive film. It is something of an unwieldy creation, dealing with heavy metaphors of loss, raw epidemic metaphors (for AIDS and beyond), and the real horror of being a teenager in the 1990s. This is wrapped in a slippery period setting, and draws upon inspiration from wide-ranging sources encompassing American Romantic novelists, the petrification disease from Sogo Ishii’s August in the Water, and Tupac. A quite remarkable cast that includes Golshifteh Farahani, a Denis Lavant-channelling Tahar Rahim, and Emma Mackey keeps things moving, even as the story has a tendency to drift into frustrating dead ends.

Alpha might not offer the taut narrative pleasure of Raw, or the chaotic fairytale logic of Titane, but it still brims with the big ideas and gnarly imagery we have come to expect from this iconoclastic filmmaker.

Anastasia won Ingrid Bergman her second Oscar in 1956. 

These days, the film is probably best-remembered for Ingrid Bergman’s Oscar win, an anointment which marked a poignant moment of reputational rehabilitation. The Swedish superstar had been ostracized by both industry and the public following her affair and extramarital pregnancy with Roberto Rossellini. Her last American production had been Under Capricorn (1949) for Alfred Hitchcock, seven years prior. In all its gestural thrashing and declamatory emoting, her performance as Anna - a former psychiatric patient in 1920s Paris who may or may not be the missing heir to the Romanov fortune - is a far cry from the tortile intensity she brought to Rossellini’s psychodramas during her European exile. - Matthew Thrift, MUBI Notebook

Synopsis:

Could an amnesiac refugee named Anna Anderson (Ingrid Bergman) truly be the Grand Duchess Anastasia, purported sole survivor of the execution of Czar Nicholas II and his family during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1918, and therefore the rightful heir to the Czar's fortune? Backed by a group of White Russian exiles led by General Bounine (Yul Brynner), she faces her possible grandmother, the imperious Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (Helen Hayes), and the fortune-hunting Prince Paul (Ivan Desny).

Director Sofia Alaoui will join us for a Q&A following this preview of Animalia, hosted by Imane Lamime from Fhamtini.

Itto, a young woman from a modest rural background, is slowly adapting to the privileged codes of her husband’s Moroccan family. When supernatural events plunge the country into a state of emergency, Itto is separated from her husband and new in-laws. Alone, pregnant, and searching for a way back, she discovers her own emancipation.

Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui's last film So What If the Goats Die, shot in the Atlas Mountains, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, and the César for best short fiction film in 2021. Animalia is her first feature film.

The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award.

It also won the International Narrative Feature Award at Calgary and received a Special Mention at Palm Springs International Film Festival.

As Charlotte, Bergman arguably gives the best performance of her career. Autumn Sonata marked the actor’s final on-screen appearance before she lost her battle with cancer just a few years later. In fact, she received her diagnosis at the beginning of filming, which undoubtedly influenced her portrayal of a woman reckoning with her past. Of course, Bergman didn’t need real-life experiences to evoke these emotions successfully – her acting prowess speaks for itself. Yet, when you consider the parallels between the movie’s themes and Bergman’s own life, you can’t help but find yourself flawed by the vulnerability of her performance.  - Far Out Magazine

Synopsis:

After a seven-year absence, Charlotte Andergast (Ingrid Bergman) travels to Sweden to reunite with her daughter Eva (Liv Ullmann). The pair have a troubled relationship: Charlotte sacrificed the responsibilities of motherhood for a career as a classical pianist. Over an emotional night, the pair reopen the wounds of the past. Charlotte gets another shock when she finds out that her mentally impaired daughter, Helena (Lena Nyman), is out of the asylum and living with Eva.

Belén is based on the true story that sparked an international movement, chronicling the harrowing case of Julieta, a young woman falsely accused of infanticide, and Soledad Deza (Dolores Fonzi), the fearless lawyer who takes on the highly controversial, explosive case. 

Belén takes us to Tucumán, a conservative region of Argentina, where Julieta's trial becomes a flashpoint for the ongoing fight for women's reproductive rights. As Soledad faces off against a corrupt, classist, and patriarchal legal system, Julieta's story ignites a groundswell of outrage and solidarity, galvanizing an unstoppable movement for justice and bodily autonomy.

The Garden Cinema View:

Based on the real case of Belén, an Argentinian woman who miscarried a fetus she was unaware she was even carrying, this is a suspenseful and moving story of her unjust eight-year incarceration and her lawyer's relentless efforts to bring her justice. The story is even more significant considering this real case became the catalyst for Argentina's feminist movement and a crucial first step towards the legalisation of abortion in the country.

At a time when women's reproductive rights are at stake, this is a poignant film that exemplifies how solidarity and perseverance can make a real difference and create lasting change in the system. The film is gracefully told and well-crafted, especially considering its low budget, and features very strong performances by director Dolores Fonzi and Camila Plaate as Belén.

For this edition of Composing Cinema, Oscar nominated composer Gary Yershon will be joined in discussion by Stephan Eicke, author of a new book, A Dream Come True, which explores the collaborations between David Lynch and the composer Angelo Badalamenti.

There's something going on behind the white picket fences of Lumberton, North Carolina. And after stumbling upon a severed human ear in a field, mystery-loving college student Jeffrey Beaumont is determined to find out what. Teaming up with the daughter of a local police detective, Jeffrey's investigation leads him into a strange world of sensuality and violence, with the intrigue of the missing ear seemingly stemming from the relationship between a troubled nightclub singer and a sociopathic sadomasochist.

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), he meets the woman from his daydream (Kim Greist), and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

Brazil was proposed by our member Noah Genockey.

Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

The Garden Cinema View:

Jang Joon-hwan’s Save the Green Planet! was a strikingly unique film. With disregard for genre, Jang lurched from torture-horror, to social satire, sci-fi action spectacle, and slapstick comedy. Despite such frequent tonal shifts, this chaotic vehicle was ultimately rooted in a powerful ecological and political message. That this still feels so appropriate for 2025 and Bugonia is a testament to Jang’s foresight, the subtle ways in which Yorgos Lanthimos and writer Will Tracy have adjusted the source material, and a bleak indictment of humanity’s inability to solve our existential crises.

Of course, bleakness is oxygen for Lanthimos, and rarely has our own doom been projected for us in such blackly humorous fashion. It might be a remake, but Bugonia is far more contained and controlled than Jang’s film. Lanthimos allows the dark energy to erupt in short bursts, harnessed by a pair of fully committed performances from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. It’s an oddly beautiful film to look at, shot on 35mm by Robbie Ryan and some frames are reminiscent of another great modern sci-fi, Under the Skin.  

Bergman’s rise to fame was meteoric, and her stunning performance in Casablanca opposite Humphrey Bogart became one of the most iconic duos in cinematic history. Her portrayal of Ilsa Lund, a woman torn between love and duty, resonated with audiences worldwide.

“I’m not a great actress, but I am a great ‘mistress of moods,’” Bergman once said. This modesty belied the immense skill she brought to every role. Her ability to switch between joy, sadness, vulnerability, and strength with ease allowed her to shine in a variety of genres, from romance to drama to thriller.
- Acting Magazine

Synopsis:

Set in Vichy-controlled Morocco during WWII, Casablanca revolves around a nightclub run by cynical American expat Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), where resistance fighters, immigrants and Nazis converge to police or partake in an illicit economy. In this colourfully exotic setting, created entirely on the Warner Bros studio lot, an affair is rekindled between Rick and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the latter now the wife of a resistance leader.

The film will be introduced by Senior Architect Jemma Miller.

Jeremy Sandford's drama about a young family's slide into homelessness and poverty was a defining moment in 1960s television, demonstrating how far drama could influence the political agenda. The controversy generated by Cathy Come Home led to public outrage at the state of housing in Britain, and gave a welcome boost to the (coincidental) launch of the homelessness charity Shelter a few days after the play was first broadcast, as part of the BBC's The Wednesday Play strand.

The play follows young lovers Cathy and Reg from the optimism of their early married days through a spiral of misfortune that follows Reg's work accident, leading to eviction and separation, and culminating, in what remains one of TV's most memorable scenes, in a hysterical Cathy having her children forcibly taken away by Social Services. - BFI, screenonline

Jemma Miller is a Senior Architect at Hawkins\Brown. Having been inspired by Ken Loach’s film Cathy Come Home at university, Jemma embarked upon a career in architecture and has spent the last decade working as an Architect specialising in housing in London and the Southeast. With a passion for people centric place-making and a keen advocate for community engagement on projects, she has a range of experience in community consultation, working with local schools and community groups. Her work at university is focused on equitable environments and the harsh social disparities within our city, bolstered by the built environment.

Originally released in 1987, and now digitally restored, City on Fire is a gripping Hong Kong New Wave crime thriller which influenced filmmakers worldwide, most notably inspiring Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.

After the success of John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow, lead actor Chow Yun Fat cemented his reputation as Hong Kong’s hottest new action film megastar with his electrifying performance in City on Fire. The film marks the first iconic pairing of Chow Yun Fat and Danny Lee as cop and criminal, roles they would later reverse in John Woo’s The Killer. Set against the neon-soaked jewellery stores and gritty backstreets of Hong Kong, City on Fire delivers high-octane action, frantic heists and gun standoffs.

Expect the unexpected in this riotous, food-filled family comedy. Frustrated inventor Flint Lockwood believes he is a genius, but none of his inventions turn out well. In an effort to solve world hunger, Flint creates a machine which can turn water into different foodstuffs. But before he can test it properly the contraption launches into the atmosphere, and giant pancakes, pasta, steaks and meatballs rain down on the tiny fishing port, Chewandswallow, which Flint calls home.

Into Film recommends this film for 5-12 year olds

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

COEXISTENCE, MY ASS! follows Israeli activist-comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi as she creates a comedy show by the same name. Shot over five tumultuous years, the film traces Noam’s personal, professional, and political journey in tandem with the region’s steady deterioration.

Raised in a bilingual Israeli-Palestinian village — the only intentionally integrated community in the country — Noam grows disillusioned with traditional peace activism. She pivots to stand-up and quickly attracts attention across the Middle East. But as her star rises, everything around her falls apart. With biting satire, Noam pushes her audiences to face difficult truths that aren't always funny but do remind us that another reality is possible.

The film won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression at Sundance 2025, as well as the Golden Alexander Award for Best Documentary at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival amongst others.

Lebanese-Canadian director Amber Fares, best known for her film Speed Sisters, will join us for a Q&A after the film.

From renowned filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, Die My Love is a visceral and uncompromising portrait of a woman engulfed by love and madness. Anchored by a ferocious, tour de force performance from Jennifer Lawrence, and co-starring Robert Pattinson.

The film follows Grace (Lawrence) and her partner Jackson (Pattinson), who have recently moved into an old house deep in the country. With ambitions to write The Great American Novel, Grace settles into her new environment, and the couple welcome a baby soon after. However, with Jackson frequently - and suspiciously - absent, and the pressures of domestic life starting to weigh on her, Grace begins to unravel, leaving a path of destruction in her wake.

The Garden Cinema View:

Lynne Ramsay’s first film in 8 years is a blistering and fractiously impressionist examination of post-partum depression. Jennifer Lawrence takes on her most challenging role since mother! (which shares some sensibilities with Die My Love). She’s better here. Her uninhibited performance is incredibly physical, containing surprising levels of sensuality and violence. This boxed in (literally, by the 4:3 aspect ratio) chamber piece is chaotic and intense. It’s also frequently hilarious, and has one of the year’s best soundtracks.

The screening on Saturday 8 November will be followed by a Q&A with director Paul Andrew Williams and actors Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough.

Have we become a nation of strangers? In Dragonfly, neglected pensioner Elsie (Brenda Blethyn) finds an unexpected ally in her younger neighbour Colleen (Andrea Riseborough). Over time, Elsie gains a friend and the troubled Colleen finds a fresh purpose in life as she shops, cleans and cares for her. It brings brighter days for both of them. Elsie’s son John (Jason Watkins) resents the way that Colleen has selflessly fulfilled the responsibilities that he has shirked. Simmering tensions bring shocking consequences in a gripping human story straight from the heart of broken Britain. A powerful return to the cinema from London to Brighton director Paul Andrew Williams that showcases heartrending, award-winning performances from Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough.

The Garden Cinema View:

Dragonfly is a well-crafted slow burner anchored by outstanding performances from Andrea Riseborough, Brenda Blethyn, and Jason Watkins.

Though firmly grounded in reality and echoing social realist traditions, the film also functions as a thriller through its consistent high tension and effective misdirection. There's an abstract danger lurking, and we're never sure from where or how it will manifest.

For much of its runtime, the film serves as an excellent case study of loneliness and the lack of family and state support for the elderly. A tonal shift towards the end, with its focus on the younger character, raises interesting questions about on-screen representation that viewers may interpret differently. That said, Dragonfly is an ambitious and compelling genre hybrid that's worth of your time.

Select Japan is delighted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Shinji Aoyama's classic of modern Japanese cinema with the UK premiere of a new digital restoration.

In Kyushu, southwest Japan, one hot summer morning, a municipal bus is hijacked. In the carnage only three people survive: the driver, Makoto (Koji Yakusho), a school girl, Kozue, and her older brother, Naoki.

Suffering from trauma, Makoto disappears. The children withdraw in silence. Two years later, their mother has divorced and their father dies at the wheel of his car. They now live alone in the family house. Makoto returns to town and takes up household with the children, who are soon joined by their cousin, Akihiko, a student on vacation from college.

Set in contemporary Iran, Facing Mirrors is a story of an unlikely and daring friendship that develops despite social norms and religious beliefs. Although Rana is a traditional wife and mother, she is forced to drive a cab to pay off the debt that keeps her husband in prison. By chance she picks up the wealthy and rebellious Edi, who is desperately awaiting a passport to leave the country. At first Rana attempts to help, but when she realizes that Edi is transgender, a dangerous series of conflicts arises.

Directed by Negar Azarbayjani, Facing Mirrors is the first narrative film from Iran to feature a transgender main character.

The screening will be introduced by the Iranian Film Club's Zhaleh Bahraini.

The Iranian Film Club was created with the purpose of increasing exposure to cinema from Iran, by Iranians and ethnic identities that makeup Iran such as, to name a few, Kurdish, Afghan, Azari, Turk, Arab, in a safe anti-colonial space. The club’s aim is to foster joy & fun in a politically safe space. 50% of Iranian Film Club’s profits will be donated to Mermaids UK.

On Tuesday 21 October, Mary Wild, Freudian cinephile and creator of the Projections lecture series at the Freud Museum, will join us for a post screening Q&A.

Family Life is a remake of David Mercer’s TV play In Two Minds, which had been filmed by Ken Loach four years previously. The broadcast of the latter provoked controversy, owing to its negative portrayal of the received treatment for schizophrenia. Family Life, like In Two Minds, promotes the theories of psychiatrist R. D. Laing, who did not believe that schizophrenia was a brain disease but a psychological syndrome that 'cannot be understood without understanding despair'. In Family Life, a troubled nineteen-year-old’s mental condition is exacerbated by her unfeeling relatives, and the cold and ineffective solutions of medical practitioners, who prescribe drug and electro-convulsive therapy.

- BFI article

Family Life will be screened with English subtitles.

Ingmar Bergman’s dreamlike chronicle of an extended family in early 20th-century Sweden.

One tumultuous year in the life of the Ekdahl family is viewed through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, whose imagination fuels the magical goings-on leading up to and following the death of his father. When his mother remarries a stern bishop, Alexander and his sister Fanny are banished to a gothic world.

Drawing heavily on Bergman’s own memories, it highlights the young protagonist’s fascination with storytelling, while also serving as a kind of confessional critique of his films and reworked themes, with trademark scenes of marital infighting, desperate grief, and searching existential enquiry.

Although Bergman is as attuned as ever to the anguish of life, there is also much that is fondly recalled, from toy theatres and magic lantern shows to family Christmases and favoured relatives.

Our preview screening on Sunday 23 November will be followed by a Q&A with director Igor Bezinović.

In defiance of the Paris Peace Conference Italian poet and military officer Gabriele D’Annunzio led a rogue, short-lived, and ultranationalist occupation of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) in 1919. Over a century later, filmmaker Igor Bezinović revisits this strange historical episode, blending archive, reenactment and interviews with residents in the present, interrogating how a city remembers and forgets, and the enduring presence of European fascism.

A stark and peculiar lesson in the history that is not past, Fiume o morte! (Fiume or death!) won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2025 and is Croatia’s submission for the Oscars.

The screening on 14 February will be followed by an online Q&A with the director Lu Qingyi.

Four Springs is a documentary film that presents a family’s daily life in the remote town in southern Guizhou. From a subjective angle, the camera introduces the flow of life out of the screen: the quotidian toils, singing, excursions in nature, visits among friends and extended families, funerals, reunions, and separation. It presents the state of being of the two main characters, the director’s own parents, and their attitude when facing irretrievable loss in life.

This special screening celebrates Chinese New Year 2026 (Year of Horse). It is the fourth successive Garden Cinema CNY special event, following the UK Premiere of Kong Dashan’s Journey to the West in 2023, and an immersive screening of Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love in 2024 and screening of Bi Gan’s Kaili Blues in 2025.

Bergman won three acting Oscars during her long career (two for Best Actress, in Gaslight and Anastasia, and one for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 1974’s star-studded Murder on the Orient Express), and was nominated four more times. She also won Emmys, a Tony, Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle awards in other words, she proved again and again that she could act as well as star in almost any role, on film, stage and the small screen. - Life Online Magazine

Synopsis:

The word ‘Gaslighting’ – making someone doubt their sanity – comes from this popular 1944 film in which a thieving husband tries to make his wife go mad so that he can commit her to hospital.

Set in fog-bound London in 1888, this ‘noir’ thriller stars Ingrid Bergman as the wife tormented by her husband, played by Charles Boyer. Soon after their marriage, she begins to notice strange goings-on in their London house – missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night, and gaslights that dim without being touched.

The 29th Made in Prague Film Festival presents the UK premiere of Girl America, a visually striking and deeply moving portrait of a young girl’s fight for freedom and belonging.

Growing up in totalitarian Czechoslovakia, orphaned Emma endures foster care, juvenile detention, and the turmoil of the Velvet Revolution. To survive the fear, loneliness, and dislocation, she invents another self to talk to—and clings to a dream of America, where her father awaits her. Blending raw realism with surreal imagery, director Viktor Tauš crafts a poetic, emotionally charged journey of resilience and hope. Girl America is not just a story of survival, but a celebration of the unyielding spirit that refuses to be broken. An exceptional film from Czech auteur cinema. Winner of Best Film, Best Costume, and Best Set Design at the 2024 Czech Film Critics’ Awards.

'Vivid and magical and fuelled by urgent pain, Girl America is a mesmerising cinematic confection which dazzled audiences at Fantaspoa 2025 and deserves to be seen much more widely' - Eye for Film

Meeting your girlfriend's family for the first time can be tough, especially at Christmas. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew.

Happiest Season was suggested by our members Kierran Horner and Aimee Gasston.

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song. A young penguin called Mumble is unable to sing but instead has a gift for tap dancing. His mother thinks his ability is cute, but his father is not so impressed. Noah, who is the stern leader of their land, thinks Mumble’s quirk is just too different and casts him out of the community. Away from home for the first time, Mumble meets a whole range of characters – including penguins very different from those he knows – as he seeks to understand his place in the world.

On Saturdays our family screenings are followed by a free activity for children.

This is a 'Pay What You Can' Family Screening, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

Join a mismatched trio on an icy, hilarious cross-continent journey— part buddy comedy, part survival quest, and wholly entertaining. These now iconic characters, Manny the mammoth, Sid the loquacious sloth, and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger, go on a comical quest to return a human baby back to his father, across a world on the brink of an ice age. Its blend of humour, heart, and snappy dialogue made it a surprise hit and a modern animated classic.

Into Film recommends this film for ages 5+

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

Despite delighting audiences with her work in Oscar winning classics by big directors, Ingrid Bergman was banished from Hollywood when her extramarital affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini became public. Bergman ran off to Italy and spent the next seven years making Italian films in between marrying and divorcing Rossellini.

Though Anastasia revived her career, it was her next film, Indiscreet, that endeared her once again to American audiences. Bergman paired up for the second and final time with her Notorious co-star and good friend, Cary Grant. Indiscreet, lives or dies solely on the chemistry of Bergman and Grant. Not their individual talents, which are unquestioned, but how much the audience believes they are besotted with one another. - Melanie Novak

Synopsis:

Famous theater actress Anna Kalman (Ingrid Bergman) has resigned herself to her single life, believing that she has missed her chance at meeting a husband. Weary of socializing in Europe, she returns to her London flat, where her sister Margaret (Phyllis Calvert) and diplomat brother-in-law Alfred (Cecil Parker) invite her to a banquet. She demurs until Alfred's banker friend, Philip Adams (Cary Grant), arrives and a flirtation begins. Their romance blossoms -- but he's already married.

The evening screening on Thursday 23 October will be introduced by Professor Lucy Bolton who will share her insights on Bergman's extraordinary career and the films featured throughout the season.

Ingrid Bergman was wooed to Hollywood by David Selznick after he witnessed her stunning presence in the 1936 Swedish romance Intermezzo. In 1939 she starred in the Hollywood version of Intermezzo by Gregory Ratoff, which was remade in English nearly scene-for-scene and was a big box-office hit.
We are showing the 1939 version as part of our season.

Synopsis:

Concert violinist Holger Brandt (Leslie Howard) becomes disenchanted with his home life and gravitates toward his daughter’s piano tutor, Anita (Ingrid Bergman). An affair starts, but when they go to break it off the pair instead run away to concerts on the continent and a villa in Italy before their conscience returns.

Lucy Bolton is Professor of Film Philosophy at Queen Mary University of London where she specialises in feminist film philosophy and film stardom. Her most recent book is The Feminist Film Philosophy Reader - out in March 2026 - and she is currently writing a book on ‘Philosophies of Film Stardom’. 

Screening in tribute to the late Dame Jane Goodall, the world-renowned ethologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, who sadly passed away in October.

Drawing from over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives for over 50 years, award-winning director Brett Morgen tells the story of JANE, a woman whose chimpanzee research challenged the male-dominated scientific consensus of her time and revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. Set to a rich orchestral score from legendary composer Philip Glass, the film offers an unprecedented, intimate portrait of Jane Goodall — a trailblazer who defied the odds to become one of the world’s most admired conservationists.

In July 1960, at the age of 26, Jane Goodall traveled from England to what is now Tanzania and ventured into the little-known world of wild chimpanzees. Equipped with little more than a notebook, binoculars, and her fascination with wildlife, Jane braved a realm of unknowns to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. Key to her groundbreaking discoveries were her curiosity and ability to observe. Through 65 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Jane Goodall has not only shown us the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction; she has also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environment.

At a political rally, bricklayer Oreste (Marcello Mastroianni) sees flower girl Adelaide (Monica Vitti) and is so thoroughly smitten that he decides he must leave his wife for her. The pair's happiness doesn't last, however, as a young pizza chef named Nello (Giancarlo Giannini) also has eyes for Adelaide. He sends her a heart-shaped pizza pie and in no time has broken up their relationship. Adelaide leaves Oreste, who becomes passionately grief-stricken and considers suicide.

The third part of an informal trilogy of Rossellini's Italian movies starring his wife Ingrid Bergman – the others are Stromboli (1950) and Europa 51 (1952).

Although Roberto Rossellini’s Journey to Italy (1953) is now established as one of world cinema’s supreme achievements, it still has a surprising number of detractors. I usually advise cinephiles who have trouble ‘getting’ the films Rossellini made with Ingrid Bergman to list all the things they perceive as flaws, then try to see them as misunderstood virtues. Take Bergman’s performances, which seem so much clumsier than her Hollywood roles. By stripping away the actress’s standard repertoire of gestures and line-readings, Rossellini revealed the genuine person usually concealed beneath the mask of technique. It says a great deal about our relationship to cinematic codes that many viewers consider Bergman’s acting in these masterpieces to be ‘unrealistic’. - Sight and Sound

Synopsis:

Sharing a passionless existence together, Alexander (George Sanders) and Katherine Joyce (Ingrid Bergman), a married English couple, travel to Naples after inheriting a villa. On the verge of divorce, with neither one's disposition warming to the other, they decide to spend the rest of the trip separately. Katherine visits museums and historical sites, whereas Alexander goes to Capri to unwind with drinks. However, during the course of their vacation, the Joyces both undergo changes.

The evening screening on Thursday October 16 will be followed by a Q&A with David Bradley, Kes lead actor.

The matinee screening on Friday October 30 will be introduced by film academic and writer Rhys Handley.

Named one of the ten best British films of the century by the BFI, Ken Loach’s Kes, is cinema’s quintessential portrait of working-class Northern England. Billy (an astonishingly naturalistic David Bradley) is a fifteen-year-old miner’s son whose close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life.

Kes brought to the big screen the sociopolitical engagement Loach had established in his work for the BBC, and pushed the British “angry young man” film of the sixties into a new realm of authenticity, using real locations and nonprofessional actors. Loach’s poignant coming-of-age drama remains the now legendary director’s most beloved and influential film. 
- The Criterion Collection

Rhys Handley is a film academic and writer, born in Doncaster. He holds a Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London. His ongoing work uses philosophy to look at the effects of the climate crisis on marginalised and working-class communities and individuals as depicted in British social realist cinema.

The screening on 1 December will be followed by a Q&A with co-director Phil Cox.

In 2022, Sudanese filmmakers, in collaboration with a British writer / director, an Irish Palestinian editor, and supported by indie company Native Voice Films and Sudan Film Factory with Ayin Network, began filming the lives and dreams of five very different citizens in Khartoum. Soon, however, war broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, displacing over eleven million people, including everyone in the production. The filmmakers and participants escaped to East Africa. Led by the creative director, the team devised a new narrative through innovative cinematic storytelling, combining animation, green screen reconstructions, and documentary ‘dream reversions’ or ‘dreamscapes’.

The Garden Cinema View:

Khartoum was initially conceived of as a poetic account of the city told through the eyes of five inhabitants. Despite the fact that the entire cast and crew were forced to flee, and left with no access to Sudan and barely any footage, the resulting film they managed to create fulfils the initial ambition.

It's a highly original piece of filmmaking, with the team all pitching in to re-enact everyday life in Khartoum from their new, temporary home in Kenya, with the help of devices such as green screens and animation. It's perhaps a more reflective, philosphical film as a result, in which the five Sudanese citizens, drawn from such different walks of life and suddenly thrown together, are able to reflect on their identities and the fate of their country. Despite the trauma and bleakness of war, re-enacting scenes from their past allows the protagonists to celebrate of the minutiae of everyday life in a way that is both joyful and cathartic.

The screening will open with a short introduction by Effie Veremi, founder of Kinoema and will be followed by a Q&A with Andrew Kötting, director.

Programme:

Diseased and Disorderly (short), director Andrew Kötting in collaboration with Eden Kötting, 2021

Gallivant (feature experimental documentary), director Andrew Kötting ,1996.

Where it all started from and starts again. Andrew Kötting’s filmography is characterised by its psychogeographic view: filmmaking becomes a continuous exploration of the interaction between location and the subjects’ emotions and behaviour.

Gallivant, the director’s first feature work, is an archive of livelihood; he brings together his grandmother and his daughter who has Joubert syndrome and had been told she would not live long to get to know each other whilst they interview locals during their journey.

Combining archive footage, highly creative editing techniques and sound processing, this is a true gem depicting  Britain in highly idiosyncratic but also overly relatable ways.

The continuous artistic involvement of the director's daughter Eden in his work as well as her independent work as an artist are fascinating takes on the experience of difference, artistic connection and collaborative authenticity. 

Ian Sinclair: “Kötting has created a glorious apotheosis for the home movie, making great play with seaside traditions: funfair surrealism, brightly coloured monsters on piers, rude postcards.” Whilst Kötting himself describing the film adds the jaunts to British “folklore, festivals, customs, traditions and mysteries, as well as places of outstanding natural beauty and sites of historical interest.”

The programme will open with the short Diseased and Disorderly. Using Eden's paintings, drawings and collages as a starting point an immersive world is created through 3D models and animation. Worry, humour and imagination blends with original audio to illustrate a unique perspectives.  

This is a relaxed screening. The films will be shown with descriptive subtitles. The sound levels will be slightly lower than usual and some lighting will be on to allow for people to move around safely during the event. A quiet space will be available during the event.

The screening is supported by CinemaForAll and the BFI Lottery Fund

Kinoema Accessible Screenings curates inclusive, accessible film experiences with creative formats, community discussions, and a commitment to representation.

Orsolya is a bailiff in Cluj, the main city in Transylvania. One day she must evict a homeless man who lives in the basement of a building. An unexpected event creates a moral crisis she tries to solve as best she can.

The Garden Cinema View:

Radu Jude's latest offering is as riotous and acerbic as his previous work, and returns to his favourite subjects: unregulated capitalism, post-Soviet legacies in Romania, and hilarious character studies of people caught between the two systems.

What's new in Kontinental '25 is Jude's exploration of how humans instinctively expel guilt rather than take responsibility or question the system itself.

As in Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, nothing escapes Jude’s vitriolic satirical lens: the corrupt Orthodox Church, greedy estate agencies, Romanian nationalism, and corrupt police officers. Although firmly set in 2025 Romania, the film's dilemmas resonate far beyond its borders.

Please note, the screenings on the 5th and 12th December will have a short introduction instead of trailers.

Michelangelo Antonioni invented a new film grammar with this masterwork. An iconic piece of challenging 1960s cinema and a gripping narrative on its own terms, L’avventura concerns the enigmatic disappearance of a young woman during a yachting trip off the coast of Sicily, and the search taken up by her disaffected lover (Gabriele Ferzetti) and best friend (Monica Vitti, in her breakout role). Antonioni’s controversial international sensation is a gorgeously shot tale of modern ennui and spiritual isolation.

This screening will be introduced by strand programmer Marzia Castelli.

The concluding chapter of Michelangelo Antonioni’s informal trilogy on contemporary malaise (following L’avventura and La notte), L’eclisse tells the story of a young woman (Monica Vitti) who leaves one lover (Francisco Rabal) and drifts into a relationship with another (Alain Delon). Using the architecture of Rome as a backdrop for the doomed affair, Antonioni achieves the apotheosis of his style in this return to the theme that preoccupied him the most: the difficulty of connection in an alienating modern world.

After sorting through a huge pile of 2,400 entries, we’ve curated a selection of 77 outstanding new films from 30 countries. These films range from humorous and dramatic to bizarre, subtle, frightening, and autobiographical. What they all share is our belief that they represent the best of the best. These 8 international competition programmes showcase a variety of techniques, genres, and styles. This is your annual glimpse into the vibrant world of international indie animation.

This programme, the Abstract Showcase, represents our yearly exploration of abstract and experimental animation. It features 12 short films where animators use a wide range of techniques, from hand-drawn 'musical scores' to high-definition computer-assisted imagery. Each film reflects a deep passion for animated movement and showcases the artist's skill in using colour and crafting non-narrative visuals to captivate the screen.

LIAF is one of the very few animation festivals in the world to devote an entire programme to abstract and experimental animation. We do this because we believe that the tenets that underpin great abstract animation go to the very heart of what it is to create beautiful, frame by frame animated imagery; a form of animated artmaking with a history that reaches back to the earliest days of the animation. Also — we do it because we love abstract animation!

Several filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their films at the start of the screening.

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details

The Self and the Other

An experimental film inspired by Jean-Paul Sartre's play "No Exit." a game of perception in which the power of interpretation lies with the viewer.

UK 2024 Dir: Chen Ma 6’00

Wanderers

Exploring concepts of fluidity and rigidity through monochromatic, crystalline visuals, delving into the emotional turmoil a wanderer has to engage with when grappling with the ideas of going against the flow.

Hong Kong 2025 Dir: Muhammad Mustefa Bukhari 3’45

Toil and Spin

The drifting sensations of sleep and the turbulence of sleeplessness. An oarless journey through memory, regret, and restless thought.

USA 2024  Dir: Maureen Zent 5’05

The Garden of Electric Delights

Tapping into our sensual pleasures with this experimental interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch’s iconic triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Austria 2025 Dir: Billy Roisz 11’45

Where Blue Meets Red

Consisting of several dozen original risograph prints, this under-the-camera, straight-ahead animation is improvised to the rhythm of the scores by Hungarian jazz trumpeter and composer Barabás Lőrinc.

Hungary 2024  Dir: Tamás Patrovits 4’00

Kepler - 891c

Moving from planetary surfaces to deep space, mysterious shapes and spheres guide exploration and slowly return to the surface.

Hong Kong 2025 Dir: Kwan Yau Tse 3’15

States of Matter

An experimental strata-cut animation crafted entirely from wax and paper. It invites viewers on a meditative exploration of materiality, textures, and movements.

Netherlands 2024  Dir: Marvin Hauck 7’00

Deluge

An ever-evolving landscape where the present inevitably coexists with the past. The slow stampede of a vulnerable mind.

USA 2024 Dir: Meejin Hong 12’05

Play

Hand-painted film combined with digital animation explores abstraction and concepts of ‘play’ as intrinsic to creative practice.

Australia 2025  Dir: Sabrina Schmid 2’05

We The Water

The complex relationship between humans and water. Compelling contrasts between wetness and dryness, fluidity and rigidity, light and darkness.

Switzerland 2024 Dir: Noah Lüthi 3’55

Simple Random Walks

A simple random walk is a discrete-time stochastic process that describes a path generated by a sequence of random steps.

USA 2025 Dir: Larry Cuba 7’10

Steen

A scenic and visual experience of cells and the small organisms that we live amongst, exploring the unknown structure of nature.

Hong Kong 2025 Dir: Chin Yiu Mane Cheung, Pui Yu Sammi Tsui 3’55

This programme explores the full spectrum of human emotions through 8 captivating films that delve into themes of love, hate, jealousy, sensuality, melancholy, anxiety, confusion, fear, and doubt. Each film is powerful and moving, offering profound insights and striking visuals that resonate with contemporary issues.

Independent animation remains a dynamic and evolving art form, showcasing a stunning array of styles, materials, and techniques— from hand-drawn and paint-on-glass to collage, sculpture, cut-outs, puppetry, abstract forms, and innovative CGI. This year's LIAF highlights the most diverse and exciting developments within this vibrant medium.

After sorting through a huge pile of 2,400 entries, we’ve curated a selection of 77 outstanding new films from 30 countries. These films range from humorous and dramatic to bizarre, subtle, frightening, and autobiographical. What they all share is our belief that they represent the best of the best. These 8 international competition programmes showcase a variety of techniques, genres, and styles. This is your annual glimpse into the vibrant world of international indie animation.

Several filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their films at the start of the screening.

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details

I'm Not Sure

An insight into the filmmaker's stay in a hospital, where she repeatedly experiences absurd, funny moments between pain, homesickness, and disgust over her body.

Switzerland 2025  Dir: Luisa Zürcher 10’05

The Pool or Death of a Goldfish

A daughter, through unexpressed anger and rebellion against her mother, transforms into a goldfish. Her repressed childhood emotions are manifested in her harshness towards herself and others.

Poland 2025 Dir: Daria Kopiec 13’50

Hypersensitive

The turbulent, surrealistic journey of a young woman struggling to rebuild herself, in defiance of social norms that tell us to repress our emotions.

Canada 2025 Dir: Martine Frossard 6’40

Pear Garden

Six-year-old Lily visits her grandmother after she has a mastectomy. At night, Lily finds out that the shadow of grandma has breasts. Lily follows her and tries to get the breasts back for her grandma.

Germany, Iran 2024  Dir: Shadab Shayegan 7’00

Because Today is Saturday

It's Saturday, and a woman struggles with the difficulty of reconciling her home life and her need to escape to unleash her creative side.

Portugal, France, Spain 2025 Dir: Alice Eça Guimarães 12’25

Wish You Were Ear

After breakups, exes must exchange body parts. One person spots their old ear on another, sparking a quest for identity and acceptance in a bizarre society where physical pieces of ourselves live on in others.

Hungary 2025 Dir: Mirjana Balogh 10’15

Lost Touch

Amelia is the sole survivor on a damaged space ship. Trapped in the gravitational pull of a planet, she struggles with grief and isolation. When a mysterious presence appears, she is torn between the past and the future.

Switzerland 2025 Dir: Justine Klaiber 12’25

Stone of Destiny

The Stone of Destiny longs for freedom and wants to overcome its self-doubt. So it embarks on a journey and meets strange creatures in strange places.

Czech Republic 2025 Dir: Julie Cerna 10’20

This programme ‘From Absurd to Zany’ celebrates some of the funniest, weirdest and eye-poppingly nutty films that were entered this year.

Strange tales of a woman giving birth to her reproductive organs, a chatty hair living on the head of a balding man, disturbing bird people, singing aliens plus many more bonkers scenarios. Buckle up for a wild ride.

Independent animation remains a dynamic and evolving art form, showcasing a stunning array of styles, materials, and techniques—from hand-drawn and paint-on-glass to collage, sculpture, cut-outs, puppetry, abstract forms, and innovative CGI. This year's LIAF highlights the most diverse and exciting developments within this vibrant medium.

After sorting through a huge pile of 2,400 entries, we’ve curated a selection of 77 outstanding new films from 30 countries. These films range from humorous and dramatic to bizarre, subtle, frightening, and autobiographical. What they all share is our belief that they represent the best of the best. These 8 international competition programmes showcase a variety of techniques, genres, and styles. This is your annual glimpse into the vibrant world of international indie animation.

Several filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their films at the start of the screening.

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details

Jazz Emu: Fun Kitai Furai Dei

A singing alien from the planet 0E0E0 comes to earth, seeking happiness after his home was destroyed in a brutal intergalactic war.

UK  2025 Dir: Hunter Allen 3’30

Um

The bird people have fallen into violent chaos, prey to a disturbing phenomenon: their eggs seem to be haunted by demonic faces. Their hatching seems to herald an imminent catastrophe...

France 2025 Dir: Nieto 8’30

Ovary-Acting

A harried thirty-something woman is forced to decide whether she wants to be a mother after unexpectedly giving birth to her reproductive organs at her sister’s baby shower.

Norway, Sweden, UK  2025 Dir: Ida Melum 12’25

Ostrich

A little sparrow is in awe of the ostriches with their long necks, dazzling eyes and muscular legs and wants to be just like them.

Switzerland 2025 Dir: Marie Kenov  8’30

The 12 inch Pianist

A bar joke goes awry, unravelling into a surreal tale that explores the acceptance of self, others, and queer identity.

USA 2024 Dir: Lucas Ansel 7’25

No Vacancy

The unraveling mind of Jack, depicted through a dilapidated motel. He navigates chaotic nights filled with mysterious phone calls, disruptive guests, childhood humiliation and battles with addiction.

Colombia 2024 Dir: Miguel Rodrick  7’15

Peter Hair

Peter, a hair living on the head of a balding man named Tim, has decided to hand in his notice.

UK 2025 Dir: Arthur Studholme, Cosmo Wellings 8’05

Dollhouse Elephant

In a communal environment the private habits of a group of neighbours creates public mayhem.

Finland 2025 Dir: Jenny Jokela 11’15

Turbulence

First flight. No parents. Total panic. A terrified boy just wants to survive takeoff, but the plane—and its deranged passengers—have other plans.

Denmark, USA 2025  Dir: Christopher Rutledge, Magnus Igland Møller 3’30

The Right to be Forgotten

Deep underground, embedded in old muddy rock, the oracle is waiting.

Denmark 2025 Dir: Tue Sanggaard 10’55

Despite societal pressures, humans still create art, jokes, rituals, experiments….and animated films. Play and imagination are core human capacities that drive innovation and meaning. This programme examines some big life moments and asks some pointed questions. The 11 powerful films include a man revisiting his teenage years through the prism of his changing hairstyles, a touching mother-daughter relationship, a bittersweet and hopeful depiction of how society views growing old, a mesmerising, minimalist meditation patiently picking away at the little details often left unconsidered and several other tales  about love, death, and purpose.

Independent animation remains a dynamic and evolving art form, showcasing a stunning array of styles, materials, and techniques— from hand-drawn and paint-on-glass to collage, sculpture, cut-outs, puppetry, abstract forms, and innovative CGI. This year's LIAF highlights the most diverse and exciting developments within this vibrant medium.

After sorting through a huge pile of 2,400 entries, we’ve curated a selection of 77 outstanding new films from 30 countries. These films range from humorous and dramatic to bizarre, subtle, frightening, and autobiographical. What they all share is our belief that they represent the best of the best. These 8 international competition programmes showcase a variety of techniques, genres, and styles. This is your annual glimpse into the vibrant world of international indie animation.

Several filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their films at the start of the screening.

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details.

Retirement Plan

Dissatisfied with his life, Ray dreams of the beauty and joy he will find in retirement.

Ireland 2025 Dir: John Kelly 7’00

Dog Alone

After the death of its owner and companions, a dog is left alone in its house, howling day and night and disturbing the neighbourhood.

Portugal, France 2024 Dir: Marta Reis Andrade 13’10

Imprint

Chance encounters can leave a lasting effect, like ink on paper. Imprint is a heartfelt animated short about the lasting creative bond between two kindred spirits.

Canada 2025 Dir: Duncan Major 5’00

How

Through the opening between reality and subtle poetic forms, surreal scenes and thrilling paradoxes reveal endless loops of existence.

Croatia 2025 Dir: Marko Mestrovic 8’45

Balconada

A hot summer day brings several neighbours out on their balconies. During a sudden rainstorm one of them gets a burst of inspiration which encourages the rest to live in the moment.

France, Bulgaria 2025 Dir: Iva Tokmakchieva 8’05

Speeding, Of Course

70-year-old Timo makes the most of his short ride to work. Speeding up on a bicycle he ends up in a ditch, but the adrenaline rush leaves a feeling of pleasure.

Finland 2025 Dir: Anni Sairio, Joonatan Turkki 4’00

S the Wolf

Through memories of his changing thinning hair, a man revisits his teenage years weaving together fragments of youth and growth towards his personal transformation throughout the large journey of his life.

France 2025 Dir: Sameh Alaa 10’30

Poppy Flowers

A daughter tries to reconcile with her mother through memories of their shared rituals, exposing the intricate aspects of their relationship.

Estonia 2024 Dir: Evridiki Papaiakovou 4’25

Shadows

At an overcrowded airport, Ahlam, a 14-year old runaway mother, fights the lurking shadows that attempt to steal the only dream that will set her free.

France, Jordan 2024  Dir: Rand Beiruty 12’20

Ordinary Life

A breath of air, a movement, a touch and, in between, a dissolution. Gestures of everyday life in variation, sensual, floating in pastel colours.

Japan 2025 Dir: Yoriko Mizushiri 9’50

Quota

When every global citizen is required to have their CO2 emissions tracked, it makes little impact… that is, until they discover the consequences of reaching their designated quota.

Netherlands 2024 Dir: Job, Joris and Marieke 2’40

Persuasive, illustrative and able to get over abstract details in attractive and compelling ways, animation is the perfect tool to document someone’s vision of the truth. This past decade has seen a boom in non-fiction films that use animation to tell their stories and LIAF has been one of the vanguards with our annual showcase dedicated to the documentary form dating back to 2008. This year’s programme features 12 of the best true life stories coupled with mind-blowing imagery.

Independent animation remains a dynamic and evolving art form, showcasing a stunning array of styles, materials, and techniques—from hand-drawn and paint-on-glass to collage, sculpture, cut-outs, puppetry, abstract forms, and innovative CGI. This year's LIAF highlights the most diverse and exciting developments within this vibrant medium.

After sorting through a huge pile of 2,400 entries, we’ve curated a selection of 77 outstanding new films from 30 countries. These films range from humorous and dramatic to bizarre, subtle, frightening, and autobiographical. What they all share is our belief that they represent the best of the best. These 8 international competition programmes showcase a variety of techniques, genres, and styles. This is your annual glimpse into the vibrant world of international indie animation.

There will be a panel of filmmakers taking part in a discussion after the screening.

The panel will be announced shortly.

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details

Better Man

The stories of three men who use exercise as a way to cope with inner traumas that have often resulted in low self-esteem.

Czech Republic 2025 Dir: Eliška Jirásková 6’05

I am a Rebel

Veteran British animator and Oscar-winner Bob Godfrey describes how he got started in Animation and the losses of one era ending and the excitement of a new one beginning.

UK 2025 Dir: Martin Pickles 4’55

Azkena

Lorea's reference points are her mother and grandmother. Through these two generations she observes the bond that women have experienced around motherhood. Now it is up to her to decide whether or not to become a mother herself and to look for answers to pending questions.

Spain 2024 Dir: Ane Inés Landeta, Lorea Lyons 9’05

Mealitancy

Through audio recordings taken in the field and poetic moving images, the film portrays activists who use food as a tool in their anti-consumerist struggle.

Belgium 2024 Dir: Marie Royer, Zinia Scorier 12’05

Strokes of Wildflowers

Stroke survivors share their stories about the mental and physical struggles they face and the importance of community within their recovery.

UK 2025 Dir: Livvy Seabrook-Wilkins 3’45

Biting the Hand that Feeds You

The contest is called 'Payday', and Chantal is in a rush because she has a lot to say on the subject. For once, she ticks all the boxes: director, woman... She's ready to start taking notes, drawing... But all too soon, her everyday reality comes rushing back.

Belgium, France 2025 Dir: Chantal Peten 5’55

On Hannah Fields

A patch of land in Derby, UK, is adopted by an ex-NHS Psychiatric Nurse and transformed by a cyclical system of recovery. A poetic portrait of a place, the people who support it and that it supports.

UK 2024 Dir: Lewis Heriz 3’25

Tiny Film about Rape

Harrowing tales of sexual violence told from the survivors point of view.

Czech Republic 2025 Dir: Tereza Nebe Motýlová 9’05

Warp and Weft

A love letter to the act of hand-making, traditional craft practices, and the people who love them. Stemming from the fear of these artforms slipping away in a society that no longer values the human labour behind them.

UK 2025 Dir: Isolda Milenkovic 3’45

The Mustached Clown Circus

In a Latin American country, a child’s notebook recounts a series of horrifying events that happened at the Big Moustache Clowns Circus.

Argentina 2025 Dir: Ana Comes, Tomas Alzogaray Vanella, Paz Bloj 10’40

Polio

Mrs. Jaroslava shares her story of growing up with polio – a disease that stole part of her youth, but gave her friendships that lasted a lifetime.

Czech Republic 2025 Dir: Klára Kubenková 5’05

Winter in March

Helpless in the face of a repressive state, a young couple leaves their home – an escape that turns into a surreal nightmare.

Armenia, Belgium, Estonia, France 2025 Dir: Natalia Mirzoyan 16’20

Some films need extra time to develop their themes, to grow and draw us more comprehensively into their worlds. It takes time to think. Reflection tends to work best at a slower tempo. This competition programme is dedicated to showcasing the best of these longer films. 7 longer short films, 7 thoughtful and complex stories.

Independent animation remains a dynamic and evolving art form, showcasing a stunning array of styles, materials, and techniques— from hand-drawn and paint-on-glass to collage, sculpture, cut-outs, puppetry, abstract forms, and innovative CGI. This year's LIAF highlights the most diverse and exciting developments within this vibrant medium.

After sorting through a huge pile of 2,400 entries, we’ve curated a selection of 77 outstanding new films from 30 countries. These films range from humorous and dramatic to bizarre, subtle, frightening, and autobiographical. What they all share is our belief that they represent the best of the best. These 8 international competition programmes showcase a variety of techniques, genres, and styles. This is your annual glimpse into the vibrant world of international indie animation.

Several filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their films at the start of the screening.

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details

Strange Teen Spirit

Anton is about 15 years old. He observes. Alone. A phosphorescent green trail descends from the rocky plateaus and flows over the city. No one notices. Not even Kata and her gang, who run, tag, sing, scream. Anton dreams of joining them.

France 2024 Dir: Frank Ternier 15’40

Can you Hear Me?

Nastia, who has lived abroad for years, starts to teach her mum how to use the Internet. Different perceptions of technology become the starting point for exposing intergenerational conflicts and long-forgotten family threads. Can an intimacy regained via zoom be a turning point for the future relationship between two adults?

Poland 2025 Dir: ​Anastazja Naumenko 15’00

La Vie avec un idiot

Accused by the authorities of not working hard enough, Vladimir is forced to live with an idiot as punishment. He chooses him from an asylum and his name is Vova. This idiot can only pronounce one syllable: ooh.

France 2025 Dir: Theodore Ushev 18’10

Autokar

In the 1990s, 8-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium. Through her eyes, the reality of migration becomes an initiatory experience.

Poland 2025 Dir: ​​Sylwia Szkiladz 17’30

Ploo

'If it keeps starting over, it must be forever', says the white moth. But a gentle whisper breathes in each dawn, 'one day, all days will be gone'. Ploo blends attributes of vector graphics and screen display technology with the human condition.

Germany 2025 Dir: Jon Frickey 15’10

The Golden Donkey

As the people of a medieval village celebrate the beginning of summer, the royal family experiences an identity crisis. The king thinks he’s made of glass, the princess dreams of becoming the king and the prince is trapped in the body of a donkey.

Belgium 2024 Dir: Anne Verbeure 15’35

Signal

Claudie is passionate about her unusual job: scanning the cosmos for signs of extraterrestrial life, hoping to make contact. Completely absorbed in her mission, she gradually loses touch with those around her, and even reality itself could fade away.

Belgium, France 2025 Dir: Emma Carré, Mathilde Parquet 16’45

Buckle up your glitter belts: Lesbian Space Princess has officially landed at LIAF after snatching the coveted Teddy Award at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. Join us for this very special preview screening before it lands on the big screens for a wider UK theatrical release in 2026.

Heartbreak. Kidnapping. Gay-pop idols. And one impossibly needy space princess blasting through the cosmos on an intergalactic mission to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens. A riotous, candy-coloured animated comedy adventure through the vastness of queer space.

The film follows Princess Saira, recently dumped by her impossibly cool girlfriend Kiki for being a little too needy. But just as Saira is perfecting her sulk, Kiki calls in with a galactic-level problem: she’s been kidnapped by the misogynist alien bros known as the Straight White Maliens. Their ransom demand? One of the most powerful weapons in all of lesbian kind.

Cue Saira’s reluctant-but-fabulous quest across the galaxies, complete with dangerous missions, starry-eyed encounters with gay-pop idols, and musical numbers that absolutely slap. Part space opera, part rom-com, part glitter-fueled fever dream, Lesbian Space Princess is a love letter to queer resilience and messy, magical relationships— with enough camp to fuel a rocket. The result? A queer comedy-musical that has critics and audiences alike laughing, singing, and crying gay tears of joy.

The screening will be followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with filmmakers

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details

LRB Screen continues its exploration of visions of London created by non-British filmmakers: films in which a fresh encounter makes the city unfamiliar and mysterious again.

For the last screening of this year – though London Reviewed will continue at the Garden Cinema in 2026 – we turn to the most recent film of the series so far: Here for Life, the Artangel-commissioned and produced feature from artist-filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Adrian Jackson, founder of Cardboard Citizens theatre company. In a world and a city defined by finance and loss, ten Londoners make their wild and wayward way, arguing for their own terms of definition as they go. On reclaimed land between two train tracks, they find themselves on the right side of history, making their own wagers with the present tense and future hopes: with who has stolen what from whom, and how things might be fixed.

Following its world premiere and special mention at Locarno Film Festival, Kieron Corless, writing in Sight and Sound, declared it ‘a film of great compassion and political and aesthetic ambition, in which the idea of a collective is prioritised for a change, but without sacrificing or downplaying the individual voices and idiosyncrasies that it comprises.’

Introducing the film, and discussing it afterwards with regular host Gareth Evans, will be the film’s co-director Andrea Luka Zimmerman.

Our Screening on Saturday 15 November will be followed by a Zoom Q&A with director Shih-Ching Tsou, and co-writer and editor Sean Baker, moderated by Millie Zhou.

A single mother and her two daughters return to Taipei after several years of living in the countryside to open a stand at a buzzing night market. Each in their way will have to adapt to this new environment to make ends meet and maintain the family unity. But when their traditional grandfather forbids his youngest left-handed granddaughter from using her 'devil hand', generations of family secrets begin to unravel.

The Garden Cinema View:

Tsou Shih-Ching’s solo directorial debut, Left-Handed Girl, is co-written, produced and edited by her long-time collaborator Sean Baker. The film idea was formed even before the duo’s first project, co-directing Take Out in 2004, and has finally blossomed after two decades in the making.

Told through the innocent eyes of a young girl, it is a deeply personal story which is inspired by Tsou’s own childhood. Stylistically, it is a continuation of the social realism of Take Out, and films she has produced for Baker, such as Tangerine and The Florida Project. As with those films, Left-Handed Girl bears the influence of Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, and the Dogme 95 movement. Shot on an iPhone with a small crew, it vividly captures the naturally cinematic night market scenes and the authenticity of daily lives in Taipei City.

While touching on relatively heavy themes, the film maintains a light-hearted tone, generating laughter throughout. Its celebration of female resilience and individuality, combined with reflections on patriarchy, imbues it with universal appeal that travels far beyond its Taiwanese origin.

The screening will be introduced by film critic Laura Venning, who will also be selling copies of her book 'Icons of Cinema: Greta Gerwig' before and after the screening.

A stunning ensemble cast brings to life this gorgeous sophomore directorial feature from Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Barbie). Drawing on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, 2019's Little Women is a sweeping retelling of a timeless classic for a whole new generation to cherish.

Determined writer Jo (Saoirse Ronan) spends her formative years in the cosy surroundings of Concord, Massachusetts with her sisters Meg (Emma Watson), Amy (Florence Pugh) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen). Growing up in the warm embrace of their kindly mother Marmie (Laura Dern, Marriage Story), the sisters help feed the less fortunate and enjoy putting on homemade theatre productions with their wealthy young neighbour Laurie (Timothée). But the road to literary success is fraught for Jo, as she faces transformative heartbreak in life and love.

Laura Venning is a film critic from London specialising in feminist and queer cinema. She has written for BBC Culture, Empire magazine, Little White Lies magazine and the Curzon Journal. She has contributed to critics' surveys such as Sight and Sound's historic Greatest Films of All Time poll in 2022 and has introduced films at the BFI Southbank. In her first book, Icons of Cinema: Greta Gerwig, discover how Gerwig embraced her interest in theatre before turning her attention to Hollywood, explore her mumblecore films, understand why she focuses on key themes such as coming of age and female relationships, and take an in-depth look at her creative process for each major film.

A stunning ensemble cast brings to life this gorgeous sophomore directorial feature from Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Barbie). Drawing on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, 2019's Little Women is a sweeping retelling of a timeless classic for a whole new generation to cherish.

In 19th century Massachusetts, the March sisters- Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlen), and Amy (Florence Pugh) - on the threshold of womanhood, go through many ups and downs in life and endeavor to make important decisions about their futures.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

Based on an iconic Estonian novel. In 1933, a young woman leaves her rural home to chase her dream of becoming a writer in the city. She takes job as a maid for a middle-aged printing house owner, who quickly starts pursuing her romantically. They marry, but his passionate declarations of love soon turn cold. As political tensions rise in the country, their love story unfolds in a divided society, revealing toxic behaviours and power games that start innocently but lead to dire consequences.

Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The London Baltic Film Festival, a showcase of the latest films from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, is the UK’s only celebration of cinema from the three Baltic countries, offering a unique lens into the filmmaking, the people, history, and culture of the three nations.

The festival is supported by the Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Centre.

This is the fifth edition of the LBFF. Don't miss out on experiencing Baltic cinema on the big screen.

A powerful historical drama, based on the true story of Maria Leiko, a famous Latvian stage and silent-film actress who late in her career travels to Stalin’s Russia (1937) upon the news of her newborn granddaughter. Soon after, Maria is faced with the brutality of the KGB, who threaten both her family and career, where she ultimately plays her life’s most tragic role: an innocent victim destroyed as she struggles between her ideals and the murderous regime that surrounds her.

The film has received critical acclaim, awards, and success at film festivals internationally.

The screening on the 8 November will be followed by a Zoom Q&A.

The London Baltic Film Festival, a showcase of the latest films from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, is the UK’s only celebration of cinema from the three Baltic countries, offering a unique lens into the filmmaking, the people, history, and culture of the three nations.

The festival is supported by the Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Centre.

This is the fifth edition of the LBFF. Don't miss out on experiencing Baltic cinema on the big screen.

The UK premiere and the opening film of the London Baltic Film Festival 2025. Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

True renovation begins from the inside... In present-day Vilnius, Ilona, a perfectionist 29-year-old, feels the pressure to be settled and successful by the time she turns 30. She moves into a seemingly perfect apartment with her boyfriend Matas, with whom things are getting serious. But as the building's renovation begins, it's not just cracks in the walls that are revealed - Ilona’s inner doubts also start to surface as she strikes up an unexpected friendship with Oleg, a Ukrainian construction worker.

The film premiered at this year's Karlovy Vary Film Festival and played in competition.

All ticket holders are welcome to attend the drinks reception from 5pm-6pm in the cinema's Atrium Bar.

The London Baltic Film Festival, a showcase of the latest films from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, is the UK’s only celebration of cinema from the three Baltic countries, offering a unique lens into the filmmaking, the people, history, and culture of the three nations.

The festival is supported by the Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Centre.

This is the fifth edition of the LBFF. Don't miss out on experiencing Baltic cinema on the big screen.

UK premiere and Estonia's official selection for the 2026 Academy Awards in the International Feature Film category.

The film explores the lives of young adults, united by their uncertainty about the future and a shared longing for a purposeful existence. Sebastian, working as a store clerk, finds his ordinary workday shaken up when he meets Silo, a free-spirited wanderer. Together, they smoke weed and dream of a one-way ticket to Brazil.

Rolling Papers premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, has won multiple awards, including Just Film 2024 - Audience Award winner & Film of the year 2024 - Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The London Baltic Film Festival, a showcase of the latest films from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, is the UK’s only celebration of cinema from the three Baltic countries, offering a unique lens into the filmmaking, the people, history, and culture of the three nations.

The festival is supported by the Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Centre.

This is the fifth edition of the LBFF. Don't miss out on experiencing Baltic cinema on the big screen.

Enjoy a selection of the most acclaimed short films coming from Estonia. The screening consists of contemporary and classic award-winning short films. In partnership with Estonian Film Institute and Estonian Embassy in London.

Programme:

Sauna Day (2024) 11’ 

Dir. Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash

Sauna day invites you into the world of Southern Estonian men who go to the dark-intimate space of a smoke sauna after a hard day's work. Beneath their tough exteriors lies a desire for connection, veiled in secrecy. Co-directed by Anna Hints, the author of the acclaimed Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.

Manivald (2017) 13’  

Dir. Chintis Lundgren

Award-winning short film (Sundance, EFTA, Annecy) about a hot young plumber Toomas who breaks into the harmonious life of Manivald and his retired mother.

Jungle Law (2024) 18´

Dir. Madli Lääne

Three teenagers meet while hanging out by the sea. They begin to seduce and challenge, dominate, and obey each other. Festivals and awards include Odense International Film Festival (Artist award, International Competition) & 22nd Alice Nella Città (Best International Short Film / Onde Corte International Competition).

Body Memory (2011) 10’

Dir. Ülo Pikkov

Our body remembers more than we can expect and imagine. It also remembers the sorrow and pain of the predecessors, sustaining the stories of our parents and grandparents as well as their ancestors. But how far back is it possible to go in the memory of the body? An Estonian contemporary classic, winner of numerous awards across the festival circuit.

Winter in March (2025) 16’

Dir. Natalia Mirzoyan

Helpless in the face of a repressive state, a young couple leaves their home for good - an escape that turns into a surreal nightmare. The film premiered at Cannes this year and has been on a busy festival tour since then.  

On Weary Wings Go By (2024) 10’

Dir. Anu-Laura Tuttelberg

A stop-motion film shot in the wilderness with porcelain puppets as characters. The film expresses the arrival of winter in the Nordic nature. The sun moves low above the horizon, the days get shorter. The film was shot throughout three winters on the North coasts of Estonia and Norway. It has won awards and has played in more than 80 festivals around the world.

Miisufy (2023) 11’

Dir. Liisi Grünberg

Digital pet cat Miisu gets tired of her owner and starts to revolt. Inspired by Tamagotchi, Miisufy observes the world through the eyes of digital pets.

The London Baltic Film Festival, a showcase of the latest films from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, is the UK’s only celebration of cinema from the three Baltic countries, offering a unique lens into the filmmaking, the people, history, and culture of the three nations.

The festival is supported by the Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Centre.

This is the fifth edition of the LBFF. Don't miss out on experiencing Baltic cinema on the big screen.

Toxic has achieved critical and commercial success, winning at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival and receiving numerous accolades across the film festival circuit.

Abandoned by her mother, 13-year-old Maria is forced to live with her grandmother in a bleak industrial town. During a violent clash on the street, Maria meets Kristina, a girl of the same age who is striving to become a fashion model. Trying to get closer to her, Maria enrolls in a mysterious modeling school, where the girls are preparing for the biggest casting event in the region. Her ambiguous relationship with Kristina and the intense, cult-like environment of the modeling school force Maria on a quest to discover her own identity.

Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The London Baltic Film Festival, a showcase of the latest films from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, is the UK’s only celebration of cinema from the three Baltic countries, offering a unique lens into the filmmaking, the people, history, and culture of the three nations.

The festival is supported by the Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Centre.

This is the fifth edition of the LBFF. Don't miss out on experiencing Baltic cinema on the big screen.

Youth Eternal is a coming-of-age story about a group of millennials who start to face their self-destructive tendencies as they each head straight into their crisis of thirty-somethings and embark on a journey to embrace responsibility.

It is summer, and a group of millennials is at a music festival, relishing their seemingly carefree lives, while their close friends, Ieva and Alex, are embarking on parenthood. Kitija is suffering from depression and fails to find support as friends start to become more alienated from each other. Anna is trying to take care of her mental health by quitting weed, which turns out to be a challenge to her relationship with Kaspars, who grows it in their house. Unable to influence Martin's self-destructive lifestyle, Dainis starts to document it on video, becoming a participant and a creator of a reality show of his own. The friends start a wild journey into the new reality of becoming responsible for themselves.

The London Baltic Film Festival, a showcase of the latest films from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, is the UK’s only celebration of cinema from the three Baltic countries, offering a unique lens into the filmmaking, the people, history, and culture of the three nations.

The festival is supported by the Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Centre.

This is the fifth edition of the LBFF. Don't miss out on experiencing Baltic cinema on the big screen.

When Nat dies and unexpectedly returns as a ghost inhabiting a vacuum cleaner, her disgruntled in-laws believe the solution is simple—just unplug her. But Nat isn’t leaving quietly. Determined to protect her dust-allergic husband and prove her worth in the afterlife, she embarks on a mission to rid the house of malicious spirits and establish herself as a truly “useful” ghost. Playfully blending supernatural comedy with sharp political undercurrents, A Useful Ghost is both a delightfully camp spectacle and a subversive reflection on Thailand’s layered histories. Bold, bizarre, and utterly original, this is one of the most unique cinematic experiences of the year.

With her life crashing down around her, Linda (Rose Byrne) attempts to navigate her child's mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. Mary Bronstein transforms the anxieties of contemporary womanhood into a darkly comic nightmare, anchored by a bravura performance from Rose Byrne (Berlinale Silver Bear winner) as a mother whose grip on order—and reality—begins to slip with spectacular intensity.

In the depths of the Amazon rainforest, 13-year-old Tielle grows up with dreams inspired by her older sister’s escape. As she matures, the illusions she clings to begin to crumble, revealing a world of deep-rooted exploitation and abuse. Determined to protect her younger sister and reshape their future, she dares to challenge the forces that bind the women in her community, in a poignant exploration of resilience and resistance.

Content advisory: themes of sexual and domestic violence

In his wickedly incisive new thriller, Park Chan-wook (Decision to Leave, Oldboy) delivers a brutal allegory of modern work culture, starring Lee Byung Hun as a devoted family man driven to violence after losing his job. When esteemed paper specialist Yoo Man-soo is suddenly laid off, the carefully constructed life he has long prided himself on begins to unravel. So when a coveted new opportunity arises, he devises a flawless plan to eliminate his rivals—by any means necessary. With dazzling precision and a gleefully sinister edge, Park Chan-wook delivers an entertaining thriller steeped in his trademark dark humor, razor-sharp twists, and sumptuous visual style, reaffirming his singular place in contemporary cinema.

In her mesmerizing latest film, Ira Sachs brings to life rediscovered transcripts from a never-before-used 1974 interview conducted by nonfiction writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall), where photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw) offers a minute-by-minute account of the previous day. Following Passages, Ira Sachs returns with a beautifully rendered cinematic portrait drawn from a real conversation between writer Linda Rosenkrantz and celebrated photographer Peter Hujar. Brimming with spontaneity and playfulness, the film unfolds as Hujar recounts the previous 24 hours of his life, offering an intimate snapshot of one of the most influential figures of the 1970s and ’80s downtown New York art scene.

In Joachim Trier’s Cannes Grand Prix–winning follow-up to The Worst Person in the World, Renate Reinsve delivers a riveting performance as an acclaimed stage actress forced to confront long-buried emotions when she reconnects with her estranged father, a film director played by Stellan Skarsgård. Two adult sisters are forced to confront buried emotional scars and questions about their futures when their long-absent father reappears in the wake of their mother’s death. Trier approaches their journey with his trademark blend of gentle humor and emotional realism, creating a world that feels deeply lived in. Boasting exquisite technical craftsmanship and incisive writing, the film reaffirms Trier’s gift for expressing the profound with the subtlest of touch.

A childhood visit to Gaza leaves a lasting memory of the sea and a mother’s smile. Years later, a video of youth practicing parkour amid ruins rekindles a longing for home.

In a relentless pursuit of a memory that reinforces her sense of belonging, filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter crosses paths with Ahmed, a parkour athlete in Gaza, sparking a journey where conflicting aspirations intersect. Nostalgia confronts ambition, and the weight of a confined past meets the pull of an unpredictable future. As they explore Gaza’s wreckage - cemeteries, a bombed mall, an abandoned airport - shared stories reveal joy, grief and the urge to flee. Their bond is not only a journey through memory, but also an exploration of identity, belonging and the haunting legacy of a home left behind.

This screening will be followed by a self-guided collage session with Gather with Anis, exploring expression through art, creating a space for people to sit with their feelings after the film and channel them into something tangible.

Anis means "sweet companion" in Arabic. Gather with Anis creates spaces for people to explore and learn together in the company of companions new and familiar.  

London Palestine Film Festival (LPFF) presents its 2025 edition showcasing some of this year’s most anticipated new releases reflecting on Palestine. We aim to present stories of political realities as experienced by Palestinians at home and in the diaspora through the creative lens of cinema.

Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) is a postman and Man U supporter on the edge of a nervous breakdown. He never got over his divorce from his first wife; his second wife has left him in loco parentis for two wayward stepsons; and now he’s having visions of Eric Cantona. Is this the first sign of madness? Or are the wise words of the charismatic Frenchman just what Eric needs?

Successful on several levels, Looking for Eric is powerful enough to satisfy Loach loyalists, and appealing enough to win over everyone else – if they would only go to see it. As Ken Loach has spent a 40-year career demonstrating, there’s little justice in this world, but if there was, this would be a massive, world-beating hit. - Little White Lies

The well-off Smith family leads a comfortable, happy existence in St. Louis, a city set to welcome the 1904 World’s Fair. Seventeen-year-old Esther Smith has fallen in love with the boy who has just moved next door, though he hardly notices her at first. When Mr. Alonzo Smith announces that he has been transferred to New York for business and that his family must follow him, Esther and her siblings are distraught at the thought of leaving St. Louis, their lives and the World’s Fair behind.

Meet Me in St. Louis was suggested by our member Christopher Voisey.

After the many requests for the Members' Mingle to become a recurring event, we're happy to announce its return on Wednesday 26 November! Join us in the Atrium Bar from 19:00 onwards to meet fellow members - think film chat with cinema enthusiasts, great drinks, and a playlist of iconic songs from favourite features, curated by you! You can add your song suggestions for the evening's soundtrack here.

Concerned the conversation might run dry? Fear not, as our bar team have you covered! Not only will your ticket include a complimentary cocktail for a bit of Dutch courage, but your drink will also come with a film-based prompt to serve as an icebreaker to introduce yourself to fellow members. Who knows, you might meet a like-minded cinephile to attend future screenings with!

Tickets for the event are just £5, restricted to 1 per member, and include a complimentary cocktail, house wine, beer, or soft drink.

Remade numerous times but never bettered, this perennial Christmas classic won three Oscars and was nominated for Best Picture a year after its release in 1948.

Starring an eight-year-old Natalie Wood, the film takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York City, and centres around a department store Santa Claus - Kris Kringle - who claims to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.

Featuring a wonderful cast of actors and a storyline sweet-natured enough to melt the hardest heart, the film's conclusion represents a triumph of the magical over the humdrum.

Is your child starting to ask questions about whether Father Christmas is real? This film is sure to convince them he is!

Miracle on 34th Street was suggested by our member Hayley Whitehorn

Into Film recommends this film for ages 5+

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

The screening on Saturday November 8 will be introduced by Assistant Programmer Joe Miller.

His name is Joe, and he’s an alcoholic. He’s only been sober for 10 months, and although AA advises against romance in the first year of recovery, Joe falls in love with a nurse named Sarah. She’s a social worker who has seen a lot of guys like Joe, but there’s something about him–a tenderness, a caring–that touches her.

A love story full of humour, passion and danger, My Name is Joe was filmed in the heart of one of the poorest and most neglected neighbourhoods of Scotland's biggest city. Two street-wise but vulnerable people struggle to overcome the harsh conditions that weigh them down, leaving few choices in their lives.

My Name is Joe won Best Actor at Cannes (Peter Mullan) and a BIFA award for best British Independent Film.

Hard to see for years, Night of the Juggler has now been rescued from obscurity and gloriously restored!

The grit and intensity of late-1970s New York City is depicted in stark detail in this relentlessly action-packed cult classic. Twenty-four hours of nerve-jangling tension and suspense begin when a twisted psychotic (Cliff Gorman) kidnaps a teenaged girl, mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy real estate developer. Her determined father (James Brolin), a hard-hitting ex-cop, doggedly pursues them through New York’s seamy streets, decaying, burned-out Bronx tenements, and the grimy subterranean corridors beneath the city itself.

Director Alfred Hitchcock, who worked with Bergman on Spellbound (1945) and Notorious (1946), praised her unique qualities. “Ingrid is a woman who makes you believe in her. She never has to act; she simply is.” - Acting Magazine

Synopsis:

With this twisted love story, Alfred Hitchcock summoned darker shades of suspense and passion by casting two of Hollywood’s most beloved stars starkly against type. Ingrid Bergman plays Alicia, an alluring woman with a checkered past recruited by Devlin (Cary Grant), a suave, mysterious intelligence agent, to spy for the U.S. Only after she has fallen for Devlin does she learn that her mission is to seduce a Nazi industrialist (Claude Rains) hiding out in South America. Coupling inventive cinematography with brilliantly subtle turns from his mesmerizing leads, Hitchcock orchestrates an anguished romance shot through with deception and moral ambiguity. A thriller of rare perfection, Notorious represents a pinnacle of both its director’s legendary career and classic Hollywood cinema.

This gem of a musical was nominated for eleven Oscars - winning five and its popularity is undimmed nearly 50 years after its stage premiere. Based on Charles Dickens' famous novel about the adventures of a Victorian orphan who falls in with a London street gang, the thrilling story is matched by the unforgettable songs, such as "Food, Glorious Food", "Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" and "I'd Do Anything".

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

The screening on 7 November will be followed by a panel discussion hosted by The New Arab.

Palestine’s Official Submission for the Academy Awards is set in 1936 Mandatory Palestine. Yusuf flees his rural home for Jerusalem’s charged streets, forced to confront colonial rule, rising migration and the inexorable drift toward a defining revolt. As villages across Mandatory Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest.

The Garden Cinema View:

Annemarie Jacir (Salt of this Sea, Wajib) tackles the pre-Nakba peasant revolt of 1936, and the wider colonial context, in this ambitious and wide-reaching epic. In order to weave together dense geopolitical context and fictional plot, Jacir quite deftly creates a patchwork of characters - the young Yousef who hails from a small village, Afra and her family of farmers, Amir, an influential newspaper editor, and his journalist wife Khuloud, Father Boulos, the village priest, and the British dignitaries - whose personal intertwined stories play out against the consequences of the factual history.

Unsurprisingly, and despite weaving so many strands together (including archival footage), Annemarie Jacir does so seamlessly. And although the various protagonists are fairly archetypal, she creates real emotional engagement with their respective destinies, and rouses anger at the cruelty and injustice of the decades that would follow, and that would eventually lead us to what we are witnessing today.

The New Arab is a progressive London-based news site that covers issues from the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. It offers a platform for diverse, expert voices and has become a trusted source for news, analysis and commentary for and about the region.

After leaving her pop idol group and starting a new life as an actress, Mima soon finds herself overwhelmed by a wave of provocative offers - including photo shoots and roles in a TV drama - that go against her wishes. But before long, a string of murders begins to unfold, targeting those around her...

This film marks the directorial debut of Satoshi Kon, who fascinated audiences around the world with Paprika, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers. Blending a play within a play, the story unfolds as fiction and reality, dreams and delusions, and cyberspace intertwine.

Colin (Harry Melling) leads a humdrum existence until he meets the impossibly handsome Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), a mysterious biker he is soon desperately devoted to. As Colin submits to Ray and enters an exciting new world of desire, he must decide the limits of his devotion.

Hilarious, subversive and sexy, Pillion is the acclaimed and surprisingly tender love story from writer-director Harry Lighton, starring Melling and Skarsgård in fearless performances as a mild young man and his leather-clad lover.

Embark on a magical moral adventure with Pinocchio, a wooden puppet brought to life who must prove himself brave, truthful, and unselfish to become a real boy. Jiminy Cricket, his assigned conscience, tries to steer Pinocchio through the scrapes and capers of life in the real world.

From the enchanting music (including the iconic 'When you Wish Upon a Star') to the thrilling moments— from Stromboli's puppet show to the belly of Monstro the whale— this film beautifully balances wonder, humour and heart. A masterpiece of early animation, this classic delights with vivid storytelling that still resonates today.

Contains smoking scenes.

Into Film recommends this film for ages 5+

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

Winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993.

Bob Williams is a survivor: he supplements his dole by becoming embroiled in whatever scam is on offer. From rustling sheep to rodding drains, he does what he can to keep his family fed. But now, life has dealt him a bitter blow. His van has been stolen and his daughter, Coleen, is approaching her first communion. She needs the traditional white dress, shoes, veil and gloves. Where on earth is the money going to come from?

'What I liked best was the underlying humour, even in this desperate situation. These are characters whose minds have not been deadened and who are naturally articulate and even poetic.' - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times, 1994

Cervantes Institute in London is celebrating International Flamenco Day (16 November) with a screening of the documentary "Red Carnation" by director Roser Corella. The film tells the story of the life of flamenco dancer Manuel Liñán, focusing on the creative process behind the show "Muerta de Amor" and offering an intimate glimpse into his experience and his deep connection with flamenco.

The documentary follows flamenco dancer Manuel Liñán in his search for personal freedom through flamenco. Beyond celebrating this art form, the film explores the universal desire to live without fear or taboos. Flamenco becomes the mirror and driving force of a story about love, intimacy and struggle, where tradition and freedom coexist. A journey in which bodies speak and remind us of the profound need to love and be loved.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with director Roser Corella and artist Alejandro Postigo, who specialises in copla, flamenco and contemporary dance.

Ricky and his family have been fighting an uphill battle against debt since the 2008 financial crash. An opportunity to regain some independence appears by becoming a self-employed delivery driver, but when he and his wife are pulled in different directions, everything will come to a breaking point.

It’s difficult to imagine a more socially engaged or powerful condemnation of the exploitative gig economy than Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, which places the viewer on the ground with an English family trudging through the muck left behind by the erosion of workers’ rights in Europe. Here, the supposed economy of free choice promulgated by neoliberal policies manifests as a domestic realm in which one’s job penetrates into every waking moment, leaving stressed bodies and minds with no time and little wherewithal for a personal life or obligations. - SLANT

The film was nominated for a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival.

Sorry we Missed you will be screened with English subtitles.

Every second of Souleymane’s new life in France is precious. Having fled Guinea, his asylum interview looms. He powers through the streets of after dark Paris as a delivery rider, sleeps in hostels and prepares for his make-or-break appointment. Pressure builds as his date with destiny approaches. Boris Lojkine’s portrait of a modern migrant propels us into the precarious world of an otherwise invisible man. Steeped in compassion, Souleymane’s Story combines the pace of a thriller with the emotional gut punch of a social drama. An award-winning French production in which the dynamic storytelling is matched by a star-making performance from charismatic newcomer Abou Sangaré as Souleymane.

The Garden Cinema View:

Souleymane's Story offers a fresh angle on migration narratives, with a protagonist who is too honest to manipulate France's asylum system effectively. This is a cinematic choice that humanises the faceless category of ‘migrants’ that pervades contemporary discourse; rather than assuming all migrants face identical struggles, director Boris Lojkine treats Souleymane's experience as distinctly his own.

The film captures the chaotic and gritty energy of nocturnal Paris with loose, frenetic cinematography that adds to the high stakes of the story. Abou Sangaré is extraordinary in depicting a man tormented by internal conflict and facing racism from different sides of society. His final monologue is a masterclass in both acting and scriptwriting - a moment that crystallises everything the film has been building toward.

One of humanity’s greatest achievements, the International Space Station is a $150 billion science laboratory hurtling around Earth at 17,000mph, its thin metal walls shielding astronauts from the most hostile environment humans have ever endured. Microgravity, the vacuum of space, extremes of temperature, micrometeorites - life here is perilous.

To mark 25 years of continuous habitation onboard, Space Station We Have a Problem reveals how astronauts are only a technical glitch or software error away from disaster. From malfunctioning spacesuits and docking disasters, critical leaks and even the entire space station backflipping out of control, this is life and death played out in low earth orbit, coupled with the bravery and brilliance that each time, saves the day.

Director Alfred Hitchcock, who worked with Bergman on Spellbound (1945) and Notorious (1946), praised her unique qualities. “Ingrid is a woman who makes you believe in her. She never has to act; she simply is.” - Acting Magazine

Synopsis:

Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a psychiatrist with a firm understanding of human nature—or so she thinks. When the mysterious Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) becomes the new chief of staff at her institution, the bookish and detached Constance plummets into a whirlwind of tangled identities and feverish psychoanalysis, where the greatest risk is to fall in love. A transcendent love story replete with taut excitement and startling imagery, Spellbound is classic Hitchcock, featuring stunning performances, an Academy Award-winning score by Miklos Rozsa, and a captivating dream sequence by Surrealist icon Salvador Dalí.

Stromboli marked the beginning of the collaboration between director Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman. It all began with a letter she sent him a couple of years earlier: “If you ever need a Swedish actor who speaks very good English and a little German, who can make herself understood in French and can only say ‘ti amo’ in Italian, then I’ll come and make a film with you.”

Stromboli received a hostile reception from critics and American audiences upon its release, likely due to the scandal surrounding Rossellini and Bergman's affair. However, the film has since been recognized as a masterpiece -included in The Criterion Collection and celebrated in the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound critics' poll as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made.

Synopsis:

Lithuanian Karin (Ingrid Bergman) flees her war-ravaged home country and winds up in Italy, where she's sent to an internment camp. There, she meets Antonio (Mario Vitale), a POW who's just been freed. They enjoy a brief romance, punctuated by Antonio's marriage proposal, and Karin, seeing her chance to escape the camp, accepts. But Antonio takes her back to Stromboli, the volcanic island he lives on, and Karin struggles with a language barrier, brutal living conditions and her outsider status.

After the screening on Friday, November 14, Ken Loach's longtime collaborator Rebecca O'Brien will join Gareth Evans for a post-film discussion.

To mark the publication of the new edition of Loach on Loach (edited by Graham Fuller, published by Faber and Faber), copies will be available for purchase at our Atrium bar both before and after the screening.

Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.

A typically powerful social realist drama, Sweet Sixteen represents Ken Loach's fourth collaboration with Glaswegian scriptwriter Paul Laverty. Shot around the council estates of Greenock, an economically depressed, former shipbuilding town near Glasgow, the film revisits themes familiar from their previous work, featuring the hardships of people at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

The film won Best Screenplay Award at Cannes Film Festival (Paul Laverty) and a BIFA Award for Best British Independent Film.

It may be five long (or should that be Oolong) months before we pick up our mugs to celebrate another national day of tea (21 April 2026), but here at The Garden Cinema we feel every day is a great day for tea.

And never more so than on Sunday 23 of November, when we will be partnering up with our friends, The Tea Makers of London, for a glorious afternoon of tea tasting and learning more about its fascinating history. They will take us through a selection of teas (including a seasonal Christmas blend), share some intriguing stories behind Britain’s favourite drink, and teach you some simple tricks on how to brew the perfect cup.

After the tasting there will be a pop-up shop, giving you a chance to buy any tea you’ve fallen in love with, or an advent calendar - just in time for Christmas! And to ensure you won't go hungry, our wonderful neighbours at WA Cafe (a Japanese patisserie and fellow Covent Garden independent) are very kindly donating some of their delicious strawberry shortbread as a sweet treat.

Tickets for the tea tasting are just £12.50 each, and restricted to 2 per member, meaning you can bring a fellow tea enthusiast along. They include the tea tasting, a complimentary sweet treat, and a cup of your favourite tea to enjoy after the tasting finishes.

Optional - but recommended - is sticking around for the screening of Tea with Mussolini (starring some icons of cinema, including Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Cher, no less!), which will start at 16:00. A combo discount is available when adding both a ticket for the tea tasting and for the screening to your basket, which will reduce the film ticket price down to just £7.50.

Event timings:

13:00  Doors open

13:15  Guided tea tasting with The Tea Makers of London

15:15  Pop-up tea shopping and sweet treats by WA cafe

16:00  Optional screening of Tea with Mussolini

About The Tea Makers of London:

A family-owned firm that celebrated 15 years of tea making earlier this year, The Tea Makers of London are based here but - perhaps unsurprisingly - originated in Asia. Founder Sam Sameen, who grew up in Sri Lanka, described how his business grew from a carefree childhood playing hide and seek with his cousins among the tea bushes that surrounded his grandfather’s home in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. Describing how the business developed, he added: “What began with just a few carefully chosen Sri Lankan teas and a handful of customers has grown into a trusted brand offering a wide range of authentic, meticulously sourced teas from some of the world’s most revered tea gardens.”

They are “unambiguous” in their commitment to quality tea by treating their farmers with “equity and respect,” he said, and by prioritising low-intervention farming methods and minimal processing of the leaves. As a company, they champion craftsmanship, traceability, and flavour discovery, and now - they’re inviting you to share in their joy of tea!

Website | Instagram

About WA Cafe:

WA is a small independent patisserie, tucked just around the corner from The Garden Cinema in Covent Garden. Their highly skilled bakers and patissiers produce a unique range of quintessentially Japanese breads and pastries, made fresh daily. Paying homage to French patisserie techniques, many of their delicate sweet treats use the iconic flavour of matcha green tea, as well as yuzu citrus, kurogoma black sesame and azuki red beans.

Website | Instagram

In 1930s fascist Italy, adolescent Luca (Charlie Lucas) just lost his mother. His father, a callous businessman, sends him to be taken care of by British expatriate Mary Wallace (Joan Plowright). Mary and her cultured friends - including artist Arabella (Judi Dench), young widow Elsa (Cher) and archaeologist Georgie (Lily Tomlin) - keep a watchful eye over the boy. But the women's cultivated lives take a dramatic turn when Allied forces declare war on Mussolini.

The Battle of Algiers was proposed by our members Gina Goody and Kate Matheson, who write: 'It is a powerful film that is seldom screened. We were wondering how it would be perceived nowadays, particularly if the allure of Mon Capitaine would still be so enduring...'

One of the most influential political films in history, The Battle of Algiers, by Gillo Pontecorvo, vividly re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents. Shot on the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. Pontecorvo’s tour de force has astonishing relevance today.

Please note, the screening on Wednesday 5 November is our free members' screening, while the one on Thursday 13 November is a regular screening, which is open to the general public.

From the makers of Ernest and Celestine comes a new trio of joyful animations featuring some of the wisest cracking animals that you could ever hope to meet.

An all-animal theatre troupe perform the three charming tales, telling the peculiar antics of farmyard creatures: a fox who grows too attached to a family of chicks to devour them, a stork too lazy to deliver a baby, and a duck filling in the big shoes of Santa Claus. If you think life in the country is a walk in the park, think again!

The witty dialogue, great cast and unique visual style are sure to please the whole family. Featuring the voices of Bill Bailey, Adrian Edmonson, Celia Imrie, Matthew Goode and Phil Jupitus.

Into Film recommends this film for ages 5+

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

The Big Flame was writer Jim Allen's second Wednesday Play and his first with director Kenneth Loach. After The Lump, about the exploitation of casual labour in the building trade, Allen used his Marxist credentials to depict striking Liverpool dockers enacting a Communist-style system of workers' control.

The play was filmed in Loach's accustomed drama-documentary format, honed on previous Wednesday Plays like Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home. Real dockers appear, and the actors speak not well-rehearsed lines but in the disjointed, often incoherent, manner of authentic speech. It is captured on murky 16mm film, giving the picture the same quality as contemporaneous newsreel footage. Only the occasional voiceovers diverge from the apparent objectivity of this fly-on-the-wall aesthetic. - BFI, screenonline

Based on the first of the classic series of novels by CS Lewis, this fantasy adventure film follows four siblings: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Evacuated to the countryside during World War II, the children find a way into another world - through the back of an old wardrobe. Entering the strange world of Narnia, the children discover a land in thrall to the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), where it's winter all year round, but never Christmas, and where magical creatures live in fear of her cruelty. In order to break her wintry spell, the brothers and sisters must join forces with Aslan the Lion, and fulfil their destinies. This wonderful film brings the magic, myths and sheer excitement of CS Lewis' story to life.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

Beautifully crafted and acted, Frank Capra's festive favourite is considered one of the most charming Christmas films of all time. George Bailey (James Stewart) has spent his life supporting the community of Bedford Falls. Overwhelmed with professional and personal problems, he finds his previously happy life falling apart on Christmas Eve. Struggling to see a way out, George is visited by his guardian angel and shown what life would be like if he'd never been born.

All proceeds from this screening will be donated to The Food Chain

The Food Chain exists to ensure people living with HIV in London can access the nutrition they need to get well, stay well and lead healthy, independent lives. People living with HIV often struggle to access the food they need to stay well because of ill health, poverty, isolation and a lack of motivation to eat well, or limited skills or knowledge. We deliver meals and groceries, offer cookery and nutrition classes and communal eating opportunities to people living with HIV in London and their dependents.

Every Christmas Day we run a group lunch for around 60 of our most isolated Service Users, folk who would otherwise be spending the day alone. It's a very joyful day full of food and games and merriment, and after the festivities are done we send everyone home with a card, present and some bags of groceries.

With no public funding for our services, we rely on trust and grant-giving foundations, community fundraising events and the generosity of individual donors. Your support will make our Christmas possible! Thank you.

'Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Excellent Special Christmas - from the fantastic environment as usual, the support, the xmas quiz, the exceptionally special food and drinks, the happiness, laughter and fun, you name it, all were fabulous & brilliant. Indeed whenever I attend Food Chain, l always feel so well connected to my peers too and also receive well tailored help and support which continues to give me HOPE for the future.' - Food Chain Christmas guest, 2022.

Tickets for our regular screening of It's a Wonderful Life on 23 December are available here.

An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table.

The Green Knight was proposed by our member Nancy Netherwood.

When the winter break arrives in December 1970, Paul Hunham, a teacher at a prestigious New England boarding school, is forced to remain on campus to babysit a ragtag group of students who have nowhere else to go. Twenty years after Sideways, Alexander Payne reunites with Paul Giamatti for this perfect, bittersweet coming of age comedy-drama. Giamatti is delightful as the curmudgeonly Professor Hunham, while Da’Vine Joy Randolph steals scenes and hearts as the school’s stoic Head Cook, Mary. Brilliantly written and beautifully shot, Payne delivers a magnificently rich 1970s time capsule, a nostalgic, warm embrace of a film, and undoubtedly a new festive classic.

The Holdovers was suggested by our member Emily Campbell.

Colder than ice, her kiss pierces the heart… In the 1970s, tunaway Jeanne (Clara Pacini) falls under the spell of Cristina (Marion Cotillard), enigmatic star of The Snow Queen, a film of the Hans Christian Andersen story being shot in the studio where Jeanne has taken refuge. A mutual but potentially dangerous fascination begins to grow between the actress and the girl.

The Garden Cinema View:

Lucile Hadžihalilović’s uncompromising cinematic visions are surreal, unsettling, and chilly. Literally her coldest work yet, The Ice Tower nevertheless basks in the half-light of a quasi-fairytale narrative, and the cosy trappings of a South Tyrolian town at Christmas, set against the dark, looming alps. A film-within-a-film plotline sends a faint echo of David Lynch’s Inland Empire through The Ice Tower. Not that Hadžihalilović’s film is nearly as abrasive and disorientating, but rather the film studio itself contains gaps and rabbit holes where reality slips away.

In The Ice Tower’s most mesmerising moments, it resembles an homage to the fairytale melodramas of Powell and Pressburger. The snowfall from The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, the mountains of Black Narcissus, and, of course, The Red Shoes. This is filtered through a Jean Cocteau-esque oneiric logic, and the end credits of The Ice Tower do feel a bit like awaking from some vivid dream.  

This screening will begin with a live dance performance by Rachel Wang and concludes with an in-person Q&A with Japanese filmmaker Kaori Oda, director of Thus A Noise Speaks.

Curated by The Knot Collective, the programme presents intimate non-fiction films that move beyond stereotypes to explore the complex tensions between duty and selfhood in East Asian motherhood. In cultures where maternal self-sacrifice and emotional restraint are idealised, these works centre the agency and emotional depth of mothers navigating egg donation, mental illness, single parenthood, and raising non-binary children.

MOM

Artist. Rachel Wang

2025, UK, China, 5’

In this dance performance that opens the programme, the artist discovers the resemblance between the deep red cloak symbolising her mother and the hem of her own skirt. Realising her true longing for this connection to her mother, she finds the answers to her healing journey and decides to rebuild this connection.

Fantastic Eggs and Where to Find Them

Dir. Vitty Ho

2024, Hong Kong, Taiwan, 30’

This is an egg donation diary of a 27-year-old girl, as well as a love letter to her unborn child, whom she will never meet. Five blood draws, nine ovulation injections, two ovulation-triggering shots, countless pills and growth hormones, and one general anesthesia surgery, resulting in 40 eggs, NT$99,000, and a lifetime of endless concern.

Transparent, I am.

Dir. Yuri Muraoka

2020, Japan, 12’

In the year of 2020 when the world was forced to 'change'. I wanted to confirm what changed and what did not change in me and wrote a poem 'Transparent, I am.' This film is based on it. The white mask I wore became the screen projected my past. My family are sometimes hurt and suffer, but support me who suffers from schizophrenia. Nonoho, Yuri, Nemu and Hana. The four of us live today to the fullest while looking for the answer to 'Who are we?'  - Yuri

Tiger and Ox

Dir. Seunghee Kim

2019, South Korea, 8’

A mother told her daughter to keep her father’s absence a secret. Years later, they look back on the prejudices they encountered as a single-parent family in South Korea.

Thus A Noise Speaks

Dir. Kaori Oda

2010, Japan, 38’

A family dinner shifts from celebration to discomfort when Oda reveals to their family that they are non-binary. But the dinner is a recreation of the real event two weeks after the fact and the director has re-staged it to force their family members to consider their responses and the dynamics at play.

The Knot Collective is a newly established film club dedicated to showcasing independent works that centre the narratives of East and Southeast Asian women and non-binary individuals, using cinema as an act of collective reflection and cross-cultural dialogue that weaves stories into the fabric of diasporic identity and shared cultural memory.

In the 12th Century the obsession of Henry II of England to find a successor, following the the death of the heir to the throne, causes him, one Christmas, to summon his three remaining sons. Also summoned is his wife, the formidable Eleonor of Aquitaine, who he has kept imprisoned for the last 10 years. The fiery relationship between Henry II and Queen Eleonor is powerfully portrayed; their passions turn from tenderness to hurry as they scheme and cajole, with their sons, to determine who will be the future King of England.

The Lion in Winter was suggested by our member Thomas Price.

Our screening on Saturday 8 November will be followed by a Q&A with director David Wilkinson. 

The Marbles is the explosive new documentary uncovering the world’s greatest art heist - the stealing/removal of the Parthenon Marbles - and the global fight to bring them home. From ancient theft to modern-day resistance, this is a story of empire, identity, and justice.

The Garden Cinema View:

David Wilkinson's documentary dissects one of the most disputed cultural debates between countries in recent history.

Controversy surrounding the Parthenon Marbles was reignited by a fervent request from Melina Mercouri, Greece's minister of culture in the 80s, and they have now become a global symbol of museum decolonisation. Wilkinson tackles every aspect of this thorny issue, from the original murky acquisition of the marbles (without the UK government's consent) to the present day arguments.

Most interestingly, the documentary broadens the discussion to include other museums' and galleries' recent practice of returning artefacts to their rightful owners, highlighting how countries around the world - and predominantly Scotland - have returned important cultural items acquired over the centuries. Contributors include the former Curator of World Cultures at Glasgow Museums, the retired director of Manchester Museum, academics from the University of Aberdeen, and not least, an impassioned Brian Cox.

In a sedate Massachusetts suburb circa 1970, unemployed family man and amateur art thief J.B Mooney sets out on his first heist. With the museum cased and accomplices recruited, he has an airtight plan. Or so he thinks.

A brilliant look at the folly of man, The Mastermind also features Alana Haim, Gaby Hoffmann, John Magaro, Hope Davis and Bill Camp. Rich in textured detail, this sly depiction of an era subverts long-held illusions and confronts disillusionment.

The Garden Cinema View:

Only Kelly Reichardt’s third film without regular writing partner Jonathan Raymond, she also leaves the familiar surroundings of the Pacific Northwest for Massachusetts and Ohio. Whilst these might feel like departures for the Reichardt faithful, The Mastermind ultimately settles perfectly into her filmography. A heist film which features one of the most laid-back robberies in cinema, and then a drifter film which evokes earlier Reichardt visions of marginal US life such as Wendy and Lucy and even River of Grass. In fact that latter film’s debt to New Hollywood (Badlands in particular), re-merges in the 1970s setting of The Mastermind, along with the loose crime and road trip elements that feel akin to John Cassavetes. Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt and production designer Anthony Gasparro evoke New England fall colours, matched by the warm tones of the period dressing. Josh O’Connor adds another role to his growing collection of lived in, and clapped out, men. Rob Mazurek’s complex but laid back jazz score binds it all together.    

Michael Caine joins Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and all the hilarious Muppets in this merry, musical version of the Charles Dickens’ classic tale.

All your favourite characters are here – Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Gonzo as Dickens, Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit, and more. Of course, the inimitable Michael Caine stars as the grouchy, mean-spirited Ebenezer Scrooge. A holiday classic since its original publication in 1843, that Dickens’ story is repeated on an annual basis is a testament to the joy an audience finds in witnessing someone discover the joy in giving, sharing, and spending time with those you love.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

The Muppet Christmas Carol was suggested by our members Mark Brisenden, Beth O'Rafferty, and Naomi Kilby.

Scripted by former railwayman Rob Dawber The Navigators lays bare the unappetising choice faced by railway workers after the still contentious privatization of British Rail in the mid-1990s. Either they can continue existing jobs for lower pay and safety standards, or accept redundancy and break up long-established teams, the quality of whose work is at least as much due to personal camaraderie as effective management. The film’s tragic conclusion is as inevitable as it is shocking - and matched by real-life incidents, since filming commenced in the wake of the 2001 Hatfield train crash. It went straight to television in Britain, but was a top-ten box-office hit in Paris, whose audiences must have been bewildered by the British notion of how to run a railway. – BFI

The Shop Around the Corner was suggested by our member Camille Bakirel becuase it is 'perfect for Xmas and one of my favourite Ernst Lubitsch films too.'

By night Alfred and Klara are pen pals who have never met but who are deeply devoted to each other. By day, Alfred and Klara are co-workers who, just as deeply, dislike each other. Their day/night hate/love relationship cannot continue, but will it be loving or loathing when Alfred and Klara discover the identity of their cherished confidant?

Not only one of Ernst Lubitsch's most enduringly charming films, but arguably the greatest Christmas romantic comedy ever to come out of Hollywood.

Please note, the screening on Wednesday 17 December is our free members' screening, while Monday 22 is a regular screening that is open to the general public.

This members' preview of The Voice of Hind Rajab is screening to mark the UN's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which has been observed since 1977.

January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A 6-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Her name was Hind Rajab.

On Wednesday, 19 November, the screening will serve as a fundraiser for a Palestinian cultural charity. Irish musicians will perform before the screening and crafts will be on sale in the Atrium bar. The doors will open from 19:00. It will be introduced by historian Geoffrey Bell, author of several books about Ireland, including The Twilight of Unionism.

Cillian Murphy and Pádraic Delaney play brothers who join the Irish Republican Army in 1920 after witnessing the killing of a friend at the hands of the Black and Tans, the British body employed to suppress revolution in Ireland. As the conflict gets increasingly violent and friends and family are tortured and murdered, the brothers become ideologically divided, with tragic results.
The film provoked controversy, with many critics decrying it (some without having seen it) for its negative view of the British. – BFI

The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1996)

The Wind That Shakes The Barley will be screened with English subtitles.

This event will help us raise funds for the Jenin Cultural Centre. Crafts on sale will include ceramics,photography, collages, badges by Croí na Gaeilge, lin prints and Films of Resistance tote bags. Proceeds from items by @mosaicsforpalestine will go to the Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's Fund.

The Jenin Cultural Centre currently provides shelter and therapeutic art activities to hundreds of children and adults in the city of Jenin and those who have been made homeless since the destruction of the Jenin refugee camp in Spring 2025. A team from the Centre is also planning a tour of the UK in Spring 2026 to showcase Palestinian music and films, and give talks on life in Jenin and the West Bank. If you wish to support or donate to this project, please visit the fundraiser page.

The screening on 16 November will be followed by a Zoom Q&A with the director Chen Yu-hsun, moderated by Dr Yayu Zheng (The Courtauld Institute of Art).

Bun Bites Screening and Chinese Cinema Project jointly present a special screening of Taiwanese filmmaker Chen Yu-hsun's debut feature Tropical Fish (digital restoration), celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Shot from the perspective of a young boy, Tropical Fish is a disarming comic fairytale about early-adolescent unease, first love, and the endless pressure of school exams. Unfolding like a summer daydream, the film is filled with light-hearted humour and charm. Winner of Best Original Screenplay at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards 1995 and also a nominee for the Golden Leopard at Locarno Film Festival.

Ah-Jiang is a school failure and day dreamer. Before his senior high school entrance exam, he accidentally witnesses a child’s kidnapping and unexpectedly becomes a hostage himself. While the whole society is concerned about the upcoming exam, Ah-Jiang instead finds freedom and joy in an unsupervised summer adventure.

Nell Dunn's Up the Junction, directed by Ken Loach, is a controversial and mould-breaking TV drama, watched by an audience of nearly 10 million on first transmission. A record 400 viewers complained to the BBC, mostly about the programme's bad language and depiction of sexual promiscuity. Now, these aspects seem relatively mild. At the time, Up the Junction's depiction of abortion had a major impact, contributing to the national debate which led to the legalisation of abortion in 1967. -BFI, screenonline

Wander into the Hundred Acre Wood for a tender adventure that honours friendship, imagination, and quiet magic. Inspired by five stories from A.A. Milne's books and created in Disney's legendary, hand-drawn style, Winnie the Pooh is a delight for the whole family.

While searching for honey, Pooh and his friends embark on an adventure to find Eeyore's missing tail and rescue Christopher Robin from an unknown monster called 'The Backson'.

Into Film recommends this film for ages 5+

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you.

The 29th Made in Prague Film Festival presents the UK premiere of Wishing on a Star, an offbeat crowd-pleaser that captivated audiences at the 2024 Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals and was nominated for the Best Documentary Award at the Chicago International Film

Neapolitan astrologer Luciana has an unusual recipe for happiness: on your birthday, travel to the exact spot on Earth where the planets align, for a fresh start. This humorous docudrama follows her quiet yet extraordinary life and five clients embarking on “birthday trips” to destinations as varied as Taipei, Beirut, and a tiny nearby village. Each journey promises a symbolic rebirth, offering the chance to alter one’s destiny and uncover hidden desires. Blending warmth, wit, and wanderlust, the film reveals how a change of sky — and a leap of faith — might just change your life. An offbeat crowd-pleaser.

Organised in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Centre

'A playful, lighthearted hybrid doc from Peter Kerekes on steering one’s fate, as an Italian astrologer sends her troubled clients off globetrotting'- Carmen Gray, The Film Verdict

Modern, funny, and refreshingly real, Messy, Loud & Growing dives into the chaos of youth, love, and identity in a digital and unpredictable world. From house party drama in Shoobs, and sisterhood tested by social media in Ugly Instagram, to heartache and delicious revenge in the film, The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí, these coming-of-age stories capture the beautiful mess of figuring it all out.

Films Screening:

Shoobs (Lisle Turner.)

This is a raucous coming-of-age story set at a banging South London house party in the early noughties. Lisa is taking advice on how to deal with her feelings for both Blazer and Jada, but is it good advice?

Ugly Instagram (Temi Yussuf)

Lost in a world of hashtags, reposts, and likes, Libby, 23, lands herself and her sister Tola, 26, in a sticky situation. With the consequences of Libby's decisions staring her and her sister in the face, they question whether the pursuit of virtual validation is the reality they thought it would be.

The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí (Abbesi Akhamie)

In the whimsical pan-African community of Alkebulan, a brilliant scholar plots revenge after discovering her fiancé's engagement to another woman!    

Empowering through knowledge and celebration', is one of the primary tenets of Women Of The Lens Film Festival, which aims to bring heartwarming stories to film loving audiences and support the careers of black women in the film industries. Debuting in 2017, Women Of The Lens Film Festival highlights the experiences and achievements of talented filmmakers, meanwhile showcasing courageous stories from underrepresented women working in the film industry. Our 2025 programme will feature narratives that spotlights triumphs, gender representation, heritage and tradition, politics, family and relationships, healing and love and so much more. As well as all of this, our exciting programme will include panel discussions from industry professionals, where you can make your own contribution to some vibrant conversation. Not only this, we’ll be further congratulating filmmaking talent with our first, not to be missed, Awards Ceremony, to sign off what will be an inspiring festival. Grab your tickets now, we can't wait for you to join us!

Women Of The Lens Film Festival presents our first Awards Ceremony. Built to acknowledge the efforts of filmmakers striving to make their own unique, industry mark, we will honour and celebrate remarkable talent and in doing so, ensure that we make significant contributions to the improvement of our industry across the board. We welcome you to join us in this landmark event!

Empowering through knowledge and celebration', is one of the primary tenets of Women Of The Lens Film Festival, which aims to bring heartwarming stories to film loving audiences and support the careers of black women in the film industries. Debuting in 2017, Women Of The Lens Film Festival highlights the experiences and achievements of talented filmmakers, meanwhile showcasing courageous stories from underrepresented women working in the film industry. Our 2025 programme will feature narratives that spotlights triumphs, gender representation, heritage and tradition, politics, family and relationships, healing and love and so much more. As well as all of this, our exciting programme will include panel discussions from industry professionals, where you can make your own contribution to some vibrant conversation. Not only this, we’ll be further congratulating filmmaking talent with our first, not to be missed, Awards Ceremony, to sign off what will be an inspiring festival. Grab your tickets now, we can't wait for you to join us!

Unbound: Women, Power & Possession is an unflinching strand that dives deep into the lives of women reclaiming control over their bodies, stories, and futures. From breaking spiritual dogmas and societal shame, to surviving motherhood on the edge, and confronting the politics of sex across continents, these films spotlight raw, resilient journeys of women reclaiming their bodies and identities in a world that often demands silence.

Films Screening:

Oath Bound (Ola Laniyan)

Four years after being tricked, sold and mentally entrapped into the Nigerian sex slave industry, Nneka decides she has had enough. Today, she breaks the Oath with the African Gods.

Skettel Moon (Lee Ferguson)

A young mother struggles to keep her head above water as she navigates motherhood, her neurodivergent toddler, and the gritty Atlanta nightclub where she works. All on a quarter tank of gas.

Black Women And Sex (Godisamang Khunou)

This film explores the tension between black women and the politics of sex, through the sexual realities of three unique women - a South African trans woman, a Nigerian woman raised in a Polygamous home and a Zambian woman jailed for a sex tape. Their stories examine how patriarchy impacts women and how self love and the owning of one's sexuality can fight against limiting and constraining views, on a personal and political level.  

Trigger Warning: Scenes of a sexual nature, some simulated genital exposure, some scenes of simulated abuse.

Empowering through knowledge and celebration', is one of the primary tenets of Women Of The Lens Film Festival, which aims to bring heartwarming stories to film loving audiences and support the careers of black women in the film industries. Debuting in 2017, Women Of The Lens Film Festival highlights the experiences and achievements of talented filmmakers, meanwhile showcasing courageous stories from underrepresented women working in the film industry. Our 2025 programme will feature narratives that spotlights triumphs, gender representation, heritage and tradition, politics, family and relationships, healing and love and so much more. As well as all of this, our exciting programme will include panel discussions from industry professionals, where you can make your own contribution to some vibrant conversation. Not only this, we’ll be further congratulating filmmaking talent with our first, not to be missed, Awards Ceremony, to sign off what will be an inspiring festival. Grab your tickets now, we can't wait for you to join us!

From the Jamaican dancehalls to Chicago’s electric blues clubs, this powerful strand, Voices of Power: Icons Who Changed Sound, celebrates landmark artists whose voices redefined music history. Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story and Roots and Blues: The Muddy Waters MOJO Museum, shine a bright spotlight on two absolute legends. Sister Nancy and Muddy Waters' rhythms, broke barriers, moved generations, and continue to echo across reggae, hip hop, rock, pop and soul. These are the untold stories behind the sounds that shaped the world.  

Films Screening:

Roots and Blues: The Muddy Waters MOJO Museum (Chandra Cooper and Nate Wyse.)

This is a documentary exploring the extraordinary life and lasting legacy of Muddy Waters, born McKinley Morganfield, the father of modern Chicago blues. Executive Producer and Co-Director Chandra Cooper, Muddy Waters’ great-granddaughter, highlights the Muddy Waters MOJO Museum, housed in his first home, which became a gathering place for legendary musicians and will soon serve as a cultural center. Roots and Blues celebrates Muddy’s enduring influence, the city that embraced him, and the global impact of Chicago blues.  

Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story (Alison Duke)

The hit song “Bam Bam” has long held the status of an anthem in the reggae genre and is one of the most sampled vocals ever. Lesser known is the story behind the song and, even more so, the woman behind the voice. Entertaining and empowering, Sister Nancy’s story proves that great music overcomes obstacles and that staying true to oneself is the key to success, both in the music industry and in life.

Empowering through knowledge and celebration', is one of the primary tenets of Women Of The Lens Film Festival, which aims to bring heartwarming stories to film loving audiences and support the careers of black women in the film industries. Debuting in 2017, Women Of The Lens Film Festival highlights the experiences and achievements of talented filmmakers, meanwhile showcasing courageous stories from underrepresented women working in the film industry. Our 2025 programme will feature narratives that spotlights triumphs, gender representation, heritage and tradition, politics, family and relationships, healing and love and so much more. As well as all of this, our exciting programme will include panel discussions from industry professionals, where you can make your own contribution to some vibrant conversation. Not only this, we’ll be further congratulating filmmaking talent with our first, not to be missed, Awards Ceremony, to sign off what will be an inspiring festival. Grab your tickets now, we can't wait for you to join us!

From the Senate floor to the racetrack, the skatepark to the streets of Kabul and Tehran, these films spotlight women who won't abide by detrimental societal expectations, who rewrite rules, and aim to reclaim their voice. Our Strand, Her Power, Her Path, celebrates women of courage such as Senator Wynona Lipman and Formula 1 business owner Carol Glenn, and honours the quiet revolution of girls and women who will stand tall, take full reigns of their ambitions and speak up, to dance when the world says not to. This strand is a rallying cry for freedom, visibility, and unstoppable determination.

Films Screening:

Stronger Than Steel: The Senator Wynona Lipman Story (Celeste A. Bateman)

This documentary explores the life of Sen. Wynona Lipman (1923-1999), the first African American Woman Senator in New Jersey (USA). It examines her family and remarkable achievements, highlighting legislative initiatives and career benchmarks.

Boneless 180 (Laya Hartman)

Dayna Doles, one of few black girls in a wealthy Detroit suburb, grows a deep love for skateboarding. Ostracised, she meets pro-skater Christiana Smith and begins to unlock her true potential.

Faghan Daughters of Afghanistan (Emanuela Zuccalà)

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban reconquer Afghanistan after twenty years of Western military presence, establishing a religious dictatorship. The country falls into violence, extreme poverty and human rights violations. The Taliban establish a gender apartheid that segregates women within their homes, prohibiting them from studying beyond the age of twelve, working, going to gyms, parks or beauty salons. In public, women are forbidden to show their faces, and even to make their voices heard. For Afghan women, the only choice is between social death and fleeing abroad.

Baraye (Daniella Raphaël)

In the quiet confines of her home, an Iranian woman dreams of dancing freely to Shervin Hajipour’s Grammy-winning song, Baraye. In a country where dance is forbidden, movement becomes defiance, a language of resilience. This dance film gives shape to the unspoken grief, hope, and strength of Iranian women. A testament to the universal fight for gender equality and the right to express oneself without fear.

Set Pace (Daisy Ifama.)

This film tells the story of legendary Carol Glenn, Britain's first black, female motorsports official, as she sets out on a new venture to launch her own Formula Ford single seater race team, breaking boundaries as the first black woman in the UK to do so. A true hidden gem, 67-year-old Carol has spent almost 40 years volunteering on the track and self-funding her passion travelling to race circuits across the world, from Silverstone to Le Mans to Texas. Now, Carol has turned her hand to a new project – turbocharging the industry with her own race team, the first of its kind in the UK.

Trigger Warning: Contains scenes of war and some scenes of implied abuse

Empowering through knowledge and celebration', is one of the primary tenets of Women Of The Lens Film Festival, which aims to bring heartwarming stories to film loving audiences and support the careers of black women in the film industries. Debuting in 2017, Women Of The Lens Film Festival highlights the experiences and achievements of talented filmmakers, meanwhile showcasing courageous stories from underrepresented women working in the film industry. Our 2025 programme will feature narratives that spotlights triumphs, gender representation, heritage and tradition, politics, family and relationships, healing and love and so much more. As well as all of this, our exciting programme will include panel discussions from industry professionals, where you can make your own contribution to some vibrant conversation. Not only this, we’ll be further congratulating filmmaking talent with our first, not to be missed, Awards Ceremony, to sign off what will be an inspiring festival. Grab your tickets now, we can't wait for you to join us!

The Mediator and Seeing Without Sight, invite us to see and feel the world differently. Our Strand, Redefining Connection explores the power of human bonds beyond the surface, as characters confront isolation, challenge perceptions, and find meaning in unexpected places. Whether through a life-changing phone call or a deeper understanding of beauty beyond what we can see, these stories remind us that real connection begins where assumptions end.

Films Screening:

The Mediator (Dean Leon Anderson)

Chris is struggling with his new life, after an accident leaves him bedridden, severely paralysed and cared for by his sister Olivia. Chris is visited by Mary, a young woman Olivia has hired with a unique specialised job as a relations mediator, making only three conference calls on behalf of her client to help restore their personal relationships with others. Chris's view of the world changes when he makes a surprise connection with Mary, who helps others mend relationships to alleviate her own empty life.

Seeing Without Sight (Alyscia Cunningham)

One can be tempted to think that, although beauty comes in many forms, and although the people, places or objects that exhibit beauty are of diverse sorts, it can only be sensed visually. What is the perception process that underlies the experience of beauty from the perspective of a woman without the sense of sight? This is a documentary that delves into the lives of girls and women with vision loss, challenging viewers to perceive beauty beyond sight. Through their stories, it aims to redefine societal norms of beauty, inviting a deeper understanding and appreciation.

Empowering through knowledge and celebration', is one of the primary tenets of Women Of The Lens Film Festival, which aims to bring heartwarming stories to film loving audiences and support the careers of black women in the film industries. Debuting in 2017, Women Of The Lens Film Festival highlights the experiences and achievements of talented filmmakers, meanwhile showcasing courageous stories from underrepresented women working in the film industry. Our 2025 programme will feature narratives that spotlights triumphs, gender representation, heritage and tradition, politics, family and relationships, healing and love and so much more. As well as all of this, our exciting programme will include panel discussions from industry professionals, where you can make your own contribution to some vibrant conversation. Not only this, we’ll be further congratulating filmmaking talent with our first, not to be missed, Awards Ceremony, to sign off what will be an inspiring festival. Grab your tickets now, we can't wait for you to join us!

What does it mean to belong? Rooted & Rising in Home and Heritage brings together powerful personal journeys exploring identity, ancestry, and connection. From Windrush memories and family reunions to spiritual legacies and inner-city sisterhood, these films trace the threads of heritage and legacy across generations and continents, celebrating the strength found in history, the beauty in rediscovery, and the evolving meaning of our homes.

Films Screening:

My Dad, Guyana And Me (Noella Letitia Mingo)

One woman's voyage of discovery to understand her heritage and what makes somewhere truly home.        

Irpinia (Jameisha Prescod)

This is a story of black British hope from the perspective of what is known in the UK as the Windrush Generation. At the age of 24, Dudley Porteous boarded a ship called the Irpinia in search of a better life in England, the so-called mother country. Now 86 years old, Dudley reflects on his exciting journey to sea and the harsh reality that lay ahead.

It's A Family Thing (Lea Anderson)

This film introduces the 51st anniversary of an African American family reunion. Whilst unravelling the necessity and history of this deep rooted tradition, the film portrays three siblings - Max, Beryl and Antoine - separated since birth, recalling their life long journey to reunite and emphasising the importance of family connections and belonging.

Adinkra (Peter Palmer and Golda Kesse)

In modern-day England, skeptical Samira is pulled back into Karim’s life when buried family secrets resurface. As whispers of West African ancestral wisdom blur reality and myth, they must face the past, mend their fractured bond, and unlock a legacy more powerful than they imagined.

Ties (Tassia Quirino)

Delving into the lives of three black women, Ties attempts to answer essential questions: Do I feel seen? Do I feel at home? How do I feel in London? As the narrative unfolds, five threads intertwine; belonging, community, heritage, representation and sisterhood. Through intimate interviews and glimpses of diverse London neighbourhoods, each story reveals shared ties and unique journeys of each character.  

Empowering through knowledge and celebration', is one of the primary tenets of Women Of The Lens Film Festival, which aims to bring heartwarming stories to film loving audiences and support the careers of black women in the film industries. Debuting in 2017, Women Of The Lens Film Festival highlights the experiences and achievements of talented filmmakers, meanwhile showcasing courageous stories from underrepresented women working in the film industry. Our 2025 programme will feature narratives that spotlights triumphs, gender representation, heritage and tradition, politics, family and relationships, healing and love and so much more. As well as all of this, our exciting programme will include panel discussions from industry professionals, where you can make your own contribution to some vibrant conversation. Not only this, we’ll be further congratulating filmmaking talent with our first, not to be missed, Awards Ceremony, to sign off what will be an inspiring festival. Grab your tickets now, we can't wait for you to join us!