Little White Lies

Directed by YORGOS LANTHIMOS Starring EMMA STONE, WILLEM DAFOE, MARK RUFFALO Released 12 JANUARY Tower Bridge. The chime of a bell. We see the back of a black-haired woman’s head against a leaden sky, her hair tightly tucked in a bun. Then, her cobal

Yorgos Lanthimos’ canonisation as an exciting new voice in modern cinema was almost instantaneous when, back in 2009, his ingenious and provocative third feature, Dogtooth, premiered to slack-jaws at the Cannes Film Festival. With films such as 2011’

When Emily Stone was 16 years old, pursuing her dream of becoming an actress (after convincing her parents to move to Los Angeles via a compelling PowerPoint presentation) led her to learn that there was already an actress with her moniker registered

Acclaimed cinematographer who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite. As well as Poor Things, they have collaborated on Lanthimos’ next two films. Poor Things’ production designers, who worked with Lanthimo

Following the barnstorming success of their collaboration on The Favourite, the Australian screenwriter Tony McNamara reteams with Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone to drag Alasdair Gray’s genre-bending 1992 novel to the big screen. And here’s how he d

Performative excess, grotesque or stilted physicalities and stringent visual means are all common ingredients within a significant new chapter in Greek cinema. Its advent can be traced back to two cornerstone films made in the wake of political unres

Featuring in a 1981 episode of the American film review show, Sneak Previews, Gene Siskel observed to co-host Roger Ebert, “Rarely do you ever read in a film review – or, in fact, in any review of any work of art –that the critic was aroused sexually

What goes on inside the head of a killer? This essential yet unknowable question looms large over David Fincher’s filmography. It’s what drives Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman’s odd couple detectives in their pursuit of self-mythologizing martyr John Do

Directed by DAVID FINCHER Starring MICHAEL FASSBENDER, ARLISS HOWARD, CHARLES PARNELL Released OUT NOW New Fincher! New Fincher! A simple but effective thriller with a sense of humour. A mid-tier Fincher film is still miles ahead of most thrillers. T

Directed by SOFIA COPPOLA Starring CAILEE SPAENY, JACOB ELORDI, DAGMARA DOMIŃCZYK Released 5 JANUARY An uphill battle, coming so soon after Elvis, and following the lacklustre On the Rocks. Coppola, as always, goes her own way – subtle and sensationa

After breaking through on Alex Garland’s sci-fi TV series Devs, Cailee Spaeny was cast in her next film project: a dystopian epic entitled Civil War, slated for release in 2024. While shooting the film, Spaeny grew close to co-star Kirsten Dunst, who

Directed by MICHAEL MANN Starring ADAM DRIVER, PENÉLOPE CRUZ, SHAILENE WOODLEY Released 26 DECEMBER This philosophically rich and splenetically violent passion project from Michael Mann was never going to cleave to the rules of conventional Hollywood

Directed by AKI KAURISMÄKI Starring ALMA PÖYSTI, JUSSI VATANEN, JANNE HYYTIÄINEN Released 1 DECEMBER Aki’s back. And if it’s with more of the inimitable same, then we’ll be happy. Another small but perfectly-shaped jewel for the collection. It’s like

Directed by WIM WENDERS Released 8 DECEMBER When it comes to profile documentaries, it’s always nice when a filmmaker opts to talk about their subject in terms that they would not only respect, but welcome. Wim Wenders dusts down his 3D cameras – the

Directed by JEYMES SAMUEL Starring LAKEITH STANFIELD, RJ CYLER, TEYANA TAYLOR Released 19 JANUARY The return of an exciting filmmaker with another bold idea and star-filled ensemble. Hilarious highs and jumbled lows make for a tonally chaotic experie

Directed by ALEXANDER PAYNE Starring PAUL GIAMATTI, DOMINIC SESSA, DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH Released 19 JANUARY Downsizing was a rare misstep for Alexander Payne, hopefully he’s returned to full height. A wonderous Xmas lock-in with Paul Giamatti, Domini

Directed by LOIS PATIÑO Starring AMID KEOMANY, TOUMOR XIONG, SIMONE MILAVANH Released 26 JANUARY The director’s shorts bedazzle, but his two previous features didn’t quite reach such heights. It’s a knockout: transcendent and transformative. A quiet,

Directed by TAIKA WAITITI Starring MICHAEL FASSBENDER, OSCAR KIGHTLEY, KAIMANA Released 26 DECEMBER The MCU big dog and maker of anti-hate satires is back. Eep! The original doc is a delight, but Waititi makes a film that’s chillingly eager to please

The mysteries of the afterlife come to the foreground in Spanish filmmaker Lois Patiño’s latest feature Samsara, in which a soul leaves behind its dying body in Laos and settles within a new host in Zanzibar. LWLies: Death and the afterlife were subj

Directed by DANIEL KALUUYA, KIBWE TAVARES Starring KANE ROBINSON, JEDAIAH BANNERMAN, HOPE IKPOKU JR Released 12 JANUARY “They can only stop We, if We see We as I,” is the mantra that rings out over The Kitchen, the last standing social housing estate

Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares make their feature film debut with The Kitchen, a dystopian drama that follows Izi (Kane Robinson) whose focus is on getting out of the Kitchen, the last surviving social housing estate in the now totally sterile capi

Directed by LEO LEIGH Starring MAGGIE O’NEILL, TONY PITTS, HARRY TREVALDWYN Released 22 DECEMBER The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree in Leo – son of Mike – Leigh’s feature debut as director and writer, as the gently ambling, seriocomic Sweet Su

Directed by THOMAS VON STEINAECKER Starring ROBERT PATTINSON, CHRISTIAN BALE, CARL WEATHERS Released 19 JANUARY Filmmaker. Dream-weaver. Footwear-epicure. Whatever your impression of Werner Herzog is, this affectionate docuprofile is unlikely to dras

Directed by ALI CATTERALL, JANE GILES Starring ADAM BUXTON, STEWART LEE, JAH WOBBLE Released 5 JANUARY Kings Cross’ long-defunct Scala has been etched into legend by a tattooed and body-pierced coterie of cinephiles of a certain age. This is due to i

Directed by PARIS ZARCILLA Starring MAX EIGENMANN, LEANNE BEST JAEDEN PAIGE BOADILLA Released 29 DECEMBER Joy (Max Eigenmann) is well aware of the fact that she has to suffer in order to keep her head above water as an undocumented migrant in the UK.

Directed by JAMES HAWES Starring ANTHONY HOPKINS, JOHNNY FLYNN, LINA OLIN Released 5 JANUARY The true story behind a feelgood viral clip. Genuinely uplifting Sunday teatime fare with some solid performances. Protect Anthony Hopkins at all costs. Brit

Directed by ANDREW HAIGH Starring ADAM SCOTT, PAUL MESCAL, CLAIRE FOY Released 26 JANUARY Can that much star power really pay off? Delicate and devastating and delicate in the same breath. A supernova of a film; Haigh is a modern master. A sleek but

Directed by WILLIAM OLDROYD Starring THOMASIN MCKENZIE, SHEA WHIGHAM, ANNE HATHAWAY Released 1 DECEMBER Excited to see what Thomasin McKenzie will do with this weirdo character. The dark sense of humour from the novel is wonderfully translated. An im

Directed by HAYAO MIYAZAKI Starring SOMA SANTOKI, MASAKI SUDA, TAKUYA KIMURA Released 26 DECEMBER The Boy and the Heron may or may not be Hayao Miyazaki’s last film. The 82-year-old Studio Ghibli head previously announced his retirement after complet

Andrew Haigh is a veteran of film and television, having directed projects including Weekend, 45 Years, Looking and The North Water. His work is defined by an expert eye for detail and profound sensitivity – in All of Us Strangers, he excavates famil

The UK’s first taste of experimental Argentinean film collective, El Cine Pampero, came in 2018 with the 14-hour epic, La Flor. Now, one of its number, Laura Citarella, takes her turn behind the camera to make the extraordinary two-part feature, Tren

Directed by LAURA CITARELLA Starring LAURA PAREDES, EZEQUIEL PIERR I, RAFAEL SPREGELBURD Released 8 DECEMBER Plaudits a-plenty on the festival circuit, and great that it’s being released int he UK. An extraordinary achievement in both narrative story

Considering its important role in the magic of cinema, it’s surprising to learn that film music and the composers who create it are only honoured in a major way at three festivals in Europe: the Tenerife International Film Music Festival, the Krakow

1. Emily Sear 2. Han Nightingale 3. Laurène Boglio 4. Emma Balebela Agata Samulska is an artist from Poland who predominantly creates film and concert posters using a collage technique. Apart from illustrating, she also takes black-and-white photos.

In Agniia Galdanova’s new documentary Queendom (out in the UK in December) we’re introduced to an otherworldly entity whose handmade, sculptural, alien-like costumes demand our full attention. Galdanova adopts a candid, fly-on-the-wall approach that