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Summer with Monika
A young couple flee Stockholm in a boat to spend an idyllic summer on an island. A key work by writer and director Ingmar Bergman, the film was initially notorious for a nude scene that helped establish Sweden’s reputation as sexually liberal.
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If Only I Could Hibernate
A Mongolian-set drama about a teenager who must balance the demands of his dysfunctional family and the possibilities opened up by academic success.
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Perfect Days
Hirayama, played by Koji Yakusho, a middle-aged toilet cleaner in Tokyo, enjoys a rich interior life through reading, photography and classic rock cassette tapes. Wim Wenders’ film artfully mixes the simple enjoyment of the world with the tribulations of human engagement.
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The Damned Don’t Cry
A rootless mother and teenage son struggle to get by in an inhospitable society, drifting from one Moroccan town to another, bound by a shameful secret and forced by circumstance into selling themselves.
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A Real Pain
In honour of their late grandmother, two mismatched cousins embark on a tour of Poland in this funny, intelligent road trip comedy. Writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg won the Best Original Screenplay BAFTA; while a scene-stealing Kieran Culkin swept the awards season board, winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
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Chuck Chuck Baby
Crowd-pleasing romantic comedy-drama set against the unlikely backdrop of a chicken-packing factory in industrial North Wales, aided by a heart-swelling musical soundtrack. Welsh writer-director Janis Pugh’s engaging debut feature has been critically acclaimed, winning the BAFTA Cymru Awards for Best Feature and Breakthrough.
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Vermiglio
Everyday life in a remote Alpine village during WW2 is profoundly disrupted by the arrival of a Sicilian stranger. This painterly rural drama from Maura Delpero won the Venice Silver Lion, and was Italy’s submission to the Academy Awards.
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Bright Star
London 1818: Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) is increasingly drawn to the handsome but aloof poet John Keats (a young Ben Whishaw). Writer-director Jane Campion (The Piano) received a Palme d’Or nomination for her understated yet deeply romantic literary drama, inspired by Andrew Motion’s 1997 biography of the poet.
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The Marching Band
An internationally renowned orchestra conductor discovers he has unexpected ties in a French mining community and its marching band. Emmanuel Courcol’s engaging, entertaining underdog drama was a big box office hit in France, where it was released as En Fanfare, and received seven Cesar nominations.
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On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
The buried secrets of a middle-class Zambian family are brought to light at the funeral of a family member. This powerful yet surreal drama won Welsh-Zambian writer-director Rungano Nyoni (I Am Not a Witch) a Cannes Un Certain Regard directing award and has cemented her reputation as a rising star in cinema.










