Australia

This collection of films selected especially for our youngest audience promises some laughs, some frights – and some food for thought. This year’s programme is probably best suited to a slightly older age group (6-10) than previous years’.

Our popular yearly programme of the year’s best animate shorts is one of the strongest collections in a long time, celebrating the sheer diversity of the animated art form. Including the Oscar winning Ryan.

This evocative and sensual drama offers a zen-like contemplation of the mystery surrounding the fate of an unwed mother in 18th-century rural Vietnam.

The photographs of Carol Jerrems provide an indelible record of bohemian Sydney and Melbourne in the 70s. Her indomitable spirit continues to burn in this terrific documentary portrait.

The ever notable Dennis O’Rourke (Cunnamulla) takes us into the lives of Habiba and Shah, an Afghani couple eking out an existence in the ruined city of Kabul.

“The astonishing debut feature of Sarah Watt interweaves animation and real-life drama to portray some very human responses to barely fathomable events.” — Melbourne International Film Festival

A sardonic Melbourne hitman allows a filmmaker to follow him around as he gets away with murder in this droll, pitch-black mockumentary.

In-depth and highly entertaining documentary account of partnership between two successful entrepreneurs: a pushy New York investment banker and a savvy Hong Kong businessman.

New Aussie hit from the director of The Bank follows an idealistic young couple from student romance in the 80s to social realities 20 years on.

Riveting documentary about the parental abduction of children, a frequent and alarming occurrence in a world where international marriages – and separations – are on the rise.