Spotlight

On the Mongolian steppes, one woman’s cultural and sexual identity is reckoned with in Uisenma Borchu’s fierce, hypnotic drama of two sisters coming to terms with their expression of heritage and independence.

Turner Ross and Bill Ross IV (Western, NZIFF15) turn their instinctive, unblinking documentary lens on the patrons of a grimy Las Vegas bar enjoying one last round – a glorious snapshot of Americana that’s at once dark, moving and flat-out funny.

“Algorithmic justice” is one of the most important civil rights issues today, says computer scientist and digital activist Joy Buolamwini, in this accessible and compelling documentary about artificial intelligence and the biased algorithms that power it.

The untold story of Baltimore club music is brought to ecstatic life against the backdrop of the city’s depression, and through the black and LGBTQI+ communities galvanised by musical expression, in TT the Artist’s bristling documentary.

Playing outside the boundaries of drama and documentary, this adventurous self-portrait of a 20-something artist and dancer asks the question, “if you could star in the film of your life, how would you rewrite the script?”

Stranded after their mother’s passing, a teenage brother and sister awkwardly socialise, take long walks on the beach and get serious about fitness in this dry, Jim Jarmusch-esque hangout film.

Vivid and strikingly objective, Zhou Bing’s in-the-field documentary covering both sides of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Umbrella Movement examines the personal and political identities at odds in this ongoing conflict.

Indulging in the thrill and heartbreak of the artistic process, this unabashedly avant-garde take on the iconic works of Godard, Mendieta and Farocki explores cinema as both a political and playful act.

Working to care for dead animals, a young couple collect deceased pets from people’s homes, while also scavenging for neglected roadkill, in Greek video artist Janis Rafa’s uncanny first feature film.

A tough-as-nails boxing drama in the vein of Raging Bull, German filmmaker Barbara Ott’s Kids Run is a captivating portrait of precarity that pulls no punches.

Prodigiously talented composer Jóhann Jóhannsson makes his posthumous directorial debut with an austere, hauntingly gorgeous sci-fi symphony voiced by Tilda Swinton and laced with sadness, wonder and hope.

Somehow both thoughtful and thrilling, Laotian-American filmmaker Mattie Do’s ghostly time-travel tale unravels into unexpected places, blending intimate drama with tense horror and sci-fi genre elements.

In this genuinely powerful and illuminating documentary, we step inside an outpatient mental health clinic run by a sympathetic elderly doctor to pull back “the invisible curtain” obscuring the world of Japan’s mentally ill.

Understated yet emotionally resonant, Faraz Shariat’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama is both timely in its exploration of a global humanitarian crisis and a testament to the transformative power of queer love.

Exciting young director Mees Peijnenburg and ace cinematographer Jasper Wolf (Monos; Instinct, NZIFF20) immerse us in the gritty world of a trio of disadvantaged Dutch youths en route to Marseille, where either hope or failure awaits.

An intense teenage romance morphs into a hypnotic tale of resurrection and saudade in this visually lush meditation on all-consuming love from emerging Brazilian director Alice Furtado.

Compiling rare found-footage into an unnerving visual essay on Stalin’s cult of personality, this disquieting film observes the notorious Soviet leader’s 1953 funeral procession – and with it, the end spectacle of a tyrannical regime.

Director Ray Yeung breaks new ground with Suk Suk (‘uncle’ in Cantonese), an affecting portrayal of two gay men in modern Hong Kong as they find each other in their later years and struggle with enduring matters of identity, desire and belonging.

A young paedophile’s return to society is calmly explored in Belgian director Patrice Toye’s powerful, thought-provoking new film. Based on Inge Schilperoord’s controversial novel Muidhond.

Indonesia’s shifting colonial landscape is examined through startling archival footage and the remarkable story of one nanny who, while caring for a Dutch family, braved occupation and social upheaval to find her own independence.

Poignantly capturing the agony and ecstasy of the arts, Johnny Ma’s colourful ode to performing artists stars a real-life Sichuan Opera troupe struggling against modernity and bureaucracy on the outskirts of Chengdu, China.

The great Ai Weiwei, giant of contemporary Chinese, activist and human rights art, directs with breathtaking outrage this soul-searching documentary on the devastation of a Mexican community gutted by a mass abduction of students.

Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala’s beautifully realised fable of a child living with the knowledge his life will end the moment he becomes an adult is a coming-of-age tale like no other.

This essential follow-up to Soda Kazuhiro’s taboo-breaking documentary on mental illness in Japanese society revisits the pillar of that film, Dr Yamamoto Masatomo, as he prepares to bid his patients farewell and enter into retirement.