Festival Programme

Films by Strand

Widescreen

A diverse and engaging panorama of narrative and documentary films that provide snapshots of reality from different corners of the globe; these are films that will spark vibrant conversations about the world we live in.

Black Dog

Gou zhen

Guan Hu

An ex-convict finds redemption in the bond he forms with an unwanted mutt in Guan Hu’s dynamically shot and darkly comic Un Certain Regard Prize winner.

Crossing

Levan Akin

An aging aunt must voyage from her rugged Georgian home to cosmopolitan Istanbul in search of an estranged trans niece in this graceful cross-cultural panorama from Levan Akin.

No Other Land

Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor

Filmed in Palestine between 2019 and 2023, No Other Land is a documentary film performing its calling. An urgent and irresistible reminder as to why we choose to understand the world, and others, through cinema.

Problemista

Julio Torres

Julio Torres makes a bold directorial debut with a bright, colourful and unique take on the American dream featuring a delightfully manic performance from Tilda Swinton.

The Story of Souleymane

L’histoire de Souleymane

Boris Lojkine

A young African immigrant seeking asylum in Paris tries to survive day-to-day in this tense, heartrending piece of social realism anchored by an astonishing performance from first-time actor Abou Sangare.

Tatami

Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi

An Iranian judo champ weighs her principles and ambitions against the safety of her family and herself as government forces threaten violence unless she tows the party line, in this riveting political-sports-thriller.

The Teachers' Lounge

Das Lehrerzimmer

İlker Çatak

Driven by a captivating central performance, this unsettling Oscar-nominated classroom thriller thoughtfully probes the grey area of student care versus culpability, and to what degree our systems promote or constrain our humanity.

When the Light Breaks

Ljósbrot

Rúnar Rúnarsson

A poignant and beautiful snapshot of grief that asks us, how can you know what to do when the light breaks on the day following a major tragedy?