Screen tracks the films from the post-Cannes summer festivals with strong buzz and positive reviews from our team of critics.
Includes titles from Locarno, Edinburgh, Annecy, Karlovy Vary, Transilvania, Munich and Fantasia.
Compiled by Nikki Baughan.
Animal Farm – premiered at Annecy
Dir. Andy Serkis
Director Andy Serkis adapts George Orwell classic for family animation.
Screen’s critic says: “While it may struggle to satisfy diehard Orwell purists, the film still takes a political stance and delivers an emphatic message celebrating equality and the power of the collective – albeit one which permits us a little more hope than was present in Orwell’s 1945 novella.”
Contact: Goodfellas Animation [email protected]
Arco – reviewed at Annecy, premiered at Cannes
Dir. Ugo Bienvenu
Natalie Portman produces French time-travel animation that won top prize at Annecy.
Screen’s critic says: “Appealing but not groundbreaking 2D computer animation takes very familiar themes – the accidental visitor from a distant realm – but employs them in the service of something relatively rare: a science-fiction film that dares to hope for a better future.”
Contact: Goodfellas [email protected]
The Birthday Party – premiered at Locarno
Dir. Miguel Angel Jiminez
Willem Dafoe heads an international cast also featuring Joe Cole, Vic Carmen Sonne and Christos Stergioglou.
Screen’s critic says: “There are echoes of classic Agatha Christie in this stylish tale of hedonism and heartbreak, with its sun-kissed setting on a Mediterranean island.”
Contact: Heretic, [email protected] and Bankside Films, [email protected]
The Book Of Sijjin and Illiyyin – premiered at Fantasia
Dir. Hadrah Daeng Ratu
Hadrah Daeng Ratu’s culturally specific shocker is her fourth collaboration with writer Lele Laila.
Screen’s critic says: “Could be reductively described as an Indonesian The Exorcist as filtered through Muslim mythology, giving the tired sub-genre a modest, culturally specific shot in the arm.”
Contact: Barunson E&A [email protected]
Bright Future – premiered at Transilvania
Dir. Andra MacMasters
Romanian documentary revisits 1989 Pyongyang Festival of Youth and Students.
Screen’s critic says: “An inventive, thought-provoking documentary.”
Contact: Syndicado [email protected]
Broken Voices – premiered at Karlovy Vary
Dir. Ondrej Provaznik
Powerful Czech choir drama is loosely based on real-life abuse scandal.
Screen’s critic says: “This sensitively structured psychological drama benefits from first-rate casting and should find plenty of interest on the festival circuit. It may also figure in the awards conversation.”
Contact: Salaud Morisset [email protected]
The Dead Of Winter – premiered at Locarno
Dir. Brian Kirk
Emma Thompson plays a grieving widow who must rescue a kidnapped young woman.
Screen’s critic says: “Emma Thompson again proves what a versatile star she is in The Dead Of Winter, convincing as a have-a-go heroine unexpectedly trying to save a damsel in distress.”
Contact: North.Five.Six [email protected] and Augenschein Sales [email protected]
Dracula – premiered at Locarno
Dir. Radu Jude
This provocative portmanteau is a typically inventive study of the vampire myth.
Screen’s critic says: “For all the ribaldry and sometimes knowingly crass provocation, at heart this is a characteristically serious project from the tirelessly inventive Romanian writer/director.”
Contact: Luxbox [email protected]
Dragonfly – reviewed at Karlovy Vary, premiered at Tribeca
Dir. Paul Andrew Williams
Williams returns to the big screen with unnerving study of a community in crisis starring Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn.
Screen’s critic says: “This initially subdued, superbly acted story of an unlikely connection takes a savage and unsettling tonal swerve in the final act.”
Contact: AMP International [email protected]
Karla – premiered at Munich
Dir. Christina Tournatzés
Rainer Bock stars in 1960s-set feature about a young girl who seeks justice.
Screen’s critic says: ”Elise Krieps leaves a lasting impression in her first lead role.”
Contact: The Playmaker Munich [email protected]
I Live Here Now – premiered at Fantasia
Dir. Julie Pacino
The director’s highly sylised feature blends elements of Argento, Lynch and ‘Alice In Wonderland’.
Screen’s critic says: “This is a vividly realised debut that invites the viewer to take the trip with Rose as she works out what role she wants to play in her own life.
Contact: Utopia [email protected]
In Transit – premiered at Edinburgh
Dir. Jaclyn Bethany
Alex Sarrigeorgiou writes and stars alongside Jennifer Ehle in this study of the relationship between a painter and her subject.
Screen’s critic says: “A modest but effective tale that is realised with chilly precision.”
Contact: Valmora Productions [email protected]
The Luminous Life – reviewed at Karlovy Vary, premiered at IndieLisboa
Dir. Joao Rosas
The Lisbon-set debut feature from Joao Rosas is a continuation of three previous short films.
Screen’s critic says: “A delightfully breezy, free-wheeling collage portrait of Gen Z on the cusp of adulthood.”
Contact: Loco Films [email protected]
Mortician – premiered at Edinburgh
Dir. Abdolreza Kahani
Sensitive, slow-burn drama follows two Iranian exiles in Canada.
Screen’s critic says: “Essentially a two-hander with a few supporting characters, this sparse, measured piece, is about exiles affected by the long reach of Iran’s regime.”
Contact: Niva Art [email protected]
Olivia And The Invisible Earthquake – premiered at Annecy
Dir. Irene Iborra Rizo
Empathetic Spanish stop-motion captures life on the poverty line.
Screen’s critic says: “Captures vividly the spirit and energy of the Barcelona streets, meticulously recreating the graffiti, the fragrant, spiced colour palette and the quality of the light.”
Contact: Pyramide Films [email protected]
On The Sea – premiered at Edinburgh
Dir. Helen Walsh
Walsh follows The Violators with sensitive Welsh LGBTQ+ drama starring Barry Ward and Lorne MacFadyen.
Screen’s critic says: “Combines astute observational writing with powerful performances and evocative cinematography to create a low-key yet vivid portrait of a man coming to terms with himself.”
Contact: The Yellow Affair [email protected]
Out Of Love – premiered at Karlovy Vary
Dir. Nathan Ambrosioni
Camille Cottin stars as a French woman flung into motherhood in this intimate drama.
Screen’s critic says: “The third film from Nathan Ambrosioni is unshowy but empathetic, a sensitively acted study of a woman struggling in a role she never anticipated playing.”
Contact: Studiocanal [email protected]
Saturn – premiered at Transilvania
Dir. Daniel Tornero
Transilvania non-fiction winner paints complex portrait of fractured Spanish family.
Screen’s critic says: “Winning the What’s Up, Doc? prize at Transilvania marks another step on a substantial festival journey for an assured and enthralling documentary.”
Contact: Les Films De La Resistance [email protected]
Stitch Head – premiered at Annecy
Dir. Steve Hudson
Burtonesque animation is adapted from Guy Bass children’s books.
Screen’s critic says: ”Stitch Head has its own distinct personality, an oddball charmer boosted by offbeat humour and enjoyably quirky character design.”
Contact: GFM Animation [email protected]
Two Seasons, Two Strangers – premiered at Locarno
Dir. Sho Miyake
Miyake’s poetic drama about a Korean writer searching for creative and romantic fulfilment in Japan won Locarno’s Golden Leopard top prize.
Screen’s critic says: “This quietly elegant exploration of connection and storytelling could make its voice heard on the festival circuit and beyond.”
Contact: Bitters End [email protected]