THE DRY
28th January Australia 117mins MA
Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns to his home town after an absence of over twenty years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke, who allegedly killed his wife and child before taking his own life – a victim of the madness that has ravaged this community after more than a decade of drought. When Falk reluctantly agrees to stay and investigate the crime, he opens up an old wound – the death of 17- year-old Ellie Deacon. Falk begins to suspect these two crimes, separated by decades, are connected. As he struggles to prove not only Luke’s innocence but also his own, Falk finds himself pitted against the prejudice towards him and pent-up rage of a terrified community.
View Trailer HERE
SUMMERLAND
4th February United Kingdom 99mins PG
SUMMERLAND follows the story of fiercely independent folklore investigator, Alice (Gemma Arterton) who secludes herself in her clifftop study, debunking myths using science to disprove the existence of magic. Consumed by her work, but also profoundly lonely, she is haunted by a love affair from her past. When spirited young Frank (Lucas Bond), an evacuee from the London Blitz, is dumped into her irritable care, his innocence and curiosity awaken Alice’s deeply buried emotions. Bravely embracing life’s miraculous unpredictability, Alice learns that wounds may be healed, second chances do occur, and that, just perhaps – magic really does exist.
View Trailer HERE
ONLY THE ANIMALS
4th February France 109mins M
Based on Colin Niel’s taut 2018 novel of the same name, gripping thriller ONLY THE ANIMALS by director Dominik Moll ducks and weaves across different time periods and geographical borders – from Africa to Europe – as the truth behind a woman’s mysterious death is uncovered.
Set in an isolated town in the lush, wintery mountains of Southern France, the film opens with the departure of Évelyne (Valeria Bruni), a local woman who has been murdered after going missing during a snowstorm. With echoes of Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Rashomon, Évelyne’s death reveals the hidden agendas of several locals, setting into motion the unexpected. A true crime thriller from an upcoming master filmmaker.
View Trailer HERE
DAYS OF THE BAGNOLD SUMMER
18th February United Kingdom 86mins
The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird’s directorial debut is a funny, charming and wince-inducingly accurate adaptation of Joff Winterhart’s graphic novel, with a soundtrack by Belle & Sebastian. DAYS OF THE BAGNOLD SUMMER sweetly draws you into the wobbly relationship between well-intentioned single librarian Sue Bagnold and her black-clad teenage son Daniel, who’d rather listen to Metallica than his mother.
Daniel was meant to spend the summer in Florida visiting his dad, but is now stuck with Mum following the trip’s cancellation. The film boasts supporting turns by Rob Brydon and Alice Lowe, but belongs to its two leads. A comedy to relish as we drift through late summer.
View Trailer HERE
FIRESTARTER: THE STORY OF BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE
18th February Australia 97mins M
Taking us through Bangarra’s birth and spectacular growth, the film recognises Bangarra’s founders and tells the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse. Through the eyes of the brothers and company alumni, Firestarter explores the loss and reclaiming of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma, and – crucially – the power of art as a messenger for social change and healing.
View Trailer HERE
ANOTHER ROUND
25th February Denmark 115mins M
There is a theory that man is born with half a per mille too little. That alcohol in the blood opens the mind to the outside world, problems seem smaller and creativity increases. We know it well; after the first glass of wine, the conversation lifts, the possibilities open up. Martin is a high school teacher. He feels old and tired. His students and their parents want him terminated to increase their average. Encouraged by the per mille theory, Martin and his three colleagues throw themselves into an experiment to maintain a constant alcohol impact in everyday life.
The ever-dynamic Mads Mikkelsen reunites with acclaimed director Thomas Vinterberg (THE HUNT, FESTEN) in this wry comedy drama -a must see!
View Trailer HERE
ZAPPA
25th February United States 120mins CTC
Directed by Alex Winter (BILL & TED, acclaimed maker of THE PANAMA PAPERS and DEEP WEB), ZAPPA presents an intimate portrait of one of music’s most important and iconoclastic figures, a man whose prolific and brilliant work changed music and the music industry for ever, & whose cultural impact – he even helped inspire a revolution in Czechoslovakia – was far-reaching & enduring. With unprecedented access to Zappa’s archives, exclusive interview and eye-popping unseen live & behind-the-scenes footage, ZAPPA will open your mind to the creativity & fearlessness of a man whose “worldview, art & politics” were, in Winter’s words, “far ahead of their time, & profoundly relevant in our challenging times.”
View Trailer HERE