Screen tracks the films from the post-Cannes summer festivals with strong word-of-mouth and positive reviews.
Includes titles from Locarno, Edinburgh, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Annecy, Karlovy Vary, Bifan, Karlovy Vary, New York Asian Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh and Fantasia.
Our picks from the major Autumn festivals, including Venice, Toronto and Telluride, will be published later this month.
Abang Adik (Malay) - premiered at NYAFF
Dir. Jin Ong
New York Asian Film Festival top prize-winner is a tour de force from Malaysian director.
Screen’s critic says: “This potent blend of topicality and street poetry is wowing the festival circuit.”
Contact: MM Square Film Co.
Aporia (US) - premiered at Fantasia
Dir. Jared Moshe
A grieving woman is given the opportunity to rewrite history in this time bending drama.
Screen’s critic says: “Moshe is not the first filmmaker to grapple with theories surrounding the manipulation of the fabric of time but his intimate approach, coupled with strong performances, make this an intelligent homespun take on a familiar subject.”
Contact: Well Go USA
Bad Education (Tai) - premiered at Bifan
Dir. Kai Ko
Three Taiwanese high school graduates embark on a night of increasing peversity in Kai Ko’s directorial debut
Screen’s critic says: “Despite its unpleasant streak, the combination of high-profile talent and the continued appeal of cruel stories of youth from East Asia makes this a viable candidate for a limited international theatrical release with streaming potential down the road.”
Contact: Harvest 9 Road Entertainment
Chicken for Linda! (Fra-Ita) - reviewed at Annecy (premiered at Cannes)
Dirs. Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach
A grieving mother and daughter go on a hunt through a strike-paralysed Paris in this charming animation.
Screen’s critic says: “An appealing little charmer of a film, captured with a pleasingly lithe and lively animation style”
Contact: Charades
Chuck Chuck Baby (UK) - premiered at Edinburgh
Dir. Janis Pugh
Pugh’s musical debut is a feel-good second-time-lucky romance set in small-town Wales.
Screen’s critic says: “A bighearted, crowd-pleasing tale of love, liberation and female empowerment, it might well chime with the mood of post-Barbie cinemagoers.”
Contact: The Yellow Affair
Critical Zone (Iran-Ger) - premiered at Locarno
Dir. Ali Ahmadzadeh
Locarno’s controversial Golden Leopard winner takes a trip through Tehran’s night-time underbelly.
Screen’s critic says: “The clandestinely-shot vision of modern-day Iran presented here is in defiantly diametric opposition to that desired by the theocratic powers-that-be: copious use of narcotics, alcohol, unveiled women enjoying their sexuality, and so on.”
Contact: Luxbox
Guardians Of The Formula (Ser-Slovenia-Mont-North Macedonia) - reviewed at Sarajevo (premiered at Locarno)
Dir. Dragan Bjelogrlic
A 1950s Belgrade reactor leak presents opportunities for medical experimentation in this semi-fictionalised drama.
Screen’s critic says: “The fission and fusion of human relationships form the unstable core of this conventional but mostly engaging medical procedural.”
Contact: Soul Food Films
The Gullspång Miracle (Swe-Nor-Den) - premiered at Sheffield
Dir. Maria Fredriksson
A twisting Swedish documentary about a quirky family and their ever-evolving history.
Screen’s critic says: “A strange film about strange people and even stranger events, The Gullspång Miracle is one of the twistiest documentaries this side of Three Identical Strangers, although that’s where the comparison ends.”
Contact: Met Film
Kensuke’s Kingdom (UK-Lux-Fra) - premiered at Annecy
Dirs. Neil Boyle, Kirk Hendry
Animated adaptation of Michael Morpugo’s story about a young British boy and an elderly Japanese man who connect on an isolated island.
Screen’s critic says: “The popularity of Morpurgo’s novel will be a selling point for Kensuke’s Kingdom, particularly for the parents of older children looking for animated films that tackle weighty themes and ideas.”
Contact: Bankside Films
Late Night With The Devil (Aus-UAE) - premiered at Fantasia
Dir. Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
David Dastmalchian’s TV host unwittingly unleashes hell in this Seventies-set found footage chiller.
Screen’s critic says: “With both found footage and possession narratives having been somewhat done to death, it is impressive that the filmmakers have managed to blend them in a way that is both inventive and entertaining.”
Contact: Cinetic, Jason Ishikawa
Lies We Tell (Ire) - premiered at Galway
Dir. Lisa Mulcahy
Star Agnes O’Casey brings a modern edge to this adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu’s ‘Uncle Silas’.
Screen’s critic says: “A feminist top-spin on the Victorian ‘locked-up lady’ genre with a singular performance by young talent Agnes O’Casey that gives this pretty period piece a serrated edge.”
Contact: Embankment
Red Rooms (Can) - premiered at Karlovy Vary
Dir. Pascal Plante
A young woman becomes obsessed with a serial killer in this intense Canadian chiller.
Screen’s critic says: “An uncomfortable watch, but an extremely effective one.”
Contact: H264
Sweet Dreams (Neth) - premiered at Locarno
Dir. Ena Sendijarević
Sendijarević’s torridly appealing second feature is set in colonial Indonesia, and has been selected as the Netherland’s 2024 Oscar submission.
Screen’s critic says: “Features an outstanding supporting performance from Renee Soutendijk — a belated, welcome return to the international spotlight for Paul Verhoeven’s early-80s leading-lady.”
Contact: Heretic
‘WHAM!’ (UK) - premiered at Sheffield
Dir. Chris Smith
George Michael and Andrew Ridgley recount their proto boy-band days in this peppy Netflix doc.
Screen’s critic says: “The quality is far above the norm for this type of memoir assemblage.”
Contact: Netflix (available to watch now)
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