Nikki Baughan is Screen International’s reviews editor.
Best film
1. Sirât
Dir. Oliver Laxe
A profound meditation on what it means to be human presented as a dust-covered techno fever-dream, Sirât begins as the straightforward story of a father looking for his missing daughter at a Moroccan desert rave but soon weaves a tangled web of guilt, grief and loyalty. As a series of twists and turns raise the stakes to an almost unbearable intensity, it’s a credit to Laxe’s singular vision and his largely non-professional cast — not to mention the shattering soundtrack — that the wheels stay firmly on until the final devastating moments.
2. It Was Just An Accident
Dir. Jafar Panahi
With its farcical set-up — an Iranian mechanic kidnaps a man he is almost sure is his sadistic prison captor — Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner feels, in parts, like a knockabout comedy. Yet this is a story fuelled by pain, both personal and national, and Panahi expertly peels back the dramatic layers to reveal the dark truths at the heart of Iranian society. Narrative and performances are perfectly pitched, and the final scene is one of the year’s very best.
3. Bugonia
Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
Lanthimos goes back to basics for this seemingly spare but deceptively layered chamber piece, which rests firmly on the strength of its performances from Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis. A study of the power of blind faith in a post-truth world, this meticulously crafted feature walks a narrative tightrope, shifting its sympathies and keeping the audience guessing. That Lanthimos and cast maintain just the right balance is evidenced by the fact the film works equally well on multiple viewings.
4. Pillion
Dir. Harry Lighton
It may be grabbing headlines for its explicit BDSM storyline, but this debut from UK filmmaker Lighton cuts far deeper. His sensitive, authentic approach foregrounds the narrative’s themes of self-discovery, confidence and connection, and stars Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgard are superb as the queer sub-dom lovers around whom this boldly subversive coming-of-age story revolves.
5. Sorry, Baby
Dir. Eva Victor
Another knockout debut, this time from writer/director Victor, who also stars as Agnes, a woman struggling to cope with the fallout from a sexual assault. Victor authentically mines Agnes’s vulnerability and resilience, making this not a story of all‑consuming pain or furious revenge but of real, recognisable everyday survival. Co-star Naomi Ackie is also a standout as Agnes’s supportive best friend Lydie.
6. The Secret Agent
Dir. Kleber Mendonca Filho
7. Sound Of Falling
Dir. Mascha Schilinski
8. Dragonfly
Dir. Paul Andrew Williams
9. Marty Supreme
Dir. Josh Safdie
10. Rose Of Nevada
Dir. Mark Jenkin
Best documentary
1. Mailin
Dir. Maria Silvia Esteves
This IDFA premiere deals with childhood abuse in ways both sensitive and surprising. Argentinian filmmaker Esteves allows the eponymous subject to tell her own story in her own way — in the form of a dark fairy tale narrated to her daughter — using confident, compassionate craft choices that explore the shape-shifting nature of memory and healing in the aftermath of trauma.
2. Below The Clouds
Dir. Gianfranco Rosi
This meditative black-and-white portrait of Naples asks a lot from its audience, but those who succumb to its hypnotic rhythms are richly rewarded. Rosi links the ancient past and the modern present with looping visuals and shared themes, all framed by textured, evocative cinematography that gives a real sense of a city, its history and its people.
3. Cover-Up
Dirs. Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus
Poitras and Obenhaus turn their camera on veteran US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh for a romp through his jaw-dropping career. Hersh makes for a striking narrator of his own story, but the strength of the film lies not in any attempt to lionise its subject, but to highlight the personal and professional challenges that come with speaking truth to power.
Performance of the year
Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value
Dir. Joachim Trier
In a year full of stellar virtuoso performances — Timothée Chalamet going full-pelt in Marty Supreme, Jessie Buckley’s wrenching turn in Hamnet, a fizzing Bill Skarsgard in Dead Man’s Wire — a much quieter one really left its mark. Reinsve is the beating heart of Trier’s family drama Sentimental Value, her portrayal of troubled oldest daughter/sister Agnes a masterclass in restraint as she conveys a lifetime of pain and fury in every movement and expression. By turns melancholic and funny, fragile and defiant, it’s a performance in which silence speaks powerful volumes.
