Films returned with a flourish in 2021, and the Screen editorial team has enjoyed a range of festival and cinema releases.
Here are the top five feature films plus one favourite scene for the editorial team and key contributors.
Scroll down for the overall top five
In order to be eligible for the list, a film must have had a festival premiere and/or a UK/US theatrical or digital release in the past 12 months. There are five points for first place; four for second; three for third; two for fourth; and one for fifth, with these scores tallied to produce an overall top five.
Matt Mueller (editor)
1. The Hand Of God, dir. Paolo Sorrentino
2. Dune, dir. Denis Villeneuve
3. The Power Of The Dog, dir. Jane Campion
4. West Side Story, dir. Steven Spielberg
5. After Love, dir. Aleem Khan
Favourite scene: The “What’s in the box?” scene in Dune – Timothee Chalamet is put to the test by Charlotte Rampling’s veiled galactic sorceress, the agony etched on his face in a scene of otherwise utter stillness.
Louise Tutt (deputy editor)
1. 7 Prisoners, dir. Alexandre Moratto
2. Petite Maman, dir. Celine Sciamma
3. Ali & Ava, dir. Clio Barnard
4. The Power Of The Dog, dir. Jane Campion
5. The Invisible Life Of Euridice Gusmao, dir. Karim Ainouz
Favourite scene: The last devastating scene of Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers - I can’t stop thinking about the whole film, and particularly this last shot.
Jeremy Kay (Americas editor)
1. Summer Of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), dir. Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson
2. The Souvenir: Part II, dir. Joanna Hogg
3. The French Dispatch, dir. Wes Anderson
4. The Velvet Underground, dir. Todd Haynes
5. Clara Sola, dir. Nathalie Alvarez Mesen
Favourite scene: Stevie Wonder. Playing drums. On stage in Summer Of Soul.
Ben Dalton (international reporter)
1. On Our Way, dir. Sophie Lane Curtis
2. West Side Story, dir. Steven Spielberg
3. Boiling Point, dir. Philip Barantini
4. Inside, dir. Bo Burnham
5. Rare Beasts, dir. Billie Piper
Favourite scene: The joyous opening number from In The Heights – one of the best scene-setters in musical film, and a star maker for Anthony Ramos.
Melanie Goodfellow (senior correspondent, Europe & Middle East)
1. Titane, dir. Julia Ducournau
2. The Hand Of God, dir. Paolo Sorrentino
3. Drive My Car, dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi
4. The Divide, dir. Catherine Corsini
5. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
Favourite scene: In The Hand of God, the lunch scene on the terrace looking on the Bay Of Naples as Fabio’s extended family and friends await the arrival of his aunt and her new boyfriend – for its humour and sunshine.
Charles Gant (awards/box office editor)
1. The Power Of The Dog, dir. Jane Campion
2. Licorice Pizza, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
3. The Souvenir: Part II, dir. Joanna Hogg
4. C’mon C’mon, dir. Mike Mills
5. 7 Prisoners, dir. Alexandre Moratto
Favourite scene: Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank with Bronco Henry’s neckerchief in The Power Of The Dog – a scene that made an already-interesting character even more interesting.
Mona Tabbara (UK reporter)
1. Belfast, dir. Kenneth Branagh
2. Boiling Point, dir. Philip Barantini
3. Dune, dir. Denis Villeneuve
4. No Time To Die, dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga
5. Censor, dir. Prano Bailey-Bond
Favourite scene: In Belfast, when Buddy gets caught up in the looting of a shop and steals a box of Omo washing powder, and the only explanation he can think of to give his Ma why his took it is “It’s biological”.
Melissa Kasule (reporter)
1. Minari, dir. Lee Isaac Chung
2. Passing, dir. Rebecca Hall
3. Judas And The Black Messiah, dir. Shaka King
4. tick, tick… Boom!, dir. Lin-Manuel Miranda
5. Zola, dir. Janicza Bravo
Favourite scene: The Ying Li Vs. Xu Wenwu bamboo spring fight scene in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.
Wendy Mitchell (contributing editor/Nordic correspondent)
1. The Power Of The Dog, dir. Jane Campion
2. Licorice Pizza, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Titane, dir. Julia Ducournau
4. The Innocents, dir. Eskil Vogt
5. Spencer, dir. Pablo Larrain
Favourite scene: Julie and Eivind flirting at the party in The Worst Person In The World.
Nikki Baughan (contributing editor)
1. After Love, dir. Aleem Khan
2. The Power Of The Dog, dir. Jane Campion
3. Titane, dir. Julia Ducournau
4. Petite Maman, dir. Celine Sciamma
5. Lamb, dir. Valdimar Johannsson
Favourite scene: The introduction in The Tragedy Of Macbeth to the three witches played by the gloriously creepy and breathtakingly flexible Kathryn Hunter.
Mark Salisbury (contributing editor)
1. Limbo, dir. Ben Sharrock
2. Palm Springs, dir. Max Barbakow
3. Licorice Pizza, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Dune, dir. Denis Villeneuve
5. Last Night In Soho, dir. Edgar Wright
Favourite scene: In Licorice Pizza, when Gary and Alana deliver a waterbed to the home of Jon Peters and he flirts with Alana and threatens Gary before going on a rampage around the San Fernando Valley.
Jean Noh (deputy Asia editor/Korea correspondent)
1. Escape From Mogadishu, dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
2. Gorbachev. Heaven, dir. Vitaly Mansky
3. Minari, dir. Lee Isaac Chung
4. The Book Of Fish, dir. Lee Joon-ik
5. Miguel’s War, dir. Eliane Raheb
Favourite scene: In Escape From Mogadishu, North and South Korean embassy personnel and family members flee in a mini caravan of cars covered in books, homemade sandbags and doors duct-taped on for bullet-proofing - chased and shot at by government and rebel forces in the streets of Somalia’s capital.
Overall top five:
1. The Power Of The Dog
=2. Titane
=2. Licorice Pizza
=4. The Hand of God
=4. Dune
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