Event Categories: Film

A regional hair-styling competition is cancelled when the favourite to win is found murdered – and scalped. A community already riven with competitive rivalry quickly succumbs to suspicion. As the investigation into the murder begins, rumours quickly spread, while some competitors continue to work on their artistic creations to prove themselves despite the event’s cancellation. A fun, quick-witted whodunit, skilfully told in a one-shot format, sees extravagance and excess collide in this feature debut from writer/director Thomas Hardiman.

Featuring Clare Perkins, Kayla Meikle, Luke Pasqualino

Dir Thomas Hardiman | 2022 | UK | 101 mins | 15 | English

On Pine Ridge Reservation, Bill is determined to hustle his way to the American Dream, whether it’s by siphoning gas, delivering parcels or breeding Poodles. Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Matho can’t wait to become a man. Desperate for approval from his young father, a series of impulsive decisions turns Matho’s life upside down and he finds himself unequipped to deal with the harsh realities of the adult world. A measured and expressive story of Indigenous America powerfully depicted by a non-professional cast.

Featuring Jojo Bapteise Whiting, LaDainian Crazy Thunder

Dir Gina Gammell, Riley Keough | 2022 | USA, UK | 115 mins | 15 | English, Sioux with English subtitles

During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. No matter what the Nazis throw at him, this one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to regain his gold. This deliriously gory grindhouse pastiche sets about its task with inventive, messy, cartoonish and hugely satisfying abandon.

Featuring Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan

Dir Jalmari Helander | 2022 | Finland | 91 mins | 15 | Finnish, English with English subtitles

Amanda is 24, lives alone and has never had any close friends. Her family barely tolerates her self-absorbed neediness. Achingly lonely and angry at childhood events that she believes have robbed her of connection with the wider world, she is fixated on the past. When she learns that she once had a friend, Rebecca, as a toddler, she embarks on a quest to reignite that relationship. A quirky, unconventional and deadpan funny study of offbeat female friendship.

Featuring Benedetta Porcaroli, Galatéa Bellugi, Giovanna Mezzogiorno

Dir Carolina Cavalli | 2022 | Italy, France | 93 mins | 15 | Italian with English subtitles

When Pietro’s family head to the mountains on holiday, the young boy quickly forms a deep friendship with local lad Bruno. As they grow older they drift apart, but the death of Pietro’s father brings them back together to fulfil his wish to build a remote mountain cottage, which soon becomes a place invested with deep meaning and a focus for reflection and reconciliation. A powerful, beautifully-shot meditation on male friendship, family, and the struggle between wanderlust and rootedness.

Featuring Luca Marinelli, Alessandro Borghi, Filippo Timi

Dir Felix van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch| 2022 | Italy, Belgium, France, UK | 147 mins | 12A | Italian, English, Nepali with English subtitles

Set against the backdrop of South London and humming with the energy of iconic Tina Turner hits, Pretty Red Dress follows a family tested to their limit when Travis, fresh out of jail, is found wearing a little red dress by his partner Candice and secretive teenage daughter Kenisha. The family is spun by this startling discovery and the truths it reveals. Dionne Edward’s debut feature is a vibrant, joyous journey of self-discovery.

Featuring Natey Jones, Alexandra Burke, Temilola Olatunbosun

Dir Dionne Edwards | 2022 | UK | 110 mins | 15 | English

On an impulse to reconnect with her origins, Freddie, 25, returns to South Korea, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France, for the first time. The headstrong young woman starts looking for her biological parents in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions. Park Ji-min’s arresting, magnetic debut performance is the heartbeat of this insightful film about the universal human need to know who we are and where we come from.

Featuring Park Ji-min, Oh Kwang-rok, Guka Han

Dir Davy Chou | 2022 | France, Germany, Belgium, South Korea, Romania, Cambodia, Qatar | 119 mins | 15 | Korean, English and French with English subtitles

This gripping film tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Little Richard’s complicated inner world. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, and reminds us of the debt modern music and wider culture owe to his radical, vital presence in a world that wasn’t ready for him.

Featuring John Waters, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones

Dir Lisa Cortés| 2022 | USA | 101 mins | 15 | English | Documentary

Magic and fairy-tale characters are brought to life through ballet – a family favourite.

The Sleeping Beauty holds a very special place in The Royal Ballet’s heart and history. It was the first performance given by the Company when the Royal Opera House reopened at Covent Garden in 1946 after World War II. In 2006, this original staging was revived and has been delighting audiences ever since. Frederick Ashton famously cited the pure classicism of Marius Petipa’s 19th-century ballet as a private lesson in the atmospheric art and craft of choreography. Be swept away by Tchaikovsky’s ravishing music and Oliver Messel’s sumptuous designs with this true gem from the classical ballet repertory.