Now Showing
Following the epic 6-year journey of filmmaker Dianne Whelan as she sets out to reconnect with nature and become the first person to travel the world’s longest trail, 500 DAYS IN THE WILD is a stunning reminder of Erath's beauty. The 24,000 km Trans Canada Trail stretches across the continent of North America, connecting the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans. It is the longest trail in the world. For six years filmmaker Dianne Whelan traveled the entirety of the land and water trails, the only person to ever accomplish this journey. 500 Days in the Wild recounts Dianne’s journey by bike, canoe, skis, snowshoes and on foot and her cross-cultural visits with those who live close to the land. This feature doc culled from 800 hours of footage is an intricate weave of adventure film, personal reflection and stunning captures of wildlife and landscapes. Using humour, adventure, beautiful cinematography and a great soundtrack (including songs from Joni Mitchell, First Aid Kit, Xavier Rudd, and The Tragically Hip), 500 Days in the Wild will entertain audiences and inspire hope for the future. She started out alone, disillusioned with state of the world, to look for different ways of caring for the land and for each other. She ended the journey a bit wiser, more hopeful, in love and with a passion to share this story.
RESTORATION! The classic anime cyberpunk action film from 1988 returns to the cinema screen fully remastered and remixed. Set in a dystopian 2019, Kaneda and his motorbike gang tear through Neo Tokyo - a city divided by growing tensions. When Kaneda’s friend has an accident, he discovers a secret government project - and acquires telekinetic abilities. Katsuhiro Otomo’s anime film has a cult following and now, Neo Tokyo will be truly bursting off the screen. Japanese language, English subtitles.
An early cult classic from the celebrated creative partnership of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) and concept and art director Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy), ANGEL’S EGG is a hauntingly beautiful, enigmatic meditation on existence that has gained international recognition as a unique and iconic work. A masterpiece of experimental anime, ANGEL’S EGG is a vital milestone in the evolution of Oshii as an auteur, and a must-see for fans of poetic storytelling and philosophical cinema.
In 2075, a ten-year-old girl, Iris, witnesses Arco, a mysterious boy in a rainbow suit, fall from the sky. Arco comes from an idyllic far future where time travel is possible. Becoming fast friends, the two young children embark on a thrilling adventure to return Arco safely back to his home.
ENCORE SEASON. Helen Mirren reprises her Academy Award-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II in encore screenings of the original West End production of The Audience, captured live in London in 2013, and featuring an exclusive new Q&A with key members of the cast and creative team. For sixty years, Queen Elizabeth II has met with each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a private weekly meeting. This meeting is known as The Audience. No one knows what they discuss, not even their spouses. From the old warrior Winston Churchill, to the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher, Blair right up to today’s meetings with the current incumbent David Cameron, the Queen advises her Prime Ministers on all matters both public and personal. Through these private audiences, we see glimpses of the woman behind the crown and witness the moments that shaped a monarch. The Audience is written by Peter Morgan (The Queen) and directed by two-time Tony Award winner and Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) and was presented in the West End by Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Robert Fox and Andy Harries.
Based on the web series which took the world by storm, Kane Parsons makes his feature debut with a psychological horror set in a world on the edge of reality. Furniture store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is on the brink of closing his business when he accidentally discovers a hidden doorway deep in the building basement. Entering an expansive interior space that defies all logic, he recruits his staff to help him explore. Venturing deeper and deeper into the liminal space before returning to the showroom with more questions than answers, his therapist (Renate Reinsve) becomes concerned that Clark may be losing his grip on reality.
Evicted and jobless, Cory and his pregnant wife are forced to stay with his parents. As the younger couple’s stay extends the parents’ become worried that their disappointing son will never leave the house. Desperate to prove himself, the edges of Cory’s reality slip away and he finds an unexpected path to success that detonates the family.
Maria Angeles is a 74-year-old woman who belongs to the Spanish community of Tangier and enjoys the quietness of her life in the colorful Moroccan costal town. When her daughter decides to sell her home, she is forced out against her will. She sets off to reclaim her home and furniture, which have been sold to a vintage dealer. Through this encounter, she unexpectedly rediscovers the possibility of love and sensuality.
DOUBLE BILL! Humphrey Bogart stars in two of the greatest films of the 20th century, CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON. A cynical expatriate American cafe owner (Bogart) struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Conrad Veidt. Directed by John Huston, San Francisco private detective Sam Spade (Bogart) takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered. Starring Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet and Gladys George.
The estranged children of a once-famous artist hire a forger to complete his unfinished works so they can be "discovered" and sold after his death.
No politics, sport or geography - just cinema! Film buffs unite, for Nova's monthly movie trivia event. Join your host, award-winning comedian Alex Hines, for a fabulous evening of laughs, drinks, food, games, surprises and of course trivia. We’ll test your knowledge on all things cinema, from the obscure, to the blockbuster, to the pure art-house to the juicy gossip, so grab a crew, come on down and show off your film expertise. Please note, bookings are per team. Teams can consist of up to four people. Please arrive a few minutes early to register your team (and grab a drink from the in-cinema bar!)
Almost twenty years after making their iconic turns as Miranda, Andy, Emily and Nigel—Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci return to the fashionable streets of New York City and the sleek offices of Runway Magazine in the eagerly awaited sequel to the 2006 phenomenon that defined a generation. The film reunites the original main cast with director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna, and introduces an all-new runway of characters including Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Patrick Brammall, Caleb Hearon, Helen J. Shen, Pauline Chalamet, B.J. Novak and Conrad Ricamora. Tracie Thoms and Tibor Feldman also reprise their roles as “Lily” and “Irv” from the first film. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is produced by Wendy Finerman, and executive produced by Michael Bederman, Karen Rosenfelt and McKenna. The film debuts exclusively in cinemas April 30, 2026.
Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy from a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia, finds refuge in music while navigating his father’s expectations, a conservative community, and his first experience with love — a girl already promised to someone else.
Ordinary people doing extraordinary things Don’t Be Prey is an edge-of-your-seat adventure into one man’s fight to reclaim his life by taking on the world’s most dangerous marathon swims, the Oceans Seven. Featuring unforgettable characters, raw vulnerability and breathtaking ocean feats, it’s a gripping, uplifting journey of resilience, reinvention and what it really takes to survive.
A happily engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.
EPiC features long-lost footage from Presely's legendary Las Vegas residency in the 1970s, woven together with rare 16mm footage from Elvis on Tour, and precious 8mm from the Graceland archive, plus recordings of Elvis telling "his side of the story" rediscovered during Luhrmann's research for his Best Picture Oscar-nominated 2022 film Elvis.
Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin. Baritone Igor Golovatenko reprises his portrayal of the urbane Onegin, who realizes his affection for her all too late. The Met’s evocative production, directed by Tony Award–winner Deborah Warner, “offers a beautifully detailed reading of … Tchaikovsky’s lyrical romance” (The Telegraph). Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Libretto by the composer and Konstantin Stepanovich Shilovsky
A man becomes increasingly desperate when he realizes he is trapped in a subway station, needing to complete a mission to get out.
FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER is a feature film, though carefully constructed in the form of a triptych. The three stories all concern the relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parent (or parents), and each other. Each of the three chapters takes place in the present, and each in a different country. FATHER is set in the Northeast US, MOTHER in Dublin, Ireland, and SISTER BROTHER in Paris, France. The film is a series of character studies, quiet, observational and non-judgmental – a comedy, but interwoven with threads of melancholy.
40th ANNIVERSARY! Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) has an uncanny skill at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to make one last duck-out before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, "borrows" a Ferrari, and embarks on a one-day adventure through the streets of Chicago. On Ferris' trail is high school principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), determined to catch him in the act. Directed by John Hughes and featuring a killer soundtrack, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF is the quintessential 1980s teen-movie.
Franz Kafka is torn between the strict expectations of his father Hermann, his monotonous daily routine at an insurance company, and his deep-rooted urge to write and thus give literary expression to his innermost feelings. He finally receives initial attention, while he continues to try to lead a life between conforming to others, such as his dominant father, and self-realisation. Time and again, Franz experiences intense relationships with women who enchant him to the utmost, inevitably facing the tensions between closeness and withdrawal. Supported by his friend and publisher, the picture emerges of a man searching for his place in the world – between a sense of duty, inner turmoil and creative expression. Various languges, English subtitles
Middle-aged South Asian dancer Anoushka navigates family challenges in Sydney with her Eurasian husband Pascal and their teens: Nina, a dancer grappling with identity, and troubled Clyde. Their open marriage faces threats.
Middle-class Karli, alcoholic Jane, unemployed Jackie, and square Ellen are four friends living together and barely scraping by in suburban Sydney. But when Karli’s father offers her a little money and a one-way ticket to New York, she finally sees a way out of her dead-end life—that is, until the money goes missing, kickstarting a final night out on the town that none of them will ever forget.
When Helen's beloved father passes away, she is overtaken by grief and loses herself in memories of their time birding and exploring the natural world together. She becomes obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk, and so she brings the fearsome bird Mabel home to Cambridge with her. Ready to embark on the arduous process of trying to train the wildest of animals, Helen fills the freezer with hawk food and turns off her phone. But as she labors to teach Mabel how to hunt and fly free on her own, Helen uncovers how neglected her own emotions and life have become. Based on a true story and a memoir of the same name, H IS FOR HAWK is a soaring journey of the connection between people and nature, and how it might be possible to reconcile loss through love.
From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, HAMNET tells the powerful love story that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
When reclusive novelist Ohm Bauman (Scott) retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, the staff’s tales of an ancient witch haunting the honeymoon suite take hold of his mind. Soon, disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance draw him into a nightmarish confrontation with the darkest corners of his past. In cinemas April 30.
I Swear follows the true story of Tourette Syndrome campaigner John Davidson's journey with Tourette's through his troubled teens and early adulthood, having been diagnosed at 15 years old in 1980s Britain - a time when the condition was little known and entirely misunderstood. Initially alienated from his peers and his family, Davidson perseveres in his attempt to live a 'normal' life against the odds, finding some unlikely champions along the way.
An African American police detective is asked to investigate a murder in a racially hostile southern town.
In Mongolia’s coldest valley, horses mean life. But in the Iron Winter, nothing can survive alone. For countless generations, the herders of the Tsakhir Valley have protected their horses from ferocious arctic storms by amassing a giant winter herd, nominating their bravest young men to protect it. The daring tradition served as a brutal coming of age ritual, until five years ago, when under increasing environmental pressure, it abruptly ended. Fearful about the loss of culture, elders soon vowed to revive it. And two young friends were handed the daunting responsibility to not only protect the valley’s herd — but to save its most sacred practice. For four months, the boys battle Mongolia’s deadliest winter on record, testing friendship and faith in a fight to keep 2000 horses alive, and preserve an ancient way of life.
From Oscar-nominated director Amy Berg, this acclaimed new documentary traces Jeff Buckley's meteoric rise, the legacy of Grace, and the haunting resonance of an artist whose life was cut tragically short
A sweeping exploration of love, morality, and one man’s legacy, LA GRAZIA is the latest masterwork from Academy Award-winner Paolo Sorrentino, powered by a Venice Film Festival awarded performance from Toni Servillo as the highly regarded outgoing president of Italy. Italian language, English subtitles.
G'DAY MAY! Zoe Coldham’s documentary GORE STREET, FITZROY traces the history of Fitzroy’s storied residential street. Through a series of interviews with longstanding residents, Coldham paints a picture of the street she called home while reflecting on a community which has been transformed by waves of gentrification. (25-minute duration - GORE STREET, FITZROY screens prior to LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES). 30th ANNIVERSARY! The trouble with love is you never know when it’s going to strike next. Immerse yourself in a day in the life of chaotic university students in Emma-Kate Croghan and Stavros Kazantzidis’s remastered 1996 classic LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES. Director: Emma-Kate Croghan Producer, Story & Screenplay: Stavros Kazantzidis. Writer: Stavros Kazantzidis, Helen Bandis, Yael Bergman, Emma-Kate Croghan. Cast: Matt Day, Frances O'Connor, Alice Garner, Matthew Dyktynski, Radha Mitchell.
Award-winning filmmaker Zoe Coldham’s documentary GORE STREET, FITZROY traces the history of Fitzroy’s storied residential street, located within Melbourne’s oldest suburb. Through a series of interviews with longstanding residents, Coldham, who grew up on Gore Street, paints a picture of the street she called home while reflecting on a community which has been transformed by waves of gentrification. (25 Minute duration - GORE STREET, FITZROY screens prior to LYGON STREET: Si Parla Italiano). After the Second World War, Australia opened its doors to European migration and Melbourne welcomed a wave of Italian imigrants who soon initiated a cultural revolution! Espresso, pizza, pasta and wine - all reminders of their homeland - were embraced by an increasingly worldly Australia still clutching the apron-strings of Britain. Directed by Shannon Swan and Angelo Pricolo (Signorinella: Little Miss), LYGON STREET: SI PARLA ITALIANO sketches a vibrant portrait of Lygon Street and a culture that changed the way our country ate. (85 minute duration - LYGON STREET screens after short GORE STREET, FITZROY).
G'DAY MAY! 40th ANNIVERSARY! AFI Award winner Colin Friels stars as an eccentric tram enthusiast whose new boarders reveal a secret that could change all their lives. Directed by husband and wife team Nadia Tass and David Parker (The Big Steal), MALCOLM was shot in and around Melbourne and the city's inner north. Malcolm is a reclusive yet brilliant inventor who takes in boarders Judith (Lindy Davies) and Frank (John Hargreaves), to help pay the rent. Discovering his new roommates have a questionable past, Malcolm's inventive nature helps his new friends plan an elaborate heist.
Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) on the eve of her comeback performance.
G'DAY MAY! 25th ANNIVERSARY! Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated follow-up to Romeo + Juliet is a genre-shattering musical which led to a triumphant return for the form in the decades that followed. Shot in Sydney, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor star as two romantics who fall in love at Paris' famed MOULIN ROUGE! Lonely poet Christian (McGregor) falls for a beautiful courtesan (Kidman) whom a jealous duke (Richard Roxburgh) covets in this stylish romance featuring music drawn from familiar 20th century standards. Co-starring Jim Broadbent, John Leguizamo, Garry McDonald and Kylie Minogue as The Green Fairy.
A Russian teacher secretly documents his small town school's transformation into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda and militarization.
When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008, a better moment in history where Orbitz were abundant, and friendships were intact.
Man-su (Lee Byung-hun, Squid Game) thinks he has it all – a loving wife, two children, two Golden Retrievers, and a dream home. When he is abruptly laid off from a paper company after 25 years of service, he vows to find a new job in the industry within the next three months. After a long and fruitless job search, Man-su risks losing the family home. Out of desperation, he hits on a solution to find work: eliminate the competition. Park Chan-wook, the legendary director of Decision to Leave, The Handmaiden and Oldboy, delivers another stylish and biting satire of contemporary capitalism. Korean language, English subtitles
After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. A deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.
Three-time Emmy nominee Melanie Lynskey (YELLOW JACKETS, THE LAST OF US) and acclaimed NZ actress Robyn Malcolm (TOP OF THE LAKE, AFTER THE PARTY) star as Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse; two ordinary women who together stand up and take on the government, justice system and a company that will stop at nothing to protect itself, after the 2010 Pike River Mine explosion takes the lives of 29 men underground. This is a film about the powerless vs. the powerful, of people vs. money, of right vs. wrong. An inspiring true story of an incredible female friendship and together what is possible when you simply won’t give up.
Colin is a weedy wallflower letting life pass him by. That is, until Ray, the impossibly handsome leader of a motorcycle club, takes him on as his submissive. Ray uproots Colin from his dreary suburban life, introducing him to a community of kinky, queer bikers and taking all sorts of virginities along the way. But as Colin steps deeper into Ray’s world of rules and mysteries, he begins to question whether the life of a 24/7 submissive is for him. Has he found his calling, or has he simply swapped one form of suffocation for another?
Follows a wedding singer and a flagging pop star who come together to write a song to comedic consequences.
In 1990s Iraq, 9-year-old Lamia must bake Saddam Hussein's birthday cake. She scrambles to find ingredients for this compulsory task while facing potential punishment if she fails.
When renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner learns of the death of one of her patients she is deeply troubled. Convinced that it was murder, she decides to investigate...
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
Few modern scandals have captivated France as the astonishing events surrounding Liliane Bettencourt, the billionaire heiress to the L’Oreal fortune and doyenne of Parisian society. Now writer/director Thierry Klifa has freely adapted the incredible story into a captivating dark comedy, featuring a jaw-dropping, tailor-made role for one of France’s most iconic stars. Marianne Farrère (Isabelle Huppert), the head of the Windler Group, is the richest woman in the world. Pierre-Alain Fantin (Laurent Lafitte) is a vivacious dandy, writer and photographer. After meeting on a photo shoot, the two quickly become inseparable. Their friendship – one where Pierre-Alain is only too happy to take financial advantage – surprises, amuses, intrigues, and eventually unsettles the billionaire’s entourage and family. Most of all, Marianne’s daughter (Marina Fois) struggles with her mother’s sudden complicity with this younger man, but her husband (André Marcon) and loyal butler (Raphaël Personnaz) share her concerns. Surreptitious queries soon transition into a private investigation, resulting in extraordinary ramifications for all involved… With several twists too good to spoil, THE RICHEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD makes the most of its fabulous ensemble cast, but Huppert and Lafitte simply eat up the screen. This wildly entertaining film became an enormous box-office hit in France for good reason.
Tommy Wiseau's THE ROOM first screened at Cinema Nova in February 2010, where it has since become a cult-favourite, expanded into other Australian states, been introduced by co-star and bestselling author Greg Sestero on countless occasions, and adapted into an Oscar nominated 'making of' comedy/biopic. It is the most outrageous cinema experience you’ll ever have and is like nothing you've seen before. Written by, directed by, and starring the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau, this misguided disaster-piece has garnered a massive cult following all over the world, leaving audiences stunned and wondering “how can something so bad be so good?” Johnny (Wiseau) seems to have it all - a beautiful fiancée, Lisa (Juliette Danielle), great friends and a job with a promotion in the works. But Lisa isn’t who she seems. Manipulative and restless, she sets her sights on Johnny's best friend Mark (Greg Sestero) and they start a torrid affair that soon causes Johnny’s perfect world to crumble. THE ROOM is an audience interactive event like no other at Nova. Each screening comes with it's own 'The Room Guide', as well as loud cheering, quoting, and yelling, and LOTS of (eco friendly) spoons to be thrown at the screen. So take a seat and watch THE ROOM as it was (never) meant to be seen! Please note that it is a condition of entry to all sessions of THE ROOM that bags must be presented for inspection if requested.
1977. In a Brazil tormented by the military dictatorship, Marcelo, a man in his forties fleeing a troubled past, arrives in the city of Recife where he hopes to build a new life and reconnect with his family. That's without taking into account the death threats that lurk and hover over his head.
In this irresistably witty mystery, shepherd George (Hugh Jackman) reads detective novels to his beloved flock every night, assuming they couldn't possibly understand him. But, when a mysterious incident upends life on George's farm, the sheep realise they must solve the crime. Summoning the knowledge they've learned from listening to George's stories, the animals begin to investigate their human suspects. Starring Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine and Hong Chau, THE SHEEP DETECTIVES features the voice talents of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Brett Goldstein, Patrick Stewart and Chris O'Dowd.
20TH ANNIVERSARY! John Cameron Mitchell's SHORTBUS explores the lives of several emotionally challenged characters as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex in and around a modern-day underground salon. A sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, a dominatrix who is unable to connect, a gay couple who are deciding whether to open up their relationship, and the people who weave in and out of their lives, all converge on a weekly gathering called Shortbus: a mad nexus of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality. Set in a post-9/11, Bush-exhausted New York City, SHORTBUS tells its story with sexual frankness, suggesting new ways to reconcile questions of the mind, pleasures of the flesh, and imperatives of the heart.
A father and his son arrive at a rave deep in the mountains of southern Morocco. They're searching for Mar - daughter and sister- who vanished months ago at one of these endless, sleepless parties. Surrounded by electronic music and a raw, unfamiliar sense of freedom, they hand out her photo again and again. Hope is fading but they push through and follow a group of ravers heading to one last party in the desert. As they venture deeper into the burning wilderness, the journey forces them to confront their own limits.
A remote German farm harbours generations of secrets. Four women, separated by decades but united by trauma, uncover the truth behind its weathered walls.
The superb new film from multi-award winning writer/director François Ozon ('Swimming Pool', '8 Women', 'Under the Sand'), THE STRANGER is a gripping adaptation of Albert Camus’ landmark novella about a detached young expat under trial for murder in French-colonised Algeria. Summer, 1938. Meursault (Benjamin Voisin, 'Lost Illusions'), a quiet and unassuming clerk in his early thirties, attends his mother’s funeral. The next day, he begins a casual affair with Marie (Rebecca Marder), a colleague randomly encountered at the local baths, and quickly slips back into routine. However, daily life is soon disrupted by his volatile neighbour (an excellent Pierre Lottin, My Brother’s Band), who draws Meursault into an altercation involving an ex-lover. And then, one blisteringly hot afternoon, an inexplicable event occurs on a beach, one that will see Meursault’s very moral standing brought to question… Visually resplendent with sensuous black-and-white images, Ozon’s elegant and masterfully realised film shines a contemporary lens on Camus' classic tale of dissociation and morality, capturing the beauty and heat of a charged society on the boil. Both impactful and mysterious, THE STRANGER is must-see French cinema of the highest order.
January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A 5-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Her name was Hind Rajab. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Film, Kaouther Ben Hania's harrowing drama blends real footage with an outstanding cast to create an urgent, heartbreking film. Arabic language, English subtitles.
Warwick Thornton's 'Wolfram' unfolds in 1932 Central Australia and is the follow-up film to his acclaimed 'Sweet Country' (2017). Aboriginal children are forced into "wolfram" (tungsten) mining until violence entangles them with ruthless outlaws. At the heart of the story is Pansy (Deborah Mailman) who is longing for her stolen children. A tightly wrought frontier western rooted in real family history, 'Wolfram' sees Aboriginal siblings Max and Kid forced to work in the mines under Billy's control. When Billy dies suddenly, Max is kidnapped by outlaws Frank and Casey, while Kid refuses to let him go. At Kennedy's station, the brothers encounter Philomac, the boy from 'Sweet Country' (2017), now older and indentured. Brought together by circumstance, the three seize a fragile chance to escape before dawn, pursued by Kennedy and the outlaws in a relentless chase across the desert. Along the way they find temporary refuge with Chinese miners Shi and Jimmi. At the story's emotional core is Pansy, a mother longing for the return of her lost generation. 'Wolfram' is a taut western of kinship, survival and colonial reckoning in the Central Desert.
Rachel Ormont lives in an all-too-familiar, decidedly dystopian, alternate universe where she tries to navigate a life of feverish monotony. Raised in captivity in the carefully controlled, craftily curated clutches of an advertising agency, Rachel's humanity is imprinted by and organized around commodity and perception. Her parasocial relationship with the product being advertised a pop star Mommy 6.0 for ratings. She becomes introspectively involved with discovering her real identity and whether she exists in the real world.