Bradford International Film Festival — A–Z of films

With each director having only four minutes there is really little time for the viewer to get engrossed in the material, barring some kind of sharp shock, superb central twist, gag or sharp social commentary, and some of writers and directors struggle wit

Has montage been this aggressive and politicised in recent years? It’s difficult to recall a comparator.

As a testimonial on the daily grind and ongoing uncertainty experienced by refugees at a particular historical moment, this epic documentary captures and presents events in a suitably gruelling manner.

Poluyan’s character is one of cinema’s most repulsive creations.

Long and demanding, intimate and heartfelt.

With its considered compositions and emphasis upon real-life re-enactment, East Hastings Pharmacy has a vague resemblance to Soderbergh’s Bubble.

At a lean 75 minutes, the film does well to paint that age-old dilemma between the romances of impulse and the disappointments of real life.

Though his parallels are subtly evoked by a voice-over that is barely a whisper, Curean’s “non-interventionist” approach risks accusations of complicity in the casual animal cruelty he documents.

Stark, beautifully observed, genuinely captivating, A Hijacking grabs its audience and does not let go.

A quietly remarkable film that benefits from well-selected interviews with historians, businesspeople, artists and scholars.

The moments of satisfying personal drama and suspense are built slowly rather than thumped out with high intensity.

This is a serious and entertaining character study - stripping down the lives of Soho and Raymond - that has the looks and acting talent to win over a crowd.

Lords Of Salem is probably the director's most (ahem) 'mature' work yet - that being said, maybe next time he should give someone else's script a chance.

An on-paper melodrama imbued with musical energy and comical mischief by an excellent ensemble cast.

Magpie stretches a short-subject premise to narrative length that does well to tell at least four different stories in one digestible whole.

Everything here is meticulously planned yet the effect is of something effortless.

The way in which the film drifts from otherwise throwaway comedy to poignant morality tale by way of one non-sequitur after another is effortless.

An emotionally complex and moving tale that more than justifies itself.

Szymków interweaves her subjects’ testimonies to paint an image of ongoing loss.

Pincus treads that tricky terrain of having a protagonist who is deeply sceptical of the self-serious outsiders he meets while at the same time allowing for the possibility that it is he who may be in the wrong.

A refreshingly low-key and visually distinct work.

Its intended jokes are mostly unfunny but as it develops, The Rambler contains enough hallucinatory imagery, lifted straight from low-budget sci-fi horror, to boil over with a certain nightmarish feel.

Resolution is an excellent amalgamation of horror traits that also stands on its own two feet.

Through heartfelt and very conventional storytelling Nair simplifies, pleads, and misses the chances to shift the very current problematics into a new light.

Most real, and at once divine, are the scenes in nature.

A fast, furious and occasionally hilarious angster comedy.

Singular writer-director Alexey Balabanov does things his own way.

Subtly symphonic.

If you're looking for something personal, something that dares to explore what is often avoided, this is well worth seeking out.