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Festival coverage

Cheltenham International Film Festival

8 June – 14 June 2020

This year's edition of the festival is taking place online, but that doesn't mean that there's any reduction in the quality of variety of the films screening, and there are still Q&As with filmmakers taking place. This year's opening film was Lost Transmissions.

The festival runs from 8 to 14 June.

View complete schedule

Other years (6)

Latest reviews

  • The Space Between The Lines
    Review preview for The Space Between The Lines

    Jopp teases us with little connections which create visual and narrative consistency, whilst fleshing out a full existence for each character.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    An accidental meeting online turns into a lengthy correspondence that comes to feel more and more important to the two people involved.
  • Nobadi
    Review preview for Nobadi

    Markovics intentionally pushes viewers out of their comfort zone.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A grumpy pensioner hires a migrant from Afghanistan to bury his dead dog.
  • Paradise
    Review preview for Paradise

    With its quirky characterisation and abrupt shifts of tone, this is an odd little film which will delight some viewers and befuddle others.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A Sicilian slushie vendor is enrolled in a witness protection programme after observing a Mafia killing
  • Running To The Sky
    Review preview for Running To The Sky

    Abdykalykov’s story is slight but its roots go deep.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    In a beautiful mountain village in Kyrgyzstan, a 12-year-old is fiercely loyal to a father brought low by drink and divorce. The kid can run faster than anyone else in school and his ability might be the key to the family’s salvation, especially given the prizes in some local races
  • Son-Mother
    Review preview for Son-Mother

    Nasiri is remarkable as the boy at the centre of it all, a child who is withdrawing into himself in the absence of reliable, consistent adult protection.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Hard working widow, Leila, is tirelessly trying to provide for her infant daughter and 12 year-old-son, Amir. A marriage proposal from kind hearted Kazem could be the solution to all of her financial troubles. Unfortunately, as Kazem has a young daughter of his own, tradition dicates that Amir will be unable to live with them.
  • Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago
    Review preview for Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago

    Moody, poignant and rich in humour, the documentary unfolds with something of the character of a shaggy dog story.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A documentary that brings to life Barry Gifford’s autobiographical collection The Roy Stories, capturing a childhood in a vanished 1950s Chicago through a jazzy, impressionistic combination of beguiling archive footage, animation and spoken word.
  • Supernova
    Review preview for Supernova

    Everything plays out within 80 minutes but you'll feel the impact of the crash for much longer.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Three men, one place, and one event that will change each of their lives.
  • Cunningham
    Review preview for Cunningham

    With searing use of colour and that sense of joy in physicality that was key to the master's work, this is a film that you will find it very hard to look away from.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    Profile of choreographer Merce Cunningham.
  • White Riot
    Review preview for White Riot

    White Riot is as brisk, to the point and direct as any punk song of the period.

    Sunil Chauhan · 4.5 out of 5
    Profiling punk reggae protest movement Rock Against Racism.

Features

  • Sweet home Chicago
    Rob Christopher on storytelling, hidden truths, Barry Gifford and Roy’s World
  • Other dimensions
    Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener in conversation on the choreography of Merce Cunningham
  • Immerse yourself
    Alla Kovgan on Merce Cunningham, Robert Rauschenberg, Rei Kawakubo and the 3D for Cunningham
  • Sculpting a film
    Andrey Paounov on Christo and Walking On Water

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