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Leeds International Film Festival · 2022

Leeds International Film Festival 2022

Cinema Versa

Programme

19 films · 4 reviews

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A Bunch Of Amateurs

A group of ageing cinephiles attempt to save their film club.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Kim Hopkins; Writer: Kim Hopkins; Stars: Colin Egglestone, Harry Nicholls, Joe Ogden, Philip Wainman, Marie McCahery, Edmund Davies, Keith Wilcock, Ian Egglestone, Andrew Cockerill, Jeanette Wilson, David Marshall, Judith Simpson, Ian J. Simpson, Jim Walker)

The Computer Accent

Electronic pop band Yacht set out to write and record an album using artificial intelligence technology.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Sebastian Pardo, Riel Roch Decter)

Dead Mint

A love letter to the seaside town of Scarborough and a celebration of true DIY punk spirit, Dead Mint documents the career of the mischievous musical outfit Grandads Don’t Indicate.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: William Peter Bartlett)

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

Five centuries ago, anatomist André Vésale opened up the human body to science for the first time in history. Today, De Humani Corporis Fabrica opens the human body to the cinema.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel)

Dust And Metal

Past and present stories of freedom in Vietnam. With a population of 97 million, and 45 million registered motorbikes (amongst the highest in South East Asia) that's almost one bike for every two people.

(Country: Vietnam, UK; Year: 2022; Director: Esther Johnson; Writer: Esther Johnson; Stars: Nguyen Lan Huong)

Finite: The Climate Of Change

Inside the core of the climate movement, concerned citizens in Germany and England put their bodies on the line to stop new coal mines being developed.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Rich Felgate)

Geographies Of Solitude

An immersion into the rich ecosystem of Sable Island and the life of Zoe Lucas, a naturalist and environmentalist who has lived over 40 years on this remote strip of land.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Jacquelyn Mills)

God Said Give 'Em Drum Machines

Music documentary that showcases the beginnings of techno music and how Detroit was the creative and cultural hub for the creation of one of the most celebrated genres in the world.

(Country: US, Japan, Russia, South Africa, UK; Year: 2022; Director: Kristian R Hill; Writer: Kristian R Hill, Jennifer Washington; Stars: Blake Baxter, Derrick May, Richie Hawtin, Eddie Fowlkes, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Santonio Echols, Mike Huckaby)

The Hamlet Syndrome (Syndrom Hamelta)

A group of young Ukrainian actors, each with psychological scars of the war in Donbas, are cast in an experimental theatrical production of Hamlet.

(Country: Poland, Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski)

Hello, Bookstore

Review preview for Hello, Bookstore

Told in an incidental, roundabout sort of way, a knitting together of assorted observations such as one might make whilst browsing, not yet certain what one wishes to buy.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
In the shadow of the pandemic, a small town rallies to protect a beloved local bookstore.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: AB Zax; Stars: Matthew Tannenbaum, Shawnee Tannenbaum, Sophie Tannenbaum)

Full review

Loving Highsmith

Review preview for Loving Highsmith

Vitija rarely gets distracted from her approach, and this is a strength – not easy to achieve with so much material to pull together.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary portrait of the enigmatic novelist.

(Country: Switzerland, Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Eva Vitija; Writer: Eva Vitija; Stars: Gwendoline Christie, Annina Butterworth)

Full review See: Eva Vitija in conversation on Loving Highsmith, Patricia Highsmith, and the film adaptations

Matter Out Of Place

A film about waste in remote areas and about people who are trying to clean up.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2022; Director: Nikolaus Geyrhalter)

Myanmar Diaries

The film diaries of young opposition activists in Myanmar use the cinema screen to communicate with the world in a different way than allowed TV news.

(Country: Netherlands, Myanmar, Norway; Year: 2022; Director: The Myanmar Film Collective; Writer: The Myanmar Film Collective)

My Imaginary Country (Mi País Imaginario)

Review preview for My Imaginary Country

Guzmán doesn’t need to hunt for symbolism as the protesters are often supplying their own.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Protests that exploded onto the streets of Chile's capital of Santiago in 2019 as the population demanded more democracy and social equality around education, healthcare and job opportunities.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2022; Director: Patricio Guzmán; Writer: Patricio Guzmán)

Full review

On the Divide

Brings us into the lives of three Latinx people in McAllen Texas, whose different beliefs end up coming to a head at the last abortion clinic in the US/Mexico border.

(Year: 2021; Director: Maya Cueva, Leah Galant; Writer: Maya Cueva, Leah Galant)

Rookies (Allons Enfants)

In the middle of Paris, young people are trained to become professional dancers and, at the same time, they are prepared for their A levels.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Thierry Demaizière, Alban Teurlai; Writer: Thierry Demaizière, Elsa Le Peutrec, Alban Teurlai; Stars: Charlotte Saudrais, Erwan Schamaneche, Michelle Kibebe, Nathanaël Marante, Ketsia Cheyna Obame)

Shove It: The Xero Slingsby Story

A larger-than-life character, Leeds saxophonist Matthew Coe AKA Xero Slingsby was an inspirational force in 1980s jazz with a fiery punk performance style. Shove It - the Xero Slingsby story celebrates his short but stellar life and career.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Robert Stanley Crampton)

The Star Wars Kid

As a 14-year-old boy, Ghyslain Raza’s world was turned upside down when he found himself at the centre of the first viral phenomenon of the digital age. 20 years after his schoolmates uploaded a video without his knowledge, the 'Star Wars Kid' breaks his silence in an attempt to make peace with his digital shadow.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Mathieu Fournier; Stars: Ghyslain Raza)