La La Land and Snowden
Arrival
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Denis Villeneuve; Writer: Eric Heisserer, based on the short story by Ted Chiang; Stars: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Nathaly Thibault, Mark O'Brien, Tzi Ma, Leisa Reid, Abigail Pniowsky, Julia Scarlett Dan, Ruth Chiang, Frank Fiola, Julian Casey, Russell Yuen, Max Walker)
A linguist is given the task of helping to communicate with extra-terrestrial beings when they touch down around the globe.
The Birth Of A Nation
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Nate Parker; Writer: Jean McGianni Celestin, Nate Parker; Stars: Armie Hammer, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union, Aja Naomi King, Penelope Ann Miller, Aunjanue Ellis, Mark Boone Junior, Nate Parker, Colman Domingo, Roger Guenveur Smith, Griffin Freeman, Jeryl Prescott, Steve Coulter, Katie Garfield, Cullen Moss)
The story of Nat Turner's slave uprising.
Free Fire
(Country: France, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Ben Wheatley; Writer: Amy Jump, Ben Wheatley; Stars: Enzo Cilenti, Sam Riley, Michael Smiley, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Babou Ceesay, Noah Taylor, Jack Reynor, Mark Monero, Patrick Bergin, Sara Dee, Tom Davis)
A meeting between two gangs in a deserted warehouse turns into a shootout.
Closing gala
La La Land
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Damien Chazelle; Writer: Damien Chazelle; Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Amiée Conn, Terry Walters, Thom Shelton, Cinda Adams, Callie Hernandez, Jessica Rothe, Sonoya Mizuno, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons, Claudine Claudio, Jason Fuchs, D.A. Wallach, Trevor Lissauer)
A jazz pianist falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.
Lion (A Long Way Home, A Longa Viagem Para Casa)
(Country: UK, Australia, US; Year: 2016; Director: Garth Davis; Writer: Luke Davies, based on the book by Saroo Brierley; Stars: Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Abhishek Bharate, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Priyanka Bose, Deepti Naval, Divian Ladwa, Sachin Joab)
An Indian man who was adopted by an Australian couple as a boy heads off to find his real family.
Manchester By The Sea and A United Kingdom
Manchester By The Sea
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Kenneth Lonergan; Writer: Kenneth Lonergan; Stars: Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Casey Affleck, Gretchen Mol, Kara Hayward, Tate Donovan, Heather Burns, Erica McDermott, Lucas Hedges, Susan Pourfar, Chaunty Spillane, Stephanie Ann Saunders, Missy Yager, Ruibo Qian, Danae Nason)
A man returns to his hometown following the death of his brother.
A Monster Calls
(Country: US, Spain; Year: 2016; Director: Juan Antonio Bayona; Writer: Patrick Ness; Stars: Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson, Toby Kebbell, Sigourney Weaver, Geraldine Chaplin, Lewis MacDougall, Jennifer Lim, Frida Palsson, Lily-Rose Aslandogdu, James Melville, Ben Moor, Lee Bolton, Joe Curtis, Garry Marriott, Max Gabbay)
A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mum's terminal illness.
Nocturnal Animals
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Tom Ford; Writer: Tom Ford, based nn the novel by Austin Wright; Stars: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber, Armie Hammer, Karl Glusman, Robert Aramayo, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Sheen, India Menuez, Imogen Waterhouse, Franco Vega)
A woman is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, which she interprets as a veiled threat.
Queen Of Katwe
(Country: US, South Africa; Year: 2016; Director: Mira Nair; Writer: William Wheeler, Tim Crothers; Stars: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza, Taryn Kyaze, Ivan Jacobo, Nicolas Levesque, Ronald Ssemaganda, Ethan Nazario Lubega, Nikita Waligwa, Edgar Kanyike, Esther Tebandeke, Hope Katende, Philip Luswata, Peter Odeke)
True story of a Ugandan girl who became a chess champ.
Snowden
(Country: US, Germany, France; Year: 2016; Director: Oliver Stone; Writer: Kieran Fitzgerald, Oliver Stone; Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Rhys Ifans, Zachary Quinto, Nicolas Cage, Timothy Olyphant, Logan Marshall-Green, Joely Richardson, Keith Stanfield, Melissa Leo, Ben Schnetzer, Tom Wilkinson, Parker Sawyers, Christy Meyer)
Biopic of the whistleblower.
Nocturnal Animals and Free Fire
Their Finest
(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Lone Scherfig; Writer: Gaby Chiappe, based on the novel by Lissa Evans; Stars: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston, Paul Ritter, Rachael Stirling, Richard E Grant, Henry Goodman, Jake Lacy, Jeremy Irons, Eddie Marsan, Helen McCrory, Hubert Burton, Claudia Jessie, Stephanie Hyam)
A British film crew in the Second World War makes a propaganda film.
A United Kingdom
(Country: US, UK, Czech Republic; Year: 2016; Director: Amma Asante; Writer: Guy Hibbert; Stars: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael, Charlotte Hope, Jack Lowden, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jessica Oyelowo, Arnold Oceng, Anastasia Hille, Merveille Lukeba, James Northcote, Solomon Taiwo Justified, Atul Sharma)
Enduring love story of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana) and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948.
Opening gala