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New Directors/New Films · 2025

New Directors/New Films 2025

Full line-up

Programme

14 films · 8 reviews

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The Assistant (Czlowiek do wszystkiego)

Review preview for The Assistant

Like a palimpsest, layers of history shine through the sunlight on the garden and lurk in the shadows of the parlour.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
An engineer and inventor's live-in assistant finds himself trapped in a world that doesn't know what to do with him.

(Country: Poland, UK; Year: 2025; Director: Anna Sasnal, Wilhelm Sasnal; Writer: Wilhelm Sasnal; Stars: Andrzej Konopka, Piotr Trojan, Agnieszka Zulewska, Roman Gancarczyk, Michał Majnicz, Suzanne Lasota, Aleksandra Nowosadko, Ewa Kolasińska, Anka Sasnal)

Full review

Blue Sun Palace

A sudden loss catalyses an unlikely bond between two migrants in the Chinese community of Queens. Navigating lives far from home and the painstaking labor that supports them, they journey through grief together in hopes of finding family.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Constance Tsang; Writer: Constance Tsang; Stars: Ke-Xi Wu, Kang-sheng Lee, Haipeng Xu)

Drowning Dry (Seses)

Review preview for Drowning Dry

By withholding information from us, Bareisa puts us in a similar headspace to the main characters.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Two familes try to cope with trauma after a weekend getaway turns sour.

(Country: Lithuania, Latvia; Year: 2024; Director: Laurynas Bareisa; Writer: Laurynas Bareisa; Stars: Gelmine Glemzaite, Karolis Kasperavicius, Paulius Markevicius, Giedrius Kiela, Agne Kaktaite)

Full review See: Laurynas Bareisa on relationship dynamics in award-winning drama Drowning Dry

Familiar Touch

Review preview for Familiar Touch

The writer/director also zeroes in on the importance of physical contact for Ruth - something concrete in a world that is now full of things that she can’t always grasp.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Follows an octogenarian woman’s transition to life in assisted living as she contends with her conflicting relationship to herself and her caregivers amidst her shifting memory, age identity, and desires.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Sarah Friedland; Writer: Sarah Friedland; Stars: Kathleen Chalfant, Andy McQueen, Carolyn Michelle, H Jon Benjamin, Katelyn Nacon, Alison Martin, London Garcia, Joahn Webb, Sandy Velasco)

Full review

Opening night

Holy Electricity

Review preview for Holy Electricity

Despite its tendency to lose sight of a unifying thread, Holy Electricity picks up a musical cadence, guiding the viewer through a series of moments that shine with a disarming honesty.

Sergiu Inizian · 3 out of 5
When young Gonga and his uncle Bart stumble upon a case of rusty crosses in a scrapyard, they repurpose them into neon crucifixes and start selling them in their neighbourhood.

(Country: Georgia, Netherlands; Year: 2024; Director: Tato Kotetishvili; Writer: Tato Kotetishvili; Stars: Nika Gongadze, Nikolo Ghviniashvili, Angela Delisenko, Ineza Tsomaia)

Full review

Invention

Review preview for Invention

A proper little indie with a lot of heart and inspiration

Marko Stojiljkovic · 4 out of 5
In the aftermath of a conspiracy-minded father’s unexpected death, his daughter receives his patent for an experimental healing device.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Courtney Stephens; Writer: Callie Hernandez, Courtney Stephens; Stars: Callie Hernandez, James N. Kienitz Wilkins, Lucy Kaminsky, Sahm McGlynn, Joe Swanberg, Tony Torn, Caveh Zahedi)

Full review

Kyuka Before Summer's End

Review preview for Kyuka Before Summer's End

Between fragments of formal experimentation, the relationship between the two siblings and their father's struggle with melancholia deliver a muddled but tender summer chronicle.

Sergiu Inizian · 3 out of 5
A dad and his twin kids go on a boat holiday filled with unexpected encounters.

(Country: Greece; Year: 2024; Director: Kostis Charamountanis; Writer: Kostis Charamountanis; Stars: Simeon Tsakiris, Konstantinos Georgakopoulos, Elsa Lekakou, Elena Topalidou, Stathis Apostolou)

Full review

Lurker

Review preview for Lurker

In line with his economic storytelling, Russell has a gift for conveying little details through subtle performance notes where other filmmakers might telegraph intent.

Jeremy Mathews · 4.5 out of 5
A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Alex Russell; Writer: Alex Russell; Stars: Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Archie Madekwe, Daniel Zolghadri, Théodore Pellerin, Mikaela Poon, Rene Leech, Hannah Christine Shetler, Willa Jane Shaw, Zack Fox)

Full review

Mad Bills To Pay (or Destiny, Dile Que No Soy Malo)

Rico’s summer is a mix of chasing girls and hustling homemade cocktails out of a cooler on Orchard Beach, the Bronx. But when Destiny, his teenage girlfriend, crashes at his place with his family, it’s only a matter of time before his carefree days come spiraling down.

(Country: US, UK; Year: 2025; Director: Joel Alfonso Vargas; Writer: Joel Alfonso Vargas; Stars: Juan Collado, Destiny Checo, Yohanna Florentino, Nathaly Navarro)

Sad Jokes

When his co-parent is hospitalised due to severe depression, a filmmaker reeling from a recent break-up is forced to step up.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Fabian Stumm; Writer: Fabian Stumm; Stars: Fabian Stumm, Haley Louise Jones, Ulrica Flach, Jonas Dassler, Godehard Giese, Marie-Lou Sellem, Anne Haug, Knut Berger)

Timestamp (Strichka Chasu)

Despite the war, school life continues in Ukraine, with pupils and teachers striving to carry on learning even under constant threat. The film is a mosaic of the everyday lives of teachers and students from different corners of Ukraine.

(Country: France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ukraine; Year: 2025; Director: Kateryna Gornostai; Writer: Kateryna Gornostai; Stars: Olha Bryhynets, Borys Khovriak, Mykola Kolomiiets, Valeriia Hukova, Yelyzaveta Loza, Svitlana Popova, Mykola Shpak)

Two Times João Liberada (Duas vezes João Liberada)

João stars in a biopic about the gender-nonconforming Liberada, who was persecuted by the Inquisition. When the film’s director is struck down by a mysterious paralysis, João navigates the chaos, determined to honour Liberada’s story and finish the film.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2025; Director: Paula Tomás Marques; Writer: João Abreu, Paula Tomás Marques; Stars: João Abreu, André Tecedeiro, Jenny Larrue, Caio Amado Soares, Eloísa d'Ancensão, Tiago Aires Lêdo)

The Village Next To Paradise

In a windy Somali village, a newly assembled family must navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them.

(Country: France, Austria; Year: 2024; Director: Mo Harawe; Writer: Mo Harawe; Stars: Axmen Cali Faarax, Canab Axmed Ibraahin, Ahmed Mohamoud Salleban)

The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake

Review preview for The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake

The heat of summer pulses beneath the action and we can virtually smell the sweat and decay as the sound of flies or a gathering storm punctuate the soundtrack.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention.

(Country: Argentina, Spain, Mexico; Year: 2025; Director: Laura Casabe; Writer: Benjamín Naishtat; Stars: Fernanda Echevarría, Dady Brieva, Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, Agustín Sosa)

Full review See: Director Laura Casabé on bringing The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake to the screen