MAX RICHTER

MAX RICHTER'S SLEEP (2021)
Starring Max Richter and Yulia Mahr. Directed by Natalie Johns.

The film follows acclaimed composer and musician Max Richter and his creative partner, artist and BAFTA winning filmmaker Yulia Mahr, as they navigate an ambitious performance of his celebrated 8-hour opus Sleepat an open-air concert in Los Angeles. Emmy-nominated director Natalie Johns weaves in Mahr’s personal archive and performance footage from Berlin, Sydney, and Paris to create a rich portrait of a shared artistic process, along with contributions that illuminate both the science and story behind the work.

NEVER LOOK AWAY (2019)
Starring Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl, Oliver Masucci, Lars Eidinger, Florian Bartholomäi, Hanno Koffler, Rainer Bock and Ulrike C. Tscharre. Directed by Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck.

A young art student, Kurt, falls in love with fellow student, Ellie. Ellie's father, Professor Seeband, a famous doctor, is dismayed at his daughter's choice of boyfriend, and vows to destroy the relationship. What neither of them knows is that their lives are already connected through a terrible crime Seeband committed decades ago...

REVIEWS Never Look Away - An artistic and spiritual epic

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2019)
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Joe Alwyn, Maria Dragus, Martin Compston, Jack Lowden, Guy Pearce, David Tennant, Brendan Coyle and Gemma Chan. Directed by Josie Rourke.

Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth 1. Each young Queen beholds her “sister” in fear and fascination. Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth’s sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones – and change the course of history.

REVIEWS Mary Queen of Scots - Shallow regal intrigue

MISS SLOANE (2017)
Starring Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alison Pill, Jake Lacy, John Lithgow and Sam Waterston. Directed by John Madden.

A brilliant and ruthless lobbyist is notorious for her unparalleled talent and her desire to win at all costs, even when it puts her own career at risk.

REVIEWS Miss Sloane - So much more than a political drama

MORGAN (2016)
Starring Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Giamatti. Directed by Luke Scott.

A corporate troubleshooter is sent to a remote, top-secret location, where she is to investigate and evaluate a terrifying accident. She learns the event was triggered by a seemingly innocent human, who presents a mystery of both infinite promise and incalculable danger.

REVIEWS Morgan - Clever sci-fi that suffers by comparison
Morgan - An AI thriller that offers much of the same

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH (2015)
Starring Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Taron Egerton, Colin Morgan, Dominic West, Emily Watson, Hayley Atwell, Anna Chancellor, Miranda Richardson and Joanna Scanlan. Directed by James Kent.

A powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.

REVIEWS Testament of Youth - A eulogy to innocence
Testament of Youth - Love in a time of war

THE CONGRESS (2014)
Starring Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Jon Hamm, Kodi Smitt-McPhee, Sami Gayle and Paul Giamatti. Directed by Ari Folman.

More than two decades after catapulting to stardom with The Princess Bride, an ageing actress (Robin Wright, playing a version of herself) decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a future Hollywood. A Hollywood studio will control her captured ‘image’, and she will star in any film they want with no restrictions. In return, she receives healthy compensation so she can care for her ailing son and her digitised character will stay forever young. 20 years later, under the creative vision of the studio’s head animator (Jon Hamm, Mad Men), Wright’s digital double rises to immortal stardom. With her contract expiring, she is invited to take part in ‘The Congress’ convention as she makes her comeback straight into the world of future fantasy cinema.

REVIEWS The Congress - Robin Wright through the looking-glass

THE GREEN PRINCE (2014)
Starring Mosab Hassan Yousef, Gonen Ben Yitzhak and Sheikh Hassan Yousef. Directed by Nadav Schirman.

This real life thriller tells the story of one of Israel’s prized intelligence sources, the son of a top Hamas leader. Under the code name “The Green Prince,” he is recruited to spy on his own people for over a decade. Focusing on his complex relationship with his handler, this is a gripping account of terror, betrayal, and impossible choices - and of a friendship that defies all boundaries.

REVIEWS The Green Prince - Deception in the highest

WADJDA (2014)
Starring Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman Al Gohani, Ahd and Sultan Al Assaf. Directed by Haifaa Al Mansour.

Wadjda is a 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Although she lives in a conservative world, Wadjda is fun loving, entrepreneurial and rebellious. She’s determined to fight for her dreams, which include saving enough money to buy a bicycle, so she can race her friend Abdullah. Wadjda lives at home with her parents, who are loving if a little distracted. Her father isn’t around much, and her mother is convinced he’s busy looking for a second wife. The story is tailored to highlight the pressures and difficulties faced by women in Saudi Arabia, with a rare glimpse into the lives of women behind closed doors and the warm relationships between mothers and daughters.

REVIEWS Wadjda - Pushing boundaries

THE LEFTOVERS
Starring Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Carrie Coon, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Ann Dowd, Margaret Qualley, Chris Zylka, Regina King and Kevin Carroll. Directed by Mimi Leder, Peter Berg, Carl Franklin and Keith Gordon.

Three years after the simultaneous disappearance of 2% of the global population, a group of people from Mapleton, New York struggle to continue their lives while they cope with loss and the tragedy of the unexplained nature of the event.

REVIEWS The Leftovers - Television's most exquisite tragedy