The very best international independent cinema. This wide-ranging strand covers many different subjects and styles, from small, intimate and thoughtful dramas to explosive action pieces. Many filmmakers whose work is appearing here will be hoping to get a big break by securing UK distribution, so if you like what you see, let us know and we'll pass the word on. Of course, not all of them will make it, so this may be your only chance to catch some little-known, brilliant work.
Life, Above All and Confessions
Balibo (The Balibo Conspiracy)
(Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Robert Connolly; Writer: Robert Connolly, David Williamson; Stars: Anthony LaPaglia, Oscar Isaac, Nathan Phillips, Gyton Grantley, Damon Gameau, Tom Wright, Paul Sonkkila, Mark Leonard Winter, Mark Winter),
Official Site
As Indonesia prepares to invade the tiny nation of East Timor, five Australian based journalists go missing, a month later a veteran correspondent follows them, determined to find out the truth.
Carancho
(Country: Argentina, Chile, France, South Korea; Year: 2010; Director: Pablo Trapero; Writer: Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre, Pablo Trapero; Stars: Ricardo Darín, Martina Gusman, Carlos Weber, José Luis Arias, Loren Acuña, Gabriel Almirón, José Manuel Espeche),
Official Site,
Trailer
An ambulance-chasing lawyer forms a relationship with a young doctor.
Cold Fish (Coldfish,Tsumetai nettaigyo)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Sion Sono; Writer: Sion Sono, Yoshiki Takahashi; Stars: Denden, Megumi Kagurazaka, Tetsu Watanabe, Asuka Kurosawa, Taro Suwa)
An innocent tropical fish salesman gets caught up in a series of murders in this violent and extremely gory thriller.
Confessions (Kokuhaku)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Tetsuya Nakashima; Writer: Tetsuya Nakashima, based on the book by Kanae Minato.; Stars: Takako Matsu, Masaki Okada, Yoshino Kimura)
A teacher who thinks two of her pupils are responsible for the death of her daughter takes revenge.
Confessions Of A Dog (Pochi No Kokuhaku)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2006; Director: Gen Takahashi; Writer: Gen Takahashi; Stars: Shun Sugata, Harumi Inoue, Jun'ichi Kawamoto)
Two police officers face difficult choices during an internal corruption investigation relating to the world of organised crime.
Poetry and How I Ended This Summer
Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (Di Renjie)
(Country: China, Hong Kong; Year: 2010; Director: Hark Tsui; Writer: Kuo-fu Chen, Jialu Zhang; Stars: Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Bingbing Li, Tony Leung Ka Fai)
When spontaneous combustion claims the lives of several members of her court, an empress calls on the brilliant and inventive Detective Dee to solve the mystery.
Incendies
(Country: Canada; Year: 2010; Director: Denis Villeneuve; Writer: Denis Villeneuve with the collaboration of Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne, based on a stage play by Wajdi Mouawad; Stars: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Allen Altman, Mohamed Majd, Nabil Sawalha, Baya Belal, Bader Alami, Karim Babin, Yousef Shweihat),
Official Site
A mother's past sends her twin children on a Middle Eastern odyssey.
Life, Above All (Chanda's Secret)
(Country: South Africa, Germany; Year: 2010; Director: Oliver Schmitz; Writer: Dennis Foon, based on the book Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton.; Stars: Khomotso Manyaka, Lerato Mvelase, Harriet Manamela)
A 12-year-old girl struggles to protect her family as her stepfather descends into alcoholism and her mother becomes increasingly ill, in a small town full of prejudice and hostility.
Of Love And Other Demons (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios)
(Country: Costa Rica, Colombia; Year: 2009; Director: Hilda Hidalgo; Writer: Hilda Hidalgo, based on the book by Gabriel García Márquez.; Stars: Pablo Derqui, Eliza Triana, Jordi Dauder)
An adolescent girl thought to be possessed after becoming infected with rabies is placed in the care of a priest who falls passionately in love with her.
The Piano In A Factory and Carancho
The Piano In A Factory
(Country: China; Year: 2010; Director: Zhang Meng, Jae-young Kwak; Writer: Zhang Meng; Stars: Wang Qian-Yuan, Hailu Qin, Shin-Yeong Jang)
When his daughter says she will live with whichever of her divorcing parents can give her a piano, a former steelworker enlists his old colleagues and workplace facilities to make one.
Poetry (Shi)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2010; Director: Lee Chang-dong; Writer: Lee Chang-dong; Stars: Yoon Jeong-hee, Ahn Nae-sang, Lee Da-wit, Kim Yong-taek)
A grandmother discovers poetry and begins to reassess the world around her.
A Screaming Man
(Country: France, Belgium, Chad; Year: 2010; Director: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun; Writer: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun; Stars: Youssouf Djaoro, Dioucounda Koma, Emile Abossolo M'bo, Hadje Fatime N'Goua, Marius Yelolo, Djénéba Koné, Heling Li, Rémadji Adèle Ngaradoumbaye, John Mbaiedoum, Sylvain Mbaikoubou, Abdou Boukar, Fatimé Nguenabaye, Gérard Ganda Mayoumbila, Mahamat Choukou, Tourgoudi Oumar)
A father betrays his son in war-torn Chad.
Viva Riva!
(Country: Democratic Republic Of The Congo; Year: 2010; Director: Djo Tunda Wa Munga; Writer: Djo Tunda Wa Munga; Stars: Patsha Bay, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Diplome Amekindra)
A Kinshasa hustler hatches a scheme to steal a lucrative stash of petrol, but his lust for the wife of a notorious crime boss might bring more trouble than he's prepared for.
