Dungeons and Dragons: from RPG to big screen
In 1974 the heroic fantasy role-playing game began its journey, evolving from a tabletop pastime into a television series in Spain during the 1980s, and now into a feature film. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein direct a story led by Chris Pine. A crafty thief leads an audacious heist to recover a forgotten relic, but missteps pull the crew into a perilous catch. The result is a blend of humor, daring action, and adventurous spectacle.
Empire of Light: Sam Mendes’s new drama
Sam Mendes, renowned for American Beauty and 1917, returns with a luminous drama set in a British seaside town in the early 1980s. Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, and Toby Jones star in a film about human connection and the magic of cinema. The narrative follows a director grappling with mental health and a cinema worker navigating life on the coast, weaving themes of memory, film history, and personal resilience.
Vicious Bear: Elizabeth Banks directs a wild comedy
Elizabeth Banks, building on her acting career with a provocative humor, directs a true-events inspired comedy about a 1985 plane crash that ends with a drug dealer losing cargo to a black bear. The ensemble includes Keri Russell, known for her role in The Americans, and Ray Liotta, reminding audiences of his late-career appearances. The film mixes outrageous premise with sharp performances and zany mishaps.
Villaronga’s latest: Loli Tormenta
Following the passing of Agusti Villaronga, the director behind Pa negre and Uncertain Glory premieres his final work Loli Tormenta. The cast features Susi Sánchez, a Goya Award recipient, portraying Lola, a modern grandmother who faces life’s upheavals while caring for her grandchildren. The story treats Alzheimer’s with humor and honesty as the children attempt to shield Lola from the truth to keep the family intact.
Milena Smit and Jaime Lorente in a tense religious thriller
Milena Smit and Jaime Lorente lead Rubinstein, a religious thriller with echoes of terror inspired by the short film of the same name. The plot follows Lola, who loses her unborn babies and her faith, as she and her husband Adolfo encounter Tin and Tina, two seemingly angelic sisters, and a troubling dynamic unfolds, prompting a desperate moral reckoning.
Maya Hansen-Løve presents It’s a Beautiful Morning
Maya Hansen-Løve, already a prominent voice in French auteur cinema, frames a meditation on loss and vitality in her eighth feature It’s a Beautiful Morning, with Leah Seydoux in a central role. The film traces a mother-daughter arc and a rekindled romance as the protagonist reconnects with an old friend in a life-affirming, bittersweet narrative style.
El Punishment: a Chilean drama on motherhood and guilt
Chile’s Matias Us, recognized as Best Director at the Malaga Festival, presents Antonia Zegers in a real-time drama about confession and consequences. The story unfolds in close proximity to its characters, running at eighty minutes and delving into a mother’s remorse and the weight of responsibility as a family confronts a painful past.
A French comedy about prejudice in a rural world
The film follows David, a young French farmer who opens a cabaret to save his farm from ruin. Skeptical relatives, especially his grandfather, add tension as the tale navigates community doubt and resilience. The director Jean-Pierre Ameris crafts a story that resonated across France, drawing audiences with its mix of humor and rural stakes.
Oink: a little pig’s big adventures
An animated journey based on a children’s book, Oink earned praise at European festivals for its playful humor and warm message. The plot centers on a nine-year-old girl who receives a pig from her grandfather and persuades her parents to keep it, sparking a series of heartwarming and chaotic events that change the family dynamic.
Paula: a candid look at anorexia
Florence Wehbe’s second feature, Paula, offers an intimate portrait of a fourteen-year-old facing anorexia. The film won a special jury prize at a regional festival, balancing vulnerability with courage as it maps a difficult personal journey and the support surrounding it.
Violator Joao Pedro Rodrigues returns with Fogo fatuo
Joao Pedro Rodrigues unveils Fogo fatuo, his latest feature. Shown at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, the film blends fantasy, music, and a futuristic setting as a Portuguese monarch reflects on his past during a dying moment, creating a provocative and imaginative piece.
My Way Out: stories from the trans community
Izaskun Arandia, a producer and screenwriter, directs a candid documentary portrait of vicky lee and the London trans community. The WayOut, a renowned venue, frames nearly three decades of lives and experiences through interviews and archival material, offering a powerful, personal chronicle.
Fresh human flowers: a meditative voyage
Directed by Helena Wittman, Fresh human flowers is a German meditation on life at sea. The film invites viewers into a contemplative space through visuals and sound, creating a near-ritual experience that lingers beyond the screen.
Tetris: the Apple TV+ success story
Tarib Egerton portrays Henk Rogers, the entrepreneur who secured Tetris for Nintendo in 1989. This Cold War thriller unfolds with treacherous villains, unexpected heroes, and a race against time, delivering a high-stakes chronicle shown on Apple TV+ with crisp, cinematic pacing. (Source attribution: film program notes and festival press)