Directed by: Sofia Coppola
USA, 2017, 94 min

It’s 1864 and a wounded soldier of the enemy Union Army finds himself ensconced in a closed community of pupils and supervisors at a young ladies’ seminary somewhere in Virginia. During his convalescence, the compassion evinced by the women who receive and care for him begins to warp into jealousy and rivalry for his favor. The outstanding Nicole Kidman shines in this remake of the 1971 morality play.

Directed by: Jonas Carpignano
Italy, USA, France, Sweden, 2017, 120 min

Some movies are magical, and Jonas Carpignano’s A Ciambra is one of them. The movie screen disappears, and for two hours the viewer becomes part of Calabria’s effervescent Roma community, where 14-year-old Pio tries desperately to grow up and become the equal, for better or worse, of his older brother. Although his duel with the local underworld is mismatched, Pio is determined to become a man at any cost.

Directed by: Hong Sangsoo
South Korea, 2017, 92 min

Areum is looking forward to her first day of work at a small publishing house, unaware that she’s replacing the boss’s lover who recently left him. She is therefore caught off-guard when the boss’s wife causes a scene in the belief that Areum was to be the recipient of a love letter the wife found in her husband’s correspondence. A low-key black-and-white drama of love, separation, and jealousy.

Directed by: François Ozon
France, Belgium, 2017, 107 min

Beautiful but unhinged Chloé falls for her psychotherapist, but complications arise when the young woman discovers that her lover has concealed the existence of a twin brother. This psychological thriller from François Ozon, with its highly provocative references to films treating psychoanalytical issues, grabs our attention through its clever use of the duplication principle.

Directed by: Alicia Scherson, Cristián Jiménez
Chile, 2017, 81 min

Loner Martín has been given the simple task of housesitting for his successful cousin, who left with his family on a long trip abroad. But then the mysterious environment starts to work its magic and Martín finds himself creating his own virtual family. But isn’t his fabrication, in fact, more real than the fragile illusion of the family nest temporarily vacated by its residents?

Directed by: Sergio Castellitto
Italy, 2017, 103 min

Fortunata, a hairdresser from the outskirts of Rome and single mother devoted to her daughter, is determined to quit her arduous job traipsing round to the homes of her female clients so that she may fulfil her dream of opening up her own salon. An affecting melodrama awarded recently at this year’s Cannes festival.

Directed by: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
USA, 2017, 100 min

Independent filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie built their hard-edged, over-the-top crime drama on a base of brotherly love: feeling responsible, enterprising Connie tries to get his younger brother Nick out of jail. While co-director Benny Safdie plays Nick with gusto, Robert Pattinson pours charisma into the role of Connie.

Directed by: Michael Haneke
France, Germany, Austria, 2017, 107 min

In his new film screened in competition at Cannes, two-time Palme d’Or winner Michael Haneke returns to his regular focus on family, and even revisits two characters from his previous main screen offering Amour. While the earlier movie examines the bond between an elderly couple, viewers of Happy End observe the disintegration of a traditional middle-class family against the backdrop of the current refugee crisis.

Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell
United Kingdom, USA, 2017, 103 min

Punk devotee Enn would love to find a girl. And maybe he has after meeting the ethereal Zan (Elle Fanning), who considers punk to be “from another colony,” which isn’t the only indication that the pair hail from different planets... Based on the story of the same name by Neil Gaiman, John Cameron Mitchell’s intergalactic fusion of romcom and musical even sees Nicole Kidman passing as a rebel.

Directed by: Fatih Akin
Germany, France, 2017, 106 min

Fatih Akin’s new thriller tells the story of Katja, whose happy family life is torn apart by sudden tragedy. Desperate, in a world full of unjustified hatred, she suppresses all her inhibitions in order to achieve justice. Diane Kruger gives an outstanding performance, for which she took away the Best Actress award at the recent Cannes film festival.

Directed by: Kornél Mundruczó
Hungary, Germany, 2017, 123 min

Syrian refugee Aryan’s attempt to cross the Hungarian border becomes an ill-fated journey. He is shot several times by the police during the incident but no one could foresee the consequences. The young man gains the ability to levitate... While also pointing out the corruption of Hungarian society, Jupiter’s Moon provides a surreal, visually breathtaking gloss on the brutal reality of the current refugee crisis.

Directed by: Claire Denis
France, 2017, 94 min

Divorced artist Isabelle, played by the captivating Juliette Binoche, is determined to find the love of her life and, convinced that he exists, she has no intention of backing down. Four years on, Claire Denis returned to Cannes with a film that might have been described as a melodrama or romantic comedy if she hadn’t, of course, deftly overturned everything we could conceivably associate with these genres.

Directed by: Federica Di Giacomo
Italy, France, 2016, 90 min

Europe is not only a perfectly bureaucratized secular society – in the rush for a quick solution to the ills plaguing civilization, many return to the tradition of Catholic mysticism. This intriguing observational documentary demonstrates that exorcism isn’t merely a curiosity of the pop-culture canon but a service demanded by the masses.

Directed by: Emmanuel Gras
France, 2017, 96 min

Congo. A villager named Kabwita dreams of a better future for himself and his family. His greatest, his only hope is the strength of his arms and his indomitable will. This documentary-inflected movie, which pulls the viewer into the everyday life of a simple person, was awarded the main prize during Cannes’ Critics’ Week.

Directed by: Mohammad Rasoulof
Iran, 2017, 117 min

An archetypal story about the last honest man (charismatic thirtysomething Reza), who stands up to local corruption (a mob corporation in the remote northern Iranian countryside) even at the cost of endangering his own family. This original and engrossing drama by a respected Iranian filmmaker won the main prize in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes fest.

Directed by: Amir Naderi
Italy, USA, France, 2016, 95 min

An irrepressible villager decides to defeat a massive mountain in order to allow life into his inhospitable valley and to fight against a merciless fate. Monumentally told, this myth of the medieval Alps summons today’s life warriors through the immediate and highly visual energy of the Iranian globetrotter’s cinematic imagery.

Directed by: Léonor Serraille
France, 2017, 97 min

Thirty-something Paula has been dumped by her boyfriend after ten years together. Refusing to accept the role of the passive victim, the embittered woman suddenly finds herself on the street. Her odyssey through Paris to recapture her independence and composure – a journey filled with bizarre encounters – is just beginning. An enchanting drama with comedic touches, the film received the Caméra d’Or at this year’s Cannes festival.

Directed by: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Gross
Germany, Georgia, France, 2016, 119 min

Three generations squeezed into one flat in Tbilisi. On her 52nd birthday Manana decides to up sticks in order to go and live somewhere quiet by herself; in the conservative minds of her family and friends, this is unthinkable. This realistic study of traditional Georgian values provides perfect fodder for a wealth of caustically comic situations.

Directed by: Tarik Saleh
Sweden, Germany, Denmark, 2016, 109 min

While investigating the murder of a beautiful singer, Detective Naredin becomes enmeshed in a game played out at the highest levels of Egyptian politics. Neither old nor new alliances can be trusted, and as the 2011 revolution approaches, Cairo is becoming more and more dangerous. The movie, which betrays a predilection for the noir tradition, won at Sundance.

Directed by: Aki Kaurismäki
Finland, Germany, 2017, 98 min

A forlorn Syrian refugee and a morose door-to-door shirt salesman form a rather odd couple, but their interaction sends a melancholy yet optimistic message about the strength of solidarity. And fans of the distinctive Finnish director won’t be disappointed: there’ll be plenty of laconic humor, subtly humorous gags, and his inimitable set design.

Directed by: Hana Jušić
Croatia, Denmark, 2016, 105 min

After her despotic father has a stroke Marijana suddenly finds herself head of the family. Her new status gives her the opportunity to taste the kind of freedom she has never known before. But with it comes a burden of a different kind that is surprisingly more difficult to bear. Drawing on the distinctive atmosphere of the Balkans, this social drama about the inner strength of an initially submissive woman was awarded at the Venice IFF.

Directed by: Lone Scherfig
United Kingdom, 2016, 117 min

While Britain is being heavily bombed, women have to take up roles normally assigned exclusively to men. Thanks to her refined sense of dialogue, Catrin is given the task of working on a screenplay for a film which requires authenticity and optimism to raise the spirits of British women contributing to the war effort. A star-studded, period romance about filmmakers and the desire to inspire.

Directed by: Amat Escalante
Mexico, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, 2016, 100 min

Working mother Alejandra lives an unsatisfied life with her two sons and brutish husband Angel. She receives support from her brother Fabian, but he, like her husband, holds onto a secret. The arrival of mysterious Veronica turns the siblings’ lives inside out and uncovers the desires their limited existence prevented them from exploring till now.

Directed by: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi
Austria, Germany, 2017, 107 min

Michael Glawogger never returned from a planned trip around the world, and the material he shot had to be completed by his editor Monika Willi. The result is a visually powerful work that uses images of waste, decay, and death to show the all-pervading energy of life. The picture is accompanied by Glawogger’s poetic commentary.

Directed by: Valeska Grisebach
Germany, Bulgaria, Austria, 2017, 119 min

This year at Cannes, the producers of the hit Toni Erdmann introduced the long-awaited third film by renowned German director Valeska Grisebach. Her picture unfolds in the Bulgarian-Greek border region in a community of German construction workers, foreigners in a no man’s land whose conflicts with the local community, according to the rules of the genre, seem to be inevitable – the movie is titled Western after all.

Directed by: Nick Broomfield, Rudi Dolezal
USA, United Kingdom, 2017, 105 min

This comprehensive biographical documentary details the meteoric rise and dramatic fall of Whitney Houston via numerous testimonies from people in the pop icon’s close circle and also through a series of previously unpublished video recordings.

Directed by: Stéphane Brizé
France, Belgium, 2016, 119 min

Normandy 1819. Educated in a convent, young adult Jeanne is happy to marry a country nobleman, but when things go south she is unable to properly respond to his brutality and infidelity. Her disenchantment gradually transforms into the loss of illusion, but even as she grows older Jeanne fails to learn to fight. Stéphane Brizé’s excellent adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant novel competed last year at Venice, winning a FIPRESCI Prize.