Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
USA, 2016, 116 min

When several giant ships of unknown origin appear at over a dozen locations on Earth, top teams of scientists set out to study them. The American team is headed by physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), who join forces in order to show that the extraterrestrial visitors are a threat to mankind only if we fail to communicate with them. One of the most original science fiction movies of recent years, Arrival cemented director Denis Villeneuve’s position as one the most closely watched directors working today.

Directed by: Michael Showalter
USA, 2017, 119 min

Kumail’s parents would rather see their son as a lawyer married to one of the Pakistani girls they keep trying to fix him up with. But Kumail drives a taxi, performs stand-up at a small club in Chicago, and is dating a young American woman called Emily. The question of whether to honour tradition or listen to his heart seriously complicates his life.

Directed by: David Lowery
USA, 2016, 93 min

Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara star in a unique film meditation on love, coping with the loss of a loved one, and an ethereal denizen of the house who ranges across the centuries. The most original movie at this year’s Sundance festival comes from the creators of the lyrical crime romance Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (KVIFF 2013).

Directed by: Andy Fehu
Czech Republic, 2017, 117 min

Ondřej owes half a million crowns, and a three-month stint in an illegal underground cannabis growroom is the only way he’ll be able to pay back the money. All the same, he’s unaware that his sense of claustrophobia is going to be the least of his on-the-job problems. This first Czech internet thriller arouses feelings of both disgust and pleasure in viewers confronted with a vulgar and slimy world.

Directed by: Derik Murray, Adrian Buitenhuis
Canada, 2017, 91 min

The charismatic actor appearing in the iconic role of the Joker left us before he was able to completely fulfil his creative potential. Nine years after the star’s tragic death comes a documentary portrait which doesn’t merely focus on Ledger, it also conveys his perception of the world through his own personal archives.

Directed by: Václav Vorlíček
Czechoslovakia, 1966, 81 min

Superheroes from Kája Saudek’s comic-book illustrations come to life in a comedy that still charms audiences fifty years after it first hit the big screen, not only for its bizarre theme, but also for the remarkable ideas coming from the director’s chair. Quips aimed at state bureaucracy and bovine-brained policemen never entirely lose their currency; moreover, the film can also be taken as an original critique of scientific arrogance.

Directed by: Taylor Sheridan
USA, 2016, 111 min

Game tracker Cory Lambert is out in the desolate snowy tundra of Wyoming when he discovers the body of a Native American woman. The investigation is led by newly qualified FBI agent Jane Banner, who asks Cory to help her get to the bottom of the mysterious death… A masterful directorial debut from successful screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Sicario and Hell or High Water), in which Jeremy Renner in the role of Cory gives one of the most complex performances in recent times.