Jakob, a young man who enters a school, run by brother and sister Herr and Lisa Benjamenta, which trains servants. The teachers emphasize to the students that they are unimportant people. Jakob finds the school to be an oppressive environment, and does not enjoy the lessons in subservience that he receives. He proceeds to challenge the Benjamentas and attempts to shift the find out more...

Set in Orange County, California, in an age where America has lost its ‘war on drugs', a reluctant undercover cop is ordered to start spying on his friends, the consequence of which is a paranoid journey into the absurd, where identities and loyalties are impossible to decode and even your own motives become unclear. Scanner Darkly is a cautionary tale of drug use based on the novel by Philip K Dick and born of his own experiences. Like a graphic novel come to life, the film uses live action pho find out more...

2019. The Earth is on the brink of destruction, Tokyo shimmers with post-punk fetishism, gangs of cyberpunk bikers and rioting crowds are on the streets of the post-atomic city. The scene is set for comic-book ultra-violence in this remarkable animated nightmare of hyper-reality. find out more...

A brilliant reworking of Alice in Wonderland by surrealist Czech filmaker Jan Svankmajer. Alice, the only human in the film, falls into a terrifying Wonderland populated by animated puppets and full of truily bizarre visuals; she changes size, becomes her own doll, when the White Rabbit loses his stuffing he simply secures his gaping chest with a safety-pin and eats the sawdust, eggs crack to reveal skulls, rolls sprout nails, steaks crawl..... but the very best scene is definitely the tea party find out more...

I can’t stop thinking about Anomalisa. It isn’t the best or even the most entertaining film I’ve seen this year, but it’s stuck with me. Every fourth or fifth day since seeing it, when I’ve forgotten to busy my mind, allowing reflection and existential dread to set in, I think about it and another crisis of self and Other presents itself, and strikes a chord. Returning to Anomalisa in this piecemeal way – via the abstraction of my find out more...

It becomes apparent early on when viewing Belladonna of Sadness that this film is quite unique. Certainly the first, and possibly the only animated film that might be classified in the pinku genre. But even though the film is supposedly animated, nothing seems to be moving at first. You instead see a series of elegantly designed still drawings depicting a harmonious wedding find out more...

Hiro is a something of a tech kid prodigy but, having just showcased the merits of micro bots, finds someone else has decided to use them for evil. With the help of an unlikely big white health robot called Baymax and a bunch of enjoyably quirky sidekicks, Hiro takes on the forces of evil in an effort to save the day. A fun film with some good gags, great robots and swell animation.

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Award wining documentary ‘Song of Ceylon’, is a lyrical beauty, but owes its enduring charm to its anachronistic notions of Empire and Englishness. ‘Bread’ is a slice of realism that looks at hunger in Britain. ‘Beyond This Open Road’ shows the urban populace journeying into the countryside during their weekends away from work; the imagery and utopian aesthetic are reminiscent of the work of Leni Riefenstahl. ‘Coal Face’ is an experiment in realism that focuses on the importance of coal mini find out more...

The 16 films include Gus Van Sant's 1982 adaptation of a William S. Burroughs short story, The Discipline of DE; Tim Burton's early stop motion animated classic Vincent; George Lucas' USC short Freiheit; Alexander Payne's previously unreleased UCLA graduation short Carmen; D.A. Pennebaker's Duke Ellington scored Daybreak Express; Todd Solondz' NYU short Feelings; along with Oscar winner The Lunch Date by Adam Davidson, Stefan Nadelman's multi-award winning documentary Terminal Bar, Joe Nussbaum' find out more...

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal is to take find out more...