The story of a director, devoid of inspiration and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, trying to satisfy the anticipation surrounding his next project. Surreal, serio-comic mildly autobiographical and widely acclaimed as one of the great films about movie-making. Fellini's masterpiece. find out more...

Perhaps the most influential period in cinema history was the Italian neo-realism period of the late 40s and director Vittorio De Sica was one of the prime reasons for this important period of film-making. "The Bicycle Thieves" is a film about a poor man whose only means for a job is his bicycle, which gets stolen. The film follows him and his young boy throughout war-ravaged Rome in search of the stolen bike. The trip involves some of the most brilliant vignettes in film history; the church, th find out more...

The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice recreated in Rio de Janeiro with an all black cast. Orpheus (a tram conductor!) is pursued by Death as he and his beloved Eurydice weave through the carnival madness of Rio in full swing. Amazing energy and colour with superb direction. find out more...

During the German Occupation a young trainee railway guard at a remote country station desperately tries to lose his virginity. He finally succeeds with the station master's wife. Satiric, anti-heroic, humorous and balanced tragi-comedy. Generally considered the finest Czech new wave film. 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...

Life as a circus is the theme of Fellini's tragi-comic road movie. Gelsomina, a naive simpleton, is sold to strongman Zampano, whose brutish behaviour becomes increasingly evident as they tour through the desolation that is post-war Italy. Despite the pessimism of much of the story, Fellini has already moved far from his roots in neo-realism and symbols, metaphors and larger-than-life performances hold sway, and moments of bizarre if inconsequential charm abound. Sad, sentimental and simply stun find out more...

Winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar back in 1957, this early Fellini drama also bagged a Best Actress award at Cannes for Giulietta Masina, and was the inspiration for the hit musical "Sweet Charity". Cabiria (Masina) is the archetypal tart with a heart, a street prostitute who never loses her smile or her faith in human nature, despite being rejected and ripped off by the various men in her life. Digitally remastered from a newly restored print which contains a seven-minute scene not seen sin find out more...

Set in medieval Kyoto, this is an engrossing tale of rape and murder in which contradictory accounts of events are later related from the perspectives of four of those involved. A film which awakened the West to the richness of Japanese cinema. find out more...

An atmospheric medieval allegory for which Bergman won his first Oscar and International Critics Prize at Cannes. On her way to church, a 15-year-old peasant girl is raped and murdered by two goatherds. Later, in a bizarre twist of fate, the culprits ask for food and shelter at the house of the dead girl's parents. Discovering the truth, when the goatherds offer to sell them their dead daughter's bloodstained clothes, the parents exact a brutal revenge. The formal simplicity and overt symbolism, find out more...

"Josephine Decker has created a new style of thriller that employs allegory, incorporates touches of David Lynch as well as Magritte -esque imagery. Decker's setting of a remote farm feels like a metaphor for what turns out to be hell. The raw and emotional (and yes, sometimes funny) dialog tells a story that can seem familiar at points but really is meant to keep you guessing and off balance. I really enjoyed how the undertones of this film came to life through her very deft contrast of the find out more...