In the shared courtyard of a house in Mali's capital, two interlocking trials take place, one describes the disintegration of a couple's marriage, the other the inept and deceitful policies of the World Bank and the IMF; but as pleas for common sense and decency swirl through the building, the simple necessity of life continues to dominate the communal courtyard. Both a beautifully observed drama and a keenly knowing satire, Bamako is an eminently watchable piece of modern African cinema. find out more...

In 2002 three skinheads beat a young gay man, Francois Chenu, unconscious and threw his body into a lake, where he drowned. The killers were quickly caught and the case gained both national and international notoriety. This documentary deals with the ordeal of Francois' family, their horror, anger, grief and, ultimately, forgiveness. Beyond Hatred is a powerful, moving and thought provoking tale, though like the recent Parisian riots and films such as ‘La Haine' it highlights a nation at serious find out more...

Adelaide, South Australia 1958, and a young Aborigine man is on trial for the brutal rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. His initially reluctant lawyer, David O'Sullivan, sees no hope for either himself or his client, facing as they are the might of the legal establishment, the wrath of white public opinion and a signed confession. However, when it becomes increasingly clear that the defendant had an admittance of guilt beaten out of him by the local police an epic battle for justice ensues find out more...

A brilliant story of one man's idealism pitted against political machinations as he tries to solve the mysterious enigma behind the killing of a six year-old by a stray bullet. As the city power brokers gradually get dragged in, Cusack must face the reality of compromise. Superb thriller-drama. find out more...

A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution.

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Far more a portrait than a biopic this stunning film dissects the later years of Giulio Andreotti, a key player in Italian politics from the 70s through till today (he still sits in the Italian Senate (2009)), implicating him as the central instigator behind 'The Strategy of Tension', a policy that involved the murders of hundreds of innocent people, and blaming 'the left/Red Brigades' so as to allow the growth of an authoritarian state. Sorrentino fingers Andreotti for many political assassinat find out more...

An awesome film that probes the conflicts between morality and the law. When is a man merely following orders and when does he become responsible for the consequences of his actions? Using the post-war trials of four German judges accused of legalising Nazi atrocities Kramer creates a fasinating exploration of human responsibility.

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When THE fast food chain issued a libel action against activists Helen Steel and Dave Morris in 1990, demanding an apology for allegations they had made in a leaflet, the corporate giant didn't expect the pair to not only refuse to apologise, but to actually invite McBully to bring it on. Absolutely nobody expected it to take 15 years and a victory for the pair at the European Court of Human Rights for the case to come to an end. Here the whole story is told with the requisite amount of humour find out more...

Stirring courtroom drama with Lange as a lawyer called upon to represent her own father. The accusation that he perpetrated hideous war crimes 50 years previously seems at first preposterous, but as the trial continues she is forced to face some painful truths and make a heartbreaking decision. find out more...

Peter Watkins' astonishing pseudo-documentary comes blistering onto the screen in this long overdue re-release of his 1971 classic. Punishment Park tells the bleak story of a section of society whose political and social beliefs have landed them in a courtroom, facing ill-defined charges of hostilities against the state. Once found guilty, an inevitability I'm afraid, they face the choice of spending 20-odd years in prison or, and alarm bells should be ringing right about now, 4 days in Punishme find out more...