Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme D’Or winning intimate drama gently questions our notion of family throughout. When a close-knit group of small-time crooks discover a young, neglected girl left out in the cold, they take her in and care for her. To us this act is saintly, to the police and the media, it’s a kidnapping. “The work of a master in full command of his art”, come and see Shoplifters!

Director Chloe Zhao was researching an upcoming project on a ranch in South Dakota when she met horse trainer Brady Jandreau and heard his story. Previously a rodeo rider and local hero, the young man could provide for his family – until he was thrown from his horse and kicked in the head. Zhao uses Jandreau himself and his real-life family and friends in the film, offering a superb realistic quality to a hard-hitting tale of self-realisation. Not one to be missed!

Two families. One tree. A bloody mess. Icelandic comedy-drama Under The Tree escalates the issue of one neighbours tree casting shade on the porch of the other’s far beyond common sense and civility, beyond the law, until its wacky conclusions. All the while, complex characters are built and broken by life’s more significant twists and turns – a new baby, a separation.. Depicting societal angst in a fun and engaging way, come and see Under The Tree!