FILM REVIEWS AND NEWS

Lesbian Space Princess is an Australian animated science fiction comedy written and directed by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese. The film follows 23-year-old space princess Siara, a socially inept, hopeless-romantic lesbian who lives on the planet Clitopolis with her two mums.

Claudia Dzienny is an Australian writer-director and comedian whose work blends character-driven comedy with emotionally grounded storytelling.

Star rating: 4/5 Writer: Jack Holman Director: Sean Leahy Starring: Pierce Joseph, Mary T Lynch, and Denis Kiely Written and shot by Jack Holman, An Unnerving Realisation is a thought-provoking super short Irish film, with a run time of just over 5 minutes long. We meet Nicholas, played by Pierce Joseph, who is around 20, looking at pictures with his family at the dinner table. As they do so, he comes up with a question, simple and direct, which is what leads to the unnervin

Star rating: 4/5 Writer: Kayla Sun Director: Kayla Sun Starring: Ling Zhi, Briana Liu and Eon Song Inspired by the life of Masako Wakamiya, who bought her first laptop at 60 years old and became a coding expert, The Code of Family is a heart-warming Chinese-American piece whispering wisdom about learning, family and the boundlessness of age. Written and directed by Kayla Sun, it tells the story of a grandmother, ‘Gran’, who lives with her daughter and granddaughter. While h

Star rating: 5/5 Writer: Ben Lankester Director: Ben Lankester Starring: Rosie Chappel Delivery is a heart wrenching, eye opening short film portraying a night in a maternity ward, inspired by real experiences. Written and directed by Ben Lankester, it is the story of a night in Mary's life, on shift to deliver babies at the hospital she works in, during the Christmas period. As a 30-year-old, newly qualified midwife, she is passionate about her job, completely focused, and

Star rating: 5/5 Writer: Ruben Sanchez Director: Ruben Sanchez Starring: Sara Jimenez Lamento is a tense, hard-hitting Spanish/ Catalan short film about the risks women face simply by existing in public spaces. Written and directed by Ruben Sanchez, this film is a masterful portrayal of the extreme stress women are put under in public spaces, especially spaces made for enjoyment. We meet Ana at a party in a hugely atmospheric truck depot in Barcelona, where it is common to pa

Star rating: 5/5 Writer: Lucinda Royden Director: Coz Greenop Starring: Elin Hall, Jack McEvoy, Melissa Lycey, Harvey Dean. It All Comes with the Cold Water is a thoughtful, intimate romantic drama. Written by Lucinda Royden and directed by Coz Greenop, this Icelandic film is inspired by a phrase from American sportsman Pete Carroll, ‘Each nanosecond of history branches off into an infinite amount of parallel universes’. ‘I’m just annoyed at myself for dreaming of it’, is t

Star rating: 5/5 Writer: Jenna Brady Director: Jenna Brady Starring: Jazmine Cornielle, Riley Whielan, Vikki Martin, and Gracie! A gripping, almost silent horror short. From its opening, Under Control is both visually and sonically compelling. In the horror genre, this is isn’t hard to attempt, but it is hard to do well, which this film absolutely does. Our un-named main character, played by Jazmine Cornielle is a 20 something woman living in what seems to be a big city fla

Star rating: 5/5 Writer: James Nicholas Green Director: James Nicholas Green Starring: Steve Furst, Toto Bruin and Lee Ingleby, Victory to the Mimers is a brilliant satire about power, protest and art. The story of Margaret Thatcher’s destruction of the mining industry and disdain for miners and their communities is well known. The tragedy, struggle and ultimate dignity of those communities an inspired basis for satirising the current state of society and power structures. Vi

View the best movies screening at the 2026 SXSW London Film Festival. A curated list from film critic Chris Olson for UK Film Review.

Star rating: 4/5 Writer: Brock Drury Director: Brock Drury Starring: Roman Jacob- Boylen, Chris Wolfe, Eli Jo, Bradley Shane Harrelson, Scott Oakley, Rebecca Clendaniel. The Sim Racer is a sentimental film portraying life's tapestry of high stakes struggles and the power of human connection. Written by Brock Drury, it tells the story of Luke, a small-town American who in his mid-20s and after some tragedy, and a breakup, is struggling to keep a roof above his head. Passionat

Star rating: 3/5 Writer: Joyce Terveden, Isis Calje and Natasha Schaafsma Director: Milan Swager Starring: Joyce Terveden, Isis Calje and Natasha Schaafsma Helemaal et Heinde, which is a co-written work by Joyce Terveden, Isis Calje and Natasha Schaafsma, is a short action film packed with quirkiness and some violence. In what seems like an apocaliptic setting, three women meet in a story of paranoia, violence and love, told humourously through really skilled performances an

Wild Foxes (or Le Danse de Renards) is a thoughtful, articulate French coming-of-age story. The story is set in semi-rural France in a secondary school where the students get amazing sporting and music education, and high-level performance opportunities.

Star rating: 4/5 Writer: William Grunnill Director: William Grunnill Starring: Andy Edwards, Dave Brown, Martin McAleese, Liam Boss, Bethany Murray and Rachel Pennington. Meat is a striking metaphorical representation of social power and impunity. Written and directed by William Grunnill his story is set in a restaurant being visited by a VIP customer, The MP, and it starts deceitfully simply, though we can sense the tension. As this important customer gets his condescending

Star rating: 5/5 Director: Steffen Hou Face of Hate is a documentary film about human redemption where deep trauma transformed into hate, is retransformed into love and consciousness. Directed by Steffen Hou, this piece presents to us the story of Jason Baker, a man from Michigan, United States, who when still a child was exposed to the white supremacist movement, which he formally joined when young to become a domestic terrorist. Steffen, whose family suffered the consequenc

Exciting news for horror fans everywhere! If you love Eurotrash, classic exploitation genre-films and a general ora of the bizarre, there’s a chance that you already love cinema’s greatest freak, Jesús (Jess) Franco: the controversial Spanish horror legend who produced almost (though perhaps over) 200 feature-length films in his career.

She Dances (2025) is a touching comedy drama following a father and his teenage daughter as she comes of age. Jason, played by Steve Zahn, is empowered to reconnect with her daughter Clair, played by Audrey Clair Zahn whilst supporting her in her regional dance competition alongside her best friend Kat.

In Surviving Earth, Slavko Sobin plays Vlad, a charismatic but troubled soul. A Yugoslav refugee living in Bristol, where he works as a counsellor for drug users. A former user himself, Vlad is slowly building a new life for himself as a harmonica player in a promising local band whilst also repairing and maintaining a fresh relationship with his daughter Maria (Olive Gray). This new chapter in his life, however, is as delicate as his treasured harmonica, with the various ord

One Fluid Night (OFN), the queer-led and volunteer-run international LGBTQIA+ film festival, is set to return to the capital for its seventh edition from 7 to 11 April 2026.

When word reached UK Film Review that Peccadillo Pictures had secured the distribution rights for a project titled Lesbian Space Princess, it wasn't just the evocative name that raised eyebrows. It was the pedigree trailing behind it. Fresh from a triumphant world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival—where it secured the prestigious Teddy Award—and an Audience Award win for Best Australian Feature at the Sydney Film Festival

Cinema has officially set its sights on a permanent flagship home on the Greenwich Peninsula. For those of us who have braved the elements and the mystery of "where on earth are we going tonight?", the prospect of a long-term base by the Thames is nothing short of a game-changer for the UK film scene.

Lunar Sway follows Cliff (Noah Parker), a young man living in a desert town called Mooncrest, as he struggles with his sexuality and unexpectedly connects with his estranged birth mother. After learning of his mother’s numerous secrets, he embarks on a wild adventure and a trail of secrets, while also spending time with his love interest, Stew (Douglas Smith). The piece is a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and seeking longing in a world that has treated you harshly y

Star rating: 5/5 Writer: Jacob Dudman Director: Lidia Huerta Starring: Jacob Dudman Untethered is a striking short drama inspired by the experiences of victims of modern slavery in the UK. Starring Jacob Dudman in the role of a trafficked man, from Europe to the UK, Untethered presents us with our main character while he is on the run in God’s Own Country, as he affectionately refers to Yorkshire like the locals do. He is in a living hell: he has no home, no cash and no phone

The 2026 jury winners represent a formidable cross-section of global talent, proving that independent cinema remains the lifeblood of the industry. From high-concept narratives to intimate documentaries, the awards this year highlight a yearning for connection in an increasingly fragmented digital age.