FILM REVIEWS AND NEWS

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.

Star rating: 4/5 Writer: Kieran Moore Director: Kieran Moore Starring: Brandon McCaffery and Billie Hindle. We meet Tim, a 25-year-old gay man from Manchester, played by Brandon McCaffrey, who is by his own description an ‘ordinary lad’. Like many twenty-something ordinary lads, and lasses, in 2026 Britain, he is struggling financially as well as socially. Tim’s flatmate Jade, played by Billie Hindle, seems to be the constant in his life, as well as his Dad (Mark Benton)- and

This April, Los Angeles is set to host the world premiere of a project that, on paper at least, sounds like the most explosive addition to the genre in years: Dead City Punx.

This documentary, directed by James Buddy Day, is a snorts-and-all roc-doc that captures the band’s anarchic authenticity perfectly right through to their final three shows.

The curtains have fallen on the 98th Academy Awards, and while the Dolby Theatre has seen its fair share of predictable sweeps in the past, the 2026 ceremony felt like a genuine clash of titans. As we look over the wreckage of the awards season, it is clear that the night belonged to a gritty, sprawling American epic and a supernatural genre-bender that redefined the blockbuster.

Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story follows four childhood friends who recorded an album in the early 2000s and drifted apart due to pursuing careers in different paths. Their music is a love letter to the Y2K era of pop music, in hopes of being like the Spice Girls. When their forgotten music resurfaces online 20 years later, it suddenly goes viral, and the four girls, now adults, reunite to spark their youthful magic once again. Divided into chapters that follow the girls as the

The screenplay for Plantman & Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film contains numerous storylines. It has the rapport that develops between Cory and Plantman, Cory's working conditions as he works from home on his laptop, the two unlikely collaborators working with a group of greenhouse workers who share Plantman's purpose, Cory receiving advice from his best friend, Fox (Kirk Fox) and the three guys playing detective, tracking down Plantman. There are awkward moments, humorous moment

Black Zombie is a deeply illuminating work about the origin of the zombie and how the concept of a zombie has developed, in popular culture and cinema, since its discovery by Western society in 1927.

Forcefield of Love is a short documentary about the eternal ability of love to transform, surprise and inspire.

Written, directed, and edited by transgender filmmaker, Jamie Kiernan O’Brien, Gender Studies becomes a semi-autobiographical tale for her, showcasing a lot of the thoughts and ideas that surround feminism and femininity in the modern age.

There is something inherently calming about a story that finds magic in the mundane, and if the first teaser for Remarkably Bright Creatures is anything to go by, Netflix might just have found the cinematic equivalent of a warm blanket for the soul. Based on Shelby Van Pelt’s sensationally popular novel, the film appears to be leaning heavily into the quiet, poignant charm that made the book such a word-of-mouth hit. While I have not yet had the pleasure of a full screening,