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Film reviews and movie trailers for new movies, indie cinema and short films.Read a film review or watch a trailer on our website. LATEST MOVIE REVIEWS UK Film Review is a film reviews website based in London, UK. We promote films and movie trailers from around the world and support indie films that would usually find it hard to find the spotlight against the bigger films of cinema. From the latest blockbusters, to small indie cinema, we tackle as many films as we can. Reviewing them from all aspects, not just how many digital landscapes they blow up using CGI. We also review short films in the UK and internationally, helping filmmakers to promote their movies and raise their profile. If you would like to have a short or indie film reviewed by us, please submit all info using the button below. Take a look around, enjoy the spoils of filmmaking, film festivals and artistic expression. Our merry band of film critics are constantly hard at work, writing film reviews, or watching movie trailers for some of the most exciting movies coming out in UK cinemas. So to keep their morale up, please be nice...or at least funny if you choose to troll. Because, in the immortal words of Rick Moranis in the movie Spaceballs, "Keep firing A**holes!". By the way, on this film reviews website, you may see several references to Spaceballs. If you have not seen that classic Mel Brooks film, you MUST seek it out and tell us what you think. SUBMIT YOUR FILM Are You a Film Podcast Fan? Film critics Chris Olson and Brian Penn host a monthly podcast for all types of film fans! Whether you like the latest blockbuster releases, or streaming is your thing - we have you covered. We even review short and independent films on the podcast. Our final review is usually for a "Nostalgia" pick - something from the past worth revisiting. Previous picks for this have included Jaws, The Fly, and Good Will Hunting. Search UK Film Review Podcast wherever you like to listen and join our global community of film lovers. Get Reviewed On Our Podcast Film Reviews from UK film critics LATEST REVIEWS Secret average rating is 3 out of 5 Che Guevara: The Last Companions average rating is 4 out of 5 The Thread (2026) average rating is 4 out of 5 Fairyland The Musical average rating is 2 out of 5 Ruby average rating is 4 out of 5 Unmarried Couples Not Allowed average rating is 4 out of 5 Spiders in the Wall average rating is 3 out of 5 The Inventurers average rating is 2 out of 5 Time And Water average rating is 3 out of 5 Driftwood average rating is 3 out of 5 One Shot of Espresso average rating is 5 out of 5 Starmaker average rating is 3 out of 5 Featured Film News FILM NEWS The Latest Film Trailers MOVIE TRAILERS Supergirl Masters of the Universe Wild Foxes Dune: Part Three In The Grey Scary Movie 6 Filmmaker Interviews INTERVIEWS

Film reviews from some of the biggest movies in UK cinemas. We also review short films, indie films, and documentaries. Find a movie review now. Film Reviews Here at UK Film Review we like to tackle all kinds film reviews. Our writers come from all walks of life, and feel passionate about critiquing the movies they watch. From the latest Theatrical Releases to Short Films, Indie Films, Documentaries and even Animation, the contributors of UK Film Review are as eager to please as Dev Patel in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011). If you are a filmmaker, or are working in film PR and want to promote one of your clients, please get in touch using the Submit Your Film button under the drop-down menu for Home. Take a look at our list of film reviews below from some of the hottest releases in UK cinemas. Simply click the image of the review you would like, or the title of the movie. Or use the search button to find the movie you are looking for. We have given any feature length film a star rating (out of 5) in order to help viewers sort the Citizen Kanes from the Waterworlds, the Inceptions from the Transformers. Michael Bay will be given a fair film review from our writers, but that probably will not go in his favour. Speaking of Filmmakers, head over to our Filmmaker Features page for awesome articles about some of the best filmmaking geniuses who ever lived. Movie Trailers are also available, either underneath the film reviews, or on the Movie Trailers page. And lastly, if you like your film reviews verbalised. Simply because reading is boring and listening is marvellous, then make sure you Subscribe to the UK Film Review Podcast. Our critics offer up some banterous opinions on the best and worst movies across all genres. Head over to the Podcast page, or click this link to go straight to iTunes. If you would like to read or view any of the following, simply use the navigation. Alternatively, you can click on one of the images to read the film reviews here, or simply have a ganders at the lovely movie artwork on display. Remember to listen to film reviews on our regular film podcast. GET REVIEWED average rating is 4 out of 5 Che Guevara: The Last Companions Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Fairyland The Musical Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Ruby Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Time And Water Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 One Shot of Espresso Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Almost Always Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Four Days Left Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Pescador Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Disclosure Day Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 The Dew Before Dawn Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Backrooms Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Woken Read Review Spoilers in our film reviews As with all digital forms of expression sometimes people may find something that upsets them online. Spoilers can often be one of these things! Whilst we do our best to ensure that major plot points, twists, character deaths and celebrity cameos are not found in our reviews, it can sometimes be difficult to judge what each and every film lover on the planet would to be a spoiler. If you feel that one of our film reviews contains one too many details then please do let us (politely) know using our social media platforms. We may then take serious action, such as expelling the critic responsible from this and every other movie publication past and present, declaring war against the studio for leading our writer into temptation, or we may do nothing at all. To be honest, it is most likely going to be the latter unless some serious rules have been broken. You may also see some movie trailers in our reviews that could also contain potential spoilers. In which case anyone who is hoping to avoid these should probably not click the play button on them. Or click the play button, turn the sound down on your device, then leave the room for a least 28 minutes whilst the trailer finishes and leaves your life naturally. You may be wondering what you could do with all 28 of those minutes! Why not read some more film reviews on another device? Or make a short film of your cat playing with a piece of string? Spend it wisely guys and gals.

Short film reviews from some of the best movies in the UK. Read reviews from some of the best short film critics. Short Film Reviews Welcome to the UK Film Review page for short film reviews . Here you will find some of the best and brightest sparks in a sea of cinema. Filmmakers from across the globe submit their short films to us to be reviewed, and our Contributors lovingly dissect them. If you would like one of our team to write a film review of your short film, please use the form on our Submit Your Film page Our short film reviews are written by passionate film critics across the UK and aim to highlight and promote terrific filmmaking when we find it. We are always honest with our reviews, so if you are looking to submit your short film for review, please do so knowing that we will not alter what we have said because you don't like it. There is a wealth of amazing talent in the short film industry, and we hope by writing film reviews about this underexposed creativity we can get your movies to a new audience...but we need your help. Please join in the chatter on our social media channels so that we can grow our community and share the joy. Use the buttons in the footer to Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, and Subscribe to us on YouTube #supportindiefilm. The selection of short film reviews you see below are mostly for films submitted to us. In this instance, the filmmaker has requested us to watch and provide a short film review. Alternatively, visit our Latest Short Film Reviews page . Get Your Short Film Reviewed More Film Reviews Secret William Curzon The Thread (2026) Holly Baker Ruby William Hemingway Unmarried Couples Not Allowed Madeleine Lavers Spiders in the Wall Callum Ewing Driftwood Finn O'Toole One Shot of Espresso Patrick Foley Boss of the Ballet James Learoyd Almost Always William Hemingway Funeral Car William Curzon Life Goes On Callum Ewing I Am The Prize Holly Baker Signal Jason Knight Four Days Left Patrick Foley the quiet between us William Curzon ANIMALS Finn O'Toole The Dew Before Dawn William Hemingway Surfing James Learoyd Fabric Jason Knight English Beasts Patrick Foley The Marina William Curzon The Applecalypse Finn O'Toole Back of the Net Jason Knight Dear Mum William Hemingway Aberration: Deja Reve Finn O'Toole Load More Reviews What is a short film review? A short film review is often written by a movie critic and it's their opinion on a film that is less than sixty minutes long. Short film reviews still explore every aspect of a movie. How do I write a short film review? Writing a short film review needs to cover multiple aspects of the movie. Including the script, the characters, performances, cinematography, score & sound design, editing and so on. Sometimes we consider the piece only as a short film; whether it works in that format, other times we may think of it as a "proof of concept" for something longer, or perhaps a piece of a web series/TV show. These can be important to consider when writing a short film review. How long should a film review be? A film review should be as long as the house style. Some publications provide lengthier reviews than others. A general minimum word count would be 500. This may be also for SEO reasons, as short film reviews that are longer may be more likely to rank higher on Google. The important thing to remember is that the review should be well-structured, not full of bloated points to fill up the word count. How much money do film critics make? Film critic salaries depend massively on their publication. Many film critics are freelancers, meaning they get paid per review and sometimes this is based on word count. Making money through film reviews can be challenging. Video Short Film Reviews Below you will find a selection of short film reviews in video form! This is where one of the UK Film Review Critics records their review and we upload it to our YouTube channel (as well as TikTok and Meta Reels in some cases). A Place to Fall Down Short Film Review by Chris Olson A short film about coping with loss and grief, film critic Chris Olson gave A Place to Fall Down 4 stars. Watch his video short film review here to here from the man himself about his thoughts and feelings. OK/NOTOK Short Film Review by Patrick Foley In this short film review from Patrick Foley, he gives us his opinion of the brilliant movie OK/NOTOK. Set in a futuristic world where AI robots are available as companions (as long as you can afford the subscription), it's a riveting piece. Betrayed Short Film Review by Chris Buick Film critic Chris Buick offers up a fantastic video short film review for Betrayed. A movie about a girl with special powers who, with the help of her protective father, must elude those who would use her for nefarious means.

Star rating: 4/5 Writer: Nathan Grubbs, Chris Sivertson, Jeff Hoffman and Joshua Dietz Director: Nathan Grubbs Starring: Nathan Grubbs, Alexandra Essoe, Marc Senter and Eddie Steeples. Cowboy is a thoughtful cowboy story about redemption, and love arising in the most unlikely of ways. Written by Nathan Grubbs, Chris Sivertson, Jeff Hoffman and Joshua Dietz, Cowboy tells the story of Juno Jackson, a cowboy, and petty criminal in the US South, who goes to prison for a serious crime- losing his friend and longtime partner in crime in the process. When the times comes for his release after having served 5 years with good behaviour, having had the ‘time and grace’ to reflect and re-build, he is a changed man. It is this change that leads to a hugely surprising plot twist. Directed by Nathan Grubbs, Cowboy is the story of a man who attempts to change his ways, overcome his supposed destiny and make good his mistakes- despite the irretrievable aspects of the situation he has created. It is a well written story, combining an introspective tone with the go-getting storyline of a cowboy. Technically this is a very strong film, filmically portraying both the vastness of the US South and the intimacy and danger of the situations that unfold. The film has a deeply intentional visual style- complete with cattle skulls, ropes and unending dirt roads. This is also true sonically, with the story being punctuated by the neighing of horses, which is, put simply, cute. This film showcases really strong performances, particularly from Alexandra Essoe, who plays Eve with simultaneous strength and vulnerability. Cowboy is a heartfelt and intelligent story about redemption, love and how these intertwined with the inevitability of life’s trajectory. At which point is it too late to abandon old ways? And if there is always a point of no return, does it exclude the possibility of peace and connection, even love? Huge questions asked, as all good films do.

Directed by: Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese Written by: Leela Varghese, Emma Hough Hobbs Starring: Shabana Azeez, Bernie Van Tiel, Jordan Raskopoulos Film Review by: Holly Baker ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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. Recently dumped by her two-week-long girlfriend, a full of herself, toxic, serial monogamist, Kiki, Siara is devastatingly heartbroken and plagued with low self-esteem. When evil Straight White Malians suddenly kidnap Kiki, Siara’s opportunity to save Kiki and win her back drives her out of her comfort zone, on a quest to defeat Kiki’s kidnappers and overcome her negative feelings about herself. The film has a quirky animation style reminiscent of Rick and Morty with its unique sci- fi creations and character designs. Each character has its own identifiable colour palette allowing for a vibrant viewing experience. Individually, they each make a strong impression on the viewer both aesthetically through the detailed and thematic animation, and through their well-established personalities and performances, each of them satirically fitting into a queer archetype that young queer viewers can easily identify. For instance, Siara is the anxiously attached Lesbian who quickly falls for someone emotionally unavailable, Kiki, and Willow is a goth singer-songwriter who immediately transforms her emotions into inspiration for her music. The film’s soundtrack is made up of original music written for the film by Michael Darren and Matthew Hardley. These composers capture a queer sound with the soft, indie tunes which play throughout the film, appealing well to a young queer audience. Lesbian Space Princess Official Film Trailer The younger, queer audience will also relish in the use of Gen Z humour. For example, Siara travels on a ‘problematicship’ that comically opposes the idea of wokeness through using slightly offensive, politically incorrect language. There is also a large incorporation of sexual humour and satirization of queer stereotypes, which works well, in a similar way to Netflix’s Heartbreak High. For instance, the film contains a young cast and crew, therefore bringing up to date character archetypes, intertextual references and jokes which land in Gen Z audiences. Even the title ‘Lesbian Space Princess’ is immediately eye-catching for queer media enjoyers, hitting the mark of a modern-day queer sci-fi romance. Lesbian Space Princess is a refreshing representation of queer characters, incorporating multiple different queer storylines. The film is rich in its queerness, with an enthralling attention to detail such as Siara’s calendar labelling April as ‘Gaypril’, and the galaxy being referred to as the ‘Gaylexi’ demonstrating a well-thought-out creativity and giving the film a vibrant feel that belongs close to the heart of the queer community. The story itself is an uplifting coming of age, very similar thematically to Pixar’s Inside Out as Siara must battle her inner doubts whilst on a personal quest. There are some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud moments, and a loving dedication to bringing queerness, particularly Lesbianism, to every aspect of the film’s creative design- such as Siara’s home planet being called ‘Clitopolis’. Overall, Lesbian Space Princess is a colourful celebration of queerness, focusing less on romantic love, but more touchingly on self-acceptance and self-love, the most important kind of all. Lesbian Space Princess will be in UK & Irish Cinemas from 19th June.

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Great to be interviewing you both! Please tell our readers a bit about yourselves. Claudia Dzienny is an Australian writer-director and comedian whose work blends character-driven comedy with emotionally grounded storytelling. Her latest feature, Zombucha!, is a romcom that explores relationships, fertility anxiety, career pressures, and the realities of millennial adulthood through an unconventional zombie twist. Working alongside longtime collaborator Emma Leonard, Claudia is part of a female-led creative team committed to telling contemporary stories from a distinctly female perspective. CrossBorder Films is a London-based boutique sales studio and production company founded in 2025 by producer and screenwriter Alla May. Built on nearly two decades of experience across the European film and television landscape, CrossBorder champions distinctive stories with cultural specificity and global emotional pull. Thanks! What's the name of the latest film you are working on? Zombucha! How would you describe this film to a new audience? Dreaming of a glow-up before starting a family together, an aspirational millennial couple get their hands on a kombucha strain that promises to kickstart a garage-brewed empire. Plans take a turn when the neighbourhood’s new favourite kombucha becomes sentient. How’s your microbiome? Why did you want to make this film? Claudia: I remember when the writer Emma Leonard pitched me the logline and I thought to myself “I wish I had thought of that.” - a pretty good start for wanting to make a film! As we developed the script together over the following three years, the process was such a joy and we uncovered so many things around the moments and questions immediately before and after becoming a parent, all bundled up in this absurdly ‘aspirational millennial’ package. It felt so timely and cheeky. I found myself very quickly at the pointy end of the third trimester (production) and giving birth to this bonkers thing! Were there any challenges making the film? If so, what were they and how did you overcome them? Claudia: There are always going to be personalities on set that need more management than others as well as the feeling that you always want more time and more resources - and we had our fair share of all those challenges, but by far the largest, most fundamental challenge was that we shot the film at my house. This would’ve been a relatively smaller deal if it weren’t for the fact that I have two young children, a husband and two cats that ended up moving into my mum’s place for three months. But it wasn’t just us there. My mum, my 94-year-old Ukrainian grandmother, my sister and her children, as well as her (now ex) husband, with whom my sister began going through a divorce in the middle of production, our editor and his partner, my mother-in-law from Ohio and my best friend’s dog who needed dog-sitting. We were all staying at my mum’s house. I was waking up in the morning, trying to be a normal mum to my boys, going through footage from the day before with Julien, our editor, then going down to set (my actual house) to shoot for the day/night (read: lovingly destroy my own home) then go back up to mum’s and kiss my kids goodnight (awake or asleep, but already usually asleep) and go to bed myself. Needless to say, the floors were completely resurfaced after we wrapped filming, and the grass outside has never been the same since having 90 zombuchas writhing on it at 3am one night! When we were in pre-production, I remember a ton of people saying ‘wow, that’s a very ambitious project for that budget’ - they were right. But I like ambitious. When we moved our family out of my house, a base crew of about 50 bumped in for two months. Ryan (our lead) was staying in the house from New Zealand for the long haul with sporadic overnight company from various members of our producing team, sound team and art department, to name a few who would sleep in my kids’ beds. Thankfully our immediate neighbours were all absolute legends about us filming, but we did get an angry guy from up the street come and threaten us a few times… which was pretty rattling until we had this incredible art/life moment where we were rolling up for the scene in the film where the angry dad character comes and berates our two leads for throwing a Thirsty Virgin kombucha launch party - and the actual angry neighbour from up the street drives into shot for us all to see from the monitor and starts delivering basically the same lines as our angry dad character. We were all buckled over choking on tears, it was so hilariously perfect. Also, growing about 100 SCOBYs (the slimey monster that makes every bottle of kombucha you’ve ever consumed) at short notice was a very specific and tricky one, but not impossible as it turns out! I ended up making a completely clear SCOBY when I was experimenting with caffeine tablets and simple syrup, but that’s a story for another time! What stage is the film currently in? And how can people get to see it? Festival circuit. Following its premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Zombucha! will have its international premiere at Raindance on 21 June. Why do you make movies? Claudia: I love working with other people, telling stories and laughing together. It’s the best possible way to spend my workday. I love that it seeps into my non-work day - that when I’m deep in a project, it seems like every interaction I have with people, positive or negative, informs the feelings I put on screen. Making movies makes me more conscious of human nature and, I like to think, more accepting of others’ decisions. Always questioning why someone would behave the way the do or did, what brought them to that moment in time makes for more three-dimensional characters on screen, but also has a very positive, empathetic effect in my everyday life. We all get bent out of shape, but it’s hard to stay angry at someone when you frame them into all the textured context of their life. I love to involve others in storytelling and watch how they react - a favourite of mine is to ask couples to tell me about their first kiss. Sounds cheesy, but there’s usually a bit of a different take from each partner. They’re suddenly very vulnerable, and watching the way they fumble their way through that answer together is usually pretty delightful for all involved, and very very human. I like to think I’m making positive propaganda with my filmmaking. Not all sunshine and lollipops, but letting characters be who they are on screen - the good/bad/ugly bits too - then finding a way to make people feel human. Hopefully it helps everyone look at their angry neighbour and go ‘ugh look at this asshole’! Then maybe stop and think ‘they’re just out here giving it a go too’ …and then maybe take them a cookie at Christmas and you’ll end up sitting in their living room sharing a glass of champagne? In storytelling, I always come back to the core theme of ‘all we have is each other’ - and if I have an hour and a half of people’s undivided attention in a black box, I really love the idea of reminding them of that. And reminding myself. I have a background in architecture, so the visual expression side of filmmaking is a huge pleasure for me. It sounds silly now, but I remember when I realised how you can make space unfold with a dolly shot and it knocked my socks off. That said, watching people’s body language and micro expressions when they’re processing a change in real time is impossible not to connect with - that usually steals the show for me, even if they’re feeling those feelings in the most striking space on earth! Filmmaking helps me process life, and bringing other people along for the ride is a massive privilege. I like making people feel stuff - it’s lucky, because that is the ultimate goal of any director: make people feel stuff. Give people the chance to reflect on their own lives. Shake them up. Elicit a reaction. Horror directors like to make people jump, I like to make people laugh… then ambush them with a dose of heart that they didn’t expect. Chris Olson Reviews Zombucha for UK Film Review's YouTube Channel What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the film career you have pursued? Claudia: Make stuff. Be prolific. Make everything you can. Don’t overcook it - just get out there. You will only learn this thing by doing it, making mistakes and making little moments of magic. Accept that there’ll be stuff that sucks. Don’t shy away from it. I still have all my old glorious garbage on my website because it’s who I am and how I got here. This isn’t your magnum opus. Nothing you make will ever be perfect - abandon that idea for now and just follow your core mission of making people feel stuff. What is it that you want to make people feel? Who would you love to work with and why? Claudia: Rose Byrn - a brilliant, hilarious actress with enormous range and the comedy chops that dreams are made of! Bonus points because she’s Aussie! What's next for you in your career after this film? Claudia: A feature film that I have written based around an icebreaker camping trip for new school parents that gets gatecrashed by aliens. A comedy, but it turns out I love to flirt with genre. As a boutique sales studio, what was it about Zombucha! that made you believe it could connect with audiences internationally? Alla: When Danielle Redford, one of the co-producers of Zombucha!, first pitched us the concept at EFM, we immediately felt that it sounded cool, fresh, and very distinctive. Then we watched the screener — and honestly, it was love at first sight. What stood out was the humour, the genre-bending energy, and the way the story almost breaks the rules while still having a huge heart. It felt bold and playful, but also emotionally honest. Beneath the comedy and the madness, the film touches on issues that millennials are going through not only in Australia, but in so many countries: burnout, ambition, identity, anxiety about the future, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels absurd. That combination is exactly what we love: a story that is entertaining and commercially alive, but also emotionally relevant. We believed international audiences would connect with that freshness and sincerity. CrossBorder focuses on films from underrepresented markets. What qualities are you looking for when deciding which projects to champion? Alla: We are genre-agnostic, but we are completely story-driven. For us, the story means everything. Because of my background in script development and writing, it is very hard to surprise me with a genre film or a commercial film. I know the mechanics, I know the expected twists, I know how these stories are usually built. So when something genuinely surprises me, I pay attention. We are looking for stories with heart, meaning, and depth. Stories that can entertain, but also reveal something about a different culture, mindset, or emotional reality. I am especially drawn to films that take risks with tone or genre — films that bend expectations, cross boundaries, or suddenly take you somewhere you did not expect. For us, underrepresented does not mean niche or small. It often means undiscovered, under-seen, or underestimated. We want to champion films that have a strong voice and a clear reason to exist. Why do you do this work? What does the role of a sales agent and producer mean to you personally? When we launched CrossBorder Films with my co-founder Olga, the company was initially built around a development slate I had previously written and created. The long-term plan is still to produce that material over the next few years, while also discovering and supporting projects created by other filmmakers. Because Olga comes from a marketing background, I pitched her the idea of also launching a sales arm — but doing it differently. I wanted us to help producers in a more thoughtful and personal way than what is often expected from traditional sales agents. For us, representing a film is not just about taking a title to market and seeing what happens. We treat every film as if we are co-producers of the next stage of its life. That means care, strategy, honesty, and emotional investment. This approach was very intentional, and it came partly from my own negative experiences with sales teams in the past. I know how painful it can be when a film is not handled with enough attention or respect. So the work is personal to me. A sales agent should be a bridge between the filmmaker and the world — someone who protects the film, understands its value, and helps it find the audience it deserves. Looking at the current independent film landscape, what gives you hope about the future of emerging filmmakers? Alla: The current independent landscape is still very difficult, and in many ways it remains unfair. The same risk-averse structures are still there, and many of the “big guys” at the top continue to follow familiar formulas rather than take real chances on new voices. But what gives me hope is that filmmakers now have more tools to build an audience themselves, especially through social media and direct community-building. You can start creating awareness around an independent film long before it is released. That is powerful. I also think audiences are proving again and again that they want something fresh. They are open to new faces, new voices, and new stories — not only franchises, sequels, or repeated formulas for so-called commercial success. Right now, elevated horror is performing very strongly, but I also believe there is huge potential in crossover genres, romcoms and even in satires or ordinary human dramas, if they are given access to audiences. The frustrating part is that many buyers do not even want to test something fresh. But that also pushes us, as a sales company, to be more creative, more strategic, and more persistent in how we position films. That gives me hope: the audience is there. We just have to find smarter ways to reach them. What inspired your film career? Were there any specific films or events that really lit a fire within you? Alla: I think my passion for storytelling began quite early. When I was in middle school, I was writing essays and reading Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and the Strugatsky brothers at the same time. That combination really shaped my taste — from psychological drama to philosophy to science fiction and genre storytelling. It gave me a very broad sense of what stories can do. I also grew up watching great films on VHS. The town I am from did not have a cinema until I was twelve, so most of my film education came from a VHS rental place. That is how I discovered Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Tarantino, Sidney Lumet, Garry Marshall, Paul Thomas Anderson, and many others. But one of my strongest memories is watching Tarkovsky when I was only six years old. I was completely hypnotised. I think Solaris was the film that made me want to work in cinema. I did not know exactly what role I wanted to have or how I would get there, but I remember thinking: I want to make films that can make people feel like this. That feeling never really left me. 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