33rd Raindance Film Festival

33rd Raindance opening gala: World Premiere of Christopher M. Anthony’s fight film HEAVYWEIGHT starring Nicholas Pinnock, Jason Isaacs, Jordan Bolger Closing gala: International Premiere of Camilla Guttner’s art school drama THE ACADEMY 33rd Raindance Film Festival: 18 – 27 June at host cinema Vue Piccadilly www.raindance.org/festival The UK’s leading indie film festival, Raindance is fighting fit and ready to challenge, provoke, and entertain. The past five editions saw Raindance batten down the hatches as the festival navigated the choppy waters of the post-pandemic world – but now Raindance has re-charted its course. The 33rd Raindance Film Festival comprises 70 narrative and documentary features – that’s a 90% increase on last year’s edition, and the first time since 2019 that Raindance will champion so many films. Similarly, Raindance returns for the first time since 2019 to Vue Piccadilly. Situated in the heart of London’s West End, this landmark cinema will host Raindance exclusively and entirely for the festival’s full duration, complemented by an opening gala at Vue Leicester Square and a party at the Waldorf Hilton’s lavish Palm Court. In recent editions, Raindance adapted its mandate to focus primarily on first features – and although this year Raindance upholds its commitment to emerging filmmakers (40 films i.e. 58% of the feature programme are debut features), this generously-sized edition has the capacity to showcase much more, including new films by more seasoned indie auteurs. The programme also includes 113 short films and 32 immersive projects. With support from main sponsor Canon Europe, the festival will take over not only Vue Piccadilly but also One Ninetyfour, which will be utilised by filmmakers and guests as Raindance’s industry hub, the Canon Lounge. Industry highlights include a special Cinematography Day Presented by Canon. Intrinsically poised to embrace the vanguard, this year Raindance also marks a decade of XR innovation with the 10th edition of Raindance Immersive, incorporating the Immersive Showcase and Immersive Summit at Vue Piccadilly plus a month-long online festival in VRChat (6 - 29June). “Raindance is always one to punch above its weight, so it’s appropriate that the festival’s 33rd edition should open with the World Premiere of a British debut feature about a wildcard boxer,” says Raindance founder Elliot Grove. “Throughout this edition, Raindance continues to champion new voices and under-the-radar films that many other festivals overlook. With our new main sponsor Canon Europe, we have an even greater ability to enable filmmakers to focus on the stories they are determined to tell. We’re also celebrating a decade of XR innovation at Raindance with the 10th Raindance Immersive – proving that being a wildcard equals being ahead of the curve. Stay ahead of the curve by joining our celebration of indie cinema in the heart of London.” OPENING GALA: HEAVYWEIGHT (WORLD PREMIERE) The 33rd Raindance Film Festival opens 18 June at Vue Leicester Square with the World Premiere of Christopher M. Anthony’s debut feature HEAVYWEIGHT (dir: Christopher M. Anthony, UK). Starring Nicholas Pinnock (Top Boy, Marcella, For Life), Jordan Bolger (Peaky Blinders, The Woman King), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter series, Death of Stalin) and cast including Jamie Bamber, Sienna Guillory, Blake Harrison and Joplin Sibtain, it follows wildcard boxing contender ‘Diamond’ Derek Douglas and his support team ahead of a title fight he doubts he can win. The pressure escalates in realtime, as dirty tricks and revelations are revealed. An intense and visceral experience exploring a side of elite sport rarely seen. Followed by a gala opening party at the Waldorf Hilton’s Palm Court, plus this year’s Raindance Icon Award presentation (details to come). CLOSING GALA: THE ACADEMY (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE) The festival closes with the International Premiere of Camilla Guttner’s feature THE ACADEMY (dir: Camilla Guttner, Germany) with a strong lead performance from Maja Bons (award-winner for German TVs Everyone Is F*cking Crazy) as Jojo, a student who experiences a baptism of fire when she’s accepted by a prestigious art school. But the dazzling art world soon reveals itself to be a ruthless terrain, and Jojo does everything she can to stay true to herself in this toxic environment. Presented with the support of German Films. MAIN SPONSOR: CANON EUROPE The 33rd Raindance Film Festival welcomes Canon Europe as Main Sponsor. As Main Sponsor, Canon’s presence will be central to many aspects of the festival. This year’s industry hub will occupy One Ninetyfour: located under the BAFTA building at 194 Piccadilly, this space will be re-branded the Canon Lounge, a film-focused place created to inspire a new and upcoming generation of indie filmmakers. Within the Canon Lounge will be a dedicated area where filmmakers can interact with Canon experts throughout the festival, alongside showcase elements that demonstrate the full scope and potential of Canon products including a 360-degree photobooth. Raindance’s Industry Programme of talks and masterclasses will feature a special Cinematography Day Presented by Canon, with guest speakers and brand ambassadors exploring Canon’s wide-ranging product lines. This year’s festival trailer was shot using the latest Canon equipment, and Canon cameras will be utilised by Raindance’s production and marketing/social media teams throughout the festival. FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS >> INTERNATIONAL FEATURES: premieres of maverick independent films DREAM! (dir: Paul Spurrier, Thailand) World Premiere. One of the biggest independent films ever made in Thailand, this lavish and cinematic Christmas-set musical follows a young girl who flees her mountain home, beginning a magical journey across Thailand to find a new family. GRANNY MUST DIE (dir: Yi Jung Chen, Taiwan) International Premiere. Debut feature. This dark absurdist comedy portrays three generations of a family living in a tiny Taipei apartment when love, duty and lunacy spiral delightfully out of control. LOVE SONG FROM HIROSHIMA (dir: Hideyuki Tokigawa, Japan) European Premiere. A call to peace and togetherness as a benevolent alien wanders around present-day Hiroshima. NAWI: DEAR FUTURE ME (dir: Vallentine Chelluget, Apuu Mourine, Kevin Schmutzler, Kenya) UK Premiere. Debut feature. Highlighting the plight of child brides in Africa, and acclaimed at multiple film festivals and at the African Movie Academy Awards, it follows a 13-year-old whose father is selling her to a much older man for a herd of goats, and so she embarks on a journey to reclaim her dream of joining high school. NO BEAST. SO FIERCE. (dir: Burhan Qurbani, Poland/France/Germany) UK Premiere. Following its World Premiere at Berlin, this adaptation of Richard III by award-winning director Burhan Qurbani sees actress Kenda Hmeidan dazzle as the daughter of an Arab clan who, in the aftermath of a bloody gang war, plots against her male siblings to become the undisputed boss of the Berlin underworld. PATERNAL LEAVE (dir: Alissa Jung, Germany/Italy) UK Premiere. Debut feature. A champion at Berlin and BCN film festivals, it follows a teenage girl’s journey to Italy’s northern coast, seeking her unknown biological father. SHAKESPEARE’S THE TEMPEST (dir: Garret Replogle, USA) European Premiere. Debut feature. Star Trek meets Shakespeare in this tale of a spaceship captain marooned on a desert planet who orchestrates a series of events to confront the crew who betrayed him. SRISHTI (dir: Paul Antar, India) World Premiere. Debut feature. The story of a photographer, haunted by childhood guilt, who travels to remote Himalayan Sector K to investigate a mysterious phenomenon – this mystery/drama highlights the plight of children forced to work trawling through giant rubbish heaps in search of things that can be monetised. TAPE (dir: Bizhan Tong, UK/Hong Hong) UK Premiere. Set in modern-day Asia, this bold reimagining of Richard Linklater’s cult classic sees three high school friends reunite, only to confront a harrowing secret from their past. THE PARTY’S OVER (dir: Elena Manrique, Spain/Belgium) UK Premiere. Debut feature. Beatriz Arjona won “Best Lead Actress” Carmen Award for her role as a wealthy divorcée in southern Spain whose life is disrupted when a young Senegalese immigrant seeks shelter in her toolshed. WET MONDAY (dir: Justyna Mytnik, Poland). UK Premiere. Debut feature. When repressed trauma from a sexual assault resurfaces, a teenage girl develops a strange fear of water. Thanks to a new-found friend, she confronts it in an unusual way. >> INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARIES: powerful & relevant global stories BEAM ME UP, SULU (dir: Timour Gregory, Sasha Schneider, USA) World Premiere. Debut feature. The search for a lost fan film made by young Trekkies in 1985 opens a window into the extraordinary life of Star Trek star George Takei and the ongoing fight for equality and representation. CHILDREN IN THE FIRE (dir: Evgeny Afineevsky, Ukraine) World Premiere. Debut feature. War-wounder Ukrainian children share their stories through a blend of live footage and animation, bringing their experiences to life. GOD AS MY WITNESS (dir: Lindsay Q. Pitre, USA) World Premiere. Debut feature. Decades after losing his brother, a man begins to uncover dark secrets within the Archdiocese of New Orleans, exposing a generations-long cover-up of betrayal, sexual abuse and corruption. I HOPE THIS HELPS! (dir: Daniel M. Freed, USA) UK Premiere. Debut feature. Executive produced by Matthew Modine and Adam Rackoff, this multi-award winner sees journalist Daniel Freed enlist the help of Google’s first AI chatbot “Bard” to collaborate on a documentary about AI, exploring the benefits and risks of this world-changing innovation. SAINT DAMIAN (dir: Gregorio Sassoli, Alejandro Cifuentes, Italy) UK Premiere. Debut feature. Following a Polish man who arrives at Rome’s Termini Station with just 50€ to his name, this is an uncompromising, no-holds barred look at homelessness and mental illness. THE SOCIAL TRAP: 5 WOMEN VS THE BIG 5 (dir: Elisa Jadot, France) UK Premiere. Adolescents who use smartphones for more than 5 hours a day are 66% more likely to suffer suicidal symptoms than those who use it for 1 hour a day. Facing tech giants like Meta, TikTok, X and Snapchat, five women decide to take action. >> UK: discover the best homegrown narrative features & documentaries BREAKWATER (dir: Max Morgan, UK) World Premiere. Debut feature. Portraying the tentative romance between young Oxford student Otto and retired angler John, and with a cast including William Gao (Heartstopper), this is the second film to be made with the involvement of Oxford University – the first being 1982’s Privileged, which famously launched the Hollywood career of Hugh Grant amongst others. DALI (dir: Mickey Angelov, UK) World Premiere. Debut feature. Exploring themes of cultural identity and nature vs nurture, we follow a Bulgarian-born American-raised rapper who dies and so must relive his tumultuous past to determine whether he belongs Above or Below. EMMA: ONE LAST DANCE (dir: Maya Amin-Smith, UK) World Premiere. Debut feature. The story of Emma Hayes, the most successful manager in WSL history, charting her last six months at Chelsea Football Club as she attempts to lead her team to victory one more time. IN SYMBIOSIS (dir: Helena Berndl, Francesco Maria Gallo, UK) World Premiere. From land to lab, this environmental doc unveils the driving forces behind a broken food system. POISED (dir: Toby Robson, UK) European Premiere. Debut feature. Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at Cinequest, it charts a man’s hopes to use mixed martial arts (MMA) to save a group of disadvantaged young people in a post-industrial north-east England. ROW (dir: Matthew Losasso, UK) World Premiere. Debut feature. Shot on the open sea, and with a cast including Bella Dayne (Humans) and Sophie Skelton (Outlander), this thriller sees a woman wash ashore on a blood-stained rowing boat after a failed trans-Atlantic world record attempt. With all her crewmates missing, presumed dead, she must piece together fractured memories of the ordeal to prove her innocence. THE RENDLESHAM UFO: THE BRITISH ROSWELL (dir: Roderick Godman, Mark Christopher Lee, UK) World Premiere. Narrated by William B. Davis of X-Files fame, this thrilling and sometimes hilarious investigation delves into the 1980 Rendlesham UFO incident where a mysterious craft was reportedly seen landing near a U.S. airbase. THE TWO OF US (dir: Owen Ward, UK). World Premiere. Debut feature. Tim Edwards, whose daughter Elle was a victim of gun crime, tries to deal with the trauma of loss by embarking on an epic walk spanning the length of the UK, accompanied by comedian and actor John May. A rare and deeply human perspective on the impact these violent crimes have on the victims’ families. THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING (dir: Tristan Loraine, Sandra Skibsted, UK) World Premiere. Former airline captain Tristan Loraine explores what the aviation industry really knows about the quality of the air you breathe onboard aircraft. >> RAINDANCE HORROR: rebooted & expanded horror strand + “New Blood” debuts DEFORMELODY: AN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE (dir: Joshua Rivera, USA) International Premiere. Debut feature. Shot by a crew of two over 3 years for $4,000 on a mobile phone, this horror satire follows a pop-culture-obsessed serial killer who terrorizes L.A. DIRTY BOY (dir: Doug Rao, UK) UK Premiere. Debut feature. Graham McTavish (Outlander, The Hobbit trilogy) stars in this tale of a reclusive schizophrenic raised in an oppressive cult, who discovers he’s being framed by cult leaders for a series of ritualistic murders. DUI SHAW (dir: Nuhash Humayun, Bangladesh) UK Premiere. A portmanteau of unsettling tales from Bangladesh, including a deadly curse, a magic village, and a morbid marriage. A sequel to Pett Kata Shaw, winner of Raindance’s Best International Feature in 2023. THE RUN (dir: Paul Raschid, USA/Italy) World Premiere. A famous fitness influencer’s morning run turns into a fight for survival in this interactive film, where the audience gets to vote on her choices. With cameos from horror icons Dario Argento and Franco Nero. WHITE GUILT (dir: Marcus Flemmings, UK) World Premiere. Set on a US plantation, affluent white individuals sample an ‘inverted slavery experience’ through a pay-to-play service. ZHAZA (dir: Darkhan Tulegenov, Kazakhstan). UK Premiere. In this action thriller, a corrupt mayor learns that his daughter has been raped by the chief-of-police. He takes him hostage and fights off the rape squads, while trying to save his daughter and establish a relationship with her. A full A-Z list of features is available by request, or online at www.raindance.org/festival 20th ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SCREENING: MRS PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT Starring the incomparable Dame Joan Plowright alongside Rupert Friend, MRS PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT (dir: Dan Ireland, UK/USA) tells of an elderly woman, all but abandoned by her family in a London retirement hotel, who strikes up a curious friendship with a young writer. Twenty years after the film’s release, and almost a decade since its director Dan Ireland passed away, Raindance will present in tribute a 20th anniversary screening of this heartfelt film. As a tireless champion of independent films, both as a director and as co-founder of the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Ireland epitomized the spirit of indie cinema. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is both a love letter to London and a testament to his storytelling. “Dan Ireland understood the soul of cinema and the power of connection. I remember Mrs Palfrey was originally estimated to cost £10 million or more to make in London, but longtime Raindance collaborator Matthew Devlen made it possible to get the film off the ground for under £1 million by first creating a full backlot in and around Hyde Park. As Raindance marks its 33rd year, we’re proud to celebrate Dan’s unwavering indie spirit and to pay tribute to the late Dame Joan Plowright for her radiant performance in this beloved film.” – Elliot Grove, Founder, Raindance Film Festival. IN COMPETITION: ACADEMY AWARD® QUALIFYING SHORT FILM PROGRAMMES Raindance is an Oscar-qualifying festival. The recipient of Raindance’s Best Live Action Short, Best Animation Short, and Best Documentary Short are eligible for consideration in the three Short Films categories of the Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run (provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules). Highlights this year include THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT (dir: Nebojša Slijepčević, Croatia). Winner of the 2024 “Best Short Film” Palme d’Or at Cannes and nominated for an Oscar®, it’s set on a passenger train that is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation in Bosnia & Herzegovina in 1993 – and only one man dares to stand up to them. Winner of “Best International Short” at this years’ Sundance, GRANDMA NAI WHO PLAYED FAVOURITES (dir: Chheangkea, Cambodia) sees dead Grandma Nai sneak away from her afterlife after hearing that her queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman. A night in the life of a Tokyo taxi driver is portrayed in MIDNIGHT (dir: Takashi Miike, Japan), a vibrant short film by the renowned director of classic features including Ichi the Killer and Audition. A man grapples with personal demons while pursuing a seemingly mundane goal in O (dir: Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland/Sweden), the latest short by this Oscar® nominated director. A young woman ponders life’s mysteries in a confession box in OUR FATHER (dir: Aisling Bea, Ireland), the directorial debut of acclaimed actor, stand-up comedian and writer Aisling Bea. Actor Susan Wokoma writes and directs her second short DARK SKIN BRUISES DIFFERENTLY (dir: Susan Wokoma, UK), and stars as a teacher whose integrity is threatened when one of her students lies. Oscar® winning actor Cate Blanchett features in sci-fi short BOZO OVER ROSES (dir: Matty Sidle, Hungary/USA). And Oscar® nominated actor Barkhad Abdi features in MAGAN’S FARE (dir: Christopher Knoblock, Dana White, USA) as a driver taking a woman back to her nursing home, only to find they have given up her bed. Altogether there are 113 short films across shorts programmes including: Abstract Notions, Animation, B-reel, Documentary, Female Shorts, Gone Astray, Horror Show, LGBTQIA+, Lost Cause, Nova Express, Radical Agendas, Relative States, Traditional Cuts, Transient Ventures, Young Bloods. RAINDANCE x NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY TALENT FUND Raindance are pleased to announce as part of this year’s festival the Global Premiere of six films created as part of the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund. In its third year, the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund supports emerging filmmakers to nurture and support a new generation of documentary storytellers. The six films were selected out of thousands of applications inspired by the prompt “you’re never gonna believe this…” Each received a budget of £30,000 to produce a short documentary between 8-12 minutes long, participated in Netflix hosted workshops covering all aspects of production including legal, creative, HR, production and finance along with year-long guidance on their films from Netflix and filmmaking professionals. The fund aims to champion underrepresented voices – values that Raindance also share and uphold. Now completed, these six powerful and relevant stories will have their World Premieres on Thursday 26 June during the 33rd Raindance Film Festival, ahead of their release on Netflix’s YouTube channel. Screening as part of Raindance’s Official Selection, these documentary shorts will each be eligible to be considered for Raindance’s Oscar®-qualifying “Best Documentary Short” jury award. Full list of films: BEYOND THE DIVIDE (dir: Imoje Aikhoje), THE ANGRY BIRD (dir: Lisa Smith & Jack Lilleywhite), THE GOOD FARMER AND THE FAILED SON (dir: Ailill Martin & Peter Kilmartin), BAND (dir: David Chabeaux & Owen Tooth), THE HERRING QUEEN (dir: Eilidh Munro & Isabella Bassett), TOO DISGUSTING TO BE CONFUSED (dir: Maya Avidov & Savannah James-Bayly). IN COMPETITION: AWARDS AND JURY The 33rd Raindance Film Festival jury awards honour features in ten categories: Best International Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Discovery Award for Debut Feature, Best Debut Director, Best Performance in a Debut Feature, Best UK Feature, Best Director of a UK Feature, Best Performance in a UK Feature, Best UK Cinematography and the Spirit of Raindance Award. Raindance further honours shorts in four categories: Best UK Short, Best Live Action Short, Best Animation Short, Best Documentary Short. This year’s jury: Antonia Campbell-Hughes (actor: It Is In Us All, Cordelia, 3096 Tage), Ashley Walters (actor: Adolescence, Top Boy), Cristo Fernández (actor: Ted Lasso), Emily Beecham (actor: Pursuit Of Love, Cruella, Little Joe), Iain Glen (actor: Game of Thrones, Resident Evil, The Rig), Iwan Rheon (actor: Vicious, Misfits, Game of Thrones), Jason Flemyng (actor: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Boiling Point), Jo Hartley (actor: Swede Caroline, In My Skin, After Life), Natascha McElhone (actor: Laurel Canyon, Carmen, Surviving Picasso), Ng Choon Ping (director: Femme, What It Feels Like for a Girl), Theo Barklem-Biggs (actor: Rogue Heroes, Cherry, Make Up), Tosin Cole (actor: Supacell, Children of Blood and Bone, Till), Waad Al-Kateab (director: For Sama, We Dare To Dream, Death Without Mercy), Fred Hogge (co-founder & original producer of BIFA), Joshua Trigg (director: Satu - Year Of The Rabbit, World Premiere at 32nd RDFF), Kemal Akhtar (producer), Neil Norman (film critic), Sam Crane (director: BIFA winning Grand Theft Hamlet), Sonja Klaus (production designer: Gladiator, American Gangster), Vineeta Misra (head, NFDC Film Bazaar India). RAINDANCE INDUSTRY SESSIONS @ CANON LOUNGE (Neon, 194 Piccadilly) This year’s Raindance Industry Sessions present a dynamic lineup of talks, panels, and workshops, all hosted at the Canon Lounge (Neon, 194 Piccadilly), named in celebration of the festival’s main sponsor Canon. Designed to empower emerging filmmakers, the sessions are themed by day, covering key areas of the industry such as cinematography, post-production, and distribution. Highlights include talks on the Future of Storytelling hosted by TOOFAR MEDIA, a panel with NETFLIX to discuss their new Documentary Talent Fund, and an interview with the filmmakers behind the 2024 BIFA Raindance Maverick Award winner, Grand Theft Hamlet. Unique features this year include an AI filmmaking masterclass by MOONMAX, part of a wider focus on creative AI and its impact on film production, and Oscar®-winning guidance by LONDON FLAIR PR. 10th RAINDANCE IMMERSIVE: “STEP INTO THE LIGHT” Celebrating a decade of championing independent XR creators, Raindance Immersive's vanguard programme continues to define the future of storytelling with a dynamic array of 32 projects, including World Premieres and first-look previews. Notably, 27 projects are showcased on immersive social VR platforms like VRChat, Resonite, and Orion Drift, underscoring the growing power of these social spaces for both creation and play. For the landmark 10th edition, the Raindance Immersive festival beckons you to Step Into The Light, and witness stories unfold around you, blurring the lines between observer and participant. The visionary curation team of Mária Rakušanová, Joe Hunting, Joanna Leigh, Mary Lee Desmond and Jiyue Hu present Raindance Immersive's standout selections. Among their top VR game picks are the gripping dark fantasy claymation adventure THE MIDNIGHT WALK (creators: Moonhood Games), the blockbuster puzzle sensation GHOST TOWN (creators: Fireproof Games), the thrilling e-sports contender ORION DRIFT (creators: Another Axiom), and iconic VRChat masterpiece BULLET TIME AGENT (creator: Lakuza). Beyond gaming, Raindance Immersive extends into VRChat and Resonite, where attendees can embark on unique guided tours of fully hand-crafted art worlds led by their visionary world builders and immerse themselves in the palpable energy of live performances, from electrifying music shows and immersive theatre to captivating dance, spoken word artistry, and even insightful spiritual sessions with meditation guides and tarot card readers. HOMMAGE (creators: Nanotopia and Rixx) is a love letter to Jean "Moebius" Giraud's visionary legacy, paying tribute to his seminal collaborations with Alejandro Jodorowsky, René Laloux, and the revolutionary spirit of Metal Hurlant. NATURA’S QUEENDOM (creator: Anders Fray and Starheart) is a surreal, hand-painted world brought to life by whimsical music. CINEMATIC NEON CLUB: MONA LISA OVERDRIVE (creators: Cinematic Neon Club) is a cyberpunk-inspired world created for a unique live music show. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (creators: Agile Lens) is a groundbreaking VR adaptation of Dickens’ timeless classic, blending full-body motion capture, real-time theatrical storytelling, and an interactive audience experience. Furthermore, this year's narrative category strongly emphasizes VR for impact documentaries, underscoring XR's powerful potential to drive social justice. Having been presented at COP29 in Baku, BREAK THE SILENCE (creators: Dnipro NGO, Mriya Production) illustrates the environmental catastrophe unfolding in Ukraine as the fourth year of the full-scale invasion progresses. Journey to Tanzania in SANDS OF TIME (creator: Dopay) to learn about the devastating costs of unchecked sand mining. A deeply personal interactive mixed-media piece, THE TIME BEFORE (creator: Leo Metcalf) delves into the elusive nature of childhood, glimpsing fractured memories of an abusive father and a mother lost in the haze of the past. And ANCESTRAL SECRET VR (creators: Francisca Silva, María José Díaz) is an immersive glimpse into the living traditions of the Q'ero community of Peru, the last inheritors of Inca culture. For the third year, Raindance proudly spotlights emerging talent with a dedicated showcase of short films from the burgeoning VRChat filmmaking community. The selection of short films created within VRChat is curated by Joe Hunting, the acclaimed filmmaker whose Sundance-nominated documentaries We Met in Virtual Reality and The Reality of Hope were groundbreaking for being filmed entirely in VRChat. This programme includes A DUTCHMAN IN VIRTUAL JAPAN (creator: Madame Kana, cast: Kaerun), BROKEN PAST (creator: SlapNap), OUR PRECIOUS AUTUMN (creator: Penrose Studios), STARCROSS COAST (creator: Danny Grey). This year's Raindance Immersive Showcase will run in London from June 19th to 22nd at Vue Piccadilly, including the annual Immersive Summit on June 20th. The virtual festival will run from June 6th to 29th within VRChat with additional events in Resonite and Orion Drift. The nominated immersive experiences will compete for 8 awards: Best Narrative for Impact, Best Game, Best Art World, Best Art Experience, Best Music Show, Best Live Performance, Best Immersive Theatre and Best Short Film of VR. www.raindanceimmersive.com

Revel Puck Circus

Revel Puck Circus, the multi-award-winning contemporary circus company from East London, is set to transform Brighton's The Level into an exciting hub for of family-friendly circus and late night cabaret at Brighton Fringe festival, from 02 May until 01 June 2025.

This marks a significant step for circus at Brighton Fringe, with The Circus Yard offering an unprecedented number of large-scale and experimental productions in one dedicated space. This initiative aims to rejuvenate The Level, a historic green space in central Brighton, by fostering community engagement and enhancing the area’s vibrancy.

Revel Puck Circus has a proven track record of delivering dynamic, community-driven events, most recently demonstrated by the acclaimed Revel Puck’s Winter Festival in Walthamstow, London last Christmas.

Blending bold, contemporary circus with a festive atmosphere, their ability to create an immersive circus experience extends beyond the performances, with local partnerships and a vibrant festival atmosphere. Previous successes such as this highlight Revel Puck’s expertise in crafting engaging, high-quality productions, and the plan is for this latest project to be their most impactful yet.

Audiences can expect everything from large-scale physical feats to intimate, thought-provoking storytelling, all delivered with the signature boldness that defines Revel Puck’s curation.

The site features two distinctive circus venues: Big Puck – A 500-capacity Big Top tent Little Puck – A 200-capacity Big Top tent. PucksBar – A 200+ capacity covered stretch tent with pedestal heaters, offering a welcoming space to gather. Open to the public with no tickets required, featuring seating and a lively atmosphere.

Alongside thrilling performances, visitors can enjoy a family-friendly bar, diverse food vendors, and inviting spaces to relax and socialise, creating a warm and inclusive atmosphere for all.

The full programme of shows for The Circus Yard at Brighton Fringe 2025 can be found here: https://www.revelpuckcircus.com/brightonfringe2025

Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter

 

Blue-Eyes Film and Miracle Media Distribution announce the UK digital release of critically acclaimed documentary Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter. Following a successful US release, the film will be launching on Digital Download in the UK from 14th April.   Before the Food Network and social media, Chef Charlie Trotter revolutionised global cuisine, redefining modern fine dining and inspiring chefs across the world—including the UK’s own Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal, who considered him both a friend and an inspiration. His pioneering approach to tasting menus, obsession with perfection, and dedication to innovation shaped the culinary landscape we know today.   Featuring exclusive interviews with world-renowned chefs Wolfgang Puck, Grant Achatz, Emeril Lagasse, Norman Van Aken, and Carrie Nahabedian, the film offers a rare inside look at a visionary who pushed boundaries and paid the price. With never-before-seen archival footage, Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter explores how Trotter’s uncompromising drive led to both triumph and tragedy. Told through intimate interviews with family, friends, and industry icons, including his first wife Lisa Ehrlich, the film reveals the man behind the legend.   Premiering to critical acclaim, Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter earned multiple festival awards and a James Beard Media Award nomination, cementing its place as a must-watch documentary. An Oak Street Pictures production, the film is directed by Rebecca Halpern (Helter Skelter: An American Myth, Gangland) and produced by Renée Frigo (Marcella, Tesla, Nine Days). It is executive produced by Margie Geddes, Ray Harris, and Tony DeLuca. The film is rated 90% by critics and 99% by the audience on Rotten Tomatoes*.   For UK food lovers, this is the chance to discover the untold story of a chef whose influence extends far beyond his own kitchen. ­

Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter is available on Amazon Prime  Short Synopsis:  Before the Food Network and social media, Chef Charlie Trotter revolutionised global cuisine. He was a rock star among the first generation of celebrity chefs, but his meteoric rise came at a price. Written & Directed By: Rebecca Halpern Produced By: Renée Frigo p.g.a, Oak Street Pictures Featuring: Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Grant Achatz, Normal Van Aken, Carrie Nahabedian, Della Gossett, Michelle Gayer and David Lefevre Run Time: 96 minutes Cert: TBC

Just Watch!

A great resource is JustWatch which is an international Streaming Guide that shows you where to watch movies & TV shows legally online and also helps in finding what to watch on streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and so on. 

Very clear and easy to use pages to see what is on offer.

Deliver Us The Moon

Powered by Unreal® Engine 4, Deliver Us The Moon is set in an apocalyptic near-future where the Earth’s resources have been depleted and humanity looks to the stars.

Here is Niles Watson's review:

Deliver Us The Moon is a fun game, I haven't completed it yet but I have been having a grand time twirling through a zero g space station like . There are moments that feel almost like 'Alien' mixed with Space Engineer as you desperately flail about trying to figure out one of the many enjoyable puzzles to avoid a horrible deep space asphyxiation. The inclusion of timed areas and hazards give some of the more simple puzzles a sense of urgency keeping things pretty entertaining and help create a diversity in the games puzzles.

The game seems to give you a lot of free reign and encourages you to explore the environment with logs and audio tapes being scattered around; it definitely helps that the contents of these collectables are interesting enough to be worth collecting and aren't an exercise in futility. Additionally the game does a good job at creating an immersive atmosphere with a beautiful soundtrack and graphics especially for an indie game.

My only critique would be that the game is a bit pricey but its a well polished game and if you're a big fan of the sci-fi genre like me then its probably worth your time and money.

BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2018

Reviewed by Alan Pavelin

Each year at the LFF I select a number of smaller films from the Festival, generally avoiding the big features destined for an early theatrical release.  

Steven Knight’s 2013 film Locke was set entirely inside a car, with just a single character onscreen. The Guilty, directed by Gustav Moller, is a terrific “Scandi noir” thriller based on a similar premise.  Set in a police emergency call office with just one major character onscreen, all the action is at the other end of telephone lines, with computer technology to help identify callers and their location.  Jakob Cedergren (superb) is Asger, a cop investigating an abruptly-terminated call from a distressed woman.  This taut 85-minute film is not what it might at first seem, and has a claustrophobic atmosphere which would make it ideal for the small screen.  Cedergren,  with changing facial expressions in close-up for most of the film, is totally convincing.  Utterly gripping, very very clever, and when you’ve seen it you’ll want to watch it all over again.

Ordinary Time, directed by Susana Nobre and based on her own experiences, is a portrait of how a Lisbon couple’s life is changed by the birth of their first child.  As far as I could tell it is a documentary in all but name, with non-actors (including the baby) playing themselves, as their names in the film are identical to those in the credits.  We meet the couple’s parents (very different on either side), and various friends and other characters.  We get an idea of the effect on their work, to the detriment it seems of the woman.  Altogether, a moving portrait which most parents will recognise.

I really liked Etangs Noirs (the name of a Brussels metro station), an unusual mystery about a young man Jimi (Cedric Luvuezo) to whom a package has been mistakenly delivered, addressed to a woman in a neighbouring apartment block who never seems to be in.  He comes to devote his entire time to trying to track her down without success, until a deceptively simple ending terminates his quest.  Filmed on location, largely in the Brussels metro, the style is reminiscent of the films of the Dardennes brothers, the co-directors being Dumoulin and de Keyser.

A delightful and funny documentary from Iran, The Broker, directed by Azadi Moghadam in the style of the great Abbas Kiarostami, is set in a marriage broking office run by several women.  The clients are largely hidden from our view, but we hear about their past and present situations and current requirements.  There is much reference to “temporary marriage” (presumably cohabitation) with lots of shuffling through paperwork by the brokers as they search out suitable mates.  In one scene dozens of clients are gathered in a large room, men on one side and women on the other, as they are invited individually to advertise themselves as desirable mates.  A revealing insight into present-day Iran, which, as we have learned from other films, is far from the oppressive society of popular belief in the West.

The Chambermaid, directed by Lila Aviles, stars Gabriela Cartol as an ambitious worker in a Mexico City hotel.  An appealing character, who attends literacy classes to help her advancement, her experiences include looking after the baby of a self-obsessed woman guest, an unfortunate event involving menstrual blood, and some over-friendly advances by an older chambermaid.  There is no real plot, and, though the film is very well directed and acted, I found my attention wandering towards the end.

Winter Flies, by Czech director Olmo Omerzu, is a road movie about two teenage boys who steal a car to drive across the country.  Told largely in flashback by the older boy Mara to a woman police officer, the non-professional young actors are genuinely impressive.  Standout scenes are Mara’s near-terror when he thinks his grandfather has died, and the final clever escape from the police station.

Did I mention smaller films?  That is hardly a description of the 808-minute Argentine production La Flor (The Flower), directed by Mariano Llinas, of which I saw the first part (of three).  The film starts with Llinás explaining that it consists of six separate stories, each effectively a feature-length film, of which four have a beginning but no end, one an end but no beginning, and one is a complete story.  The same four actresses play different roles in each story, each story being in the style of a particular genre, the genre of the first two (comprising part one of the entire film) being the American B-movie and the musical.  The B-movie, actually more of a horror movie, concerns a scientific establishment in which an ancient mummy has been dug up, and just as a key fact is about to be disclosed, the story ends.  The musical, about the failed relationship between a musician and a much younger singer, has a bizarre subplot involving scorpion serum for rejuvenation purposes.  With huge close-ups for much of the time, I found these two stories (one-third of the film) strangely absorbing.

László Nemes, whose first feature Son of Saul (2015) was an Oscar-winner, has now directed Sunset, set in Budapest in 1913 as the sun was about to set on the Austro-Hungarian empire.  Juli Jakob, onscreen for virtually the entire film, much in close-up, is Irisz, who returns to the millinery store run by her parents who died when she was 2.  The current owner is strangely reluctant to employ her, and the dark atmosphere becomes ever more threatening until the trenches of WWI make their appearance in the final scene.  It’s a mysterious, sometimes baffling, film with a restless camera following Irisz around ceaselessly.  The film seemed to last much less than its 142 minutes, thanks largely to the stunning performance of Jakab.  It is due for release in the coming months.

I always find the “Treasures from the Archives” part of the Festival enticing.  This year’s selection included Some Like It Hot, but having seen Wilder’s comic masterpiece many times I looked elsewhere.  In particular there was Frank Borzage’s 1927 romantic drama 7th Heaven, which won a Best Actress Oscar for Janet Gaynor (along with two other films in which she starred) in the very first year of the award.  Borzage was the master of what might be called spiritual romanticism, often on the theme “love is stronger than death”.  7th Heaven tells of the love between two lower-class Parisians (Gaynor and Charles Farrell) at the time of the First World War. Engaging throughout, there is a striking shot up through 7 floors of a building which, to my mind, anticipated similar shots by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane.

Then I saw Alexander Korda’s 1933 production The Private Life of Henry VIII, starring Charles Laughton.  The first British film to be a big hit in America, it is mostly played as broad comedy, and anyone wanting an education in Tudor history or the English Reformation should look elsewhere.   But if you want a jolly romp through the Merry Monarch’s six wives, look no further.  Robert Donat co-stars.

Finally a film I hadn’t heard of, but which has been called the most important Soviet film.  Directed by Fridrikh Ermler in 1929, Fragment of an Empire is a similar idea to the 2003 German film Good Bye, Lenin!, and tells of a man who returns from the First World War with amnesia, not understanding that the Bolshevik Revolution has taken place.  He arrives back in what he thinks is still St. Petersburg, puzzled by all the changes, which he eventually comes to see as wonderful.  This obviously pro-Soviet film is clearly influenced by Eisenstein, with some surreal sequences and rapid montage.  I didn’t find it immediately engaging, but a second viewing might change that.

MARVEL TOPS DC WITH MOST ANTICIPATED SUPERHERO FILM BLACK PANTHER

Marvel made over $2.4bn in box office takings in 2017, $1.3bn more than DC

• Marvel plans to release eight films this year, compared to only one for DC
• Marvel’s Black Panther is the most pre-ordered superhero film in history
• Marvel has a median Rotten Tomatoes rating of 73 percent compared to only 48 percent for DC

Ahead of the release of Marvel’s widely anticipated Black Panther, set to be the most successful superhero film to hit the box office, finder.com has settled the Marvel vs. DC debate once and for all. According to research collected by the price comparison site, Marvel dominates in both ratings and box office takings for comic book films.

Last year Marvel made over $2.4 billion from its movies, maintaining a median score of 73 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. In comparison DC took home $1.1 billion in box office takings last year with a 48 percent median rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This was despite the fact that Marvel produced only four films in 2017 compared to nine for DC.

More superhero films have hit the big screen in the past two years than ever before, with a total of 18 films released by Marvel, DC and others. Marvel has dominated the number of superhero movies released over the past seven years and is expected to hit an unprecedented eight superhero films this year, compared to just one from DC.

Due to be released on 12 February, 2018 in the UK, Black Panther is already breaking box office records. Black Panther has outsold Captain America: Civil War to become Marvel’s most pre-ordered film in the first 24-hours and has already overtaken DC’s Batman v Superman in advanced ticket sales to become the most anticipated superhero film in history.

For more information about finder’s study and to view further superhero stats, please visit https://www.finder.com/uk/superhero-statistics#mainhttps://www.finder.com/uk/superhero-statistics#main.