Wednesday 16 September 2026 at 2.00pm & 7.00pm
La Grazia (12A)
Italy 2025. 2hr 12m. Dir: Paolo Sorrentino. Cast: Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti. Language: Italian (subtitled)
From the internationally acclaimed writer-director Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo, Youth) comes an intimate study of a fictional Italian president, widowed and in his final months of office, during which he navigates both private and moral dilemmas.
Performed brilliantly by the droll and magnetic lead actor Toni Servillo (a frequent collaborator of the director’s), this feature delivers a stylised and skilful exploration of love, duty and personal freedom. An accomplished portrait.
“…all of the characters here are totally convincing both in their political dealings and in their personal lives…[director] Sorrentino’s best work for years”
Mansel Stimpson, Film Review Daily
“It’s enjoyable to be back in Sorrentino’s richly detailed and stylized universe, with all its enchantments and individualized, warm-blooded characters”
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Wednesday 30 September 2026 at 2.00pm & 7.00pm
Miroirs no. 3 (15)
Germany 2026. 1hr 26m. Dir: Christian Petzold. Cast: Paula Beer, Barbara Auer. Language: German, French (subtitled)
During a weekend getaway to the countryside, Berliner student Laura miraculously survives a calamitous event. Physically unharmed but deeply shaken, she is scooped up by bystander Betty, whose husband and son observe the incomer warily. Will this ease over time? Eventually the secretive past can no longer be ignored and Laura will need to confront her own life.
This gently-paced psychological intrigue is director Petzold’s latest film partnership with actor Paula Beer, also the lead in two erstwhile BFS screenings: Undine and Frantz.
“Suspense melts away into golden summer days in [Petzold’s] low-key psychodrama”
Savina Petkova, Sight & Sound
“Miroirs No. 3 (which takes its title from the third movement of a Ravel piano suite) is an elegant demonstration of what can be achieved with limited ingredients in the hands of an inventive creative team and a first-rate cast”
Wendy Ide, Screen Daily
Wednesday 14 October 2026 at 2.00pm & 7.00pm
Cotton Queen (cert tbc)
Sudan, Germany etc. 2025. 1hr 29m. Dir: Suzannah Mirghani. Cast: Mihad Murtada, Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud. Language: Arabic (subtitled)
In a cotton-growing Sudanese village, teenager Nafisa is raised on heroic tales recounted by her
grandmother, the village matriarch Al-sit, of the historic struggle against British colonizers. When a smart-suited businessman arrives with a plan to introduce genetically modified cotton, Nafisa finds herself at the centre of a power struggle that will determine the village’s future.
This is the first feature written and directed by a Sudanese woman to attain an international release.
“Confidently blends coming of age drama and history lesson as a young woman finds herself caught between traditional expectations and new possibilities”
Allan Hunter, Screen International
“Questions of who controls the past and future lie at the heart of Sudanese-Russian filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani’s feature debut which offers a beguiling mix of magic-realist fable, coming-of-age drama and post-colonial critique”
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
Wednesday 21 October 2026 at 2.00pm & 7.00pm
The Stranger (15)
France 2025. 2hrs 2m. Dir: François Ozon. Cast: Benjamin Voisin, Rebecca Marder. Language: French, Arabic (subtitled). [Original title: L’Étranger]
A languid, beautifully crafted adaptation of the 1940s Albert Camus novella, set in the swelter of post-colonial French Algiers. Apathetic, emotionally detached Frenchman Mersault is unmoved by personal and global events until a fateful encounter, prompted by the prejudice of the era, challenges his indifference.
Director Ozon comments that the story’s origin feels strikingly modern, exploring issues of alienation, mortality and the search for meaning in an increasingly disconnected world.
“…lustrously beautiful and superbly realised modern take on the Camus classic… [it] passionately honours the original text while bringing a contemporary perspective to its themes of empire and race”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Shot in exquisite black and white, the sweltering feel, especially in the courtroom scenes, lends this a hothouse atmosphere that plays well on screen”
James Mottram, Radio Times
Wednesday 11 November 2026 at 2.00pm & 7.00pm
The Last Viking (15)
Denmark, Sweden 2025. 1hr 56m. Dir: Anders Thomas Jensen. Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Sofie Gråbøl. Language : Danish, Swedish (subtitled). [Original title: Den sidste viking]
Mads Mikkelsen with the worst perm? Anything goes in this darkly-humoured hybrid that celebrates personality differences and unorthodox behaviour. Amidst serial wackiness, it’s peppered with dark surprises.
Storyline? Wildly bizarre, yet tender. Characters? Inventively diverse, some with deeply scarred pasts. Anticipate mirth alongside abrupt changes of mood and tempo: here’s one heck of a rollercoaster ride.
“…a dark romp, a tour de force, a parable of crisp dark humour that subtly packs a message… delivered quietly, but paints a strong message of tolerance… provides moving insight into the world of mental discordance and questions what is ‘normal’…”
Peter Bodie, Film Ireland
“… the film’s wild mix of dark comedy, absurdity, and emotional moments keeps it endlessly engaging”
Mia Pflüger, Next Best Picture
Wednesday 25 November 2026 at 2.00pm & 7.00pm
Our Land (12A)
UK 2025. 1hr 30m. Dir: Orban Wallace. Producers: Leo Smith, Rebecca Wolff, Charlie Phillips. Language: English.
Currently the public has legal access to just 8% of the English countryside compared to Scotland where, under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, people can freely explore the great majority of land and inland waters north of the Border.
This film juxtaposes both sides of the debate around our access to England’s natural environment, giving the views both of Right to Roam campaigners and opposing landowners who regard themselves as its rightful stewards.
“Wallace’s film advocates for dialogue between the two sides and is itself a key part of an ongoing conversation”
Wendy Ide, The Observer
“…a film that ranges across a lot of ideas”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Click the image for the Season programme September – November 2026:
