director  michael haneke

starring  jean-louis trintignant · emmanuelle riva · isabelle huppert

language(s)  french  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

michael haneke directs this academy award-winning drama exploring death, ageing and the fear of loss. anne and george (emmanuelle riva and jean-louis trintignant) are a couple in their 80s who are enjoying their retirement, but that changes when, after an operation following a stroke, anne is left wheelchair-bound and paralysed. although she expresses her wish to die, even going so far as to make an attempt at taking her own life, george tries to remind her of the beauty and worth of life itself and the love that they share for each other. the feature won the academy award, a golden globe and a bafta for best foreign language film, and received a bafta for best leading actress (riva).

director  agnes varda

language(s)  french · arabic · english  subtitles  english

format  blu-ray

revered for her bold political and autobiographically inspired work, agnès varda is a seminal feminist filmmaker and matriarch of the french new wave. her influential career began in the 1950s with la pointe courte – often considered the unofficial first film of the new wave – and continues seven decades later, as in 2017 she became the first female director to be awarded an honorary oscar. the agnès varda collection is a selection of her most illuminating narrative features. the blu-ray box set contains eight discs spanning six decades of varda’s feature films, over six hours of special features (including interviews, featurettes and short films) plus a specially commissioned 100-page book. films featured; la pointe courte, cleo from 5 to 7, le bonheur, l’une chante, l’autre pas, vagabond, jacquot de nantes, the gleaners and i.

director  abdellatif kechiche

starring  léa seydoux · adèle exarchopoulos · salim kechiouche

language(s)  french  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

french award-winning gay-themed drama directed by abdellatif kechiche. the film follows the 17-year-old closeted student adele (adele exarchopoulos) as she pursues a passionate and fiery relationship with an older and ‘out’ blue-haired lesbian called emma (lea seydoux). throughout their relationship the two young women learn a lot about the pains and joys of being in love and the importance of staying true to oneself.

director  agnes varda

starring  corinne marchand · antoine bourseiller · dominique davray

language(s)  french  subtitles  english

format  dvd

agnes varda directs this early 1960s french realist drama. while waiting for the result of a medical test, french singer cleo (corinne marchand) spends a couple of hours – shown in real time – wandering through the streets of paris. along the way she meets up with her lover and with her composers, visits her model friend dorothee (dorothee blank), has a brief affair with a passing soldier, drinks coffee and buys a new hat with her maid before finally meeting up with her doctor to receive the diagnosis.

director  pawel pawlikowski

starring  joanna kulig · tomasz kot · borys szyc

language(s)  croatian · french · german · italian · polish · russian  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

pawel pawlikowski co-writes and directs this romantic drama set during the cold war. in poland in 1949, musical director wiktor warski (tomasz kot) finds a star in young student zula lichon (joanna kulig), while scouting local talent for his folk group. after enjoying success and beginning an affair, the couple are split apart when their show is forced to become a soviet propaganda act and wiktor heads for the freedom of western europe while zula hesitates and opts to stay, a decision that will shape their tragic romance for decades to come.

director Juho Kuosmanen

starring  Yuriy Borisov · Seidi Haarla · Valeriy Nikolaev

language(s)  Finnish · Russian  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Winner of the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6 is a warming and unexpected tale of adventure, self-discovery and human connection. Young Finnish archaeology student Laura (Seidi Haarla) is convinced by her lecturer – and lover – to take a trip to an ancient site of petroglyphs near the Arctic Circle. However, when she boards the long-distance train to take her there, she finds that she has to share her carriage with the boorish and belligerent Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov), a foul-mouthed, misogynistic drunk travelling to his new job as a miner. Initially, they seem to have nothing in common, but, like the landscape they’re travelling through, the more time Laura spends with Ljoha the more he thaws, revealing an unforeseen kindness beneath the macho facade. This chance meeting between the two occupants of compartment no. 6 brings about an awakening within them, forming a bond they will never forget. There are echoes of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (1995), but Kuosmanen’s film, which was Finland’s entry for the Academy Awards last year, has its own distinct sensibility, and his two leads bring charm and warmth to their characters as their journey progresses.

director   agnes varda · jr

starring  agnes varda · jr · jeannine carpentier

language(s)  french  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

agnes varda and graffiti artist jr co-direct this french documentary in which they travel around rural france in jr’s photo truck, discussing their views on the world. as they travel through several towns and villages, the pair acquaint themselves with the local community before jr takes photos of individuals and their surroundings and transforms them into giant murals to be pasted on houses and walls, inviting the locals to reflect on seeing themselves in giant portraits.

director  Sebastián Lelio

starring  Rachel Weisz · Rachel Mcadams · Alessandro Nivola

language(s)  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams star in this romantic drama directed by Sebastian Lelio and based on the novel by Naomi Alderman. Following the death of her estranged father, Ronit Krushka (Weisz) returns from New York to the Orthodox Jewish community in London in which she was raised but chose to abandon. Staying with her childhood friend Dovid (Alessandro Nivola), Ronit rekindles an illicit passionate love affair with his wife, Esti (McAdams), which threatens to spark outrage in their community and causes both women to question their faith and their future.

director  Sebastián Lelio

starring  Daniela Vega · Francisco Reyes · Luis Gnecco

language(s)  spanish  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Chilean drama co-written and directed by Sebastian Lelio. The film follows transgender waitress Marina Vidal (Daniela Vega) in the devastating aftermath of her 57-year-old husband Orlando (Francisco Reyes)’s sudden death. Moonlighting as a nightclub singer, Marina soon finds herself having to process her grief whilst becoming the focus of everyone’s suspicions surrounding her husband’s untimely death. Looked upon as a murderer by the investigating authorities and Orlando’s family, Marina is banned from her husband’s funeral and questioned and harassed relentlessly before she can fully come to terms with her grief as she tries to make everyone around her see the truth.

director  michael hanneke

starring  naomi watts · tim roth · michael pitt

language(s)  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

in this us remake of his 1997 film ‘funny games’, director michael haneke delivers a savage critique on the way violence is portrayed in the media. arriving at their remote holiday cabin in the hamptons for a quiet vacation, george (tim roth), his wife ann (naomi watts), and their young son georgie (devon gearheart), find themselves subjected to a harrowing ordeal involving mental and physical torture, when two young, psychotic killers come calling.

director  park chan-wook

starring  kim min-hee · ha jung-woo · cho jin-woong

language(s)  korean  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

chan-wook park co-writes and directs this korean drama adapted from sarah waters’ novel ‘fingersmith’. set in korea in the 1930s, with the country under japanese colonial rule, the film follows orphaned pickpocket sook-hee (tae ri kim) who is hired by a con artist posing as japanese count fujiwara (jung-woo ha) to act as the handmaiden of heiress lady hideko (min-hee kim), a ploy which fujiwara hopes will allow him to pocket the heiress’ wealth for himself. as sook-hee tries to persuade lady hideko to fall for the count she instead is the one who forges an intimate bond with her new employer. the story of hideko’s troubled upbringing unfolds as the two women revel in their passionate, new relationship and explore their previously repressed desires.

director  Yorgos Lanthimos

starring  Colin Farrell · Nicole Kidman · Raffey Cassidy

language(s)  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman star in this horror drama written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Steven Murphy (Farrell) is a successful cardiac surgeon who lives a happy life with his ophthalmologist wife Anna (Kidman) and their two children Kim (Raffey Cassidy) and Bob (Sunny Suljic). However, his perfect life starts coming apart at the seams after he befriends 16-year-old Martin (Barry Keoghan). Steven spends much of his time hanging out alone with the teenager and also invites him round to his upper-class home to socialise with his kids. However, when Steven visits Martin and his mother (Alicia Silverstone) for dinner, the teenager’s motives for their unusual friendship become clear and it transpires he’s willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants, to the detriment of Steven and his family.

director  pawel pawlikowski

starring  agata kulesza · agata trzebuchowska · dawid ogrodnik

language(s)  polish  subtitles  english

format  dvd

pawel pawlikowski directs this award-winning polish drama set in a convent in the 1960s. when anna (agata trzebuchowska), an orphan who was brought up by the nuns of the convent, decides she wants to take her vows, she is told that first she must visit her only living relative, wanda (agata kulesza). as wanda reveals to anna that her real name is ida lebenstein and that she is actually jewish, anna starts to rethink her whole life. as the two go on a journey to find out more about their ancestors they reveal certain facts that were best left hidden. the film won a bafta for best film not in the english language and the academy award for best foreign language film.

director  louis malle

language(s)  french · english  subtitles  english

format  dvd

collection of documentaries directed by french film-maker louis malle. ‘vive le tour’ (1962) follows the riders of the tour de france in 1962. ‘phantom india’ (1969) is a seven-part series in which malle travels around india. ‘calcutta’ (1969) consists of visuals of the indian city calcutta which malle filmed during his time there on his earlier travels around the country. ‘a human condition’ (1974) depicts the production of citroen cars at a factory in northern france. ‘place de la republique’ (1974) documents the many individuals who spend their days in the place de la republique in paris. ‘god’s country’ (1985) focuses on the town of glencoe, minnesota and its struggling farming community. in ‘…and the pursuit of happiness’ (1986) malle examines the experiences of immigrants in the us in the 1980s.

director  louis malle

language(s)  french · german · italian · russian · english · greek · latin  subtitles  english

format  dvd

includes the following classics:
lift to the scaffold
les amants
zazie dans le metro
le feu follet
le souffle au coeur
lacombe, lucien
black moon
my dinner with andre
au revoir les enfants
milou en mai

also includes a 100 page booklet

director  Lars Von Trier

starring  Charlotte Gainsbourg Stellan Skarsgård

language(s)  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Controversial and sexually-explicit drama directed by Lars von Trier and starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stellan Skarsgard. When the well-read and knowledgeable bachelor Seligman (Skarsgard) finds a beaten and bruised young woman in an alleyway, he takes her home to his flat to tend to her injuries. The woman introduces herself as Joe (Gainsbourg), a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac, whose carefree and hedonistic lifestyle has led to her situation. Seligman presses Joe to tell her story and she proceeds to recount her experiences, from her childhood up to the present, where sex has been the most important thing in her life.

director  Lars Von Trier

starring  Kirsten Dunst · Charlotte Gainsbourg · Kiefer Sutherland

language(s)  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Lars von Trier directs this sci-fi drama about the effects of depression on two sisters, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Played out in two acts, the film opens with the wedding of Justine (Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgard): a sumptuous affair paid for by Justine’s Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland). However, when Justine notices a strange star in the sky, she starts behaving oddly and the wedding is ruined. The film’s second act follows Justine, now extremely weak and ill, after she goes to live with her sister. As Claire and John struggle to deal with Justine’s condition, astronomy buff Claire becomes increasingly concerned about a large blue planet that is threatening to collide with the earth. Charlotte Rampling and John Hurt co-star.

director  Oliver Hermanus

starring  Kai Luke Brummer · Ryan de Villiers · Hilton Pelser

language(s)  Afrikaans  Subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

South African drama focusing on a young gay soldier coming to terms with his sexuality, co-written and directed by Oliver Hermanus. In 1981, 18-year-old Nicholas Van der Swart (Kai Luke Brummer) is conscripted into the South African Defence Force and sent to fight in their ongoing border war with communist Angola. As he undergoes basic training, led by the callous Sergeant Brand (Hilton Pelser), Nicholas must adapt to life in the barracks as he strikes up a relationship with fellow conscript Dylan Stassen (Ryan de Villiers).

director  eric rohmer

written by  éric rohmer

starring  jean-louis trintignant · françoise fabian · marie-christine barrault

language(s)  french  subtitles  english

format  dvd

jean-louis trintignant stars in this black-and-white french drama, the third in eric rohmer’s cycle of six ‘moral tales’. jean-louis (trintignant) is a 34-year-old catholic engineer and mathematician who has set his sights on francoise (marie-christine barrault), a pretty young blonde he meets in church. when his friend, vidal (antoine vitez), introduces him to worldly and witty divorcee maud (francoise fabian), jean-louis ends up staying overnight at her house and the two engage in philosophical discussions throughout the night. despite maud’s advances towards jean-louis, their time together remains chaste, and the following morning jean-louis resumes his courtship of francoise.

director  Jacques Audiard

starring  Lucie Zhang · Makita Samba · Noémie Merlant

language(s)  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Jacques Audiard returns to Paris with an adaptation of Adrian Tomine’s 2015 collection of graphic short stories Killing and Dying. Written in collaboration with Portrait of a Lady on Fire writer-director Celine Sciamma, and Lea Mysius, Paris, 13th District is set in the French capital’s 13th arrondissement, on the left bank of the Seine, and charts the interwoven relationships between four twenty-somethings. Capturing a very different Paris to the one that appeared in his previous films, which were dominated by the city’s underworld, Paris, 13th District is a modern story of love and life, reflecting shifting attitudes towards identity and fidelity in today’s Paris.

director  Bong Joon Ho

starring  Song Kang-ho · Lee Sun-kyun · Cho Yeo-jeong

language(s)  Korean  Subtitles  English

format  dvd and blu-ray

Korean satirical black comedy co-written and directed by Joon-ho Bong. Kim Ki-taek (Kang-ho Song) sees a way out of his struggling family’s poverty when he is employed by the wealthy Park family to tutor their daughter Da-hye (Ji-so Jung). He quickly ingratiates himself with the Park family and convinces them to employ the rest of his impoverished family disguised as his acquaintances. However, their scheme to infiltrate the Park’s lavish life soon turns awry when their true identities come under scrutiny.

director  céline sciamma

starring  noémie merlant · adèle haenel · luàna bajrami

language(s)  french · italian  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

celine sciamma writes and directs this french historical drama starring noemie merlant and adele haenel. in 1770, artist marianne (merlant) travels to brittany to paint a portrait of heloise (haenel), the daughter of a french countess, to celebrate her impending marriage to an italian nobleman. however, heloise objects to the marriage, so marianne is tasked with completing her portrait in secret and acting as heloise’s companion. as the two women spend more time together, their relationship evolves into a forbidden affair.

director  rainer werner fassbinder

starring  brad davis · franco nero · jeanne moreau

language(s)  german · english · french  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

on leave in the port of brest, a bisexual sailor (brad davis) murders a fellow seaman and visits a notorious brothel, where he gives full vent to his homosexual desires. one by one, the other habitues of the brothel succumb to his charms. adapted from the novel by jean genet, this was rainer werner fassbinder’s last film and his most vividly surreal in its design and photography.

director  nikolaj arcel

written by  rasmus heisterberg · nikolaj arcel

starring  alicia vikander · mads mikkelsen · mikkel boe følsgaard

language(s)  danish · english ·  french · german  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

nikolaj arcel directs this academy award-nominated danish period drama based on a novel by bodil steensen-leth. mads mikkelsen stars as johann friedrich struensee, a bright young doctor who becomes personal physician to the psychologically unstable king frederik of denmark (william johnk nielsen). struensee’s ambitions know no bounds; as well as winning the affections of the young queen caroline mathilde (alicia vikander), he becomes increasingly involved in the king’s state affairs, using his position to forward the enlightenment, implementing freedom of the press and of expression, abolishing torture and serfdom, reforming the school system and curtailing the privileges of the aristocracy.

director  Andrei Tarkovsky

starring  Natalya Bondarchuk · Donatas Banionis · Jüri Järvet

language(s)  russian  Subtitles  english

format  dvd

Psychological drama from Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, adapted from the Stanislaw Lem novel of the same name. The film charts the strange events which befall a group of young cosmonauts who work on a space station orbiting the ocean-covered planet Solaris. Fellow cosmonaut Chris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) is sent to investigate the occurrences, and soon begins encountering a variety of supernatural phenomena, including the physical manifestation of his own painful memories of his late wife. Kelvin tries to get to the bottom of the mystery and begins looking for a way to communicate with the powerful forces of Solaris.

director  Joanna Hogg

starring  Honor Swinton Byrne · Tom Burke · Tilda Swinton

language(s)  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke and Tilda Swinton star in this drama from British film-maker Joanna Hogg. Set in the 1980s, the film follows 24-year-old film student Julie (Swinton Byrne) as she falls in love with Anthony (Burke), a worldly but troubled upper-class man who works at the Foreign Office. Despite the concerns of her friends and family, Julie allows Anthony to move in with her. She begins to notice warning signs of his destructive behaviour, with Anthony becoming increasingly dependent on her, but she fails to fully comprehend the extent of his addictions until they tear them apart.

director  Ruben Ostlund

starring  Claes Bang · Elisabeth Moss · Dominic West

language(s)  english · Swedish · Danish

format  dvd and blu-ray

Ruben Ostlund writes and directs this satirical comedy drama starring Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West. Christian (Bang) is a curator for a prestigious art museum in Stockholm who is putting together a new installation entitled ‘The Square’, a space symbolising trust and safety where everyone in society looks out for one another. While Christian hunts for his expensive stolen possessions after being the victim of a petty street crime, the publicity campaign for the museum’s new exhibition begins to gain unintended viral attention.

director  agnes varda

written by  agnes varda

starring  sandrine bonnaire · macha méril · setti ramdane

language(s)  french  subtitles  english

format  dvd

french drama written and directed by agnes varda. the film tells the story of the final few weeks in the life of drifter mona bergeron (sandrine bonnaire), who feels incapable of participating in ordinary society. beginning with her death, the film presents mona’s final perambulations in winter in the south of france through the lives of the various characters she meets, revealing more about her past along the way.

director  sebastian schipper

written by  sebastian schipper

starring  laia costa · frederick lau · franz rogowski

language(s)  german · english · spanish  subtitles  english

format  dvd

laia costa stars in the title role of this german crime thriller. living in berlin for a three-month working trip, spanish waitress victoria (costa) spends her days working in a cafe and her nights indulging in the german capital’s nightlife. after a late night out clubbing with sonne (frederick lau), boxer (franz rogowski), blinker (burak yigit) and fuss (max mauff), victoria finds herself caught up in the group’s plans to pull off an ambitious bank heist later that same night.

director  Robin Campillo

starring  Nahuel Pérez Biscayart · Arnaud Valois · Adèle Haenel

language(s)  french  subtitles  english

format  dvd and blu-ray

Robin Campillo co-writes and directs this French drama centred on the AIDS epidemic in the 1990s. The film follows a group of activists as they try to effect change as part of the ACT UP movement in Paris. Frustrated by the government and the pharmaceutical industry’s lack of action, the guerrilla group stages a number of public protests as they try to agree on a strategy and its passionate members struggle with their own experiences with the deadly virus.