Vue Omni Centre

• 18

A punk Daydream is an ecological film about tattoo stigma in Indonesia. The conflict of teen punk Eka with his parents is put into the context of a larger theme of systematic oppression from the past. As the tattooed Dayak tribe struggle to maintain its identity, the street punks reconcile a loss with every new tattoo. With both communities living on the edge of society, we explore what it means to have a place called home and to belong somewhere.

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• 15

The many objects that we accumulate and that we believe to be essential begin their production journey in silent, secluded industrial and scientific sites. Beautiful Things describes this hidden mechanical liturgy within four different remote locations, where men work in complete isolation without interference from the world. They unconsciously trigger the long chain of creation, transport, commercialisation and destruction of the objects feeding our bulimic lifestyle. They are monks inside temples of steel and concrete. They repeat the same liturgy every day. And we don’t even know that they exist.

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• 15

After 27-year-old William (Aneurin Barnard) fails at his ninth attempt at suicide, he decides to take up a genial 65-year-old hitman, Leslie (the ever-excellent Tom Wilkinson), on his offer to help out. Leslie has quotas to meet to keep his membership in an assassin’s guild, but when William meets the woman of his dreams (Freya Mavor) things get more complicated for both men. An engaging black comedy also starring Christopher Eccleston.

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• 15

This extended version of the moving and absorbing documentary about the life and music of George Michael makes for memorable viewing. Narrated by Michael, the director’s cut features more of his unseen and private footage as it charts his rise from young pop star with Wham!, on to worldwide success and his infamous High Court battle with his record label. Although only told from one side, George Michael’s honesty, intelligence and talent shines through. A powerful tribute to a great musician.

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• 15

Hal Ashby made seven classic films of the 1970s – including The Last Detail, Shampoo and Being There – but always remained an elusive figure. This charismatic man worked as an editor for years, was married five times, had a history of drug abuse and looked like a hippie biker. He also made beautiful films rich with daydreams and vulnerability, and never really fitted with old Hollywood. His film career faded in the 1980s and he died of cancer in 1988, leaving behind a wonderful, idiosyncratic film legacy.

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• PG

Every summer on Palermo’s Mondello beach, over one thousand cabins are built ready to host the many families who will spend the summer holidays there. For them, the beach huts provide the perfect position to hide behind the memory of a social status compromised by the crisis of recent years. All of them are looking forward to Ferragosto, the Italian public holiday of August 15 for the Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary, when they will continue to pretend the economic crisis doesn’t exist.

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• 15

The tangled and violent history of the Northern Irish Troubles acts as an evocative backdrop for Donal Foreman’s film about his relationship with his estranged father, the late American documentarian Arthur Mac, Caig. Foreman grapples with his father’s legacy through Mac, Caig’s extensive 30-year film archive of the conflict, describing his father as “an American in Paris making films about Ireland.” Two filmmakers born into different political moments with different political stances who shared little actual time together, but are bonded by a region, social struggle and filmmaking. 
 

Supported by Culture Ireland as part of GB18: Promoting Irish Arts in Britain.

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• 15

Adapted from Richard Wagamese’s acclaimed novel, Indian Horse follows Saul Indian Horse, a young Canadian First Nations boy, who survives the brutal Indian residential schooling system overseen by Christian priests and, against all the odds, becomes a star ice hockey player. There is a triumph-over-adversity aspect to this film, but at its more worrying heart is the awful way Saul and his classmates are treated at school (beaten, kept in cages and worse), far from their own culture and heritage, and this contrasts with the sporting highs.

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• 15

A powerful new British film featuring a stand-out performance from newcomer Liv Hill, who stars as 15-year-old Sarah Taylor, a girl caught between being bullied at school, hassled by her boss at a local arcade and looking after her younger brother, sister and manic-depressive mother (the excellent Sinead Matthews). Sarah’s drama teacher encourages her to use her fierce wit for a stand-up routine at her graduation show, but comedy and the harsh realities of her life soon clash and she struggles to balance her many demands.

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• 12A

Director Zoe Hopkins film is driven by heart and a gentle naivety as it follows 14-year-old Ella (the charismatic Ta’kaiya Blaney), who is determined to kayak the Inside Passage in British Colombia (cue natural wonders a-plenty). Her recently deceased activist uncle Dave (Evan Adams) had planned to make the trip and deliver an impassioned speech against a proposed pipeline that would bring oil tankers to their homeland waters. Veteran actor Lorne Cardinal has fun as her grumpy uncle who reluctantly joins the kayak trip.

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• 12A

A fascinating exploration into the life of Sam J. Jones, beginning with his name-making lead performance in the 1980 fantasy classic Flash Gordon, that establishes what makes Mike Hodges’ film so iconic and enduring. Sacked from the film prior to its completion (his voice was dubbed by another actor), Jones’ subsequent career took many turns before he embraced his brush with stardom. He now attends conventions (with real enthusiasm) and has seen his performance celebrated in the Ted comedies. A life-affirming tribute to the film and its star.

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• 15

After being dumped at his graduation, would-be writer Daniel (Josh Peck) heads to Los Angeles, where he soon finds himself drawn to the charismatic and possibly dangerous Seth (Finn Wittrock), who opens up a new world of alluring glamour. At the same time Daniel becomes immersed in a local community based on loyalty and diversity through his landlord Jose (the impressive Amaury Nolasco). Torn between love, loyalty and the possibility of dark adventures, Daniel must make stark life choices.

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• 2018
• Japan
• 1h 55min

• Directed by: Mari Okada, Toshiya Shinohara
• Cast: Manaka Iwami, Miyu Irino, Yûki Kaji

An immortal girl and a normal boy meet and become friends, sharing a bond that lasts throughout the years.

• 70%

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• 15

Boavita is a rural, conservative Catholic village embedded in the Andes and frozen in time. In the foothills of these mountains lives Miss María Luisa Fuentes. She is 45 years old and was born a boy. Behind what appears to be just another life mired in gender and identity conflict, lies a bitter, unimaginable family history, its deepest roots seasoned with hatred. The horrors of rural life in Colombia with all its religious morality have done nothing but increase the power of this solitary soul.

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• 15

A young Indian woman returns to Trinidad to reconnect with her extended family. While there, she finds love and a sense of magic surrounding the village, where locals and her immigrant family have a deep-rooted mistrust of each other. Vashti Anderson’s enchanting and mysterious film develops its story at a gentle pace, offering insight into the place, people, politics and folklore. Its story of young love unfolds beautifully. The film blends immersive, dreamlike moments with a real sense of a community balancing the past and future.

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• 15

Obey is about Leon, a nineteen year old boy with an alcoholic mother who has grown up in and out of care. Finally free from adult supervision, Leon begins to rail against the injustice of his reality as his dreams become more and more unattainable and distant.  Leon’s existence is suffocating, and all too real. When he meets Twiggy, a beautiful blond girl living in a local squat something stirs inside of him. As she introduces him to her world, the weight of his past lifts. He is in love for the first time and for a moment escapes the reality of his unrelenting existence. But naïve to the affluent world supporting Twiggy’s hedonistic lifestyle, Leon is unprepared when Twiggy no longer wants him around. Leon withdraws allowing his raw and unhampered emotions to take over in the blind fight against his unjust existence with terrifying and brutal consequences.

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• 2018
• US
• 15

• Directed by: Stephen Moyer
• Cast: Ed Asner, Rhys Ifans, Cynthia Nixon, Melissa Leo, Anna Paquin

After the death of Coleen (Paquin), her family goes to her house and old wounds are opened up on the way. Stagey family drama which is obviously heartfelt; O’Hare’s writing is often excellent, but it sometimes seems close to theatre than to cinema.

• 72%

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• 12A

The winning film at last year’s EI, FF Work in Progress, Michal Sulima’s delightful documentary debut is a joy, following 65-year-old London piano tuner Desmond O'Keeffe. Desmond embarks on a journey – with some delightfully eccentric young companions – to take a 100-year-old upright piano to a primary school in Lingshed, one of the most isolated settlements in the world, some 14,000 feet above sea level in the Indian Himalayas. Using yaks, ponies and old-fashioned muscle this delivery will crown his 40-year-long career. 

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• 15

Two of the last three members of the Piripkura still live as nomads in the Amazon rainforest, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Their most important possession is a torch that was lit in 1998 and has remained so ever since. The area where they live is encircled by farms and sawmills, whose almost inevitable expansion is taking place through violent means. This area of rainforest can only keep its protected status if there’s proof that the two men, Pakyî and Tamandua, are still living there. 

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• 15

A wonderfully funny and heartfelt comedy, the new film from director Kyle Rideout, whose film Eadweard played at EI, FF in 2015. Featuring a blissful performance by Judy Greer as a gloriously overprotective mother Claire, who can’t believe it when her 16-year-old home-schooled son, Liam (newcomer Daniel Doheny), decides he wants to attend his local high school after taking a shine to Anastasia (Siobhan Williams). Wonderful misadventures ensue, particularly when Eric’s mom sets out to prepare him for life during a special lesson in ‘teenage rebellion’.  

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• 15

Twenty-nine kilometres from Ajmer, surrounded by the Aravalli Range, in the heart of the Thar Desert is a lake city called Pushkar. To the Hindus of the world, it is second in holiness only to Lake Manasarovar. During the full moon in the month of Kartik, the town and the nearby dunes become an enormous fairground. Thousands of villagers bring cattle, camels and horses to trade. Folk artists, musicians, Ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds appear like a mirage in the desert, only to vanish with the decapitation of Brahmā’s fifth head.

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• 15

An inspirational insight into the life and work of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (or R, BG, as she is affectionately known), a lifelong equal rights advocate. As a woman, R, BG has fought personal and professional battles in the male-dominated legal world. The octogenarian Supreme Justice is at heart shy and a little diffident, and she is also an intellectual powerhouse. Her ability to spot legal strategies and arguments is spoken of in awe by colleagues. The family insights are also engaging, and the film is brimming with wonderful anecdotes.

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• 15

An enthralling blend of fiction and documentary, Malene Choi’s emotionally absorbing film follows Danish-Korean adoptees as they head back to their native land in search of their birth parents. Denmark-raised Karoline (Karoline Sofie Lee) and Thomas (Thomas Hwan) meet at a Seoul guesthouse designed for returning Korean adoptees. As the two get to know each other, the film intercuts footage of other real-life residents dealing with the emotions that emerge from encounters with Korea, their birth parents and how this impacts their adoptive families.

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• 15

Two young women start to chat about another woman, a former lover of both. As they grow closer and begin a tentative affair, the gap between them widens. One looks for answers and love while safely closeted away in her home, while the other is more confident and willing to take risks. What if going out equated to coming out? How can you defeat the suffocating prejudices pervading contemporary Romania? A fresh gem of a film, hailed as Romania's La vie d'Adèle. 

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• 15

Astronaut Troy Holloway (Steven Ogg, from The Walking Dead) wakes after a space accident to find himself trapped in an escape pod drifting towards the sun, with his oxygen running out and a burn-up rate of 90 minutes. The only possibility of help lies with Commander Roberts (Alice Lowe), speaking to him through a weak radio transmission, who says she will lead a rescue party. As things get worse, Troy wonders if he wants to be saved, and the pair start to influence each other in unexpected ways. 

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• 15

An edge-of-your-seat revenge thriller featuring a captivating performance from Andrew Scott (Sherlock) as Donald, a man with autism who works as a sanitation truck driver. Donald becomes obsessed with the disappearance of a young boy when it seems the police are colluding in some kind of cover up, and he decides to play detective. Set in Trump’s America, the film references many issues faced by the US under the current regime. Simon Fellows’ film is produced by Gareth Unwin, producer on The King’s Speech. 

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• 15

A young woman working in a call centre in Zurich runs an extortion scam where she contacts elderly women and pretends to be their granddaughter’s friend. Zurich citizens muse on the workings of everyday life as the city hums around them, indifferent to the minutiae of people’s lives. Cyril Schäublin’s intelligent debut feature is a finely paced reflection on the redistribution of wealth, bureaucracy, capitalism, trust and the impact of our ever-increasing dependence on technology. 

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• 15

Though its subject matter appears familiar, this beautiful, deeply lyrical film is a haunting and poetic story of growing up that looks like a Terrence Malick film and is blessed with memorable performances. Jonah (Evan Rosado) – confused by his emerging sexuality – and his two older brothers run wild through the woods near their upstate New York home, but struggle to deal with their father’s violence toward their loving mother (Sheila Vand, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night). Beautifully observed and shot with grace and compassion by Jeremiah Zagar. 

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• 15

Growing up in the Balata refugee camp while her mother is incarcerated in an Israeli prison, 15-year-old Walaa is not like other girls. Headstrong and rebellious, she isn’t interested in finishing school or settling down with a husband. Instead, she’s determined to become one of the few women who serve with the Palestinian National Security Forces. Over five years, director Christy Garland (Cheer Up, EI, FF 2016) creates a compelling and intimate coming-of-age portrait of Walaa who, despite challenging circumstances, remains fiercely committed to pursuing her dream.

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• 15

When his estranged wife deposits his teenage son Julian (Harper Jackson) at the doorstep of his remote caravan home, solitary (though charming) poacher Francis (an excellent Francis Magee) must amend his ways, take on new responsibilities and engage with the world. But just as the two begin to bond, Julian takes a friend into the woods where an accident occurs that puts them under the authorities’ spotlight. They must make a decision that will forever change their lives. A striking new drama also starring Doon Mackichan.

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• 15

Top businesswoman Emmanuelle Blachey (an impressive performance by Emmanuelle Devos) is approached by a club of equally powerful women who suggest she put herself forward to run France’s major water company (and be the first woman C, EO of a company on France’s C, AC 40). She is drawn into a vicious and bitter battle between a self-interested male business elite and a group of women determined to see change. As she tries to balance family and work, strategic relationships and business power plays take over her life. 

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