Includes Opening Night Party at 5:30 pm at Presido Kebob, 3277 Sacramento Street

Far from an instructional video, How to Have Sex is a dazzling deeply-imagined coming-of-age feature from British director Molly Manning Walker. Her remarkably self-assured debut– winner of the Un Certain Regard jury prize at Cannes– magically transports the audience back to their teens, a time marked by confusing sexual feelings. The film follows three girlfriends who, straight from their high school exams, arrive at the party town of Malia in Crete with fantasies of having the best time of their young lives Vividly portrayed are the closeness the girls feel toward one another and the tension each feels sparked by a perhaps not-so-innocent flirtation. The director wisely chooses to keep her camera on the shy still virginal Tara, played by an incandescent actress named Mia McKenna-Bruce, surely to be heard from again. Drunken aimless nights in Malia take on a carnival atmosphere like something out of a Fellini film. Manning Walker has the instincts of more experienced directors to make us worry about her characters especially Tara, who is most at risk. Captured with luminous visuals, How to Have Sex paints a painfully familiar portrait of how first sexual experiences can go awry, probing what constitutes consent between strangers on the cusp of adulthood.

Nominated for 13 British Independent Film Awards.

Molly Manning Walker will discuss her film on Zoom. 

Nominated for four BAFTAS. 

UK 2023 (98 minutes)

Who doesn’t love Peter O’Toole? This absorbing, exuberant documentary looks at the beloved star of Lawrence of Arabia, My Favorite Year and The Ruling Class, among many others, in all his glory. It features A-list celebrities (Kenneth Branagh, Anthony Hopkins, Brian Cox, Derek Jacobi, Stephen Fry, and even O’Toole’s ex wife, Sian Phillips) talking about O’Toole, his brilliance and his alcohol-fueled hellraising lifestyle. The acclaimed director Jim Sheridan makes a strong case that stars of the past shine more brightly than our current crop. A big bonus are the clips from O’Toole’s movies and stage work.

Ireland 2022 (90 minutes)

Against the backdrop of the Springbok Rugby Tour of 1981, this moving story set in Dunedin, New Zealand is triggered by nationwide protests against the South African team touring New Zealand. Igniting an exploration of identity in indigenous persons and in the heart of a lost Māori 17-year-old, this witty, superb film revolves around Julian Dennison as an out-sized, outcast young boy, enrolled at a rugby-obsessed school. Encouraged by a drama teacher, he finds his way through a passion he discovers for acting and through a renewed pride in his heritage. Tender yet charismatic performance from Dennison supported by a stalwart Minnie Driver as his mother.

New Zealand 2023 (110 minutes)

Anthony Hopkins dominates a heady ensemble cast (Helena Bonham Carter, Jonathan Pryce and Johnny Flynn) as real-life humanitarian Nicholas Winton, who saved more than 600 Czech children destined for Nazi concentration camps and brought them to safety in Great Britain. Now known as “the British Schindler,” for decades his accomplishments were hidden as Winton avoided any kind of self-aggrandizement. The movie soars in the latter scenes when Hopkins brings the full force of his powers to portray Winton confronting his innate goodness and realizing the full weight of his accomplishments. “Hopkins display of unearthed emotion is rather shattering,” one critic writes, bringing down the house at festivals around the world.

UK 2024 (110 minutes)

Sponsor: Gerry and Fran Schall

This intriguing, inventive sci-fi thriller plays with time-travel, opening with the discovery of home movies made by two sisters in the 1940s. Martha and Thomasina created a machine that could intercept broadcast signals from the future, naming it after their dead mother, Lola. Irish director Andrew Legge offers this ambitious premise enabling them to listen to future icons David Bowie and Bob Dylan. But the mood darkens when Lola is enlisted to support the war effort against the Germans. Spiraling out of control, Lola offers a warning against messing with the future.

Ireland 2023 (79 minutes)

Director Marcus Markou opens with a couple, on the verge of divorce, hauling angry accusations at each other in a mediator’s office. They then enact a series of rituals they long ago promised each other they would should ever they decide to separate. Laura Bayston and Laurence Spellman give intense, passionate performances, including a torrid sex scene, in a story that asks if a bond that seems irreparably broken can ever be mended.

UK 2023 (86 minutes)

Sponsor: Nossaman LLP

There is something about Local Hero that makes grown film critics cry. Many have commented on their wet eyes watching this enchantingly off-kilter comedy, sentimental but never maudlin. A fictional Scottish coastal village becomes prey to Houston oil money earmarked for purchase of the town and turning it into a refinery site. Peter Riegert appears as the executive gopher dispatched to the village to close the deal for his boss, a crackpot oil magnate played with vigor by Burt Lancaster. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, this film has lost none of its magic, a love poem, as one critic wrote, to Scotland and the Scots.

UK 1983 (111 minutes)

In a Zoom interview with the festival’s Ruthe Stein, Peter Riegert (forever remembered as the Pickle Man in Crossing Delancey) talks about his memories making Local Hero, especially working with Lancaster in the waning years of his colossal career.

Sponsor: Bruce Lymburn

Watching Shayda, it’s clear why Australia submitted it for Best International Film at the 2024 Oscars. This is a deeply gripping drama about an Iranian mother who with her young impressionable daughter takes refuge in a women’s shelter after her husband, for whom the family uprooted from Iran to Australia, becomes physically abusive. A jury-prize winner at Sundance, Shayda collected glowing reviews when it opened the Melbourne Film Festival. The film stands out from cursory movies about women’s shelters by portraying residents helping one another to heal. It is hardly surprising given how real the story feels to learn first-time director Noora Niasari based it on her mother.

Niasari is nominated for best director by the The Directors Guild of America

UK 2023 (117 minutes)

A spirited, life-embracing, confident first feature by Dionne Edwards, set to the beat of Tina Turner. Released soon after Turner’s death, her energy pervades the film. A working class black South London family, Travis is just out of prison, and his wife Candice aspires to make it big on stage. Their daughter Kenisha is a troubled adolescent. Mother and daughter face discovering Travis’ concealed desire to wear the sparkly, red dress he bought for his wife for her audition. About masculinity, family, sexual fluidity and shame, the ending offers a defiant assertion of freedom.

UK 2022 (110 minutes)

Dress code: Wear red

Sponsor: David Landis and Sean Dowdall

This profoundly moving documentary, filmed in black and white, is beautiful and quietly reflective, assembling landmarks, people, stories and music around Dublin’s North Circular Road. It evokes the troubled past, the protest and struggles of those communities through the voices of a host of colorful characters. Warmed by the vibrant music of new wave Irish folk singers, the film is joyous in victories such as saving the landmark Cobblestone pub from demolition. Throwing light on people’s struggles everywhere, defending community against developers, the scenes of celebration inspire a spirit of optimism.

Ireland 2022 (85 minutes)

As part of Cine4’s initiative aiming to develop original, high-quality feature films in the Irish language (having produced the Oscar-nominated film The Quiet Girl), Tarrac is a heart-warming, feel-good drama set against the wondrous landscape of Kerry. A young woman (played by Kelly Gough) returns to her home in Kerry after her father (Lorcan Cranitch) suffers a heart attack. Alienated from him, the film is about re-connection with family, with her delightful band of women friends and her past, especially the competitive world of naomhóg (a native Irish boat) rowing. Uniquely Irish and so fun.

Ireland 2022 (96 minutes)

Sponsor:  Melina Whitehead 

This brilliantly paced tale of revenge features a couple (Nigel O’Neill and Ali White) in a deep financial rut, forced to sell their beloved farm. The “buyer” is a smarmy con man (Barry John Kinsella) who , in a brilliant portrayal of evil incarnate, promises safe passage away from their crushing debt. What ensues is a terrifying, deadly cat and mouse game that takes place around the farmhouse. Initially heartbreaking, this film has an extremely satisfying but violent ending. Not for the faint of heart, it will have you on the edge of your seat.

Winner, 2023 Best Irish First Film Feature, Galway Film Fleadh

Northern Ireland 2023 (80 minutes)

The saying goes, “Behind every successful man there is a woman,” or in Samuel Beckett’s case: Four. In this cleverly constructed biopic, the ever- charming Gabriel Byrne plays the Nobel prize-winning Irish writer bantering with himself while reviewing his life and his mistakes, primarily with women. Shot in black and white, the film begins in childhood with his abusive mother; then the young Beckett escapes to Paris and is educated by James Joyce. Beckett’s time in the French Resistance is covered along with his return to London with his wife and the ascent of his acclaimed career, making the case that professional success isn’t always accompanied by personal happiness.

US 2023 (100 minutes)

A feature film debut for co-star Patrick Kiety and director Prasanna Puwanarajah, this film is nothing less than a revelation. A superb Seana Kerslak co-stars as Eileen, who, instead of her planned successful life in London, has returned to her hometown in Ireland to drive a cab. Kiety plays Shane, newly separated from his wife, an aspiring stand-up comic who hires Eileen to drive him to his weekly comedy class. Their initial relationship starts very badly but gradually morphs into a strong connection. In short, Ballywalter is exquisitely moving and compassionate.

UK, Northern Ireland 2022 (90 minutes)

This absorbing study of Alfred Hitchcock’s work, illustrated with clips and skillfully edited around his key themes of escape, desire, loneliness, time and fulfilment, is an erudite delight brought to us by director Mark Cousins. From beyond the grave, we hear the voice of comic Alistair McGowan (a wonderful doppelganger) as the master pointing out techniques, resonances, images and meanings, pausing to check in with Cousins who answers off-mic: “Yes Mr. Hitchcock.” We see a varied array of Hitchcock’s characters, ecstatic or despairing. Could we ask for more?

UK 2022 (120 minutes)

In Maharashtra, India we watch a sweet young woman scrupulously obey her family, submitting to being appraised as a suitable match for a local son. The male relatives of the potential match question her before retiring to discuss her worthiness. These patriarchal traditions override both her sensitivities and her ambition to study for the civil service and, despite seeming cold, are clearly the norm in the community. Warmed by the vibrant colors of India, we cheer on this spirited young woman who yearns to determine her own future.

India 2023 (104 minutes)

To answer the question provocatively posed in this title, love ultimately dictates the mating habits in this delightful rom-com, a throwback to past British romances like Notting Hill and Love Actually. The adorable Lily James stars as Zoe, a filmmaker shooting a documentary on the courtship of her lifelong friend, who has honored his Pakistani heritage by assenting to an arranged marriage. The newly minted couple appears to be happy but Zoe’s camera catches glitches in their relationship. Emma Thompson seems to be having a ball as Zoe’s mother planning a match for her daughter.

UK 2022 (108 minutes)

Sponsors: Jane Scott and Terri Kwiatek

Filmmaker Jason van Genderen explores the poignant journey of caregiving and sacrifice for our loved ones in this profoundly moving documentary. As he and his family adjust their lives to care for his mother, Hendrika, battling dementia, he accidentally turns her into an online celebrity on Facebook. Unfolding within the confines of their New South Wales home, providing an intimate window into their struggles, the film doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of dementia while also serving as a heartfelt tribute to the importance of family and love and a profound understanding of life’s vulnerability.

Australia 2022 (93 minutes)

Part of the Australian Spotlight

Part travelogue, part coming-of-age story, Sweet As tells the tale of an indigenous teen in Western Australia, the “at risk’’ daughter of a drug addicted mother, who might end up lost in the welfare system. But her life gets turned around after a kindly uncle sends her on a photo safari trip with other teens like her. The scenery is spectacular, and the girl turns out to be a natural with a camera. As her creativity blossoms, so does her ability to thrive.

Australia 2022 (87 minutes)

Gina faces an unconventional 50th birthday gift—a male sex worker. More than desiring his particular stock in trade, she needs her house cleaned and she tells him so. When her friends confide they would like their own sexy housekeeper Gina gets the idea to open an all-male cleaning service and to her great surprise becomes a wildly successful entrepreneur. As Gina, Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones’s Diary) infuses the film with charm and humor. How To Please A Woman goes beyond the confines of typical romantic comedies, offering a delightful journey into empowerment for women of a certain age.

Australia 2022 (107 minutes)

The heartfelt story of a young Kurdish boy, deaf since birth. At five years old his future in Iraq looks destined to be limited and lonely. In desperate search of a better life where he can communicate, his family embarks on a treacherous journey to Derby, England where he enters the Royal School for the Deaf. The film follows his dramatic progress learning British sign language, revealing a bright, charismatic and inquisitive boy, who discovers friendship and a new way to express himself.

UK 2023 (91 minutes)

Winner of awards for Best Actor and Best Cinematography at the 2023 Durban International Film Festival, this psychological Hindi thriller from Devashish Makhija follows Dasru and Vaano who move from the tribal interior of East India to a back- breaking construction site in Mumbai to bring up their daughter, Joram. A web of intrigue and corruption follow a chance meeting with a political leader, and Dasru is forced to flee with Joram for his life. One man’s survival story becomes a tense sociopolitical drama.

India 2023 (134 minutes)

Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman,co-stars in The Last Daughter, team up again in this raunchy dark comedy starring Colman as Edith, the pious, repressed daughter of a tyrannical religious zealot and Buckley, as Rose, the dissolute, scandalous woman next door. The plot revolves around a series of unsigned obscene letters Edith receives with Rose as the main suspect. Set in 1920s rural England and based on a true story, the film tackles class inequities and expectations of women amidst the raucous carryings on. Great fun!

UK 2024 (102 minutes)

Sponsor: Lesley I Stanford and Anonymous

Remember weeping at Brief Encounter? This was Noel Coward at his finest, larger than life, celebrated English playwright, actor, singer, director, composer who was fiercely ambitious, flamboyant and assured of his own talent and wit. Luxuriating in scandal and good living, he is captured brilliantly, cigarette in hand, musing at his success – there it was “.. my name in electric lights outside the theater… in flaming pink bulbs and it never failed to please me….” Narrated by Alan Cummings with clips from some of Coward’s wonderful movies and plays, we also learn he was a spy in the Second World War!

Nominated for Best Documentary BAFTA

UK 2023 (91minutes)

Sponsor: Stuart Keirle

This black comedy tells the story of two couples who find themselves having to move a dead body to ensure their imminent house sale doesn’t collapse. Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat, A Knight’s Tale), Shirley Henderson (The House Across the Street, Bridget Jones’s Diary) and Olivia Williams (The Ghost Writer, The Sixth Sense) star in the hilarious effort to hide the corpse, an undertaking which features a nosy neighbor and bungling cops. A blueberry clafoutis dessert plays a significant role.

UK 2024 ( 89 minutes)

Sponsor: Field Wine 

Party follows at the Vogue

Billed as Ken Loach’s parting shot, Loach remains unwavering, representing the struggles of a downtrodden community in Northern England, where the mines are closed and the so-called “left behind” turn against newly arrived Syrian refugees. Ugly racists are given full range. But as always, the social realist filmmaker offers another view, the voice of compassion through TJ Ballantyne, a good guy and owner of the local boozer, The Old Oak. In solidarity with the refugees, the film celebrates the power of community and kindness. As our closing night film, so do we.

Nominated for Best British Film BAFTA

UK 2023 (113 minutes)

Sponsor:  The Mayflower Pub

Over six decades, Ken Loach has forged a reputation as Britain’s foremost politically-engaged filmmaker, exploring social issues such as abortion, unemployment and homelessness. He won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at Cannes for The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006), set during the Irish Troubles, and for I, Daniel Blake (2016) about unemployment and poverty. His television films Up the Junction (1968) and Cathy Come Home (1966) played an influential part in Parliamentary debates. Also notable are political dramas such as Land and Freedom (1995), addressing the Republican cause in Spain and Carla’s Song (1996), set partially in Nicaragua. The announcement of his retirement is high time to thank him for a body of work speaking for the powerless and downtrodden. The festival’s Maxine Einhorn conducts a Zoom interview with him.