The incredible story of the man who invented the bulletproof vest is a true stranger-than-fiction tale of a mythomaniac, stunt-happy showman and self-taught filmmaker with a few dark secrets up his sleeve.

Ramin Bahrani / United States / 2022 / 89 min

Tears turn to soap bubbles and hugs turn to fights in Simon Lereng Wilmont's award-winning film about an orphanage in eastern Ukraine. Eminently observed, and with unforgettable moments of hope.

Simon Lereng Wilmont / Denmark / 2022 / 87 min

In the marble's cycle from excavation to refrigerator magnet lies a story of the complicated relationship between China and the West.

Sean Wang / Netherlands, Hong Kong SAR China, France, Greece / 2021 / 97 min

Brother and sister end up on opposite sides after the revolution in Libya, but must find each other again and rebuild the country. A dramatically intense film about big emotions and deep wounds, shot over six years.

Giovanni Buccomino / Libya, Italy / 2021 / 122 min

Oscar-nominated and visually stunning panorama of modern China, from the poorest factory worker to the materialistic middle class, and to the red wine swelling and fashionable elite.

Jessica Kingdon / United States / 2021 / 99 min

A poetic and raw coming-of-age story about a young Afro-Latina woman from New York who uncompromisingly turns her gaze on herself and her origins. One of the strongest debuts of the last year.

Rebeca Huntt, Rebeca Huntt / United States, Mexico / 2021 / 79 min

Nina Menkes' performative film talk is an entertaining, yet urgent and timely introduction to critical film theory, with 175 clips from Hollywood classics and cult films. A fresh look at old norms and forms.

Nina Menkes , Nina Menkes / United States / 2022 / 105 min

Three young Bosnian brothers are left to run the family farm in the mountains while their fundamentalist father serves two years in prison. An epic about the origins of radicalisation.

Francesco Montagner / Czech Republic, Italy / 2021 / 97 min

Swedish feel-good hit from Sundance, where a troupe of 60+ female dancers in Florida give their own generation a fresh shot of vitality through colourful dance numbers and irrepressible optimism.

Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen / Sweden / 2022 / 83 min

A dairy cow's life from birth to end. Andrea Arnold's sober and unsentimental film ditches dialogue and moral judgements in favour of a pure, observant and uniquely powerful simplicity.

Andrea Arnold / United Kingdom / 2021 / 94 min

The legendary Chelsea Hotel in New York City is under renovation. From behind every door of the mythological tower of babel, old ghosts and great stories appear.

Amélie van Elmbt, Maya Duverdier / Belgium, Netherlands, France, Sweden, United States / 2022 / 80 min

Every little detail is captured on the grain (and in 4K) in a film where the diverse wildlife around a single oak tree plays out like a daily drama of life and death. An audience favourite, and a huge nature experience. From 8 years old.

Laurent Charbonnier, Michel Seydoux / France / 2022 / 80 min

Four young Italian friends' individual gender transitions, told with an overwhelming, natural sensibility. An honest and poetic film with Elliot Page in the producer's chair.

Nicolò Bassetti / Italy / 2022 / 94 min

The Danish football star Nadia Nadim's journey to the French Super League - and back to her family roots in Afghanistan.

Anissa Bonnefont / France / 2021 / 86 min

Diaries, postcards and old home movies tell the story of forbidden love between two cultured women who found each other in a concentration camp during the war and began a lifelong relationship.

Magnus Gertten / Sweden, Belgium, Norway / 2022 / 93 min

A lively and wildly entertaining diamond thriller with a cast of characters right out of a spy movie, puncturing the myth of the once precious stones that today can be produced in a factory.

Jason Kohn / United States / 2022 / 87 min

Should Western museums return works of art and cultural artefacts to Africa? A film that poses the most pressing questions to the sharpest art historians from North and South.

Nora Philippe / France / 2022 / 82 min

An epic, cinematic journey around the world's rivers, narrated by Willem Dafoe and with new music by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. This year’s great nature experience on the big screen.

Jennifer Peedom / Australia / 2021 / 75 min

Shabu smashed his grandmother's car. To make up for the damage, he sells ice cream on the street until he gets a bright idea to earn money for the repairs: he should organise a music festival! From 12 years old.

Shamira Raphaëla / Netherlands, Belgium / 2021 / 75 min

Yes or no? For or against? A fast-paced tour with Georgian pollster Sunny, who bursts in and out of properties to pose her sociological questions, and perhaps keep her own loneliness at bay.

Keti Machavariani / Georgia / 2021 / 66 min

Humanity and the meaning of life as observed from a balcony in a minimalist masterpiece filmed from a single perspective. Winner of the Critics' Prize at the Locarno Film Festival.

Pawel Lozinski / Poland / 2021 / 101 min

A witty and charming road trip around Russia and Europe in the socialist cars that carried East into West when the Wall came down. And a profound insight into the seismic shift when old mentalities suddenly collapsed in 1989.

Boris Missirkov, Georgi Bogdanov / Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Croatia, Czech Republic / 2021 / 93 min

Pedal to the metal through the deserts of Palestine, where two cousins specialise in transporting desperate workers into Israel to support their families. Intense as an action movie, and with political edge.

Daniel Carsenty, Mohammed Abugeth / Qatar, France, Lebanon, Germany / 2021 / 93 min

Dethroned statues and monuments painted over with graffiti. Comedian CJ Hunt travels to New Orleans, where the debate over history rages. Entertaining and topical, but with depth and shadows.

CJ Hunt / United States / 2021 / 83 min

The rush of total freedom came with a price for Swedish skateboard star Ali Boulala in the 1990s, when he unleashed his inner wildness in a frenzy of drugs, alcohol and chaos.

Max Eriksson / Sweden, Norway / 2021 / 100 min

A stylish and elegant film in black-and-white about the beauty and grandeur of post-war Italy, and about the photographer who portrayed it. From the director of 'Let's Get Lost’.

Bruce Weber / United States / 2021 / 109 min

A collection of historical artefacts from Ukraine is stranded in a museum in Amsterdam as Russia annexes Crimea. For to whom should they be returned? A deep dilemma turns courtroom drama.

Oeke Hoogendijk / Netherlands / 2021 / 82 min

A giant dam on the administrative line between Georgia and the breakaway region of Abkhazia sets the scene for an eminent tale of the people affected by the conflict in the border country.

Maradia Tsaava / Georgia, France / 2021 / 85 min

The cult film 'Kids' was a scandalous succes in 1995. But the semi-documentary about young, sex-crazed skaters in New York had big consequences for the cast, who finally speak out 25 years later.

Eddie Martin / Australia / 2021 / 91 min

Welcome to Belfast, where a school principal uses Plato, Nietzsche and Elvis Presley to resolve old and ingrained conflicts among his students. A lively and passionate defence of freedom of thought.

Neasa Ni Chianáin, Declan McGrath / Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Belgium / 2021 / 102 min