A continuing series spotlighting new films that expand the possibilities of the medium and provide a vision for its future.

An ongoing series presenting rare films from the ICA Archive, screening on original 35mm and 16mm prints.

A continuing series of in-depth retrospectives exploring the work of cinema's great artists, both past and present.

The endlessly blurred and tangled lines of reality and fiction, cinema and theatre, and art and life form the heart of Jacques Rivette’s cinema. Throughout his extensive body of work the French filmmaker continually eschews and reformulates the traditional patterns of narrative cinema and instead embraces mystery, conspiracy, and the inexplicable.

The second edition of Screen Cuba, a festival that celebrates Cuba’s pioneering homegrown cinema industry, presents films rarely screened in the UK and looks at the achievements and challenges of the Cuban people through the decolonising lenses of their filmmakers since the 1959 revolution.

For two years, filmmakers Ben Russell and Guillaume Cailleau followed a militant activist community of squatters, anarchists, farmers in France. Composed of forty-one long takes, the film quietly assembles an immersive portrait of the movement and those involved alongside their activism.

An exploration of a world shaped by neurodiverse perspectives, capturing diverse subjects navigating environments both challenging and comforting. Characters, some concealing their autism, others thriving in their communities, share a common goal: finding a space free from societal norms.

A tribute to the revolutionary Cuban filmmaker Santiago Álvarez and his “urgent cinema” approach he developed, making hundreds of incredibly innovative newsreels and documentaries raising public consciousness from the early 1960s. Followed by three important early shorts by Alvarez.

Jean Cocteau's second interpretation of the Orpheus myth is a peerless work of visual poetry whose echoes reverberate through Rivette's oeuvre – from the labyrinthine streets of Paris to the marrying of the modern and the fantastical.

As sexually deranged as it is stylistically unhinged, this psychedelic surrealist neo-noir reworking of the 1920 German expressionist classic features Laura Albert as Mrs Van Houten, a woman whose libido is dangerously out of control. There’s only one place for her: the Caligari Insane Asylum.

A dystopian sci-fi oddity from one of American cinema's true underground originals, Café Flesh is a post-apocalyptic “adults-only” reworking of Bob Fosse’ Cabaret.

Inspired by Cyril Tourneur's Jacobean drama The Revenger's Tragedy, the third part of Jacques Rivette's Scènes de la vie parallèle is a balletic tale of revenge centred upon Morag's (Geraldine Chaplin) quest to avenge the death of her brother at the hands of Giulia (Bernadette Lafont), the leader of a band of pirates.

David Cronenberg’s 1983 cult classic on a 35mm print from the ICA Archives.

An exploration of a world shaped by neurodiverse perspectives, capturing diverse subjects navigating environments both challenging and comforting. Characters, some concealing their autism, others thriving in their communities, share a common goal: finding a space free from societal norms.

A tense and human musical about a family that survived the end of the world, from the director of The Act of Killing.

Jérémie returns to his hometown for his former boss's funeral. A mysterious disappearance, a threatening neighbour, and a strange priest complicate his visit. 

In rural Northern India, recently widowed Santosh reluctantly takes the place of her murdered police constable husband in this complex thriller.

When artist Maggie breaks her femur, her husband Joel, a famous photographer, becomes her caregiver. The hard truths of life together provoke an attempt to find a shared peace while there's time.

Hemmed into the marital bond of an arranged partnership in Mumbai, new bride Uma acts out in surprising, misanthropic and hugely charming ways. Karan Kandhari’s debut film is a punk celebration of embracing one’s impulses.

Raoul Peck's portrait of Ernest Cole, a South African photographer who was the first to expose the horrors of apartheid to a world audience, resulting in his exile.

James Baldwin left New York behind for Paris in November 1948. Filmmaker Yashaddai Owens paints an impressionistic portrait of these early days on rich 16mm black-and-white, capturing a transformative moment in the life of a young artist.

Despite its somewhat beleaguered production and a less than rapturous reception from critics upon its release, Jacques Rivette's final film of the 1970s is a perfect distillation of the paranoia, conspiracy and mystery that defined much of his work during the previous two decades. 

A selection of work by influential French documentarian Sylvain George, the first of its kind in the UK.

In transit through the city of Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, Malik and his friends, minors of Moroccan origin, try to reach Europe. Day after night, they wander the city in all directions, exploring its most burning pasts and presents.

In Angola, 1974, as independence nears, a girl and a group of Portuguese soldiers confront love, death, and justice amid war. 

Themes of love and migration play out in the fire and frenzy of a New York kitchen in Alonso Ruizpalacios' adaptation of Arnold Wesker's stage play.

The first full retrospective of the great Polish director Wojciech Jerzy Has, is presented in partnership with KINOTEKA and the BFI.

A selection of three short films, No Border, N’entre pas sans violence and Nocturne Blanc-Chasseur, made between 2007 and 2015 on mini-DV and Super 8, focused on the experiences of migrants in Paris.

Felicja hides actor Wiktor from persecution in her flat, but his selfishness strains their relationship, damaging her life and career.

Tadeusz obsessively searches for his missing son, using conflicting scraps of conflicting information gleaned from possibly unreliable witnesses, but his quest alienates him from family and reality.

The city of Paris becomes a labyrinthine board game, as a chance encounter between a claustrophobic ex-con (Bulle Ogier) and a leather-clad young woman (Pascale Ogier) quickly embroils them both in a sinister underworld conspiracy.

Puerta del Sol, Madrid. A document of the 15M movement, one of the largest movements of class struggle of this century, functioning as an experimental newsreel. 

Jane Birkin and Geraldine Chaplin star as actresses recruited by an enigmatic playwright (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) to star in a new work, but as rehearsals begin in his grand mansion, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. A beguiling and haunting exploration of the mysteries of love and art.

Based on short story by Chekhov, Wojciech Has’ first film after a decade's pause explores an elderly professor’s existential musings and personal frustrations.

A revelatory inside-look at John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s life in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s, from Academy Award-winner Kevin Macdonald.

18 year-old Totone spends his time drinking and partying in the Jura region of France, until reality catches up to him, and he must find a way to make a living to care for his 7 year-old sister.

Assembled from footage shot over a span of more than twenty years, Jia Zhangke crafts a boundless story of enduring but fragile love, anchored by the eternally captivating presence of Zhao Tao.

Structured in 14 episodes (screening over three consecutive days), exergue – on documenta 14 offers a look behind the scenes of the institutional contemporary art world. Presented in partnership with Open City Documentary Festival.

Lisbon, 2027. A life-threatening earthquaking is menacing the city. Rita Nunes' sophomore feature film raises the question of the societal responsibiltiy of a scientist in the extreme case of an imminent catastrophic scenario. 

To coincide with the screening of exergue - on documenta 14, Adam Szymczyk, artistic director of documenta 14, will be present in-person for an in-depth conversation, hosted by Chris McCormack. Co-presented with Open City Documentary Festival and Art Monthly.

A celebration of the extraordinary life of Irish writer Edna O'Brien.

The festival closes with a special musical interpretation of Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass by Bester Quartet

In 1972, Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa, published the book New Portuguese Letters, which was immediately banned with the writers were trialed for crimes against morality. 

As Edhi prepares to undergo gender reassignment surgery, she is filmed by a crew that includes lighting technician Alice. Exploring connections between the two women’s stories, director and queer activist Ilrhan Kim interrogates how documentaries about trans communities are made: the creative decisions, relationships, and ethical questions involved.