Out July 3
(France, Advennture)
Director: Nicolas Vanier
Starring: Félix Bossuet, Tchéky Karyo, Margaux Châtelier
What's it about?
In a small French village in the snowy Alps during the 1940s, a lonely boy called Sebastian meets and tames a wild dog, Belle. But his peaceful village life is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of Nazi soldiers. Soon Sebastian's mother goes missing, so the boy and Belle go searching for her, along the way crossing paths with many travellers.
(Ireland/UK, drama)
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly
What's it about?
Father James Lavelle is a good-natured priest but finds himself being tormented by members of the local community. One day, when his life is threatened during a confession, the priest decides it's time to fight back against the dark forces around him.
(USA, documentary)
Director: Teller
Starring: Tim Jenison, Penn Jillette, Martin Mull
What's it about?
In this documentary from the magician Teller (of Penn and Teller fame), inventor Tim Jenison takes an interest in painter Johaness Vermeer, particularly in the methods used by the 17th century Dutch artist.
(USA, biography/musical)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda
What's it about?
Clint Eastwood adapts the hit stage show about the formation of The Four Seasons, the famous 1960s pop band from New Jersey fronted by singer Frankie Valli.
(USA, animation/adventure)
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jemaine Clement
What's it about?
Blu has settled with Jewel and their three children in Rio de Janeiro, but Jewel insists that their family relocates to the Amazonian jungle for their kids to learn what real life as a macaw is about.
Out July 9/10
(USA, action/sci-fi)
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis
What's it about?
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes is threatened by a group of humans who survived the deadly virus that had decimated their populations ten years ago. A war will ensue, which will decide which species will dominate the Earth.
(India/France/Germany/USA, drama/romance)
Director: Ritesh Batra
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
What's it about?
In Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system, a meal made by an unhappy young housewife mistakenly lands in the hands of a widower. After realising the mix up, the strangers begin to communicate through a series of letters, revealing a little more of themselves each time.
Out July 17
(France, comedy)
Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Starring: Thierry Lhermitte, Raphaël Personnaz, Niels Arestrup
What's it about?
Alexandre Taillard de Vorms is the French Foreign Minister, but his energy is often directed in the most inane and pointless directions, with his staff in a constant battle to mask his utter incompetence. To help the Minister write speeches, a young graduate from the elite National School of Administration is hired, though he too finds the politician's behaviour hard to comprehend, let alone solve.
(Australia, drama)
Director: Rolf de Heer
Starring: David Gulpilil, Peter Djigirr, Luke Ford
What's it about?
Living in a remote Aboriginal community in the northern part of Australia, Charlie is a warrior past his prime. As the government increases its stronghold over the community’s traditional way of life, Charlie becomes lost between two cultures. Finally fed up when his gun, his newly crafted spear and his best friend’s jeep are confiscated, Charlie heads into the wild on his own, to live the old way.
(France/Poland, drama)
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric
What's it about?
Roman Polanki returns with this drama about an actress who attempts to convince a director that she's perfect for a role in his upcoming production.
(USA, comedy/drama/romance)
Director: Fred Schepisi
Starring: Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche, Bruce Davison
What's it about?
An art instructor and an English teacher go head-to-head intellectually over which has more value: words or pictures. Soon enough, the duo begins to fall for one another while ultimately allowing their students to solve the question via a competition.
(USA, comedy)
Director: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Jason Segel, Cameron Diaz, Rob Corddry
What's it about?
Jay and Annie love each other, but 10 years of marriage and two children have somewhat eroded the passion. To reignite their flame, they decide to film themselves being intimate. But the following day, they realise that the video was leaked by mistake.
(UK/USA/Switzerland, sci-fi/thriller)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay
What's it about?
After alien lands on Earth and takes a human form, 'she' commences a quest of seducing men on her travels throughout Scotland.
(Brazil, biography/drama/romance)
Director: Bruno Barreto
Starring: Glória Pires, Miranda Otto, Tracy Middendorf
What's it about?
The story of the love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares.
Out July 24
(USA, biography/crime/drama)
Director: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Dane DeHaan
What's it about?
Canadian director Atom Egoyan adapts the true story of the West Memphis Three (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley, Jr), who in 1993 were put on trial for savagely murdering three young boys, leading to a controversial trial and numerous false accusations.
South Korea/USA/ France/ Czech Republic, action/thriller/sci-fi)
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Starring: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton
What’s it about?
Cult Korean director Bong Joon-ho makes his US debut with this dystopian sci-fi movie set aboard a perpetually moving train after an experiment to halt the effects of global warming failed, causing an ice age and killing most of the world's population.
(UK/Italy, comedy/drama)
Director: Uberto Pasolini
Starring: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Karen Drury
What's it about?
As a modest council case worker in a London suburb, John May's job is to find the relatives of those found dead and alone. Despite his efforts, he is always on his own at their funerals, having to write their eulogies himself. When his boss intends to fire him, John decides to double his efforts on a case that will change his life and prove that he hasn't said his last word.
(Australia/ Poland/ Ukraine, documentary)
Director: Sophia Turkiewicz
What's it about?
When Sophia Turkiewicz was seven, her Polish mother Helen gave her up to an orphanage. Sophia, now a filmmaker living in Sydney, never forgave her. Now Sophia discovers the truth about her mother's own struggles as a refugee and tries to understand why she abandoned her only child. With Helen sliding into dementia, Sophia desperately tries to find answers.
(UK/Ireland, comedy)
Director: Ben Kellett
Starring: David Armand, Richard Attlee, Robert Bathurst
What's it about?
When Agnes Brown is threatened by a ruthless company, she and her family launch a campaign to save her fruit and veg shop. They are joined by a motley crew composed of blind ninjas, an alcoholic lawyer and another one suffering from Tourette's syndrome...
(USA, horror/thriller)
Director: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez, Olivia Munn
What's it about?
New York police officer Ralph Sarchie investigates a series of disturbing and inexplicable crimes. An unconventional priest, who specialises in exorcism rituals, joins the investigation and together they will fight the demonic possessions that terrorise the city.
Out July 31
(UK, drama)
Director: Clio Barnard
Starring: Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas, Sean Gilder
What's it about?
In northern England, two 13-year-olds are expelled from school and start 'scrapping' for a local metal dealer, in exchange for cash. Soon the boys, Arbor and Swifty are drawn into the criminal underworld, which they struggle to leave.
(USA, drama)
Director: Neil LaBute
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Alice Eve
What's it about?
Fred surprises his former mistress Velvet after four years apart to tell her he has finally left his wife. But when she rejects him, his persistence evolves into obsession, revealing a dark history between the former lovers.
(Denmark/Germany/Sweden, crime/mystery/thriller)
Director: Mikkel Nørgaard
Starring: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Fares Fares, Sonja Richter
What's it about?
SBS and Madman Entertainment presents this adaptation of the bestselling Department Q crime novel series by Jussi Adler-Olsen, by the screenwriter of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the director of Borgen. Carl Mørck is a disgraced detective who is reassigned to the lowly task of filing cold cases in the basement for the newly created Department Q. On his first day, Carl's stubborn nature rears its head and he vows to investigate the mystery of a missing politician, who vanished five years earlier. Believing the case to be unsolved, he and his assistant, Assad, embark on a dangerous journey that will lead them into the dark underworld of Copenhagen.
(France, action/sci-fi)
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Analeigh Tipton, Morgan Freeman
What's it about?
In Taipei, the mob coerce a woman into transporting an illicit drug by surgically inserting it while she sleeps. During delivery, the substance leaks into her body, causing her to obtain superhuman capabilities.
(Australia, drama/thriller)
Director: Zak Hilditch
Starring: Nathan Phillips, Jessica De Gouw, David Field
What's it about?
With the end of the world only hours away, the self-absorbed James heads to the ultimate party-to-end-all-parties. On his way there, he saves the life of a young girl named Rose (Angourie Rice) who is searching desperately for her missing father. Their relationship ultimately leads James on the path to redemption.
(UK/USA/Germany, thriller)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Rachel McAdams
What's it about?
When a half-Chechen, half-Russian, tortured half-to-death immigrant turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community, laying claim to his father's ill gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest. As the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man's true identity: oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist.
