Out May 1
52 Tuesdays
(Australia, drama)
Director: Sophie Hyde
Starring: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Del Herbert-Jane, Mario Späte
What's it about?
Billie is a teenager whose mother has just announced her plan to gender transition, and that their time together must now be limited to Tuesday afternoons. The 16 year-old reluctantly finds her path towards independence is greatly accelerated.
Read interview with director Sophie Hyde
Read the extraordinary story behind 52 Tuesdays
Fading Gigolo
(USA, comedy)
Director: John Turturro
Starring: John Turturro, Woody Allen, Sharon Stone
What's it about?
Fioravante decides to pimp himself out to various women as a way of making money to help his down-on-luck friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his friend's 'manager', the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.
Read interview with director John Turturro and actress Vanessa Paradis
Sneezing Baby Panda – The Movie
(Australia, comedy)
Directors: Lesley Hammond, Jenny Walsh
Starring: Jane Ubrien, Amber Clayton, Nick Stribakos
What's it about?
Marnie Tyler is an Australian zoologist passionate about her saving her beloved zoo from closing its doors. To do so, seeks out the viral internet sensation that is 'Sneezing Baby Panda'.
Read review
Read interview with director Lesley Hammond
Young & Beautiful
(France, drama)
Director: François Ozon
Starring: Marine Vacth, Géraldine Pailhas, Frédéric Pierrot
What's it about?
The portrait of a 17 years-old girl, in 4 seasons and 4 songs.
Watch interview with director François Ozon
Out May 8
Belle
(UK, drama)
Director: Amma Asante
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson
What's it about?
This period drama is inspired by the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, who was the illegitimate daughter of John Lindsay, a Captain in the Royal Navy, and a Caribbean woman named Maria Belle who gave birth to their child in 1762.
Read interview with director Amma Asante
A Castle in Italy
(France, comedy/drama)
Director: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Starring: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Louis Garrel, Filippo Timi
What's it about?
The future of a wealthy Italian family is up in the air after they're forced to sell their home.
Watch interview with writer/director/star Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Chef
(US, comedy)
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson
What’s it about?
Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is a disillusioned chef fed up with his restaurant’s management, poor reviews and lack of creativity. After an online battle with a well-known critic leads to further frustration, Carl decides to leave and go solo as a food truck operator in a bid to rediscover his flair for cooking.
The Double
(UK, Comedy/drama/thriller)
Director: Richard Ayoade
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn
What's it about?
Simon is a lonely guy who is scorned by his mum, invisible to his colleagues at work, and the girl of his dreams simply ignores him. Things get worse when a new guy starts work at the same company. The spitting image of Simon, James is the complete opposite when it comes to personality: he's confident, charismatic, and has the knack for attracting women.
Read review
Read interview with actor Jesse Eisenberg
Healing
(Australia, drama)
Director: Craig Monahan
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Xavier Samuel
What's it about?
Near the end of his 18-year sentence, Viktor Khadem is sent to Won Wron, a low-security prison farm 200 km outside Melbourne in regional Victoria, where Senior Case Worker Matt Perry introduces him to his unique program that rehabilitates broken men through giving them the responsibility for the care of injured birds.
Read interview with actor Don Hany
Out May 15
Child’s Pose
(Romania, drama)
Director: Calin Peter Netzer
Starring: Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Natasa Raab
What's it about?
Cornelia is 60, fundamentally unhappy, and determined to resist her 34-year-old son Barbu's attempts to become independent of her. When Barbu is found responsible for a tragic accident and faces a likely jail term, Cornelia's maternal instincts kick into overdrive, and she embarks on a campaign to release him.
Read interview with director Calin Peter Netzer
The Broken Circle Breakdown
(Belgium/Netherlands, drama/romance/music)
Director: Felix van Groeningen
Starring: Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh, Nell Cattrysse
What's it about?
Elise and Didier have been together for seven passionate years. When their little girl Maybelle is diagnosed with a serious illness, all the turning points in their intense and moving relationship seem to flash by. They remember their love at first sight, courtship and passion, coming closer through their bluegrass band, braving marriage, pregnancy and the joy of parenthood.
Godzilla
Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston
What's it about?
Godzilla rises to restore balance on Earth after some malevolent creatures threaten our existence.
Out May 22
The Babadook
(Australia, drama/horror/thriller)
Director: Jennifer Kent
Starring: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight
What's it about?
Amelia is a single mother plagued by the violent death of her husband. Meanwhile, her son has a fear of a monster lurking in the house. It's not long before Amelia is frightened too, when discovers a sinister presence all around her.
Read interview with director Jennifer Kent
Read How Jennifer Kent Made The Babadook
Ida
(Poland/Denmark, drama)
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Starring: Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Joanna Kulig
What's it about?
In 1960s Poland, an orphan by the name of Anna is brought up by nuns in a convent. Before she takes her vows, Anna contacts Wanda her only living relative, only to find out she is actually Jewish. Together they decide to find out more about their family and on their journey they discover a dark family secret dating back to the Nazi occupation.
My Sweet Pepper Land
(France/Germany/Iraq, drama)
Director: Hiner Saleem
Starring: Korkmaz Arslan, Golshifteh Farahani, Suat Usta
What's it about?
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, a former Kurdish war hero and now sheriff accepts a transfer to a border town between Iraq, Iran, Turkey. The valley is a haven for illegal trafficking, and Baran comes into conflict with the local tribal chief. But soon enough, he bonds with a newly arrived a female teacher, herself an outcast.
The Selfish Giant
(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 (Conner Chapman) and Swifty (Shaun Thomas) are drawn into the criminal underworld, which they struggle to leave.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
(USA/UK, action/adventure/fantasy)
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman
What's it about?
Wolverine is sent back to the past by the X-Men in order to prevent a tragic event from happening.
Out May 29
Maleficent
(USA, action/adventure/drama)
Director: Robert Stromberg
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley
What's it about?
The story of Sleeping Beauty as seen through the eyes of the villain Maleficent.
A Million Ways to Die in the West
(USA, comedy)
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson
What's it about?
Albert is a cowardly sheep farmer whose girlfrend has just walked out on him after he chickened out of a gunfight. He calls on a mysterious new woman in town to find him find courage and the two soon fall in love. Soon Albert must put this new found courage to the test when her gunslinging husband drops by.
The Trip to Italy
(UK, comedy/documentary)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan
What's it about?
Comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon eat their way around Italy, stopping off in Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi, and Capri.
Under the Skin
(UK, sci-fi)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay
What's it about?
Scarlett Johansson plays an alien that takes on human form, who commences a quest of seducing men as 'she' travels throughout Scotland.
