Adam, the son of a fisherman, is offered the ultimate privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the epicentre of power of Sunni Islam. Shortly after his arrival in Cairo, the University’s highest-ranking religious leader, the Grand Imam, suddenly dies and Adam becomes a pawn in a ruthless power struggle between Egypt’s religious and political elite over who will replace him.

In pre-First World War Paris, two friends, Jules (Austrian) and Jim (French), fall in love with the same woman, Catherine. But Catherine loves and marries Jules. When they meet again in Germany after the war, Catherine starts to love Jim – This is the story of three people in love, a love that doesn’t affect their friendship, and about how their relationship evolves with the years. Starring Jeanne Moreau, Henri Serre and Oskar Werner.

Performed by the arresting trio of Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas, each of them playing characters with demons to face up to, this film exudes Gallic charm, brocante and beaucoup du vin. Kline’s dishevelled Mathias, a failed playwright, arrives in Paris to claim an apartment left to him by his much-loathed late father. He is soon embroiled in archaic French law when he realises the opulent home he has inherited comes complete with an elderly woman, Mathilde (Smith) and her daughter (Scott Thomas), to whom he must pay a monthly fee while they remain there until the old woman dies.

The film documents how guitarist Ry Cooder, long-time friend of director Wim Wenders, brought together an ensemble of legendary Cuban musicians to record a chart-topping album and to perform sell-out concerts in Amsterdam and at Carnegie Hall, New York. Although geographically close, travel between Cuba and the United States was restricted due to the political tension between the two countries, so many of the artists were travelling to America for the first time. The film includes interviews with each of the main performers and shows their reactions to the experience and footage of the hugely popular concerts.

Léo and Rémi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lukas Dhont’s second film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.

A Soviet adventure fantasy film based on Rimsky-Korsakov’s eponymous opera and using much of his score. Based in the old Russian city of Novgorod, a young gusli (lute) player named Sadko brags that he can bring a sweet-voiced bird of happiness to their land. He is mocked for his bravado but Sadko sets off to travel to find the mythical bird. He is offered help by the daughter of the Ocean King – she is mesmerised by his singing and falls in love with him. Sadko visits many lands in his search of the bird, including India and Egypt but is unable to capture the bird of happiness, and returns empty handed. But on his return to Novgorod, Sadko realises that there is no better land than his homeland, and there was no need to go so far in search of happiness.

Formally playful and humorously observant, Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated gem embraces with open arms the messiness of life at a crossroads. It chronicles four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is. The effervescent Renate Reinsve as Julie commands the screen – and our hearts – with her ravishing vivacity. A modern comedy drama about the quest for love and meaning in contemporary Oslo. NB: Sexual content.

In the mid-19th century, a mute woman (Holly Hunter) is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter (Anna Paquin) and a prized piano for an arranged marriage to a wealthy landowner (Sam Neill), but is soon lusted after by a local plantation worker (Harvey Keitel). In 1993, the film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Jane Campion the first female director to ever receive this award. It won three Academy Awards in March 1994: Best Actress for Holly Hunter, Best Supporting Actress for Anna Paquin and Best Original Screenplay for Jane Campion.

In a remote Costa Rican village, Clara, a woman believed to possess divine healing powers, lives under the repressive care of her pious elderly mother. Clara seeks solace in the natural world until the delicate order of her life is unexpectedly disrupted by a powerful sexual awakening, stirred by the arrival of her young niece’s handsome boyfriend. Desire ignites an unstoppable force, leading Clara on a tumultuous path to self-discovery and emancipation. This debut from Costa Rican director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén combines mud, moss and mysticism to arresting effect in this intimate and richly atmospheric film which also features stunning cinematography and an extraordinary lead performance by Wendy Chinchilla Araya.

A wildly melodramatic tale of a kabuki onnagata (a male actor who plays female roles), who exacts a long-delayed retribution on the men who drove his parents to suicide. When he discovers that the mastermind behind those crimes has come to see him act onstage, he begins in earnest to plot his revenge. With the help of a renowned thief named Yamitaro, he makes out his first target: the daughter of the man who orchestrated his parents’ demise. Kazuo Hasegawa plays the dual role of the actor and the thief in a film which celebrated his 300th screen appearance. A heady mixture of swooning romanticism and stylised action, with a soundtrack that ranges from traditional Japanese music to lush Hollywood strings and cocktail jazz: An Actor’s Revenge is a cinematic tour de force.