Spanish

A celebratory showcase of some of the year’s best and brightest animated shorts. If you’re looking to sample the animation ecosystem in all its multi-coloured, variously-shaped glory, there’s no better place to begin.

Dramatising the turbulence and ambiguity of custody battles with emotional precision and complexity, Charter focuses on a mother’s impulsive decision to abscond with her estranged children to a holiday resort, and the consequences of her actions.

Pure, unadulterated cinema, the latest from Chilean maestro Pablo Larraín is straight fire: a scorching character study of one woman’s pursuit of sexual and political liberation, lit up by Mariana Di Girolamo’s sensational lead performance.

Stranded after their mother’s passing, a teenage brother and sister awkwardly socialise, take long walks on the beach and get serious about fitness in this dry, Jim Jarmusch-esque hangout film.

These bright young activists are the voices of their generation, fighting against extreme poverty, social inequalities and climate change. They are the children who will change the world.

After being scammed into bankruptcy, a community of working-class Argentines band together to devise the ultimate payback – an elaborate money heist inspired by the movies – in Sebastián Borensztein’s winning underdog comedy.

Travellers and migrants who vanish without a trace – and the desperation of the families they leave behind – come to light in this tense, enveloping drama set in the shadow of the US–Mexico border.

Indulging in the thrill and heartbreak of the artistic process, this unabashedly avant-garde take on the iconic works of Godard, Mendieta and Farocki explores cinema as both a political and playful act.

Defying family expectations and maternal norms, 63-year-old hairdresser Lou travels to start a new life abroad, settling on the Spanish port city of Cádiz, where adventures in language and friendship await.

The great Ai Weiwei, giant of contemporary Chinese, activist and human rights art, directs with breathtaking outrage this soul-searching documentary on the devastation of a Mexican community gutted by a mass abduction of students.

The acclaimed director of The Sea Inside returns with his most handsomely mounted film yet, an expansive yet deep-focus drama detailing events around the Spanish Civil War and the rise of Franco’s fascist dictatorship.

A smart and nuanced portrait of gay love matched with suspenseful and unexpected turns, Marco Berger’s latest film continues his acclaimed run of dramas exploring queer male desire and romance.