Gaspard, a man who has gone through breakups, believes he has no more love to give. One day, he crosses paths with an injured mermaid, Lula, by the Seine in Paris and takes her home to heal in his bathtub, but learns that any man who falls in love with her dies. // COMEDY/FANTASY/ROMANCE In French with English subtitles.

A deeply personal story about the invisible fault lines of inequality and the moral compromises demanded by the American Dream of the 80s. This forthrightly autobiographical coming-of-age picture might look generic at first but steadily reveals an attention to detail that is rare. // DRAMA In English

This Christmas-tinged LA neo-noir black comedy marked the return from the wilderness for Robert Downey Jr. and an assured directorial debut for Shane Black. Best of all, it is packed with nods and references the most of the films in this program. Happy Christmas.

A comedy about Johan Grande's adventurous life, and his long-lasting battle to win over the love of his life, Solvor, who he accidentally blew up a bit in his teens. // COMEDY In Norwegen with English subtitles.

A brilliant young fund manager leaves her unfulfilling job and long-term boyfriend to chase her lifelong dream of becoming an opera singer in the Scottish Highlands under the tutelage of the “Mad Diva” Meghan Geoffrey-Bishop (Joanna Lumley).

This black crime comedy marked the point at which Joel and Ethan Coen became untouchable as filmmakers. All their obsessions and stylistic approaches are on display as Frances McDormand’s pregnant police chief follows the evidence from a roadside homicide.

Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow, is yearning for some adventure, human connection, and some sex--some good sex. Adelaide filmmaker Sophie Hyde’s film observes an aging woman while she studiously unlearns her long-held beliefs and constraints. // COMEDY/DRAMA In English

John Huston and Humphrey Bogart re-team in this claustrophobic psychological noir thriller. A Gangster and his cohorts hold a family prisoner. With a hurricane brewing and day turning to night, the tension builds to a nerve-shredding conclusion.

Everybody has a favourite Coen Brothers film and, for most, this is that film. Jeff Bridges makes a career defining turn as LA slacker Jeff 'The Dude' Lebowski, and his journey for restitution for a rug that 'really tied the room together'. All overseen by a cowboy narrator.

Speeding through the Moroccan desert to attend an old friend's lavish weekend party, wealthy Londoners David and Jo Henninger (Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain) are involved in a tragic accident with a local teenage boy. Arriving late at the grand villa with the debauched party raging, the couple attempts to cover up the incident with the collusion of the local police. But when the boy's father arrives seeking justice, the stage is set for a tension-filled culture dash in which David and Jo must come to terms with their fateful act and its shattering consequences.

This satirical neo-noir, takes liberties with Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel but, in the hands of Robert Altman and starring a rarely better Elliott Gould, it never puts a foot wrong. 'Nothing says goodbye like a bullet.'