A key member of iconic bands The Dirty Three and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, multi-instrumentalist Ellis has cut a brilliant and unorthodox figure in music for over three decades. Far from the international concert halls in which he has plied his craft lies a very different passion project: a wildlife sanctuary in the forests of Sumatra. Co-founded by Ellis and spearheaded by the indomitable Femke den Haas, whose dedicated team of conservationists rescues trafficked and mistreated animals and then devotes years to nursing them back to health.

Rooney Mara stars in this gorgeously shot, righteously angry portrait of kitchen workers stewing in the pressure-cooker conditions of a New York City bistro. At popular Times Square establishment The Grill, Estela meets the many characters who will soon define her working life in this new country, including waitress Julia (Mara); her boyfriend Pedro (Raúl Briones, A Cop Movie, MIFF 2021), a chef; and his rival Max. As the cooks battle it out for culinary supremacy, Julia clashes with Pedro over whether to terminate her pregnancy, while Estela and the other undocumented migrants weigh up their fates in the US. Meanwhile, between the frenzy of orders and errands, the staff discuss romance, family and their memories of home. Based on Arnold Wesker’s play The Kitchen and informed by the director’s own experiences of minimum-wage drudgery, this Berlinale competition standout interrogates the sad realities of the restaurant industry, the exploitation of immigrant workers and the cultural disconnect between North and Latin America. But Alonso Ruizpalacios (Museum, MIFF 2018) also contrasts his film’s kitchen-confidential chaos with moments of quiet humanity, with stately compositions, gliding tracking shots and immaculate black-and-white cinematography further enhancing the palette. Fans of The Bear are sure to have their behind-the-food drama cravings sated.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024–25 Live in HD season comes to a close with Rossini’s effervescent comedy. Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina headlines a winning ensemble as the feisty heroine, Rosina, alongside American tenor Jack Swanson, in his Met debut, as her secret beloved, Count Almaviva. Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky stars as Figaro, the ingenious barber of Seville, with Hungarian bass-baritone Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo and Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio rounding out the principal cast. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts Bartlett Sher’s madcap production.

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium to conduct Strauss’s one-act tragedy. Leading the company’s first new production of the work in 20 years, Claus Guth, one of Europe’s leading opera directors, gives the biblical story a psychologically perceptive Victorian-era setting. South African soprano Elza van den Heever leads a celebrated cast as the abused and unhinged antiheroine, with Swedish baritone Peter Mattei as the imprisoned prophet Jochanaan; German tenor Gerhard Siegel as Salome’s lecherous stepfather, King Herod; American mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as his wife, Herodias; and Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski as Narraboth.

Just as Marion Cotillard was to 'La Vie en Rose', Golden Globe-nominated actor Tahar Rahim is to MONSIEUR AZNAVOUR, transforming into the iconic singer-songwriter for this lavishly entertaining rise-to-stardom biography of the man who beat all odds to not only become one of France’s best-loved entertainers, but personified French culture to the English-speaking world. Born in Paris in 1924 as the son of Armenian refugees, Aznavour’s formative years are spent in poverty, but distinguished by his parents’ passion for music and theatre. Ridiculed for his short stature and raspy tenor voice - traits he would in time fully embrace - Aznavour’s early attempts at a showbiz career during the Occupation falter. Whilst a gifted lyricist and storyteller, his material finds more success in the hands of others, including his friend Pierre (Bastien Bouillon), and later the imperious Edith Piaf (a scene-stealing Marie-Julie Baup), who becomes a highly influential mentor and supporter. But by the 1950s, Aznavour finally realises his own ambitions; his empathetic ‘chansons’ about the heartbreaks, confusions and passions of the common man (mining the dramas of his own life) catapult him to global attention. Led by its star’s astonishing performance and stunning vocal prowess, Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade’s emotional and lavishly-mounted MONSIEUR AZNAVOUR is a true tour de force as intimate as it is spectacular, serving as a triumphant reminder of the power and impact of music. It’s a grand and unmissable cinema experience.

Gillian Anderson (Sex Education), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), and Ben Foster (Lone Survivor) lead the cast in Tennessee Williams’ timeless masterpiece, returning to cinemas. As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski. From visionary director Benedict Andrews, this acclaimed production was filmed live during a sold-out run at the Young Vic Theatre in 2014.

In 1985 devoted father Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers shocking truths of his own.

In a world that has started to forget him, Hector, a widowed fisherman, feels the weight of his solitude. Everything changes when he encounters Theodore, a teenager desperately seeking a saviour to rescue him from a dire situation. United by their shared struggles, they embark on a journey across the enchanting Aegean Sea, where amidst the azure waters, they discover a newfound purpose and a reason to carry on.

THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME. The story of a family and a family business. Starring: Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda, one of the richest men in Europe; Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl, his daughter/a nun; Michael Cera as Bjorn Lund, their tutor. With: Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

An honest and life-affirming true story of the healing power of the natural world.

In the psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan, a man (Nicolas Cage) returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.

TINĀ is a powerful, inspirational crowd pleaser about the healing power of music. Samoan teacher Mareta Percival is struggling following a huge personal loss in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Reluctantly taking on the role of substitute teacher at an elite, wealthy private school - she is surprised to find children crying out for guidance, inspiration and love. Using the symphony of her culture to empower her students, she forms a choir, bringing them together while unexpectedly rediscovering her passion again for being a teacher and mother.

Brothers Mic and Jim Conway have been making music together since their school days, when they formed the Jellybean Jug Band, which later morphed into the wildly popular Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band. In the early 1970s, Captain Matchbox became a phenomenon, delighting audiences with lively performances My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes and Fats Waller classics and quirky originals such as Wangaratta Wahine. Mic’s passion for vaudeville and creating instruments from anything at hand has driven his work across countless bands over the last 40 years, blending performance, circus, and humour. Jim, a blues purist, found his voice in Captain Matchbox as a harmonica player, becoming one of Australia’s foremost blues harp players. With a mix of present-day interviews and extensive archival footage, Whoopee Blues celebrates the brothers’ shared passion for music. The result is an entertaining portrait of the brothers and their timeless contribution to Australian music history. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Fiona Cochrane

Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling book by the same title, Wilding tells the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate. The young couple battles entrenched tradition, and dares to place the fate of their farm in the hands of nature. Ripping down the fences, they set the land back to the wild and entrust its recovery to a motley mix of animals both tame and wild. It is the beginning of a grand experiment that will become one of the most significant rewilding experiments in Europe.