Discoveries from United Kingdom World Cinema

Renowned Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart features as the eponymous anti-hero in this Soviet-era adaptation of one of Shakespeare's darkest and most powerful tragedies.

A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.

Vanessa and Maria are twins, although not so identical...Maria is a nun while Vanessa is a go go dancer. Leading very different lives they don't interact much, however they are forced to switch lives when Vanessa is chased by Gromek, a powerful drug dealer. The girls must stop Gromek and also save the monastery Maria lives in from being sold.

When Casey Cantrell's mother died, her last wish was that her daughter would give a letter to Lord Richard Bredon, living in the UK. When Casey arrives in London, Lord Bredon denies ever having known her mother.

A young man spends most of his time recording self-tapes for parts he never gets. After multiple rejections for a series of nightmarish commercial auditions, he takes it upon himself to find a new part to play.

A 35 year old woman, Kate, awakes from an eighteen year coma following a tragic accident to an unfamiliar world. As she tries to make sense of what has happened her family and old school friends are reluctant to dig up the past.

Stefan Radetzky, a Polish pilot and famous concert pianist, is hospitalised in England from injuries sustained while in combat, and having lost his memory. As Radetzky plays the piano in a trance-like state, the story moves back in time to war-torn Warsaw. During an air-raid, Radetzky meets American journalist Carole, and there is a mutual attraction. Following the fall of Poland, Radetzky and Irish pilot, Mike, escape to Rumania and then on to America. Radetzky continues his musical career in America and meets up again with Carole.

The first pilot to leave Earth's atmosphere lands, then vanishes; but something with a craving for blood prowls the countryside...

Animated TV-film version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story about a spoiled English orphan who lives in India but is transplanted to her uncle's old, mysterious house in England after her parents' deaths. After making friends with a country boy and several animals, who talk here, she discovers many secrets on the grounds, including a locked-up, neglected garden and a locked-up, sickly boy, who turns out to be her cousin.

Playboy John Carter picks up a woman in a discotheque and takes her home. When she is murdered and he is framed for the crime, he finds himself drawn into a seedy underworld plot.

Two young women arrive at a curious penthouse apartment, led by one's crush on her tutor. However, her love interest doesn't live alone. He's part of a trio of computer hackers about to embark on the ultimate job on the world's most mysterious mainframe. Whilst doing so, they unlock more than they bargain for with supernatural and ultimately fatal results. Can this seemingly insignificant chain of events, which have thrown this group together, be construed as fate? Can the beacon provide a signal of hope or is it a web of manipulation, paranoia and ultimately... murder?

Successful soccer player Rod Turner spirals into drunken self-pity until he develops a friendship with an inspirational orphan and a beautiful singer. Learning from them what truly matters in life, Rod regroups and returns to form.

Compelled by grief and curiosity a young Englishman travels to France where he meets an eccentric older woman and unearths truths about the father he never really knew and about himself.

When Heather and Sarah Ann were growing up they told each other every secret. But Heather left their small town on the last day of high school vowing never to return. Forced to come back when her father becomes ill, the young documentary filmmaker is pressured into filming Sarah Ann's wedding video. Heather is convinced that the edgy filmmaker and bubbly pink-wearing bride have nothing in common, but as the big day approaches she finds that no one is quite what they seem – especially the old friend she thought she knew better than anyone.

BEIJING, NEW YORK is a touching and complex love story that bridges time, distance and culture, intertwining the lives of two Chinese childhood friends and an American artist. It is set against the backdrop of economic power shift between China and America. As the film's complex love triangle takes the audience on a wild ride, interweaving its way through the plot and each character's unique existence, it ultimately forces each of them to face life's eternal questions head-on. BEIJING, NEW YORK is a truthful and thrilling look into the journey to find true happiness and the joy, pain and adventure that ensues when one is forced to integrate their dreams into reality.

During World War II, a German woman, Inga, goes missing and is presumed dead. Her infant son is placed in an orphanage where, years later, he's adopted by a childless couple. The adoptive parents' happiness is shattered when Inga reappears and insists on custody of her son.

Starry architects Purves and Pekkala are offered the chance to redesign a Georgian church, but when the head of Scottish Heritage falls from the church tower in a mysterious accident, it becomes a question of whether he fell or was pushed.

American racketeer Jimmie Dean travels to England, where he assumes the identity of a Canadian whom he has been falsely accused of murdering. Jimmie is then forced to join the British army in the dead man's place. He falls in love with the Canadian's childhood playmate, Sally Briggs, and becomes a hero after saving an isolated English colony in China.

A group of young travellers discover their dream vacation has turned into a nightmare when an infestation of top-secret deadly spiders escapes mid-flight. When the pilots are killed by the aggressive arachnids, the group must fend for themselves against the relentless swarm and their monstrous "mother" spider, measuring a massive 5 feet.

The whole village mourns when General O'Leary, owner of a hunting estate in South Ireland, is killed in an accident. His nephew, Jasper O'Leary, takes over the state and soon has aroused the displeasure of all, with the exception of Serena McGluskey, as much a schemer as he is a cad. Led by Thady O'Heggarty, the villagers plot to drive Jasper away. They use the occasion of "O'Leary Night", when the ghost of the first O'Leary walks the halls, to create general chaos.

The title character is a US army Captain of Native American descent who is asked to investigate the murder of an Indian agent. His only clue is "April morning", the last words spoken by the victim. Can he unravel the mystery before the clock runs out?

A man pays a hitman to kill him. Circumstances change and he tries to call off the hit but he has trouble getting the deal killed.

A young boy is bored spending time with his dull grandma until he discovers she's an international Jewel thief.

An epic documentary film from BAFTA and Oscar-nominated writer, producer and director Steven Knight, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, tells the story of the Oasis reunion the world was waiting for. Featuring unprecedented on stage and backstage footage from the Gallagher brother's sell-out global stadium tour.

A group of young men return to their home town in order to turn their friend's final days into a celebration of life and friendship.

An agent invites his young starlet to a party, to meet all the right people. A chance to move on from the commercials she has been doing, to bigger roles and maybe stardom. However while she is there, she realizes there is a price to pay...

The orderly suburban life of a 1950's English town is turned on its head when the teenaged daughter of one of the residents writes a steamy bestseller featuring characters obviously based on the local population.

The story of the great train robber Ronald Biggs.

Fresh out of prison, Git rescues a former best friend (now living with Git's girlfriend) from a beating at the hands of loan sharks. He's now in trouble with the mob boss, Tom French, who sends Git to Cork with another debtor, Bunny Kelly, to find a guy named Frank Grogan, and take him to a man with a friendly face at a shack across a bog. It's a tougher assignment than it seems: Git's a novice, Bunny's prone to rash acts, Frank doesn't want to be found (and once he's found, he has no money), and maybe Tom's planning to murder Frank, which puts Git in a moral dilemma. Then, there's the long-ago disappearance of Sonny Mulligan. What's a decent and stand-up lad to do?

Somewhere in Europe, mid-20th century. Albert is employed to look after Mia, a girl with teeth of ice. Mia never leaves their apartment, where the shutters are always closed. The telephone rings regularly and the Master enquires after Mia's wellbeing. Until the day Albert is instructed that he must prepare the child to leave.

Holly loves Rob and tries to help him through his grief – even if it means contending with his dead girlfriend Nina, who comes back, bloody and broken, every time they make love.

Through the experiences of two women in Paris and London, Ghost Dance offers an analysis of the complexity of our conceptions of ghosts, memory and the past. The film focuses on the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, who observes, 'I think cinema, when it's not boring, is the art of letting ghosts come back.' He also says that 'memory is the past that has never had the form of the present.'

Dorothy is a lonely widow whose body is failing, but her mind remains as bright as ever. When 17-year-old JJ accidentally kicks his football into her garden, he upends Dorothy's daily routine of pills, prunes, and crosswords, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. Despite being worlds apart in every way, the two come to find they have more in common than they could ever imagine.

This is the story of Dame Barbara Windsor, the Cockney kid with a dazzling smile and talent to match. Preparing to perform in the theatre one cold evening in 1993, the cheeky, chirpy blonde Babs recounts the people and events that have shaped her life and career over fifty years from 1943 to 1993. She contemplates her lonely childhood and WWII evacuation; her decision to go from Barbara Ann Deeks to Barbara Windsor, inspired by the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II; her complicated relationship with her father; her doomed marriage to Ronnie Knight; capturing the attention of theatre director Joan Littlewood; and becoming the blonde bombshell in the Carry On films. Babs, ever the consummate professional, never lets her fans down whatever her personal anguish and steps on the stage to rapturous applause.

The Black Prince follows the story of the last Sikh Maharaja — the son of the powerful ruler Ranjit Singh — who was placed on the throne at the age of five, after the death of his father. In 1849, the young prince was removed from the throne and eventually sent off to England. His attempts to return to India and reclaim his kingdom were subsequently thwarted by the British.

Every hundred years, the evil sorceress Morgana returns to claim Fingall's talisman from Merlin, with which she intends to destroy the world. For the last fourteen hundred years she has failed... now she intends to conquer all. Young Ben Clark moves with his parents to a new town, where he befriends his elderly magician neighbor, Milner. Ben has a natural talent for magic and wants to learn all that he can from this old man. Ben carries the same scar as the original staff-bearer 1,400 years before. Both Morgana and Milner, who is revealed to be Merlin, see this as a sign that this time, the battle between good and evil will be stronger and harder than ever. Ben must make his own choice between good and evil as he is drawn into a battle and must draw on his own spirit and magic to decide which path to follow and hence, the fate of the world as we know it.

John and Mary have lived with desolating grief and the agony of uncertainty for the past ten years. Their only child, Clare, ran away from home when she was fourteen and no trace of her whereabouts has ever been found. When Clare returns, now a young woman of twenty-four, Mary is overjoyed. But John comes to believe that Clare is not who she claims to be. As old tensions resurface, a gripping search for the truth unfolds.

Documentary chronicling the extraordinary life and tragic death of Mary Millington - Britain's most famous pornographic actress of the 1970s.

A hook-up between two young men - they make a connection, but it quickly becomes apparent they're looking for different things.

After a night of drinking Guiness at the local watering hole, an ordinary, working-class, family man in Dublin's life is turned upside-down when he wakes up as a rat.

Biographical documentary about the life and career of the film star. What lies behind the extraordinary success of a man sometimes described as a nice guy who came first.

After 12 years away, Mrs Jordan’s son arrives in Birmingham from Jamaica. Writer Barry Reckord returns to the theme of an interracial relationship which causes conflict within a Jamaican family. Reconstructed from the surviving unedited studio footage by Simon Coward (Research Manager, Kaleidoscope). An episode of the BBC drama series Second City Firsts.

After a suicide attempt, Kate moves in with her estranged working-class Aunt Trish, where she spends the next few weeks roped up in Trish's madcap world as they learn to live with eachother.

A young teacher takes a job at an unusual private school where she soon discovers that the boys have a sinister power over the girls. As the boys behaviour becomes increasingly threatening she uncovers the source of the girls fear; an ominous locked door at the back of the classroom.

Dion questions his own existence as he begins to uncontrollably transcend between a real and projected world within his own mind.

The film explores a woman's journey to rediscover her ability to scream after a news report about a woman's abduction triggers a disturbing realization about her own lost primal scream.

A young criminal kidnaps a couple's young son and then blackmails them into committing his crime instead of asking for a ransom.

Cliff Richard and The Shadows are hired to star in a movie shot amid the lush tropical scenery of the Canary Islands. A sunny seaside spectacular, filled with romance, excitement and high spirits - not to mention a dozen musical numbers.

Travelling by train, a group of friends' holiday ends in real time.

When Councillor Ogidt and Mr. Madu come to Chief Ozuomba's court, both wanting to marry Elina, the Chief sees his chance to oppose the new anti-polygamy law. Unfortunately, this production was likely wiped by the BBC, and is no longer believed to exist.

Ticlaw, a small town in Florida, has only one attraction: a safari park. The government constructs a freeway that passes near Ticlaw, but decides not to put an exit into the town. The people of Ticlaw, leaded by its Mayor, will do anything in order to convince the governor to alter the project.

William is a dashing and eccentric Scotsman whose charms rapidly overwhelm the sweet and naïve Ann, but she nearly as quickly begins to comprehend that her new beau is anything but a one-woman man. In addition to his two ex-wives, with whom he remains remarkably close, William exhibits a disturbing attraction for nearly any female who crosses his path -- Ann's friends among them.

Nearly a thousand miles away from their beloved Moscow, Chekhov's Three Sisters live in virtual exile. Olga , a schoolmistress, attempts to support her siblings and the home that is the sole legacy of their late father.

Svengali tells the story of Dixie, a postman from South Wales, and a music fanatic. All his life he’s dreamed of discovering a great band and then one day, trawling through YouTube, he finds them… ‘The Premature Congratulations’. He hunts them down and offers them his management services. They are young, arrogant, sexy and utterly magnificent. Putting their demo on a cassette tape, Dixie heads out onto the streets of London…

Seeking to escape the stifling London court society, the beautiful headstrong Lady Dona St. Columb flees to her family estate on the Cornish coast. Her new freedom swiftly brings her into contact with the dashingly handsome French privateer Jean Aubrey who sweeps her off her feet and into a world of adventure on the high seas very different from her dull and boring life at court with her husband Sir Harry. Together with Jean Aubrey and her enigmatic servant William, Lady Dona conceives a daring plan to steal a ship right from under the noses of the English authorities. The theft enrages the authorities who make every effort to trap the French Pirate. However, as the noose begins to tighten around the lovers, Lady Dona is faced with the dilemma of duty and children with Sir Harry or freedom and excitement with Jean Aubrey

A man with a sandwich-board (advert) wanders around London meeting many strange characters.

A man is offered the chance to escape to his perfect dream world - all he has to do is hand over everything he owns. Will he really abandon his family? The answer to this question asks us to consider what really matters in our lives.

Tommy is a vacuum cleaner salesman gripped by the fever of closing the deal. He lives on puffa rice stored in his glove compartment, listens to motivation tapes of his own voice shouting 'Sell, sell, fucking sell' and his punters are up to their eyes in debt. Even Tommy admits his 'soul's in holes'. He's sure the Golden Vac (the holy grail of vacuum salesmanship) can be his - if only he hadn't been saddled with Pete, a meek sales trainee trying to help his girlfriend quit stripping.

Andrew Crocker-Harris has been forced from his position as the classics master at an English public school due to poor health. As he winds up his final term, he discovers not only that his wife, Millie, has been unfaithful to him with one of his fellow schoolmasters, but that the school's students and faculty have long disdained him. However, an unexpected act of kindness causes Crocker-Harris to re-evaluate his life's work.