• Friday 1 February for 1 week

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (15)

(Romania 2007) dir. Cristian Mungiu 113m. Subtitles. Digital.
Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alexandru Potocean.

A gripping drama set in Romania during the final days of the Soviet bloc. Taking place over one day in 1987, Otilia (Marinca) helps her university roommate Gabita (Vasiliu) seek an illegal abortion. Under Ceausescu's dictatorship where abortion is illegal, Gabita seems to be falling apart at the prospect of prison, and it therefore falls upon Otilia to organise both the doctor and hotel room – testing quite how far she is willing to go for her friend. Focusing not just on illegal abortion itself, 4 MONTHS is a commentary on the times, avoiding overtly political messages while simultaneously showcasing the dehumanising affect of the astringent laws the characters live under. A beautifully acted film, fully-deserving of its Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival.

• Friday 1 February for 1 week

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (15)

(US 2007) dirs. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen 122m. Digital.
Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly Macdonald.

An explosive and magnificent meeting of talents: Cormac McCarthy's brilliant novel and the writing and directing of the Coen Brothers come together to produce an unbeatable rich mix of dark humour and homespun philosophy. When a drug deal near the Rio Grande goes wrong, $2 million in cash is left up for grabs between poor trailer-park dweller Llewelyn Moss (Brolin), the town sheriff Tom Bell (Jones), and psychopath Anton Chigurh (Bardem) – whose ruthless murder trail the Sheriff is trying to stop. It's a study of incomprehensible evil with unbeatable performances from the increasingly iconic Tommy Lee Jones and an unrecognisable Javier Bardem. The impeccable camerawork of Roger Deakins tops off the celebrations that mark the Coens' triumphant homecoming.

• Friday 8 February for 2 weeks

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (12A)

(France 2006) dir. Julian Schnabel 111m. Subtitles. Digital.
Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Anne Consigny, Niels Arestrup, Max von Sydow.

The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who at the age of 43 suffered a stroke that immobilised his entire body, with the exception of his left eye. Painstakingly learning to communicate through the blinking of this eye, Bauby created a poignant memoir that became an international bestseller and is here courageously interpreted by Schnabel. Resisting the temptation to film ‘the man in the bed’, we are instead treated to a glimpse of Bauby’s interior world, with his memories and fantasies depicted from his direct point of view. Intelligent performances and skillful cinematography resist the temptation of self pity, and instead achieve a most unexpected affirmation of life.

• Friday 15 February for 10 days

THE PRINCES’ QUEST (AZUR & ASMAR) (U)

(Spain/Italy/Belgium/France 2006) dir. Michel Ocelot 99m. Digital.
Voices of Steven Kyman, Nigel Pilkington, Suzanna Nour, Nigel Lambert.

The story of two children brought up by the same woman. Azur, the son of a nobleman, and Asmar, the child of the nurse. As they grow up the nurse tells them many enchanting stories but their favourite is about the Djinn fairy waiting to be released from captivity by a good and heroic prince. One day Azur's father cruelly separates them, sending Azur to the city for a private education and banishing the nurse and Asmar from his home. Some years later Azur returns and sets out to a land far away to find the nurse and Asmar. Finally reunited, it soon becomes clear that Azur and Asmar will compete against each other to be the first one to rescue the fairy. A visually stunning film from the award-winning makers of KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS.

• Friday 20 February for 16 days

BE KIND REWIND (12A)

(US 2008) dir. Michel Gondry 100m.Digital.
Jack Black, Moss Def, Mia Farrow, Marcus Carl Franklin.

An imaginative comedy from SCIENCE OF SLEEP director Michel Gondry. When Jerry’s (Black) brain is accidentally magnetised, he unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend’s (Mos Def) video store. In order to satisfy the store’s one loyal customer, an elderly lady (Farrow) suffering from the first signs of dementia, the pair set out to remake the lost films with themselves and local townsfolk as the stars. Soon their interpretations of films such as THE LION KING, RUSH HOUR, GHOSTBUSTERS, WHEN WE WERE KINGS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, DRIVING MISS DAISY and ROBOCOP, grow in popularity and make them the biggest stars in the neighbourhood. Gondry’s skillful direction, and the appealing comic duo of Jack Black and Mos Def work to create a highly original, witty and captivating film.

• Friday 7 March for 1 week

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (15)

(US 2007) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson 158m.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciaran Hinds, Dillon Freasier.

Daniel Day-Lewis returns to screen acting in a critically acclaimed and award-laden performance as oil tycoon Daniel Plainview. Loosely based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel 'Oil!', this rich epic explores a multiplicity of themes: family, greed and religion. It's as stunning as the turn of the century Texas landscape and there's an added bonus of a great music score from Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a must-see dark tale that is both surprising and thought-provoking.

• Friday 14 March for 1 week

MISTER LONELY (15)

(UK/France/Ireland/USA 2007) dir. Harmony Korine. 112m.
Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, James Fox, David Blaine, Werner Herzog, Denis Lavant, Anita Pallenberg.

After an eight year absence one of independent cinema's great mavericks Harmony Korine (GUMMO, JULIEN DONKEY-BOY) returns with his most lavish movie to date and it's truly extraordinary. A young Michael Jackson impersonator (Luna), is invited by fellow impersonator Marilyn Monroe (Morton) to her Scottish commune which she shares with Charlie Chaplin, her daughter Shirley Temple, Abraham Lincoln and James Dean among others. The film is as quirky as its premise, with performances to match and a lot to say about the obsessive nature of celebrity culture.

• Friday 21 March for 2 weeks

THE ORPHANAGE (15)

(Mexico/Spain 2007) dir. Juan Antonio Bayona 106m. Subtitles. Digital.
Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Mabel Rivera, Geraldine Chaplin.

Guillermo del Toro (PAN'S LABYRINTH, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE) is a past master of the imaginative horror tale and this collaboration with director Juan Antonio Bayona and writer Sergio G. Sanchez is a wonderfully chilling ghost story with some genuinely scary, jump in your seat moments. Laura (Reuda) returns as the new owner of the orphanage where she was raised, determined to run it as a home for sick and disabled children. But soon she is haunted by visions of what happened to her fellow orphans thirty years earlier. Meanwhile, her son Simon (Princep) is beginning to communicate with an invisible new friend... THE ORPHANAGE has suspense and shocks but it also lingers to create atmosphere, a sense of place and a sympathy with its characters. Waiting, anticipating, dreading was never more enjoyable. The rest is fear.