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Spotlight

Award winners and critical favorites, these auspicious films from the world’s most celebrated directors are the year’s most acclaimed and accomplished.


Shown in black and white, a massive mountain sits in the middle of a sprawling city. Sun streams through the clouds.

Below the Clouds Sotto le nuvole

Gianfranco Rosi  |   Italy

From the Oscar-nominated director of Fire at Sea comes an immersive and impressionistic portrait of communities living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.

Italian, Arabic, Japanese, English
Environmental, Political, Social Commentary
An elderly man in a feathered headband stands in front of a mirror, putting in vampire teeth.

Dracula

Radu Jude  |   Romania, Austria, Luxembourg, Brazil

A vampire hunt, an AI-generated Vlad the Impaler, a vulgar folktale, and much more collide in this unforgettable retelling of the Dracula myth.

Romanian
Comedy, Film on Film, Literary Adaptation, Social Commentary
A young man in a dark gray suit sits at a table, his face tight with subtle anger.

Franz Franz

Agnieszka Holland  |   Czech Republic, Germany, Poland

In this mosaic cinematic portrait, young Franz Kafka pursues his passion for literature while grappling with family and work obligations in pre-World War I Prague.

German, Czech
Art, Biopic, Drama, Historical
A close up of a woman lying down in the sand, eyes glassy.

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Mary Bronstein  |   U.S.

With her life crashing down, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, a missing person, and a hostile relationship with her therapist.

English
Drama, Family Affairs, Women-Centered
A man in period clothing stands on a ship. A sail behind him features a red cross-like symbol.

Magellan Magalhães

Lav Diaz  |   Portugal, Spain, France, Philippines, Taiwan

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan embarks on a brutal campaign of colonial conquest in Southeast Asia, but madness soon takes hold.

Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, French
Biopic, Drama, Historical
A close-up of a man leaning across the driver’s seat of a car with a tense, searching expression.

The Mastermind

Kelly Reichardt  |   U.S.

In suburban Massachusetts circa 1970, an unemployed carpenter turned art thief plans his first big heist. When things go haywire, his life unravels.

English
Art, Crime, Drama
A woman and a man sit in a red convertible. The woman looks at another woman, who is facing away from the camera.

Miroirs No. 3

Christian Petzold  |   Germany

After surviving a violent car crash in the countryside, dazed Laura is taken in by a mysterious local woman whose devoted care belies a dark past.

German
Drama, Mystery, Women-Centered
A young boy stands in the street, next to a wooden wall with newspapers pasted on.

Orphan Árva

László Nemes  |   Hungary, U.K., France, Germany

Budapest, 1957. The young Andor’s life is turned upside down when a menacing, brutish man appears in town claiming to be his father.

Hungarian
Drama, Historical, Social Commentary
A group of soldiers ride horses on a dusty path, holding guns into the air.

Palestine 36

Annemarie Jacir  |   Palestine, U.K., France, Denmark, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan

This powerful and suspenseful epic charts a group of characters caught up in the tumultuous historic moment when Palestinians united against Britain’s colonial rule.

Arabic, English
Drama, Historical, Political, Social Commentary

Primavera

Damiano Michieletto  |   Italy, France

Early 1700s. Venice. At the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage young violinist Cecilia is awakened to the power of her musical gift with the arrival of a zealous new composer, Antonio Vivaldi.

Italian
Historical, Music, Women-Centered
A man stands on a balcony inside a broken down building, covered in smoke and blue light.

Resurrection

Bi Gan  |   China, France

In a future society that has lost the desire to dream, a curious creature catalogues the fantasies of rebel “Fantasmers,” creating a wild cinematic tapestry.

Chinese
Action, Fantasy, Film on Film, Science Fiction
A woman stands at a window, a man resting behind her resting his forehead on the back of her head. Her expression is serene as she looks outward.

Three Goodbyes Tre Ciotole

Isabel Coixet  |   Italy, Spain

This elegant and emotional drama finds Marta reeling after a breakup until a world-shifting diagnosis brings clarity and purpose to her life.

Italian
Drama, Literary Adaptation, Romance, Women-Centered
A solemn young man in a dark suit and tie walks down a dim hallway, holding his coat and hat in one hand. Behind him, uniformed guards in caps flank the corridor, their expressions stern. The muted, shadowy lighting and period costumes suggest a historical or prison setting, evoking a tense and oppressive atmosphere.

Two Prosecutors

Sergei Loznitsa  |   France, Germany, Netherlands, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania

1937. Investigating a case of wrongful imprisonment, a prosecutor embarks on a paranoia-infused journey to Moscow during Stalin’s Great Terror.

Russian
Crime, Drama, Historical, Political
A young woman holds a baby close to herself, resting her forehead on the baby's head.

Young Mothers Jeunes Mères

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne  |   Belgium, France

Living together in a group home in Belgium, five teenage girls wrestle with the newfound responsibilities of parenthood in this warmly humanist social drama.

French
Drama, Family Affairs, Social Commentary, Women-Centered

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