Ranking of films I saw at the 2023 Leeds International Film Festival
A ranking of all the films I saw at the 2023 Leeds International Film Festival
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- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiDa'Vine Joy RandolphDominic SessaA cranky history teacher at a prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a grieving cook and a troubled student who has no place to go.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsEmma StoneMark RuffaloWillem DafoeAn account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.
- DirectorAndrew HaighStarsAndrew ScottPaul MescalCarter John GroutA screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.
- DirectorTomás Gómez BustilloStarsMónica VillaIair SaidPablo MoseincoIn a tiny rural village in Argentina, Rita Lopez, a pious yet insatiably competitive woman, discovers that staging a miracle could be her ticket to sainthood.
- DirectorMike CheslikStarsRyland Brickson Cole TewsOlivia GravesWes TankIn this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.
- DirectorPaul SngStarsMaxine PeakeShin-Fei ChenElla MurthaA moving portrait of social documentary photographer and trailblazer Tish Murtha, who dedicated her life to documenting the lives of working-class communities in North East England.
- DirectorKen August MeyerStarsKen August MeyerA sick man discovers empathetic wisdom on how to cope with his deadly autoimmune disease within the colorful expressive works of the late Swiss-German modern artist, Paul Klee.
- DirectorPablo BergerStarsIvan LabandaAlbert Trifol SegarraRafa CalvoThe adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in New York City during the 1980s.
- DirectorQuentin DupieuxStarsAnaïs DemoustierEdouard BaerJonathan CohenA French journalist meets the iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí on several occasions for a documentary project that never came to be.
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsAlma PöystiJussi VatanenJanne HyytiäinenIn modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles - from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsSakura AndôEita NagayamaSoya KurokawaA mother demands answers from her son's teacher when her son begins acting strangely.
- DirectorMarija KavtaradzeStarsGreta GrineviciuteKestutis CicenasPijus GanusauskasDancer Elena and sign language interpreter Dovydas meet and form a beautiful bond. As they dive into a new relationship, they must navigate how to build their own kind of intimacy.
- DirectorEhsan KhoshbakhtStarsAhmad JorghanianEhsan KhoshbakhtNariman MassoumiThis poetic, dexterous film manifests Ehsan Khoshbakht's intense and multifaceted relationship to cinema, inspiring to reflect on your own trajectories.
- DirectorEmma SeligmanStarsRachel SennottAyo EdebiriRuby CruzTwo unpopular queer high-school students start a fight club to have sex before graduation.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSoma SantokiMasaki SudaKô ShibasakiIn the wake of his mother's death and his father's remarriage, a headstrong boy named Mahito ventures into a dreamlike world shared by both the living and the dead.
- DirectorEmerald FennellStarsBarry KeoghanJacob ElordiRosamund PikeA student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family's sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.
- DirectorFrancis LawrenceStarsRachel ZeglerTom BlythViola DavisCoriolanus Snow mentors and develops feelings for the female District 12 tribute during the 10th Hunger Games.
- DirectorPawo Choyning DorjiStarsTandin WangchukTandin PhubzKelsang ChoejayAn American travels into Bhutan in search of a valuable antique rifle and crosses paths with a young monk who wanders through the serene mountains, instructed by his teacher to make things right again.
- DirectorIan WhiteStarsPhil CalvertNick CaveMick HarveyMutiny In Heaven is the first fully authorized telling of the history of The Birthday Party, one of underground music's most notorious and influential bands. Narrated exclusively by the original band members, this film delves deep into a band's psyche, chronicling how Nick Cave and his school friends startled audiences with their confrontational performances, primal screams, outlaw gothic horror, and anarchic lifestyle. Featuring never-before-seen personal footage from band members, dynamic animation sequences, and jaw-dropping concert clips, the film provides a sweaty, electrifying front-row seat to one of the most legendary live acts in rock history.
- DirectorMohamed KordofaniStarsEiman YousifSiran RiakNazar GomaJust before the secession of South Sudan, a married former singer from the north seeks redemption for causing the death of a southern man by hiring his oblivious wife as her maid.
- DirectorMolly Manning WalkerStarsAnna AntoniadesMia McKenna-BruceLara PeakeThree British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday - drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.
- DirectorJustine TrietStarsSandra HüllerSwann ArlaudMilo Machado-GranerA woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.
- DirectorLuna CarmoonStarsTim BowieJames CooperCeara CoveneyThe story follows Maria - a teenager whose mother used to be a hoarder. Now (set in the 90s) she lives in a foster home where a previous resident Micheal inspires her to revisit her childhood memories and passions that she has repressed.
- DirectorKristoffer BorgliStarsLily BirdNicolas CageJulianne NicholsonAn ordinary family man finds his life turned upside down when strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsChristian FriedelSandra HüllerJohann KarthausAuschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.
- DirectorAriane Louis-SeizeStarsSara MontpetitFélix-Antoine BénardSteve LaplanteA young woman vampire is unable to kill to meet her need for blood, but may have found a solution in a young man with suicidal tendencies.
- DirectorAli CatterallJane GilesStarsBarry AdamsonJohn AkomfrahRick BakerA feature-length big screen documentary telling the riotous inside story of the infamous sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll repertory cinema which inspired a generation during Britain's turbulent Thatcher years.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsAidan GillenGabriel ByrneMaxine PeakeMany parts of the literary Samuel Beckett giant's life: Parisian bon vivant, World War II Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband and recluse.
- DirectorSophie ComptonReuben HamlynStarsAva BreuerFaith QuinnJulia Weinberg"Another Body" follows a college student's search for justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.
- DirectorFawzia MirzaStarsAmrit KaurHamza HaqNimra BuchaAgainst the backdrop of a shared obsession with Bollywood fantasy, Mariam, a Pakistani Muslim woman, and her Canadian-born daughter Azra come of age in two different eras.
- DirectorLila AvilésStarsNaíma SentíesMontserrat MarañonMarisol GaséSeven-year-old Sol is spending the day at her grandfather's home, for a surprise party for Sol's father, Tonatiuh. As daylight fades, Sol comes to understand that her world is about to change dramatically.
- DirectorAnthony ChenStarsDongyu ZhouHaoran LiuChuxiao QuThe blossoming relationship between three young adults in their twenties.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsNatalie PortmanChris TenzisCharles MeltonTwenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
- DirectorErnst De GeerStarsAsta Kamma AugustHerbert NordrumAndrea EdwardsA hypnotherapist sees Vera throw off the trappings of civilized behaviour. For a event She attends with André, Vera's behaviour holds a mirror up to the faux-authenticity, virtue signalling and hypocrisy of her fellow entrepreneurs.
- DirectorJoanna ArnowStarsScott CohenBabak TaftiJoanna ArnowA mosaic-style comedy following the life of a woman as time passes in her long-term casual BDSM relationship, low-level corporate job, and quarrelsome Jewish family.
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsPaolo PierobonFausto Russo AlesiBarbara RonchiA Jewish boy is kidnapped and converted to Catholicism in 1858.
- DirectorAnh Hung TranStarsJuliette BinocheBenoît MagimelEmmanuel SalingerThe story of Eugenie, an esteemed cook, and Dodin - the fine gourmet chef she has been working for over the last 20 years.
- DirectorZara DwingerStarsRosa van LeeuwenFrieda BarnhardLidia SadowaOut of the children's home and into the rusty Chevrolet: Lu is whisked away by her eccentric mother - cowboy boots, wigs and sunglasses in tow. On their road trip east, both dream of finally staying together forever.
- DirectorFelipe Gálvez HaberleStarsSam SpruellMark StanleyAlfredo CastroIn Chile in 1901, three horseman are paid to protect a vast estate. Accompanying a British soldier and an American mercenary is a mixed-race sniper, who realizes that his true mission is to kill the indigenous population.
- DirectorJeff NicholsStarsJodie ComerAustin ButlerTom HardyAfter a chance encounter, headstrong Kathy is drawn to Benny, member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals. As the club transforms into a dangerous underworld of violence, Benny must choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.
- DirectorKleber Mendonça FilhoStarsSonia BragaSeverino CavalcantiTony CurtisDowntown Recife's classic movie palaces from the 20th century are mostly gone. That city area is now an archaeological site of sorts that reveals aspects of life in society which have been lost. And that's just part of the story.
- DirectorNia DaCostaStarsBrie LarsonTeyonah ParrisIman VellaniCarol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe.
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsHitoshi OmikaRyô NishikawaRyûji KosakaTakumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house, offering residents a comfortable escape to nature.
- DirectorRobert HlozStarsAndrea MohylováMatej HádekMilan OndríkSet in central Europe during 2041, a female detective investigates the case of a murdered couple where a restoration team is able to bring one of them back to life.
- DirectorBas DevosStarsStefan GotaLiyo GongTeodor CorbanSet in Brussels, the film revolves around a potential love story between a Romanian construction worker and a Belgian-Chinese doctorate student of moss, who cross paths just before the former is about to move back home.
- DirectorRodrigo MorenoStarsDaniel ElíasEsteban BigliardiMargarita MolfinoBank employee Morán schemes to steal enough money to never work again, then confess and serve prison time while his colleague hides the cash. Soon under investigative pressure, accomplice Román meets a woman who transforms him forever.
- DirectorVeljko VidakStarsAki KaurismäkiJim JarmuschNuppu KoivuIn the heart of the Finnish forest, the long-closed foundry of the little town of Karkkila has come back to life thanks to director Aki Kaurismäki and his creation of the town's first cinema.
- DirectorParis ZarcillaStarsEva-Jane WillisDavid HaymanLeanne BestAn undocumented Filipina immigrant lands a job as a care-worker for a terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she's strived for and holds dear.
- DirectorLois PatiñoStarsAmid KeomanyToumor XiongSimone MilavanhIn the temples of Laos, teenage monks accompany a soul in transit from one body to another through the bardo. A luminous and sonorous journey leads to reincarnate on the beaches of Zanzibar, where groups of women work in seaweed farms.
- DirectorAlly PankiwStarsRachel SennottOlga PetsaJason JonesSam, a stand-up comedian struggling with PTSD, weighs whether or not to join the search for a missing teenage girl she used to nanny.
- DirectorPaul B. PreciadoStarsArthurEmma AvenaAmir BayllyAcademic virtuoso turned filmmaker Paul B. Preciado's Berlin Film Festival award-winning doc tells his and others' stories of transition through unique reenactments and visual interpretations of Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography.
- DirectorEna SendijarevicStarsHayati AzisRenée SoutendijkFlorian MyjerTumultuous events triggered by the death of a Dutch sugar plantation owner who ends up leaving his Indian Ocean island estate to his young illegitimate son - the child of his Indonesian housemaid.
- DirectorThien An PhamStarsLe Phong VuNguyen ThinhVu Ngoc ManhA man returns to his hometown, where he's haunted by past memories and desires.