Trying to decide which films to look out for at Raindance Film Festival? There’s such a variety of films from over 50 countries. With a gun at my head, I am going to choose my top 10 movies I really want to see, and I’ll tell you why!
10. Barrage
Country: Luxembourg/Belgium/France
Showing Times: Mon 25th Sep 20:30, Thu 28th Sep 15:15
Get your tickets to Barrage here:
Troubled young mother Catherine is determined to establish a relationship with her estranged daughter Alba. However, Catherine’s mother Elisabeth is reluctant to allow Catherine back into Alba’s life. Catherine is willing to take some extreme measures, but how will Alba react to the sudden re-appearance of her erratic mother?
9. Discreet
Country: USA
Showing Times: Fri 22nd Sep 20:00, Wed 27th Sep 15:00
Buy tickets to Discreet here
Filmmaker Alex lives in a van. He sets up his camera in rural areas in the US, situated in no-man’s land near highways. During a visit to his former alcoholic mother, she shares with him a well-kept secret.
8. This Is Us
Country: USA
Showing Times: Fri 22nd Sep 13:00, Thu 28th Sep 17:45
Buy tickets to This Is Us Here
A young woman breaks things off with her boyfriend, but the universe has other plans. Desperate to move on, she is forced to literally relive the memories they’ve shared together. Pin-balling through time and space, she attempts to rewrite their shared history in hopes that she can find the man with whom she first fell in love.
7. High & Outside: A Baseball Noir
Country: USA
Showing Times: Wed 27th Sep 18:30, Sun 1st Oct 12:45
Buy tickets to High & Outside: A Baseball Noir Here
In the streets of Los Angeles, a minor league baseball player recklessly claws to keep his dreams alive. Geoffrey Lewis, Phil Donlon, David Yow, Ernie Hudson, Jason Richter and Lindsey Haun star in this dark drama that explores the dangerous nature of living in someone else’s shadow.
6. Black Hollow Cage
Country: Spain
Showing Times: Fri 22nd Sep 18:30, Sun 24th Sep 15:15
Buy tickets to Black Hollow Cage here
Alice, a thirteen year-old girl, lives with her father in a huge house in the woods, following a car accident in which the girl lost her mother and part of her right arm. Secluded and depressed, the girl forms a strong bond with Beatrice, a female wolfhound whom Alice calls ‘Mom’. One day, Alice finds a mysterious cubic device with the ability to alter the past.
5. Transmania
Country: Croatia
Showing Times: Fri 22nd Sep 15:00, Wed 27th Sep 20:00
Buy tickets to Transmania here
Transmania is made by fifteen directors. Each director has continued the story by filming a five minute section of a film, based exclusively on the last minute of the previous one. In this way extreme dramatic twists brings the viewer on the edge of expectation every five minutes.
4. RiverBlue: Can Fashion Save The Planet?
Country: Canada
Showing Times:Thu 21st Sep 20:30, Sun 24th Sep 12:30
Buy tickets to RiverBlue here
RiverBlue follows internationally celebrated river conservationist Mark Angelo on an around-the-world journey by river that uncovers the dark side of the fashion industry. Infiltrating one of the world’s most pollutive industries, and speaking with fashion designers and water protectors world-wide, RiverBlue reveals stunning and shocking images that will forever change the way we look at the clothes we wear.
3. Midnighters
Country: USA
Showing Times:Thu 21st Sep 18:00, Tue 26th Sep 13:00
Buy tickets to Midnighters here
Midnight, New Year’s Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life – except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime. From Walking Dead director Julius Ramsay, Midnighters is a layered, enigmatic thriller set in the Gothic backwoods of New England – the perfect place to get away with murder.
2. I Go Back Home – Jimmy Scott
Country: USA/Germany
Showing Times: Fri 22nd Sep 18:00, Wed 27th Sep 16:00
Buy tickets to I Go Back Home – Jimmy Scott – here
This award-winning documentary is the story of a man, Ralf Kemper, driven to celebrate a long-forgotten music legend. Kemper finds the best players, arrangers and producers to create the album of his dreams. He showcases Jimmy Scott in the finest way possible, virtually bankrupting himself in the process.
1. Stuck
Country USA
Buy tickets to Stuck here (including Closing Night Gala party)
A modern musical film about six complete strangers who get stuck underground on a New York City subway. They are of different races, cultures and ages. The emotions of the trapped strangers fly as they reveal who they really are through song.
Did You Know?
- Raindance Film Festival is considered one of the top fifteen film festivals in the world?
- Raindance has a Higher Education programme offering HND, BA and MA in Filmmaking and Screenwriting?
- Raindance members support indie film, and enjoy a range of benefits
- Let Raindance guide you on your filmmaking pathway. call +44 (0) 207 930 3412 or email filmschool@raindance.ac.uk
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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