We have been working for a year to secure the hottest potential breakout films from around the world. These exceptional films are about to sell out. This is your final chance to see these standout films. And to meet the directors we have flown in from around the world.
Avant Drag
Director: Fil Ieropoulos | Greece 2024 | 92 minutes | UK Premiere
June 27, 2024 | 9:00 pm |Curzon Soho | Tickets
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
*** Q&A with Director Fil Ieropoulos
Content warning: Nudity and sexual references
Avant-Drag! offers an exhilarating and intimate look at the lives of ten Athenian drag performers who deconstruct gender, nationalism, belonging, identity, transphobia and racism. As entertaining as it is thought-provoking, the film challenges societal norms and reshapes perceptions about LGBTQ+ culture, proving that being othered never felt so familiar.
Falling Into Place
Director: Aylin Tezel |UK/Germany 2023 | 113 minutes | Premiere
June 21, 2024 | 8:40 pm | Curzon Soho | Tickets
Nominated for Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature,
Best Debut Director and Best Performance in a Debut
***Q&A with Director Aylin Tezel
Kira and Ian, both on the run from their personal demons, meet on a winter weekend on the Isle of Skye. They connect suddenly and deeply. Returning to London they try to pursue their separate lives, but both have to face their past before they are ready to meet again.
National Anthem
June 28, 2024 | 6:20 pm | Curzon Mayfair | Tickets
Nominated for Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature, Best Debut Director and Best Performance in a Debut
***Q&A with Director Luke Gilford
A soft-spoken construction worker accepts a job with a vibrant community of queer rodeo performers and forges the confidence to explore his own identity. Writer/director Luke Gilford sets his exhilarating reinvention of the coming-of-age story against stunning landscapes, boldly reimagining an exploration of first love, found family, and self-discovery.
NB: This is our closing night film, and your ticket gets you into the party!
Satu – Year of the Rabbit
June 22, 2024 | 9:00 pm | Curzon Soho | Tickets
Nominated for Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature, Best Debut Director and Best Performance in a Debut
*** Q&A with Director Joshua Trigg
Bo flees the capital of Laos in pursuit of a life in photojournalism. Along the way, she encounters Satu, a Buddhist orphan who might just have the story she’s looking for. The duo traverses the rich tropical landscape by motorcycle in search of answers and even themselves.
Sleep
Director: Jason Yu | South Korea 2023 | 95 minutes | London Premiere
June 20, 2024 | 6:00 pm | Curzon Soho | Tickets
Nominated for Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature,
Best Debut Director and Best Performance in a Debut
Content Warning: strong horror, threat, violence, injury detail
A happily married couple, Hyun-su and Soo-jin, peaceful lives are disrupted by the disturbing nocturnal behaviour of Hyun-su. As they strive to unravel the horrifying secret of the inexplicable actions that occur during his sleep, the film delves into the efforts of these two individuals.
Did You Know?
- Raindance Film Festival is considered one of the top fifteen film festivals in the world?
- The Higher Education programme at Raindance Film School offers HND, BA and MA in Filmmaking and Screenwriting?
- Raindance members support indie film, and enjoy a range of member benefits
- You can call us on +44 (0) 207 930 3412
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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