Against the dazzling effects of action blockbusters and easy reliability of nonstop sequels, documentary features tend to fly under the radar. I’ll admit, as an avid fiction fan, I’m guilty of neglecting the category altogether. Yet, when I do indulge, documentaries always affect me the most. Any work of fiction ties back to real life, but docs ditch the middleman and immerse us directly into the meat of it. They hit us harder because they aren’t padded by the comfort of fictional boundaries.
From the waters of the Persian Gulf to the football clubs of England, all the way to the streets of Baghdad and the California desert, our docket of documentary features this year present rich, captivating narratives that prove how some of the best stories don’t need a script at all. If you want to jump into more documentaries as well, now’s your chance — check out or list:
500 Days in the Wild
Canada | Director: Dianne Whelan | Writer: Dianne Whelan, Betsy Carson | Producer: Betsy Carson | Principal Cast: Dianne Whelan
Runtime: 124 min
500 Days in the Wild, follows filmmaker Dianne Whelan’s 6-year journey to film and complete all 24000km of the land and water trails across North America on the world’s longest trail. Cut from 800 hours of footage, adventure, personal reflections, stunning wildlife, and human connection are interwoven in this epic documentary.
Showings:
Thu, Jun 26th, 8:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Fri, Jun 27th, 2:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Buy tickets for 500 Days in the Wild HERE
Aiming to the Top – Accra Underground
Turkey | Director: Orçun Behram | Producer: Ahmet Eren Uzun | Principal Cast: Dominic Adjei Kpobi,Abdul Adams, Victoria Tina Redd, Patrick Miartey Laryen
Runtime: 83 min
In the slums of Accra, six artists use creativity to rise above poverty, crime, and hardship. Shot in a verite style, this raw, emotional documentary follows their struggles and dreams, showing how art can bring hope and transform lives, even in the toughest conditions. A powerful story of resilience.
Showings:
Thu, Jun 26th, 6:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Fri, Jun 27th, 12:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Buy tickets for Aiming to the Top – Accra Underground HERE
Beam Me Up, Sulu
USA | Director: Timour Gregory, Sasha Schneider | Producer: Sasha Schneider, Timour Gregory, Ashu Rai, Matthew Drake, Robert J. Sawyer | Principal Cast: George Takei, Eugene Roddenberry Jr., Stan Woo, Alexander Siddig, Christina Chong
Runtime: 90 min
In 1985, George Takei helped a group of young Trekkies make a fan film—then the footage vanished. Nearly 40 years later, the search to recover it opens a window into Takei’s extraordinary life, Star Trek’s legacy of inclusion and the ongoing fight for equality and representation.
Showings:
Wed, Jun 25th, 6:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Thu, Jun 26th, 12:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Buy tickets for Beam Me Up, Sulu HERE
Children in the Fire (nominated Best Documentary Feature)
Ukraine/USA | Director: Evgeny Afineevsky | Producer: Evgeny Afineevsky, Galyna Sadomtseva-Nabaranchuk | Principal Cast: Valeriia Sydorova, Yana Stepanenko, Roman Oleksiv, Sasha Paskal, Veronika Vlasova, Vladislav Buriak, Sergey Cherednichenko, Bohdan Yermokhin
Runtime: 108 min
This movie is a celebration to a human spirit. Ukrainian children’s resilience, strength and ability to overcome tragedies and losses, make each story a great inspiration for everyone. They had strength to overcome the darkest moments today’s war brought upon them and with dignity win this war. These little heroes can through their story inspire others.
Showings:
Fri, Jun 20th, 6:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Sun, Jun 22nd, 12:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Buy tickets for Children in the Fire HERE
Emma: One Last Dance (nominated Best Documentary Feature and Best Director UK)
UK | Director: Maya Amin-Smith | Producer: Felicity Cross
Runtime: 75 min
Emma: One Last Dance tells the story of Emma Hayes, the most successful manager in WSL history, charting the impact she has had on the growth of women’s game, and following her last six months at Chelsea Football Club as she attempts to lead her team to victory one last time.
Showings:
Sat, Jun 21st, 6:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Sun, Jun 22nd, 2:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Buy tickets for Emma: One Last Dance HERE
Flamingo Camp (nominated Best Documentary Feature)
USA | Director: Chris Coats | Producer: Zackary Drucker, Kevin Garland
Runtime: 80 min
In Slab City, an off-grid squatter town in the California desert, a group of young queer and trans anarchists create a thriving safe space known as “Flamingo Camp”. The camp flourishes through the cooler winter months under the leadership of its non-binary founder, Nova. But when Nova departs for the summer and brutal heat sets in, an unthinkable tragedy fractures this vulnerable community and their once close-knit chosen family.
Showings:
Mon, Jun 23rd, 8:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Tue, Jun 24th, 3:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Buy tickets for Flamingo Camp HERE
God As My Witness (nominated Best Documentary Feature)
USA | Director: Lindsay Q. Pitre | Producer: John Alexander, JC Guest, Shawn Rhodes, Lindsay Q. Pitre, Stephanie Magistretti | Principal Cast: Michael Brandner, Sr., Richard Trahant, Ramon Antonio Vargas, Thomas P. Doyle
Runtime: 82 min
Decades after losing his brother, a man begins to uncover dark secrets within the Archdiocese of New Orleans, exposing a generations-long cover-up. The quest for truth soon leads into one of the largest U.S. archdiocese bankruptcies, as survivors reveal their haunting stories of betrayal, sexual abuse, and corruption in the Crescent City.
Showings:
Thu, Jun 26th, 8:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Fri, Jun 27th, 3:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Buy tickets for God As My Witness HERE
I Hope This Helps!
USA | Director: Daniel M. Freed | Writer: Daniel M. Freed | Producer: Daniel M. Freed | Principal Cast: Daniel M. Freed, Bard
Runtime: 52 min
In this humorous, genre-bending hybrid documentary, investigative journalist Daniel Freed enlists the help of Google’s first artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, to collaborate on a documentary…about AI. Appearing in the blue, furry form it requested, Bard helps Freed explore the benefits and risks of this world-changing innovation.
Showings:
Wed, Jun 25th, 9:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Thu, Jun 26th, 3:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Buy tickets for I Hope This Helps! HERE
Immortals (nominated Best Documentary Feature)
Switzerland/Iraq | Director: Maja Tschumi | Writer: Maja Tschumi, Melak Madhi (Milo), Mohammed Al Khalili | Producer: Nadine Lüchinger, Mohammed Alghadhban | Principal Cast: Melak Madhi (Milo), Mohammed Al Khalili, Avin
Runtime: 94 min
Milo, a strong-willed feminist, discovers the long-sought power to wander around freely in Baghdad by dressing in her brother’s clothes. Khalili, a young and ambitious filmmaker, realizes that his camera would be the strongest of all weapons. In the aftermath of the 2019 revolution, Milo and Khalili are the faces, the eyes, and the voices of an Iraqi youth that is relentlessly fighting for a better future. IMMORTALS is an insight into the hopes and broken dreams of a new generation that has known nothing but war since the U.S.-led occupation.
Showings:
Thu, Jun 19th, 6:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Fri, Jun 20th, 12:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Buy tickets for Immortals HERE
In Symbiosis (nominated Best Director UK)
UK | Director: Helena Berndl, Francesco Maria Gallo | Writer: Helena Berndl | Producer: Helena Berndl | Principal Cast: Vandana Shiva, Peter Brown, Nora McKeon, Peter Melchett, Michael Antoniou
Runtime: 123 minutes
As the world is grappling with the emergent challenges of its development path, In Symbiosis’ striking and vibrant cast of interviewees, from land to lab, unveils the driving forces behind a broken food system and puts forward a path to building true resilience in and around us.
Showings:
Tue, Jun 24th, 9:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Wed, Jun 25th, 3:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Buy tickets for In Symbiosis HERE
Our Journey with Lobular Breast Cancer (nominated Best Director UK)
UK | Director: Tristan Loraine | Writer: Tristan Loraine | Producer: Tristan Loraine | Principal Cast: Susan Michaelis, Katie Swinburne, Sarah Ramsey Smith, Kirstin Spencer, Kate Ford, Emma Hunwick, Sharon Prince
Runtime: 90 min
A documentary film that tells the true and personal story of some remarkable ladies diagnosed with lobular breast cancer and their ‘Lobular Moon shot Project’ campaign to get the 2nd most common type of breast cancer, its own specific treatment. Over 350 MPs support their call for the Government to fund vital research into their disease. A disease which rarely shows on a mammogram and remains an ‘unmet clinical need’.
Showings:
Tue, Jun 24th, 5:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Wed, Jun 25th, 12:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Buy tickets for Our Journey with Lobular Breast Cancer HERE
Palestine Comedy Club
UK | Director: Alaa Aliabdallah | Writer: Alaa Aliabdallah and Charlotte Knowles | Producer: Charlotte Knowles | Principal Cast: Alaa Shehad, Hanna Shammas, Diana Sweity
Runtime: 93 min
When six Palestinian comedians hit the road to tour a stand-up show across Palestine and Israel, their search for humour amidst the injustice of everyday Palestinian life becomes a plea for humanity in the face of brutal war.
Showings:
Mon, Jun 23rd, 8:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Tue, Jun 24th, 3:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Buy tickets for Palestine Comedy Club HERE
Poised (nominated Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography UK)
UK | Director: Toby Robson | Writer: Toby Robson | Producer: Jenny Dinwoodie, Katie Elliott
Runtime: 97 min
Amongst the relics of a post industrial wasteland in North East England and out the ashes of loss; can one man use mixed martial arts (MMA) to save a group of young people, each with their own unique challenges, from the toughest parts of our society?
Showings:
Sun, Jun 22nd, 6:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Mon, Jun 23rd, 1:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Buy tickets for Poised HERE
Reaching for Light (nominated for Best Cinematography UK)
UK | Director: Matt Lanning, Eva Yap, Alex Keen | Writer: Alex Keen | Producer: Matt Lanning | Principal Cast: Chris Rose, Alex Baker, Matt Lanning, Alex Keen
Runtime: 47 min
Combining scientific experiment with artistic vision, a team of high-altitude filming experts from the UK set out for the Arctic Circle to document the Northern Lights from closer than ever before. Driven by the need to push their technology to new heights, they aim to deploy an array of 360° cameras at the edge of space, inside the Aurora Borealis. Should they succeed, they seek to inspire the next generation of explorers, scientists and artists. But up against extreme environmental conditions, a narrowing launch window and untested technology, can they capture this fleeting natural wonder, or are they chasing moonbeams?
Showings:
Fri, Jun 27th, 6:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Buy tickets for Reaching for Light HERE
Saint Damian
Italy | Director: Gregorio Sassoli, Alejandro Cifuentes | Writer: Gregorio Sassoli, Alejandro Cifuentes | Producer: Gregorio Sassoli, Guendalina Folador | Principal Cast: Damian Eugeniusz Bielicki, Sofia Noviello
Runtime: 86 min
Arriving at Roma’s Termini Station from Poland with 50 euros in his pocket, Damian makes his home atop an ancient Roman tower across from the station, conducting his search for love and family with contagious vitality all the while wielding a dangerously violent energy to all who surround him.
Showings:
Wed, Jun 25th, 6:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Thu, Jun 26th, 12:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Buy tickets for Saint Damian HERE
The Dark Fantastic
UK | Director: Lg White | Writer: Lg White | Producer: Tim Luna, Bianca Hugens | Principal Cast: Simon Boswell, Dario Argento, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Clive Barker, Nick Willing, Danny Boyle
Runtime: 109 min
Music documentary/ live concert ‘The Dark Fantastic’ directed and written by Lg White, is a psychedelic dive into the mind and work of renowned film composer Simon Boswell. This immersive journey explores Boswell’s innovative approach to music and his impact on cinema.
The film features conversations with directors of the films for which Boswell has composed memorable scores, including Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Richard Stanley, Michele Soavi, Lamberto Bava, Álex de la Iglesia, Clive Barker, Nick Willing, and Danny Boyle, among others. It also highlights Boswell’s unique embrace of roles such as the devil’s voice. Through intricate visuals and evocative soundscapes,
The Dark Fantastic celebrates Boswell’s contribution to the film industry and invites viewers to experience a perfect marriage of heaven and hell in the realm of music and cinematic storytelling.
Showings:
Thu, Jun 26th, 6:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 5
Fri, Jun 27th, 12:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 5
Buy tickets for The Dark Fantastic HERE
The Last of the Whale Shark (nominated Best Documentary Feature)
Iran | Director: Ramtin Balef | Writer: Ramtin Balef | Producer: Ramtin Balef
Runtime: 76 min
It is the tale of the final surviving whale shark in the Persian Gulf, on a quest to find its mate. The film is rooted in the multitude of accidents and tragedies inflicted upon the marine environment by our generation and shows how this environmental destruction affects the search for love for this last whale shark.
Showings:
Mon, Jun 23rd, 6:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Tue, Jun 24th, 1:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Buy tickets for The Last of the Whale Shark HERE
The Red List
Wales/UK | Director: Ross Pierson | Writer: Tim Mercier | Producer: Ross Pierson | Principal Cast: Iolo Williams, Kevin McGinn, Carley Green, Elinor James
Runtime: 49 min
Narrated by Iolo Williams, The Red List follows botanist Dr. Kevin McGinn on a year-long race to save twenty-five of Wales’ most endangered plants. Amid climate extremes and mounting pressures, this urgent documentary reveals the quiet struggle to protect biodiversity and the hope held in every seed.
Showings:
Fri, Jun 27th, 6:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 3
Buy tickets for The Red List HERE
The Rendlesham UFO: The British Roswell (nominated Best Director UK)
UK | Director: Roderick Godman, Mark Christopher Lee | Writer: Mark Christopher Lee | Producer: Roderick Godman, Mark Christopher Lee | Principal Cast: Mark Christopher Lee, Guy Thompson
Runtime: 114 min
In this thrilling, unique, and sometimes hilarious UFO documentary, tantalising discoveries emerge while delving into Britain’s own Roswell—the 1980 Rendlesham UFO incident where a mysterious craft was reportedly seen landing near a U.S. airbase. As the investigation revisits the original event, the film also chronicles the strange encounters reported in Rendlesham Forest ever since; weird UFO sightings, floating orbs of light, and encounters with terrifying cryptid creatures. Narrated by William B. Davis of X-Files fame, we follow the investigative team as they carry out their own scientific research at the original site, culminating in a CE5 (Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind) process that appears to manifest paranormal phenomena—leading to remarkable, life-changing results. We could say Rendlesham Forest is the UK’s “Roswell,” but the high strangeness documented by the team suggests that maybe it shares much more in common with the infamous Skinwalker Ranch in the U.S. Join us on this sensational UFO Road Trip Movie – the rock and roll truth is out there!
Showings:
Tue, Jun 24th, 8:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Wed, Jun 25th, 3:00 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Buy tickets for The Rendlesham UFO: The British Roswell HERE
The Social Trap: 5 Women vs The Big 5 (nominated Best Documentary Feature)
France | Director: Elisa Jadot | Writer: Elisa Jadot | Producer: Stéphanie Lebrun, Nathalie Darrigrand
Runtime: 80 min
For the first time in history, in order to protect children and their childhood, state legislators and parents in the US and Europe are joining forces to fight digital giants like Meta, Tiktok, or Snapchat X and Discord. Among them are five women: Alexis, Elisabet, Sofia, Laure and Socheata.
Showings:
Sat, Jun 21st, 8:45 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Sun, Jun 22nd, 4:15 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 1
Buy tickets for The Social Trap: 5 Women vs The Big 5 HERE
The Two of Us (nominated Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography UK)
UK | Director: Owen Ward | Writer: Owen Ward | Producer: John May | Principal Cast: Tim Edwards, John May, Brian Conlon
Runtime: 86 min
After his daughter Elle is murdered on Christmas Eve, Tim Edwards begins a powerful journey of healing. Joined by comedian John May, he walks the length of the UK, confronting grief, forging unexpected connections, and inspiring others to find hope in the face of unimaginable loss.
Showings:
Mon, Jun 23rd, 8:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Tue, Jun 24th, 3:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Buy tickets for The Two of Us HERE
This Is Your Captain Speaking
UK | Director: Tristan Loraine, Sandra Skibsted | Writer: Tristan Loraine | Producer: Tristan Loraine
Runtime: 106 min
In this documentary, a former airline Captain Tristan Loraine dives deep into what the aviation industry really knows about the quality of the air you breathe in flight.
Showings:
Mon, Jun 23rd, 4:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Tue, Jun 24th, 12:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4
Buy tickets for This Is Your Captain Speaking HERE
Turtle Walker (nominated Best Documentary Feature)
India/USA | Director: Taira Malaney | Writer: Taira Malaney, Sam Rogers | Producer: Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Vikram Malaney, Angad Dev Singh, Taira Malaney | Principal Cast: Satish Bhaskar, Rohan Joglekar, Adhith Swaminathan
Runtime: 75 min
In the late 1970s, Satish Bhaskar embarked on an epic journey along India’s coastline and the spectacular Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where he uncovered the vital nesting beaches of sea turtles. During his death-defying quest, he unravels mysteries surrounding these enigmatic ocean creatures – and sets out to save them from extinction. After a devastating tsunami strikes in 2004, Bhaskar grapples with a pressing question: What happens to sea turtles when their nesting beaches disappear?
Showings:
Thu, Jun 19th, 6:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Mon, Jun 23rd, 1:30 PM @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 2
Buy tickets for Turtle Walker HERE
Explore the Raindance Film Festival Programme
Austin Hughes is a mixed-media animator and illustrator studying in Arkansas with equal passions for storytelling and design. He’s currently in London with Raindance Film Festival focusing on their Jury and Box Office, immersing himself in a wide variety of films and voices before diving into the production of his own independent animated short thesis film next year.
