Film Festival 2025
Best of Fest 2025
TINĀ (MOTHER)
When grief-stricken Mareta (Anapela Polataivao) takes a substitute teaching role at an elite prep school, she forms a choir to unite the privileged yet disconnected students. As they prepare for an all-school competition, her passion for life is reignited, transforming her students forever in this rousing crowd-pleaser. Read More
Running Time: 124
THE LAST JOURNEY
In a heartfelt effort to rekindle his 80-year-old father’s zest for life, filmmaker Filip Hammar surprises him with a road trip to the French coastal town where they spent family holidays to revisit cherished memories in this touching and humorous first-person documentary. Audience Award, Newport Beach. Read More
Running Time: 91
DIANE WARREN: RELENTLESS
Hollywood’s most coveted songwriter – with Beyoncé, Cher, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and Toni Braxton among her many devotees – writes heart-rending love songs but prefers animals to people. She’s worth billions but isn’t interested in spending it. Meet the prickly, fascinating musical poet who’s been nominated for 15 Oscars® –... Read More
Running Time: 92
JOHN CRANKO
Driven by a quest for perfection, John Cranko (Sam Riley) is the toast of 1950s London until he's prosecuted for homosexuality. Recruited by the Stuttgart Ballet, the manic workaholic revitalizes the company and builds a world-renowned ensemble while grappling with destructive urges in this dance-infused tribute to the virtuoso... Read More
Running Time: 135
LOST LADIES
This delightful adventure follows two young brides from arranged marriages who are mistakenly swapped during a chaotic train ride, and find their lives flipped upside down when, upon arrival, they lift their veils, revealing that each husband is now with the wrong wife. Read More
Running Time: 123
CHECKPOINT ZOO
The heroic efforts of zookeepers and volunteers to rescue 5,000 animals under Russian bombardment from the Feldman Ecopark in Ukraine during the early days of the war are recounted in this edge-of-your-seat document. It is both a harrowing and uplifting testament to courage under fire. Congratulations to the Checkpoint Zoo team... Read More
Running Time: 109
FLOW
After a flood destroys their homes, a courageous, resilient cat finds itself on a boat with various species in this profound animated meditation on the fragility of the environment and the importance of friendship and community. Congratulations to the Flow team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the... Read More
Running Time: 84
SUJO
Sujo's childhood is marked by devastating events that test his morals. When he becomes a teenager, he faces a choice between repeating his family's history or breaking free from an unwanted heritage. This hopeful tale explores alternative paths to violence – challenging, uncertain, and, even if only slightly, possibly... Read More
Running Time: 126
I AM NEVENKA
Based on a true story, this riveting drama follows council member Nevenka Fernández as she is relentlessly pursued by the town mayor, a man used to getting what he wants. Her decision to report him transforms her courageous fight into Spain's first #MeToo case. Read More
Running Time: 112
BRING THEM HOME
A small, determined group of Blackfoot people strive to restore their land's ecology, cultural roots, and spiritual connection by reintroducing buffalo to Blackfeet territory, a century after the species' near-extinction. Narrated by Oscar®-nominee Lily Gladstone, this evocative and moving film captures a powerful,... Read More
Running Time: 86
ZURAWSKI V. TEXAS
Prepare to be outraged and moved by this impassioned film about the fight for reproductive rights in Texas, featuring extraordinary women and a brave lawyer who wage an uphill battle against the state's draconian laws, which have put the lives of so many women in peril. Read More
Running Time: 99
LILLY
Patricia Clarkson shines in this rousing profile of courage as Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama Goodyear factory worker whose tireless fight for women’s equal pay went all the way to the Supreme Court. Like Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich, Lilly packs a sweet punch for justice. Read More
Running Time: 108
QUISLING – THE FINAL DAYS
Both a bold historical drama and a penetrating psychological study of a delusional authoritarian, the latest from director Erik Poppe (The King’s Choice, PSIFF 2016) revisits Germany’s occupation of Norway and its aftermath through the story of wartime puppet leader and Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling. Read More
Running Time: 141
THE WAY, MY WAY
Stubborn and cantankerous Australian director Bill Bennett adapts his own bestselling memoir chronicling his experience walking the 800-kilometer Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail across northern Spain just months before his 60th birthday. Read More
Running Time: 98
NEVER ALONE
This powerful film reveals a little-known chapter of history: the deportation of eight Austrian-Jewish refugees from Finland by the Gestapo during World War II. Abraham Stiller (Ville Virtanen), a pillar of Helsinki's Jewish community, fights to save them in director Klaus Härö’s resonant, moving drama. Read More
Running Time: 85
THE NEW YEAR THAT NEVER CAME
This slyly funny tragicomedy explores the 1989 fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu through the interconnected stories of six ordinary citizens. The feature debut of 2019 Palm Springs ShortFest Best of the Festival winner Bogdan Mureşanu is a thrillingly confident work full of wit, irony, and empathy. Read More
Running Time: 138
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Told in four chapters, this lively, naturalistic, award-winning drama follows a family of Palestinian citizens of Israel in Haifa. Through his characters, Oscar®-nominated director Scandar Copti ( Ajami ) explores deep divides between genders and ethnicities while exposing the traditions and values that shape their lives. Best... Read More
Running Time: 123
UNSTOPPABLE
Unstoppable is the inspiring true story of Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome) who was born with one leg but whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams. Read More
Running Time: 123
SOULEYMANE’S STORY
Exhausted by the grueling Parisian gig economy, undocumented Guinean immigrant and bicycle courier Souleymane (2024 Cannes Un Certain Regard Best Actor winner Abou Sangaré) races against time to prepare for his asylum interview in this gripping social thriller. Congratulations to the Souleymane's Story team on receiving the... Read More
Running Time: 92
DESERT ANGEL
In the unforgiving Sonoran Desert, Rafael Larraenza leads a volunteer organization dedicated to searching for migrants risking their lives to cross into the United States. When a Salvadoran woman reports her son is missing, Rafael sets off to find him in the sweltering borderlands. Congratulations to the Desert Angel team on... Read More
Running Time: 87