Halina Dyrschka : 2020

Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) was an abstract artist before the term existed, a visionary, trailblazing figure who, inspired by spiritualism, modern science, and the riches of the natural world around her, began in 1906 to reel out a series of huge, colourful, sensual, strange works without precedent in painting. Although af Klint created thousands of paintings and drawings during her lifetime, she directed her abstract pieces to be kept under wraps until 20 years after her death. The subject of a recent retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, af Klint was for years an all-but-forgotten figure in art historical discourse, before her long-delayed rediscovery. The film describes not only the life and craft of af Klint, but also the process of her mischaracterisation and erasure by both a patriarchal narrative of artistic progress and capitalistic determination of artistic value. Halina Dyrschka's directorial feature documentary debut is the first and only film on the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint.

Linda Goldstein Knowlton : 2019

Queer besties and community activists Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest wanted to empower the young women of colour in their Oakland neighbourhood, by setting up a youth group. Instead of selling cookies and learning to sew, these girls march on LGBTIQ+ Prides and meet activists from Black Panthers. They earn badges for units on social justice, such as Black Lives Matter, Radical Beauty, Disability Justice, and being an LGBTQ ally. We Are the Radical Monarchs follows the creation of this social justice radical troop and the blossoming of self-love. We also follow Martinez and Hollinquest as they struggle to keep Radical Monarchs alive alongside full-time jobs and limited funding. This joyous film is full of hope and inspiration to see the next generation of fierce, confident young women more than ready to take on the world. Linda Goldstein Knowlton's documentary premiered in competition at SXSW 2019, and was selected to have its UK premiere at BFI Flare 2020.

Angel Kristi Williams : 2020

Set in a gentrifying Washington DC, a rising Black painter tries to break into a competitive art world, while balancing a whirlwind romance he never expected. Isaiah is on the brink of giving up when he meets Stevie, an intelligent and intriguing beauty. Isaiah's creativity flows with Stevie in his life. They fall in love, but his work remains overlooked, bruising his ego. When Isaiah convinces a gallerist to take a chance on him, he pours himself into his art, which catapults his career, but doesn't leave room for love. Frustrated, Stevie accepts a dream job in Chicago, breaking Isaiah's heart. A year passes without communication until Isaiah sees Stevie at his group show in Chicago. Though Isaiah's life seems to have improved, it isn't what he imagined without her. Angel Kristi Williams's feature directorial debut was selected to premiere in competition at SXSW 2020.

Boaz Yakin : 2020

Aviva is the story of a couple and their complicated relationship in trying to balance both sides of their respective characters; the masculine and feminine. Aviva and Eden as with all new relationships are facing conflict within their partnership. These conflicts extend outward, touching everything, resulting in disruptive behaviour that challenges their very real connection. Aviva and Eden, in the story of their journey as a couple from courtship to marriage, to a divorce and finally into deep loving friendship. It is a theme of the masculine/feminine duality in each of them and how that balance or imbalance affects the relationship between them. For the purposes of this story, each character is played by a man and a woman to reflect the conflicting sides of our own inner male and female perspectives. Aviva is the unique exploration of gender within ourselves, told through the lens of a modern-day romantic relationship from Paris to New York. Boaz Yakin's narrative feature was selected to premiere at SXSW 2020.

Sally Potter : 2020

Leo lies in bed. He is confused and lost in his thoughts. People around him no longer take him seriously. With the proverbial tender loving care, Molly, his daughter, accompanies him through New York. Even though her job is on the line, she sticks with this mentally impaired man who no longer knows her name, but whose head is filled with wanderings into parallel versions of his life. The life of a man. Leo with Dolores in Mexico: scenes from their passionate marriage; Leo as a lonely writer on a Greek island. These encounters steer him towards unpleasant truths – and back to Molly. The film explores the many lives a man carries inside him, even when reality seems to be fading away. In the end, it is his daughter's unconditional love that holds together the threads of Leo's hallucinatory trips. Sally Potter's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2020.

Sam Feder : 2020

An unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender. Leading trans thinkers and creatives, including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono, share their reactions and resistance to some of Hollywood's most beloved moments. Grappling with films like A Florida Enchantment (1914), Dog Day Afternoon, The Crying Game, and Boys Don't Cry, and with shows like The Jeffersons, The L-Word, and Pose, they trace a history that is at once dehumanising, yet also evolving, complex, and sometimes humorous. What emerges is a fascinating story of dynamic interplay between trans representation on screen, society's beliefs, and the reality of trans lives. Reframing familiar scenes and iconic characters in a new light, the director invites viewers to confront unexamined assumptions, and shows how what once captured the public imagination now elicit new feelings. Disclosure provokes a startling revolution in how we see and understand trans people. Sam Feder's documentary premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2020, and was selected to have its UK premiere at BFI Flare 2020.

Isabel Sandoval : 2019

Olivia is a transgender undocumented Filipina woman living in Brooklyn. She works as a caregiver to Olga, a Russian-Jewish woman who lives with her grandson Alex, who has just returned from a rehab trip to Russia. Soon complicated feelings emerge between Olivia and Alex. Alex is very much a product of the macho-masculine and sexist culture he has grown up in, something he must question when he learns that Olivia is transgender. Olivia tries to focus on her life, working hard to send money back to her family in the Philippines, even if they don't approve of her identity. She sees pursuing a love life as a self-indulgence that she shouldn't waste her time on, so she tries to suppress her emotions concerning Alex. The story that ensues involves both of them addressing their emotional shortcomings and hopefully growing past them. A deeply moving work of great intimacy and insight and an incisive critique on race and immigration in Trump's America. Isabel Sandoval's feature premiered in competition at Venice Days 2019, and had its UK premiere in competition at BFI London Film Festival 2019.

Micael Preysler : 2019

Cecilia went away to learn dance at a Baltimore dance academy. She was following her dream and wanted to do what she loved best. Some time later, she realises it's not what she wanted. She feels alienated and tired of her miserable existence. She decides to return to the lively sprawl of New York. Over the course of a weekend, she revisits her old haunts and friends. She also meets with her vile DJ ex-boyfriend. Lost in a warped middle ground between past and present, Cecilia will find herself at the most uncertain point of her life so far. A film about young people who feel lost in a rapidly moving modern society where it is increasingly difficult to express oneself. Micael Preysler's second feature premiered in competition at Warsaw International Film Festival 2019.

Benedict Andrews : 2019

Making her screen debut at 18, playing Joan of Arc, Jean Seberg by the age of 21, would be immortalised in Jean-Luc Godard's À bout de souffle, the film that launched the French New Wave. In May 1968 Jean returns from Paris to Hollywood in search of a new challenge and as the 1960s becomes more radicalised, so does she. Soon, her political and romantic involvement with civil rights activist Hakim Jamal, makes her a target of the FBI's ruthless and illegal attempts to disrupt, discredit and expose the Black Power movement. Ambitious young agent Jack Solomon is given the task of penetrating deeper into Jean's private life. But the more he immerses himself in her life, the more he empathises with this woman whose privacy is slowly being destroyed. Benedict Andrews's biopic premiered at Venice International Film Festival 2019, and screened in competition in the Perlak section at San Sebastián International Film Festival 2019.

Olivier Assayas : 2019

December 1990. Airline pilot René González steals a plane and flees Cuba, which is about to topple into an economic crisis precipitated by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Having abandoned his wife and daughter, he begins a new life in Miami. Soon he is joined by other Cuban dissidents, members of the activist organisation Brothers to the Rescue, working towards the destabilisation of the Castro regime. Along with fellow exile and pilot Juan Pablo Roque, René gradually becomes more aware of the moral compromises the Brothers make to do their work – and the degree to which the CIA is involved in supporting anti-Castro activities. Olivier Assayas's feature premiered in competition at Venice International Film Festival 2019, and had its North American premiere in Special Presentations at Toronto International Film Festival 2019.

Flavio Alves : 2019

Young transgender woman Tina, an undocumented immigrant living with her grandmother in New York City, is on the cusp of major life changes. Having moved to New York City from Mexico when she was just five, Tina now works as a taxi driver to support herself and Eliana, her homesick grandmother who longs to return. The film traces the relationship between the two women as they struggle to build a life for themselves. As she prepares to transition with the support of friends – if not family – Tina is drawn into activism when members of the local trans community are targeted by police. A powerful portrait of the day-to-day realities of trans women of colour, the film also looks at issues around the surge in violence against them in present-day USA. Flavio Alves's feature directorial debut was winner of the Audience Award when it premiered in the Visions section at SXSW 2019.

Hailey Gates : 2019

Farah, a bread seller, walks the streets of a Middle Eastern town, while an American military vehicle, surrounded by soldiers, slowly passes by. A moment's silence. Then, a devastating explosion. Civilians are bloodied, wounded. The horrors of war. Farah looks around aghast and wailing. But nothing here is quite what it seems. In fact, "Farah" is a character played by an aspiring actress called Laila. And this isn't Iraq, but a replica village erected on the Fort Irwin army base in California, used to train American troops before being sent abroad. Laila believes her acting talents are being wasted away in this arid simulation, where female role-players are limited to mute, background roles. She takes things much more seriously. Laila plots her way out. The seventeenth commission from designer Miu Miu as part of "Women's Tales", a series of short films by women who critically celebrate femininity in the 21st century. Hailey Gates's directorial debut screened at Venice Days 2019.

Robert Rodriguez : 2019

Based on Robert Rodriguez's experiences in a Medical Research Facility to finance his first feature El mariachi, but with a sci-fi and horror twist. Red 11 is set in the dark, twisted world of the Legal Drug Research business. College kids turn Lab Rats to make quick money, and our hero, Rob (who is assigned the colour and number Red 11) is here to buy his way out of a huge debt to the tune of $7,000. But things get surreal when he's not sure if the hospital is really trying to kill him, or if it's side effects from the experimental drugs. Robert Rodriguez's feature premiered at SXSW 2019, and had its European premiere at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at Festival de Cannes 2019.

Sarah Pirozek : 2019

Woodstock teenager, Rosie, is mourning her younger sister Amelia's death when she discovers a mysterious man who sexploited and bullied her sister, is back on-line, trolling for new victims. When the local police refuse to investigate, Rosie finds a darker side she never knew she had, as she decides to take justice into her own hands. Her pursuit of the man leads her down a murky path raising burning questions, will she find him? And if she does... then what? When does the victim become the perpetrator? Will justice prevail? How will Rosie come out of this intact? This noir, psychological thriller is a taut observation of teen sexuality and paranoia, at the intersection of #MeToo and the un-policed borders of cyber life. Sarah Pirozek's feminist thriller, her feature directorial debut, premiered at Cinequest 2019.

Danielle Lessovitz : 2019

On the steps outside New York City's dizzying central bus station, Port Authority, a girl named Wye vogues with her siblings. Paul, a young drifter, watches her, transfixed by her beauty. After he seeks her out, an intense love soon blossoms. Wye introduces him to the ballroom community, an underground LGBTQ subculture, and to her house, a self-selected chosen family. But when Paul realises Wye is trans, he is forced to confront his feelings for her and the social forces that seek to rupture their bond. Danielle Lessovitz's feature debut premiered in competition in the Un Certain Regard section at Festival de Cannes 2019.

Seamus Murphy : 2019

A child curiously presses its face against the window of a car in which British musician PJ Harvey and photojournalist and filmmaker Seamus Murphy are sitting. They are in Kabul, Afghanistan, one of three destinations to which they are travelling; the others are Kosovo and Washington, D.C. Harvey is searching for inspiration; collecting impressions and words, observing, listening and absorbing. Her thoughts can be heard in voice-over. Hers is the chronicle of a stranger whose attentive gaze is directed towards the reality of everyday life in the places she visits. Inspiration turns into poetry, which gives rise to songs for her album 'The Hope Six Demolition Project'. Back in London, Harvey records these songs with her band in a purpose-built studio which serves as a kind of peepshow, its one-way window allowing interested audiences to observe the process. Seamus Murphy's documentary premiered in the Panorama section at Berlin International Film Festival 2019.

Jen McGowan : 2018

Sawyer is an ambitious, overachieving college senior with a seemingly bright future. While on her way to a job interview, a wrong turn leaves her stranded deep in the frozen Kentucky woods. Suddenly, the young woman with everything to live for finds herself facing her own mortality as she's punished by the elements and pursued by a band of ruthless outlaws. With nowhere left to run, she is forced into an uneasy alliance with Lowell, an enigmatic loner with shadowy intentions. Though she's not sure she can trust him, Sawyer must take a chance if she hopes to escape Rust Creek alive. Jen McGowan's survival thriller, her second feature, was winner of the Award for Best Thriller at San Diego International Film Festival 2018.

Pippa Bianco : 2019

After a night of partying, high-school sophomore Mandy discovers that a series of cell-phone videos of her – half-dressed and semiconscious – have gone viral. Struggling to piece together what happened, reeling at how quickly the normalcy of her life has been upended, unsure about her friends' attempts to usher her back into their normal social routine, and uneasy about her parents' inclination to take action on her behalf, Mandy has to navigate a landscape littered with others' good intentions and find a way to heal from a wound she can't identify. Pippa Bianco's film is based on her eponymous short, which won the First Prize Cinéfondation 2015 at Festival de Cannes. Her feature debut won the Screenwriting Award when it premiered in competition at Sundance Film Festival 2019.

Desiree Akhavan : 2018

It's 1993 and after having been discovered in the arms of a girl at a school prom, Cameron Post is packed off to a Christian conversion camp called God's Promise, in a remote area where it is hoped she will be cured of her 'gayness'. While she is being subjected to questionable gay conversion therapies Cameron meets a group of fellow sinners including the amputee stoner Jane, and her friend, the Lakota Two-Spirit, Adam. Together, this group of teenagers form an unlikely family as they fight to survive in the face of intolerance and denial. A rally cry for individualism, Desiree Akhavan's feature was winner of the Grand Jury Prize when it premiered in competition at Sundance Film Festival 2018.

Dakota Fanning : 2018

Ava enters the Brooklyn loft for the first time. It's empty. Freshly painted but old. Sun streams through the large windows, onto the hardwood floor, worn with marks from previous inhabitants. Ava sits down. This is now home. Her home. This is where she'll meet a boy and fall in love. This is where wine will be spilt at the party. This is where they'll scream at each other, and decide it's all over. The apartment will become a witness to Ava's personal history – her joy and sadness, hopes and disappointments – the kind of universal space we all find ourselves evolving into adulthood. The fifteenth commission from designer Miu Miu as part of "Women's Tales", a series of short films by women who critically celebrate femininity in the 21st century. Dakota Fanning's directorial debut screened at Venice Days 2018.