2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Raindance Film Festival, the UK’s leading indie film festival, and this year’s edition will be a celebration of 30 years of independent film in the UK. Running 26 October – 5 November, Raindance will revisit some of the most pivotal films from its archive in a series of special screenings. Raindance will also look towards the next 30 years with a programme of fresh, relevant, and radical world premieres plus must-see titles presented in the UK by Raindance from the international film festival circuit.
Venues for 2022 are Curzon Soho, Genesis Cinema, Rio Cinema and The Garden Cinema. The film programme will be available throughout the UK via new streaming partner Bohemia Euphoria.
OPENING GALA: CORNER OFFICE (dir: Joachim Back, Canada) – International Premiere. Mad Men star Jon Hamm returns to office life, playing a corporate drone trying to move up from his entry-level job, only to discover a secret room. An absurdist indie comedy, adapted from Jonas Karlsson’s acclaimed novella.
CLOSING GALA: PINBALL – THE MAN WHO SAVED THE GAME (dir: Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg, USA) – International Premiere. BAFTA-nominated for West Side Story, Mike Faist stars as Roger Sharpe, the young GQ journalist who in 1976 helped overturn New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball machines.
Special screenings of new films include the World Premiere of A BIT OF LIGHT (dir: Stephen Moyer, UK), a complex and thoughtful family drama starring Anna Paquin and Ray Winstone alongside Pippa Bennett-Warner, Youssef Kerkour and Rebecca Callard. Director Stephen Moyer will join cast and guests on the red carpet at Curzon Soho.
Director Moshe Rosenthal will take part in a Raindance Masterclass, as well as present the UK Premiere of KARAOKE (dir: Moshe Rosenthal, Israel), a bittersweet comedy about a middle-aged couple who join their new neighbour’s karaoke evenings.
The World Premiere of BANGLATOWN (dir: Dishad Husain, UK) is a British Asian feature set in east London’s vibrant Banglatown. With nods to Bollywood and Chuck Norris, it follows a struggling actor facing house eviction who uses his acting skills to fall in with a local gangster.
Here is just a small taste of films on offer:
PAMFIR (dir: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, Ukraine) UK Premiere. Nominated for the Golden Camera at Cannes, it’s the story of a former criminal who is trying to be a decent family man but returns to crime to help pay a family debt.
GENTLE (dir: László Csuja, Anna Nemes, Hungary/Germany). UK Premiere. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, it’s the sensitive portrayal of a female bodybuilder and her complex relationship with her life partner and trainer.
TO LESLIE (dir: Michael Morris, USA). Critically acclaimed at SXSW, it’s the melancholy tale of a Texas single mom who had won the lottery – but quickly squandered all the money, and now fights to rebuild her life. Inspired by true events, it stars Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney and Stephen Root.
MET MES (dir: Sam de Jong, Netherlands). UK Premiere. Having premiered in Rotterdam, this surreal tale with a vibrant 90s aesthetic is the story of a successful TV personality who exaggerates the story of a robbery to maximise her insurance – with unforeseen circumstances.
RELATIVE (dir: Tracey Arcabasso Smith, USA). UK Premiere. While confronting her childhood sexual abuse, the filmmaker unearths a pervasive history of intergenerational abuse in her seemingly-idyllic family.
SPANTON VS THE FRENCH POLICE (dir: Ovidie, France). UK Premiere. This exploration of the meaning of consent spotlights a famous French trial whereby two policemen were accused of raping a Canadian tourist.
OUR RIVER… OUR SKY (dir: Maysoon Pachachi, UK/Iraq). UK Premiere. Set in Baghdad in the middle of the Iraq War, a group of traumatised, war-weary characters face dilemmas about their future.
WINNERS (dir: Hassan Nazer, UK). London Premiere. An Audience Award nominee at Edinburgh, it follows a group of cinema-loving children in a small Iranian town who find a film award statuette, so they decide to try and find its owner.
WAKE UP, LEONARD (dir: Kat Mills Martin, USA). European Premiere. LGBTQIA+ mental health and wellbeing is put in the spotlight as we follow the messy life choices of a between-jobs actor.
PALOMA (dir: Marcelo Gomes, Brazil/Portugal). UK Premiere. A transgender woman confronts life challenges when the local priest refuses her request for a traditional church wedding.
and there is so so much more. For more information, please go to:
Raindance Film Festival runs from 26 October – 5 November, in London cinemas and online throughout the UK.