In his debut as a major director and screenwriter Paddy Considine brings us a film about two seriously troubled individuals who just so happen to find and, in a sense, save each other. If you’re a big fan of deep, realistic dramas, and simply don’t mind, gritty violence and hardcore swearing then please do read on.

Australian cinema has given us some cult classics over the years, proving that the country’s cinematic output isn’t all Baz Luhrmann. The Castle, now being re-released 15 years after it was made, is perhaps the best of the bunch. Hilarious and touching – just get it, it’s a ripper! (That’s Australian for “good”).

Fresh from mainstream success with Heartbreaker, Romain Duris flexes himself further than ever before in this extraordinary portrait of, as the French title has it, a man who wants to live his life. Sharp, dynamic and unbearably emotional, this taut drama is the real deal.

A ghost story by design and a human drama at its core, Lake Mungo explores the painful psychology of loss, and our collective inability to explain the blurred space between life and death. It’s rather good.

The Lost Bladesman is based on the real life of ancient Hong Kong warrior Guan Yo as he reluctantly fights his way through the civil war that ended in the collapse of the Han Dynasty. Packed with gore, fighting and fancy swordplay, it has everything that a self-respecting Hong Kong action movie should have.

Wasted On The Young is a tense high school drama about sex, drugs and the unfortunate world of high school hierarchy. If you hate the bright, colourful, cutesy-poo teen flicks that we are regularly faced with, then this will be a welcome change.

Just Do It is a new observational documentary from Emily James that gives an eye-opening and unique insight into the world of environmental direct action movement as she films from inside the UK activist community.

Alan Butterworth presents his debut feature The Drummond Will: a black comedy about two brothers who visit the village their father passed away in, only to be faced with a bag full of money, a village full of lunatics, and numerous over-the-top ‘comedy’ voices.

Loosely based on true events, this South American horror promises “real fear in real time”, with its action purportedly playing out in a single, uncut take. Delivering for the majority of its running time, the film is let down most by its conclusion; a sigh that undermines the shocks. Yet for genre fans, The Silent House remains a curio that deserves to be watched – especially before the American remake arrives.

Based on the much-loved novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, Sarah’s Key is a French drama that swings between 1940s Paris and the modern day to weave the tale of a young Jewish girl persecuted in the Vel’ d’Hiv, and the woman who finds herself obsessed with her story.