Michael Winterbottom gets to the heart of the matter with Everyday; a family drama with a difference. Winterbottom’s regulars Shirley Henderson and John Simm play parents Karen and Ian who are split apart when Ian is jailed for a decade for drug smuggling. Sitting out his term puts a strain on his four young children, played by real-life siblings. This minimalist drama takes the viewer closer to real family relationships than any British film has in years.

Take THAT, Hollywood!

More than forty years ago, radical director Ken Loach was hired to produce a documentary about the work of Save the Children. Last year it was shown publicly for the first time after a decades-long suppression campaign orchestrated by the charity itself. And this Thursday you can not only see it but hear the man himself discuss it. In Peckham. Thank God it’s Monday, eh?

Veteran film-maker Jean-Luc Godard recently lamented the state of modern cinema whilst promoting his new film Film Socialisme. I take a look at his comments within the context of some of the independent cinema flourishing today and ask whether film is indeed over, and what to make of the term “auteur” in the current cinematic climate.

Oh my shit, it’s April! And it’s brought along not only Fools’ Days, sweet spring showers and the prospect of some chinless wonder marrying a Sloane, but also a batch of fresh and steaming new films – some promising, others less so. Stick around as we sift through this month’s cinematic offerings week by week and separate the fresh fish (FRESH FISH, Glen Coco!) from the distinctly murky tuna salad…

V is for vendetta in Ken Loach’s latest, Route Irish, in which Mark Womack sets about avenging the death of popular stand-up comedian John Bishop. Armed with a PMC-busting mobile phone, Skype and a garage-full of training equipment, our hero wastes no time shouting his head off in this very serious movie about privatisation and the Iraq War.

When the film Adulthood was released in UK cinemas in June 2008, its opening weekend grossed more money than the freshly released Sex and the City. In the wake of its success, a spate of new and gritty urban films has been drawing audiences to cinemas in increasing numbers, with films such as Shank and Dead Man Running bringing new vigor to the UK film industry. Despite their success, though, the issue of black representation is never far away. With a panel debate titled “The New Blaxploitation?” taking place as a part of London’s Across the Street, Around the World festival, Best For Film went to investigate.