Roll out the red carpet! The galas strand is the place to look for exciting films destined to become big names over the next year. There'll be big name stars in attendance, too. This is a chance to put on your glad rags and enjoy a real touch of glamour.
Norwegian Wood and Point Blank
13 Assassins (Jûsan-nin no shikaku)
(Country: Japan, UK; Year: 2010; Director: Takashi Miike; Writer: Kaneo Ikegami, Takashi Miike, Daisuke Tengan; Stars: Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Gorô Inagaki, Masachika Ichimura, Mikijiro Hira, Hiroki Matsukata, Ikki Sawamura, Arata Furuta, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Masataka Kubota, Sosuke Takaoka, Seiji Rokkaku, Yûma Ishigaki, Kôen Kondô),
Official Site,
Trailer
A retired samurai has to assemble a squad of assassins and set a town-sized trap.
Animal Kingdom
(Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: David Michôd; Writer: David Michôd; Stars: Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, Sullivan Stapleton, James Frecheville, Daniel Wyllie, Anthony Hayes, Laura Wheelwright, Mirrah Foulkes, Justin Rosniak, Susan Prior, Clayton Jacobson, Anna Lise Phillips)
After the death of his mother, a 17-year-old boy is thrust precariously between an explosive criminal family and a detective who thinks he can save him. Plus read our exclusive
interview with Ben Mendelsohn.
The Eagle (The Eagle Of The Ninth)
(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Kevin Macdonald; Writer: Jeremy Brock, Rosemary Sutcliff; Stars: Channing Tatum, István Göz, Bence Gerö, Denis O'Hare, Paul Ritter, Zsolt László, Julian Lewis Jones, Aladár Laklóth, Marcell Miklós, Bálint Magyar, Ferenc Pataki, Bálint Antal, Lukács Bicskey, Douglas Henshall, James Hayes),
Official Site
A Roman soldier tries to retrieve his legion's lost emblem from the Pictish hordes.
Fair Game
(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Doug Liman; Writer: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, based on the autobiographies of Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame; Stars: Naomi Watts, Sonya Davison, Vanessa Chong, Anand Tiwari, Stephanie Chai, Sean Penn, Ty Burrell, Jessica Hecht, Norbert Leo Butz, Rebecca Rigg, Brooke Smith, Thomas McCarthy, Ashley Gerasimovich, Quinn Broggy, Nicholas Sadler),
Official Site
Political thriller based on the true stories of Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame.
Home For Christmas (Hjem Til Jul)
(Country: Norway; Year: 2010; Director: Bent Hamer, Levi Henriksen; Writer: Bent Hamer; Stars: Nina Andresen Borud, Trond Fausa Aurvaag, Arianit Berisha)
A series of interconnected stories see the residents of a small Norwegian town encounter life-changing moments on a Christmas Eve filled with possibilities.
The Eagle and 13 Assassins
Little White Lies
(Country: France; Year: 2010; Director: Guillaume Canet; Writer: Guillaume Canet; Stars: François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Benoît Magimel, Gilles Lellouche)
A complex web of friendships and alliances breaks down over the course of a group holiday.
Norwegian Wood (Noruwei No Mori)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Trân Anh Hùng; Writer: Trân Anh Hùng, based on the book by Haruki Murakami.; Stars: Rinko Kikuchi, Kenichi Matsuyama, Kiko Mizuhara)
The Beatles song prompts a man to remember the complicated romance, with devastating consequences, that shaped his youth.
Point Blank (À Bout Portant)
(Country: France; Year: 2010; Director: Fred Cavayé; Writer: Fred Cavayé, Guillaume Lemans; Stars: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Elena Anaya, Gérard Lanvin)
An ordinary nurse defies all odds to help an injured gangster escape from the hospital where he works in order to save his kidnapped, pregnant wife.
Potiche (Das Schmuckstück, Trophy Wife)
(Country: France; Year: 2010; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon, based on the play by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini)
When her husband falls ill and his beautiful wife takes over his umbrella business, her life changes in unexpected and liberating ways.