Starring: Steve Buscemi, Jeffery Tambor, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Palin, Andread Riseborough

The one-liners fly as fast as political fortunes fall in this uproarious, wickedly irreverent satire from Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop). Moscow, 1953: when tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin drops dead, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to be the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweeby Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), the wily Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), and the sadistic secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale). But as they bumble, brawl, and backstab their way to the top, just who is running the government? Combining palace intrigue with rapid-fire farce, this audacious comedy is a bitingly funny takedown of bureaucratic dysfunction performed to the hilt by a sparkling ensemble cast.

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke, Anton Yelchin

Childhood friends Lily and Amanda reconnect in suburban Connecticut after years of growing apart. Lily has turned into a polished, upper-class teenager, with a fancy boarding school on her transcript and a coveted internship on her resume; Amanda has developed a sharp wit and her own particular attitude, but all in the process of becoming a social outcast.

Though they initially seem completely at odds, the pair bond over Lily’s contempt for her oppressive stepfather, Mark, and as their friendship grows, they begin to bring out one another’s most destructive tendencies. Their ambitions lead them to hire a local hustler, Tim, and take matters into their own hands to set their lives straight.

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga

To take down South Boston’s Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise in Martin Scorsese’s multiple Oscar-winning crime thriller. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there’s a mole among them.

Starring: Warwick Davis, Brent Jasmer, Jessica Collins, Tim Colceri, Miguel A. Nunez, Jr., Debbe Dunning

Alright, so the Leprechaun is on this far away planet and he’s getting married to a space princess because he wants to be her planet’s King (and she wants his Leprechaun booty). Then some space marines show up, murder him and urinate on his corpse, but luck sides with the Leprechaun, and he transfers his essence up the stream and into the body of the vandalizing space grunt. Once the marines return to base, the Leprechaun bursts forth from the marine’s crotch and exacts his revenge.

Starring: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza

Gory revenge is raised to the level of visual poetry in Toshiya Fujita’s stunning Lady Snowblood. A major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga, this endlessly inventive film, set in late nineteenth-century Japan, charts the single-minded path of vengeance taken by a young woman (Meiko Kaji) whose parents were the unfortunate victims of a gang of brutal criminals. Fujita creates a wildly entertaining action film of remarkable craft, an effortless balancing act between beauty and violence.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham, Don Cheadle

Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around.

Adams’ rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, “Dirk Diggler”. Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams’ dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alex Manette, John Doman, Judith Roberts

A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe’s nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Scarlett Johansson

ISLE OF DOGS tells the story of ATARI KOBAYASHI, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.

A hard rain is about to fall on a small town in Southern China.

In a desperate attempt to find money to save his fiancée’s failed plastic surgery, Xiao Zhang, a mere driver, steals a bag containing 1 million from his boss.

News of the robbery spreads fast within the town and, over the course of one night, everyone starts looking for Xiao Zhang and his money…

Liu Jian delivers a whirlwind neo-noir, cementing his place as a pioneering force in independent Chinese animation.

Proceeds benefiting The Director’s List and their continued support of female filmmakers

PROGRAM

CALEB
Directed by Amanda Mesaikos & Susanne Aichele | 14 minutes, 40 seconds

To contend with the bullies at school, 9-year-old Caleb decides to 3D print himself. Back home there’s confusion, discord and reshuffled schedules…But maybe this is just what his family needs? With humor at its heart, CALEB is a fundamentally human story about family dynamics and the inevitability of moral dilemmas in the face of advancing technology.

YOYO
Directed by Nicole Delaney | 15 minutes

Caroline (Sophie von Haselberg) can’t stand that she is a virgin…and then the world ends. In post-apocalyptic LA, after a dust storm has wiped out the planet, she is convinced that Francis (Martin Starr) was sent as the man to pop her cherry. YOYO is a heartfelt, dark comedy about finding meaning in life, even when life ceases to exist.

BLOOD TIES
Directed by Simon Pannetrat, Marion Louw, Thomas Ricquier, and Sophie Kavouridis | 3 minutes, 34 seconds

Fears hit close to home as a young girl must find the strength to face the demon that haunts her.

SO YOU’VE GROWN ATTACHED
Directed by Kate Tsang | 15 minutes

An imaginary friend is forced to consider retirement when his creator starts to grow up.

THE GATE
Directed by Kellie Madison | 8 minutes, 33 seconds

As a spiritual war is brewing one woman must fight to save her sister’s soul.

STRANGE BEASTS
Directed by Magali Barbé | 5 minutes, 8 seconds

“Strange Beasts” is an augmented reality game. It allows you to create and grow your own virtual pet. How far can it go?

THE SWEETENING
Directed by Grace Rowe | 13 minutes, 7 seconds

A lonely woman falls for an avatar in an augmented reality program and it completely upends

GENGHIS KHAN CONQUERS THE MOON
Directed by Kerry Yang | 14 minutes, 45 seconds

In Genghis Khan’s last days, an encounter with a Wizard sends him to the Moon. Just as the Mediaeval anti-hero thinks he’s made his greatest conquest, he finds himself on a spiritual quest, realizing the absurd clash between one man’s need and the silence of the Universe.

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