LFF 2016 PREVIEW: THE ORNITHOLOGIST

'The Ornithologist offered as pleasurable and fully sustained an immersion in pure cinema as any film in [Toronto]'

Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times

'The single most delightful and narratively adventurous movie I saw at Toronto'

Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

'The gorgeous, supremely self-confident film I always felt Rodrigues could do if he would only let go - and he did'

Jorge Mourinha, MUBI's Notebook

Joao Pedro Rodrigues ranks among the most popular though idiosyncratic filmmakers on the contemporary arthouse scene, and his latest film, The Ornithologist, has proved the value of that status. Since its Locarno world premiere in August, where it won JPR a Best Director prize, the provocative drama has built upon the strong impression it made with critics there with an equally well-received screening at Toronto last month. Its next stops are slots at Busan and New York, and at the London Film Festival too. One glance at Rodrigues' past pedigree and at a brief synopsis of The Ornithologist would be enough to convince you why it was one of the first films to claim a space in my 2016 LFF programme. Definitely among my most hotly-anticipated films of this year's fest.

LFF 2016 PREVIEW: TONI ERDMANN

A narrative feature that's as potent as one could hope to find in contemporary cinema

Jordan Cronk, Reverse Shot

A work of great beauty, great feeling and great cinema

Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Toni Erdmann is filled with grand comic inventions, and it encompasses so many strands of experience that it eats the material of several decades of movies for breakfast

Kent Jones, Film Comment

No film set the Croisette alight this May quite like Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann. Building upon the acclaim for her first two features, the 2-hour 42-minute German comedy was the toast of Cannes, drawing in unanimous praise from critics, and even recording the highest score in the history of Screen International's Critics Poll. It won the FIPRESCI prize at the festival, before progressing to the FIPRESCI Grand Prix for 2015-16. It marks a must-see for all cinephiles offered the chance, which, for me, will first arrive at the London Film Festival in October. Release dates, indicating Oscar hopes, are on their way: Christmas Day stateside and the 3rd of February in the UK.