Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker László Nemes (Son of Saul), ORPHAN is a visually stunning historical drama from a true cinematic visionary. In 1957 Budapest, after the uprising against the Communist regime, a young Jewish boy, Andor — raised by his mother with idealised tales of his deceased father — has his world turned upside down when a brutish man appears, claiming to be his true father. Channeling the greatest 20th century neorealist cinema, Nemes’ latest feature offers a haunting and deeply moving exploration of identity and memory, tracing the fragile process of rebuilding a sense of self against the shadow of history.

Keith Jarrett’s iconic January 1975 performance nearly never happened. Based on a true story, Köln 75 follows the young, driven concert promoter Vera Brandes as she conceives and organises the event against all odds. From securing the venue and selling tickets to persuading Jarrett to perform when the promised Bösendorfer Imperial Grand piano is missing, Vera’s determination is tested at every turn. The film reveals the compelling and little-known story behind Jarrett’s one-hour, entirely improvised concert, which went on to become the best-selling solo jazz album in history.

Based on Gary Owen's much lauded and widely performed monodrama, Iphigenia in Splott, Effi o Blaenau is director Marc Evans' cinematic interpretation set against the wide open landscapes of North Wales. The film follows Effi, a young woman desperate to escape a town where the pubs are closed, the jobs have vanished and her grandmother works night shifts in the local chip shop just to get by. A chance encounter in a Llandudno nightclub with injured soldier Lee, played by Tom Rhys Harries, briefly opens a door to something better. For a moment, Effi glimpses a life she never imagined. The reality that follows is far tougher. 

Please note: only 5 minutes of trailers play with this film. Please arrive at the scheduled start time to avoid disappointment.

Celebrating Mel Brooks' 100th Birthday (one day early). When talking about film parody it's impossible not to think of Mel Brooks. Blazing Saddles is quintessential Brooks - a Western spoof loaded with inside jokes, anachronisms, toilet humour and the director's favourite actors performing his favourite form of broad burlesque comedy. Cleavon Little is Bart, a black sheriff hired by the nefarious Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) to get the residents of Rock Ridge, who live in the way of his railroad, to sell out. But the plan backfires and the new sheriff and his deputy, the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), a reformed gun-and-bottle-slinger, stand up against Lamarr and his thugs. For sheer offensive-jokes-per-minute Blazing Saddles may still hold the world record. Still, many hail the film as an unflinching satire of racism. And let's not forget that the film was nominated for three Oscars - Best Supporting Actress (Madeline Kahn, doing a hilarious takeoff on Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again, 1939), Best Editing and Best Song.

BAFTA Award-winner Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) joins Aidan Turner (Rivals) in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation of the classic novel, where among the glittering salons of the super-rich, one misstep can mean ruin. Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire.  But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path. Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Marianne Elliott (Angels in America) directs this thrilling game of love, lies, and social warfare.

Set on Vancouver Island in the late 1990s, Blue Heron follows eight-year-old Sasha and her Hungarian immigrant family as they attempt to build a new life, only to be destabilised by the increasingly dangerous behaviour of her older brother, Jeremy. Drawing on her own memories, filmmaker Sophy Romvari shapes a deeply personal portrait of childhood, family fractures, and the fragility of recollection.

Failed college coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to coach a high school basketball team in a tiny Indiana town. After one of his teachers, Myra Fleener (Barbara Hershey) persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood (Maris Valainis) to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter (Dennis Hopper), a notorious alcoholic. Nominated for two Academy Awards in 1987: Best Supporting Actor (Dennis Hopper), Best Original score (Jerry Goldsmith).

When renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster) learns of the death of one of her patients, she is convinced it was murder and takes it upon herself to investigate…

Surviving bar-to-bar on anecdotes and the ‘good old days’, two blustery 50-somethings hatch a plan to change their luck by digging up the cash their old pal buried before he left for Argentina. En route to the airport, they come across a shy architecture student whose view of life will transform as they take him under their wing on a road trip across the Venetian plains. THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD is the boozy road movie you didn’t know you needed this summer. Take a trip across Northern Italy with this charming, crazy adventure and fabulous performances by Filippo Scotti (The Hand of God), Sergio Romano, and Pierpaolo Capovilla.

Please note: only 5-minutes of trailers play with this film. Please arrive for the advertised time to avoid disappointment.

Martin Scorsese's Palme d'Or-winning TAXI DRIVER celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year and we're presenting the film in its new 4K restoration. The film's powerful edit was supervised and completed by Marcia Lucas, who passed away this May. Lucas was nominated for a BAFTA for her work on the film.

Isolated ex-marine Travis Bickle applies for a job as a taxi driver, hoping that the nocturnal working pattern will alleviate the effects of his insomnia and distract him from his gnawing depression. But ferrying passengers through the seedy underbelly of night-time New York City only compounds Bickle's psychological dislocation from the world around him. His nightshifts in the cab are spent resenting those he sees, while his waking daytime hours are wasted away in the gloom of adult movie theatres. After entering into a troubled relationship with a political campaigner and embarking on a fraught mission to save a teenager from the world of prostitution, Bickle's sense of place and purpose steadily warps. He withdraws into himself, hordes illegal firearms and begins a regimen of intense physical training in preparation for a misguided vigilante assault on the evils of society.

Underneath the Catalonian sun, a rich white American family lives in hedonistic isolation, seeking love and validation through one another, their designer wardrobes and pop music. When an outsider infiltrates the family, buried tensions surface and blood ties are severed. An outrageous, biting satire on the absurdity of the patriarchal family, starring Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Elena Anaya, Tracy Letts, Elle Fanning and Pamela Anderson. From award winning director Karim Aïnouz, written by Oscar nominated writer Efthimis Filippou, Rosebush Pruning is absurd, funny and in equal measure.

Crowned as the highest-grossing live-action film of all time in Japan, spanning decades of ambition, scandals, loyalty, and betrayal, Kokuho traces the extraordinary journey of two performers chasing greatness, as one rises to become a legendary master of Kabuki. After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, fourteen-year-old Kikuo is taken in by a renowned Kabuki actor and introduced to the demanding world of traditional theatre. Growing up alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, the two boys devote their lives to the stage - training, performing, and competing as their bond shifts between brotherhood and rivalry. An Oscar nominee and winner of 10 Japanese Academy Awards, the film is an epic portrait of artistry, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of perfection.

The Summer Book follows an intergenerational family spending a transformative summer at their rustic vacation home on an unspoiled, remote island in the Gulf of Finland. Adapted from Tove Jansson’s beloved novel, the film explores grief, nature, and the delicate bonds between a young girl, her wise grandmother (Glenn Close), and her grieving father (Anders Danielsen Lie).

Part of the series One Big Conspiracy.

After a UFO encounter, Roy Neary becomes entangled in a government conspiracy suppressing evidence of alien contact. As agencies erase witnesses and manipulate information, he follows hidden signals to a secret facility where a global operation prepares controlled first contact. Enhancing the film’s atmosphere of mystery and wonder is the acclaimed score by John Williams, whose music plays a central role in the story itself. The film’s iconic five-note motif has become one of cinema’s most recognisable musical themes, serving as a means of communication between humans and extraterrestrials while underscoring the sense of awe and discovery that defines the film.

Returning to cinemas in celebration of its 45th anniversary, Raiders of the Lost Ark remains one of the most influential films in Hollywood history. Inspired by the cliffhanger adventure serials of the 1930s and 1940s, it follows archaeologist Indiana Jones as he races against Nazi forces to find the legendary Ark of the Covenant, believed to possess extraordinary power. Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas, the 1981 film reintroduced the spirit of classic Hollywood adventure cinema for modern audiences, combining thrilling set pieces with a sense of wonder and discovery while creating one of cinema’s most enduring and iconic heroes.

An essential part of the film’s lasting appeal is its score by John Williams. The triumphant Raiders March has become one of the most recognisable themes in cinema, standing alongside Williams’ iconic music for Jaws, Star Wars and Superman, perfectly capturing the adventure and heroism that define Indiana Jones.

Coming to KSc following the World Premiere at The Prince Charles Cinema on September 10.

Five bizarre stories with no apparent connection to one another eventually become intertwined, resulting in surreal circumstances. A salaryman wins tickets to the latest stage sensation, the hypnosis show VIVA FRIENDS! In the middle of the act an assassin shows up and kills the hypnotist, leaving the salaryman stranded and convinced he is a bird! A gang of burglars roam the suburbs while simultaneously dealing with their budding lust for one another! Meanwhile, a man kills and buries his wife, only to have her claw her way out of the grave and go after him with missile arms and fire breath, over and over again. Acclaimed commercial director Gen Sekiguchi pulls all these strands together into a movie that is thrillingly original. Survive Style 5+ jettisons traditional movie tricks and aims for something more, a movie where love means never having to kill your wife more than five or six times.

Award-winner Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) plays the title role in this razor-sharp reimagining of Molière’s classic dark comedy. Telling the truth isn’t always that simple. Alice, a brilliant novelist, despises the carefully constructed lies of modern society. But the more she challenges those around her, the fiercer the backlash becomes. Soon, she must confront the price of speaking her truth in a world that would rather silence her. Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham directs Martin Crimp’s (Cyrano de Bergerac) highly anticipated play.

Runtime TBC. Interval TBC.