Birds of War

Director: Eamon Bourke

Year: 2026

Filmmaker Eamon Bourke lost his mother, Sue, when he was three and has no memory of her. When his father decides to sell the remote Lake District home where she died, Eamon returns with his camera to document the house and its clearing. Among Sue’s belongings - diaries, poems, photographs and tapes - he discovers a box of damaged cassette recordings. After painstakingly repairing them, he uncovers something extraordinary: his mother’s voice. Through these intimate audio diaries, Sue speaks candidly about motherhood, sings to her children, and captures fleeting family moments Eamon never knew. One final tape records her describing the onset of hepatitis, days before she fell into a coma and died in 1983. Another, more haunting still, features three-year-old Eamon calling out to his unconscious mother in hospital, in a desperate attempt to bring her back. As Eamon pieces together this archive, he confronts the enduring impact of early loss, speaking with his father and sisters while retracing the emotional landscape of his childhood. Set against the vast beauty of the Lake District, a deeply personal exploration of grief, memory and love - an attempt to recover what was lost, and to finally say goodbye.

Director: Lisa Marie Russo

Year: 2026

A trippy tale capturing the creative vision of writer Jack Thorne and director Marc Munden, as a British crew and young cast film this timely adaptation on the remote islands and interior of Malaysia during monsoon season. The crew battle twisters, torrential rain and scary insects to create this hallucinatory fever dream, featuring behind the scenes interviews, observational footage and mesmerising performances by the newbie cast.

Director: Carina Nichaouchine

Year: 2026

Brothers Thomas and Sam have nothing in common, except that they play Dungeons & Dragons with their friends. Each week they escape into a fantasy world. Over four years, the group grow up and move on but Thomas, the Dungeon Master, refuses to let go.