China Power

Director: Pia Getty

Year: 2011

Axis of Light, is a poignant observation, through the work of eight leading artists; Rachid Koraichi, Jananne al-Ani, Etel Adnan, Shirin Neshat, Youssef Nabil, MonaHatoum, Mona Saudi and Ayman Baalbaki to the beauty and mystery of the Middle East which is often ignored, especially today where strife, anger and violence demand centre stage in our media…where stereotypes and prejudices distort our view of this region. Through their eyes, the film moves between their worlds…between the worlds of both the East and the West and the past and present…exploring the meaning of their existence, identity, conflicts of sexuality the isolation of woman and the fragility of home and place. The history they have and the future they can lead us towards. It is a story of hope, but one that recognises the power of expression often against the odds.

Director: Theo Rollason

Year: 2026

Spring 1991: queer life is under renewed attack in Britain, and filmmaker Derek Jarman is adapting Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II into a radical protest film. Drawing on extraordinary never-before-seen footage shot by Seamus McGarvey on Jarman’s set, QUEER EDWARD 11 is about the refusal to separate art from life, politics from pleasure. Official Selection Venice Film Festival 2026 Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026

Director: Wallace Minchong Li

Year: 2026

European archival footage from the 1950s documents the life of indigenous, nomadic Sahrawi children and youth in Western Sahara / Morocco. Seventy years later, local young people from Laayoune (El Aaiún) revisit locations that may have appeared in the footage. From ocean to desert to oasis, under trembling starlight, they share their thoughts on life, dreams, and utopia as they search for an uncertain upstream. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026