That’s the spirit! Judi Dench reveals how a clairvoyant chose her name

The Oscar-winning star, who plays the eccentric Madame Arcati in a new film of Blithe Spirit, says her name was revealed to her parents by a famous 1930s medium

Falling review – Viggo Mortensen casts a clear eye on dementia

In the Lord of the Rings star’s powerful debut as a director, Lance Henriksen plays a homophobic father compelled to move in with his gay son

I raised my kids on Pixar – and it has ruined classic cinema for them

Having grown up on Toy Story and Up, this generation has zero tolerance for slow pacing or only mild amusement

Why do artists like the Pogues and Frank Capra have a special Christmas pedestal?

Fairytale of New York and It’s a Wonderful Life evoke a unique and persistent magic, says writer Rick Burin

Mother of Lion: Sue Brierley opens up on life before Saroo, Hollywood and Nicole Kidman

Brierley was catapulted into the limelight when her adopted son’s story became an Oscar-nominated film. Now, she’s sharing her own

Love Child review – refugee documentary finds love and warmth amid the misery

Filmed over six years in Turkey, this is a wonderful account of an Iranian family in exile desperately seeking asylum

Samuel L Jackson: ‘A fullness comes upon me every time I land in Africa’

As their hard-hitting TV show Enslaved comes to an end, the star and his wife LaTanya Richardson talk about roots, race, revolution – and how to get rid of ‘the orange man’

‘I don’t want another blockbuster!’ How Phyllida Lloyd is following up Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady

After scoring two global hits, the director has made a low-budget film about a mother who builds her way out of homelessness – and it’s inspired by an article in the Guardian

I love Spider-Man – but would my son? How I learned a hard lesson about heroes

He’s my all-time favourite comic character. But do the real heroes still wear spandex?

Houston, we have a parent: what draws sci-fi to motherhood?

Netflix’s Away sees Hilary Swank play a mum separated from her daughter by millions of kilometres, joining a long list of science-fiction characters trapped in a maternal nightmare

Again Once Again review – elegant meditation on the pains of motherhood

This engaging film unpicks the challenges faced by a young mother trying to reconnect with the life she had before her son’s birth

Dads review – stars report from the frontline of fatherhood

Actor Bryce Dallas Howard’s documentary mixes the platitudinous with the genuinely moving as she grills Hollywood celebrities and other fathers

To Kid Or Not to Kid review – why women choose to be childless

Director Maxine Trump’s heartfelt documentary explores the pressures and prejudices facing women who do not want to be mothers

Bryce Dallas Howard: ‘Dads changing diapers is still somehow revolutionary’

The actor has made a film about fathers – including her own, director Ron. She talks about the racist role that caused ‘a disturbance’ in her soul – and why working with Lars von Trier gave her acne

‘The older I get, the less I fear’: meet the Italian Larry David

A decade after his two much-loved comedies about the vicissitudes of ageing, director Gianni Di Gregorio explains why, against his own expectations, he had to make another