Nezouh review – magical realism under shelling during Syria’s civil war

Soudade Kaadan’s second feature is a sweet-natured and beautifully photographed portrait of a grumpy middle-aged guy, his sceptical wife and their teenage daughter

The Animal Kingdom review – Romain Duris leads post-Covid fantasy of virus-triggered mutants

Duris stars as a father protecting his son, who may or may not be mutating, in Thomas Cailley’s well-crafted thriller

There’s Still Tomorrow review – empowering tragicomedy about an abused wife in postwar Rome

This bold, bittersweet tale of spousal violence, directed by and starring Italian national treasure Paola Cortellesi, topped the country’s box office last year

If Only I Could Hibernate review – a teenager faces tough choices in chilly Mongolia

There’s an earthy authenticity to Zoljargal Purevdash’s story of a gifted student from a poor family

If Only I Could Hibernate review – Mongolian maths whiz aims to escape biting cold

A tented district of Ulaanbaatar is the backdrop as a gifted student with a chance to succeed and move away finds himself having to care for his siblings

Lineup announced for UK’s inaugural Muslim international film festival

Featuring stars including Riz Ahmed and Nabhaan Rizwan, the event aims to celebrate the ‘rich tapestry of Muslim experiences via the medium of film’

Close Your Eyes review – melancholy magic as Víctor Erice addresses his own enigmatic legacy

The Spanish director of 1973’s The Spirit of the Beehive returns with only his fourth feature, a beguiling if overlong tale of a missing movie actor

Opponent review – impressive drama about an Iranian refugee in limbo in Sweden

A wrestler and his family flee Iran for Sweden when rumours about his sexuality grow in Milad Alami’s intimate portrait of a man whose life is on hold

The Teachers’ Lounge review – a masterclass in playground politics

A teacher’s intervention in a spate of thefts upsets the balance of her school in Ilker Çatak’s taut, Oscar-nominated drama

Evil Does Not Exist review – slow-burning eco-parable

A proposed glamping site threatens a widower’s tranquil existence in Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s strangely compelling hymn to nature

Io Capitano review – Matteo Garrone’s wrenching migrant drama is unexpectedly beautiful

Seydou Sarr is wonderful as a 16-year-old Senegalese migrant who maintains his empathy and selflessness through a hellish journey to Europe

‘As with all such moments, there are innocent victims’: Marco Bellocchio on his new film about the notorious kidnapping of a Jewish child

The octogenarian director, whose latest film dramatises the 19th-century abduction of Edgardo Mortara by the Vatican, has been plumbing the depths of the Italian psyche on screen for the past 60 years – and worries for the future of cinema

Yannick review – Quentin Dupieux goes for laughs in absurdist theatre hijack comedy

Dupieux’s melancholic comedy sees a disillusioned audience member pull a gun before demanding a word processor to write the actors a better play

‘I have not been living in the Himalayas!’ The return of Spirit of the Beehive director Víctor Erice

It is seen as one of the greatest films ever, with the most hypnotic child performance in history. So what has Víctor Erice been doing in the half century since Beehive? As his new film Close Your Eyes hits screens, the Spanish legend reveals all

The Human Surge 3 review – hopeful odyssey of globe-trotting twentysomethings

Eduardo Williams’ opaque sequel follows a group of twentysomethings in Sri Lanka, Peru and Taiwan with a 360-degree VR camera