A wild riff on Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Christian Petzold’s Phoenix is like no other film about post–World War II Jewish-German identity. Set in a devastated, ruined Berlin, the film hones in on Nelly, a former cabaret singer who returns with a reconstructed face to seek out the husband who may or may not have betrayed her.

The release of Lucrecia Martel’s debut heralded the arrival of an astonishingly vital and original voice in Argentine cinema. With a radical and disturbing take on narrative, beautiful cinematography, and a highly sophisticated use of on and offscreen sound, Martel turns her tale of a dissolute bourgeois extended family into a cinematic marvel.

The feature debut of director Sarah Friedlander earned Best First Feature honors at the Venice Film Festival. It tells the story of Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant, giving a titanic performance that should be in the Oscar conversation, who must come to terms with life in an assisted living facility.

A character study, a social drama, a musical, a tale of overcoming obstacles… Everybody Loves Touda packs a lot into its running time. As Touda, Nisrin Erradi’s incendiary performance fuels the film. Not a singer by trade, she trained with professional Sheikhats for a year, learning voice, dance, and percussion.

Set in the vibrant city of Maputo, Mozambique, Era Oculta (Hidden Era) centers on Rastafari artist Phambi. When his newest work, a semi-nude portrait of Paula, becomes a symbol of activism in the community, Phambi sees a path forward to making a living.

In her first film as both actor and director, accomplished performer Embeth Davidtz (Schindler’s List, Matilda) adapts Alexandra Fuller’s acclaimed bestselling memoir of life in a white farming family in the last days of Rhodesia’s government.

Writer-director Eva Victor's breakout Sundance sensation, scooped up by the hip hitmakers at A24, announces the arrival of a brilliant new voice in American independent cinema. The dramedy follows Agnes (Victor), a young adjunct professor coming to terms with a traumatic event.