After struggling in Hollywood for almost 20 years, Australian couple Ben Lewin and Judi Levine finally crack it with their Oscar-buzz indie film The Sessions.

With a heart, a brain and a great sense of humour, Ken Loach’s latest is surprisingly warm and uplifting, without drowning in sentimentality or exploiting the characters and their situation.

P.J. Hogan Goes Mental

Considering it’s been 18 years since the IRA called for a ceasefire and 14 years since the Good Friday Agreement, a contemporary film about the IRA might seem redundant in this day and age.

When a recent Chinese arrival to Argentina, who speaks no Spanish, is rescued by a gruff loner it begins one of the most unlikely and touching fish-out-of-water friendships seen in recent film memory.