PRODUCED by Blackwater Productions DIRECTED by Christopher M. Anothony PRODUCTION DESIGNED by Me

S N E A K P E E K of some of the production design on Heavyweight

The festival, running June 18-27 at Vue Piccadilly, marks a significant comeback with 70 narrative and documentary features — a 90% increase from last year and the first time since 2019 the festival will present so many films.

International competition highlights include “Dream!” (Paul Spurrier, Thailand), a Christmas-set musical following a young girl’s magical journey across Thailand; “Granny Must Die” (Yi Jung Chen, Taiwan), a dark absurdist comedy about three generations living in a tiny Taipei apartment; “Love Song from Hiroshima” (Hideyuki Tokigawa, Japan), a call to peace featuring a benevolent alien wandering present-day Hiroshima; “Nawi: Dear Future Me” (Vallentine Chelluget, Apuu Mourine, Kevin Schmutzler, Kenya), focusing on child brides in Africa; and “No Beast. So Fierce.” (Burhan Qurbani, Poland/France/Germany), an adaptation of Richard III with actress Kenda Hmeidan as the daughter of an Arab clan plotting to become boss of the Berlin underworld;

Competition titles also include “Paternal Leave” (Alissa Jung, Germany/Italy), following a teenage girl’s journey to Italy’s northern coast seeking her unknown biological father; “Shakespeare’s The Tempest” (Garret Replogle, U.S/), where “Star Trek” meets Shakespeare; “Srishti” (Paul Antar, India), about a photographer haunted by childhood guilt; “Tape” (Bizhan Tong, U.K./Hong Kong), a reimagining of Richard Linklater’s cult classic; “The Party’s Over” (Elena Manrique, Spain/Belgium), featuring an award-winning performance by Beatriz Arjona; and “Wet Monday” (Justyna Mytnik, Poland), about a teenage girl confronting trauma from sexual assault.

Documentary selections include “Beam Me Up, Sulu” (Timour Gregory, Sasha Schneider, U.S.), exploring the life of “Star Trek” actor George Takei; “Children in the Fire” (Evgeny Afineevsky, Ukraine), featuring war-wounded Ukrainian children sharing their stories; “God As My Witness” (Lindsay Q. Pitre, U.S.), exposing secrets within the Archdiocese of New Orleans; “I Hope This Helps!” (Daniel M. Freed, U.S.), exploring AI through Google’s first chatbot; “Saint Damian” (Gregorio Sassoli, Alejandro Cifuentes, Italy), an uncompromising look at homelessness and mental illness; and “The Social Trap: 5 Women vs The Big 5” (Elisa Jadot, France), examining social media’s impact on mental health.