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Bill lists some some personal highlights of Leeds International Film Festival 2019

• Beanpole (2019) a gripping drama about young women in Leningrad shortly after World War 2
• The Lighthouse (2019) a powerful Victorian gothic thriller about two lighthouse keepers
• It Must Be Heaven (2019) an original take on the burden of being born Palestinian
• La Belle Époque (2019) great fun, an audience favourite (showing at the Hyde Park Picture House on December 15, 18, 19)
• Judy and Punch (2019) Punch and Judy, a feminist version!
• Marriage Story (2019) a funny and compassionate account of a divorce (showing at the Hyde Park Picture House Nov 29 – Dec 5)
• Dancer in the Dark (2000) with an impressive performance by Bjork
• I Lost My Body (2019) an enjoyable animated feature film
• Osaka Elegy (1936) a story of a brave woman in a highly patriarchal Japan

I also enjoyed films from the Cinema Versa documentary features section:

• 143 Sahara Street (2019) portrait of a remarkable woman in her desert tea house
• A Dog Called Money (2019) great viewing for fans of PJ Harvey about she gets inspiration for her songs from around the world (a Picture House screening is planned)

And two documentaries that show the importance of recording events on film:

• Shooting the Mafia (2019) about the brave Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia (showing at the Picture House on January 21 2020)
• The Cordillera of Dreams (2019) about Patricio Guzmán’s recording of the violence of Pincochet’s Chile, as s reminder to younger generation