Film Lineup 2025

SAVAGE FLOWERS
World Premiere
7th MAY (Opening Festival film)
17:30 Sharp
CURZON CINEMA SOHO
Starring: Nick Moran, Roxanne Mckee, Meesha Garbett, Maddie Mills
Director: Brad Watson
Set in an infected world where the children are carriers - a young orphan finds sanctuary in a ramshackle foster home but she soon discovers it's not the world outside that she should fear. It's the girls she's inside with.

BORROWED TIME: LENNON'S LAST DECADE
9th MAY
17:00
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Documentary
Director: Alan G Parker
Exploring the final decade of John Lennon's life. Follow Lennon as he evolves beyond The Beatles, creating music and standing at the forefront of anti-war protests that would make him one of the influential pop culture icons of all time.

THE WHEELS OF HEAVEN
9th MAY
14:15
KARMA SANCTUM SOHO
Starring: Mickey Rourke
Directors: Ben Charles Edwards
The wheels of Heaven is a dark coming-of-age fantasy thriller starring Academy Award Nominee Mickey Rourke

LOS FRIKIS
UK Premiere
8th MAY
18:00
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Adria Arjona, Héctor Medina, Eros De La Puente
Directors: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
Inspired by true events, Los Frikis is a coming-of-age story set in early 90s Cuba where a group of punk rockers in search of freedom deliberately inject HIV to live at a government-run treatment home so they can create their own utopia.

ANTIDOTE
7th MAY
13:00
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Documentary
Director: James Jones
Whistleblowers and activists risk their lives exposing Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime, facing grave consequences for their courageous efforts to uncover the truth.

THE WATERHOUSE
8th MAY
14:30
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Alan Calton, Lara Lemon, Michaelangelo Fortuzzi
Director: Samuel Clemens
After a heist, mistrust grows among thieves at an off-grid safe house as people vanish, lies surface, and eerie voices lure them into guilt-filled trances. Can they unite to survive the chilling night at The Waterhouse?

PERFECTO
9th MAY
19:30
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Documentary
Director:
Documentary about Perfecto Records

HEAVEN
9th MAY
21:30
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Documentary
Director:
Documentary about the legendary Heaven Nightclub

LONDON: THE MODERN BABYLON
10th MAY
14:30
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Keith Allen, Michael Gambon, Steve Jones
Director: Julien Temple
London: The Modern Babylon is legendary director Julien Temple's epic time-traveling voyage to the heart of his hometown.

CHILDREN OF THE SNOW LAND
10th MAY
17:15
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Documentary
Directors: Zara Balfour, Marcus Stephenson
The extraordinary story of children born in High Himalayas of Nepal. At 4 years old, they're sent to school in the city, hoping education means a better life. They do not see their parents again for 12 years. Now, aged 16, they trek home.

CIALT “CAUGHT IN A LOVE TRAP”
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Carmen Molinar, Chema Coloma, Clara Ruiz, Cesar Torres,
Directors: Sophie von Rheden, Aaron Jean
Writer Kate Williams and songwriter Tan Zander have only ever worked together from a distance. But when she announces that she wants to meet him in person, he ends the relationship with a text message. When she goes to his house to confront him, she discovers a long-hidden secret in a box that reveals his true identity.

NORMA
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Nicole Byer, Jerah Milligan, Daniel Olson,
Directors: Priya Sanghvi, Dan Scott Goldstein
Norma has until day break to unearth her murdered ex-boyfriends so she can finally sort out her past and find the key to true love.

A MATTER OF MINUTES
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Emily Renée, Charlie Rowe
Director: Hannah Beach
A Matter of Minutes tracks Ava, a 17-year-old girl with a severe nut allergy, who, at a house party, kisses a boy who's just eaten some chocolate cake containing nuts. Amongst the selfish partygoers, we track Ava as she fights against the clock to save herself.

LEARNERS
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Roger Allam, Emer Heatley, Jack Gleeson
Director: Paul Testar
When David, a retired widower, reluctantly agrees to give driving lessons to his son’s girlfriend Ellen, things get off to a terrible start. As Ellen crunches the gears, can they find enough common ground to tolerate one another?

TINFOIL
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Annabel Hammond, Courtney Buchner
Director: Bella Lloyd Webber
Jen attempts to get her sister, Sarah who hasn’t left her bed in two weeks, to make the journey to the front doorstep. A short comedy/ drama about depression, the bond between sisters, and how our support systems shape who we are.

LIGHT HEARTED
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Gillian Wright, Simon Greenhall
Director: Sye Allen
Joy, a widow still grappling with her husband's death, receives an unexpected and peculiar delivery that disrupts her quiet routine. As she comes to terms with the strange presence in her life, the past and present collide, leading to moments of both humor and heartbreak

THE LESSON
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Naiara Rubio, Lola Rindsfuesser Rodriguez, Liudmila Khitrova, Kurimu Urabe
Director: Alisa Selishchava
A modern fairy tale of anger and arrogance. The story is set in Mallorca, revealing the particular relationship between a single mother and a spoiled daughter. The mother's patience is coming to an end. It's time to give a creative lesson for our "princess".

CHERRY B
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Julie Lockey, Delilah Bradley, Tori Butler-Hart, Leah Baskaran,
Director: Ornella Hawthorn Gardez
It’s 1969, a housewives soiree, drinking cocktails, whilst summoning up an old dead friend. When a spiritual message prompts adolescent Lilith to respond, it alerts us to the demon that lies within.

"Strangers" by Blue Nation
SECOND CHANCES SHORTS PROGRAM:
7th MAY 10:30am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
MUSIC VIDEO
Director: Dwane Perks
"Strangers." music video from Blue Nation is a journey into a captivating relationship that was never going to last!

ILL FARES THE LAND
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Noah Silverstone, Ruaridh Aldington, Smilla Erlandson, Thomas Devlin, Boo Miller, Eddie Chamberlin
Director: Patrick Ireland
A young boy finds a mermaid washed up on the shores of his seaside home while his older brother is swept up in the rising tide of far-right nationalism.

POMEGRANATE
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Daphne Alexander, Jessie Bedrossian, Alice Lowe, Kevork Malikyan
Director: Zoë Morgan Chiswick
When an immigrant family is subjected to a daily horror from their past, what will it take to break this cycle and give them a future?

PURE
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Bradley Peake, Ann-Marie Samuels
Director: Bradley Peake
The story follows ‘Aaron’ as he navigates casual relationships in search of something more meaningful, set against the backdrop of his mental health struggles. Thematically it explores the nature of intimacy, repression of grief, male mental health culture, self-confrontation, and the duality in people’s everyday lives.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Caroline Goodall, Hannah Onslow, Genevive Lewis
Director: Jack Howard
On a rainy night, while closing a cafe, a waitress is confronted by a mysterious older woman.

SHIFTING TIDES
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Yuri Angelov, Joan Popov
Director: Yoan Petrov
After his mother dies, a distraught young man visits his estranged uncle in a lonely seaside village to determine what to do with the fortune she left behind.

BLYTH
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Short Film Music Video
Director: Tom Dream
This short film music video hybrid is an exploration of the witch burnings and the dancing plagues of the 16th Century which swept across Europe like wildfire.

BAL MAIDEN
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Abigail Lawrie, Liv Hill, Tom Victor
Director: Aella Jordan-Edge
In an 18th century Cornish tin mining community, two isolated young women risk their lives to break free from abuse after a local miner pushes them to breaking point.

BLOCK
BREAK FREE SHORTS PROGRAM:
8th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Alice Bailey Johnson, Nicola Wright, Alasdair Craig, Andrew P Stephen
Director: Oisin Tymon
A ghostwriter seeks solitude and inspiration in an isolated mansion to write her novel. Crippled with writer’s block, a mysterious force takes control.

LÉ VIAGE
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Melissa Dean
Director: Rebecca Coley
The story is about a young girl who refuses to let adversity stand in her way.

ARENA
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Sophie Shallai, Ahmad Sakhi, Charlie Concannon
Director: Mike Ogden
Two intercutting stories of outsider characters separated by seventy five years whose lives have been poisoned with conditioning to carry out extreme acts of hate.

WAR CARES LITTLE
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: George Kreitem, Alice Coles
Director: Tom Beechcroft
A disfigured war veteran battles his inner scars as he struggles to reconnect with his young daughter and reclaim the love he feels unworthy of.

BEVERLEY
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Laya Lewis, Vicky McClure, Sennia Nenua, Kieran Hardcastle
Director: Alexander Thomas
Beverley follows the eponymous heroine, a young mixed-race girl, who falls in with some skinhead youths. Set in 1980s middle England, the film evocatively and accurately recreates the youth cultures of the period and takes pains over depicting that decade’s milieu.

MONOCHROMATIC
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Stephanie Levi-John, Sonnyboy Skelton, Kenedy McCallam-Martin, Elisha Robin
Director: Karen Bryson
The inevitable moment a six year old girl realises the world operates with bias when it comes to the colour of her skin. We're all born equal... then life happens.For the inquisitive young mind the question of race will be asked, as a childbegins to experience the world and the socialisation process starts, whetherthey vocaliseit or not. Depending on their ethnicity, the answer holds a very different lifelong outcome.

HARD TIMES
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Elliot Warren, Lexi Lancaster
Director: Elliott Gonzo, Elliot Warren
Hard Times," set in Hackney, London, follows Danny, a man grappling with the challenges of fatherhood under the strain of the cost of living crisis.

REQUIEM
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Bella Ramsey, Safia Oakley-Green
Director: Emma Gilbertson
Requiem is set in 1605, against the backdrop of the witch trials. It's a coming of age story, following Evelyn as she engages in a game of cat and mouse against her father, Minister Gilbert, in order to be with Mary, the woman she loves.

STABLE
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Charley Palmer Rothwell
Director: David Leon
Torn between the overwhelming responsibility of guardianship to his younger siblings and a dream of pursuing the chance to become a professional racing jockey, Conor faces an impossible choice as he attempts to leave behind a life of crime.

ULURU
CONTINUING BATTLES SHORTS PROGRAM:
9th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Documentary
Director: Olz McCoy
UHURU is an intimate and emotive portrayal of life with Parkinson's disease in Tanzania. In a country with limited healthcare resources we follow the complex journeys of three people with Parkinson's. From the devastating impact of their symptoms to the struggles of obtaining an accurate diagnosis, we finally see the difference access to life-changing medication can make.

THE HEART OF TEXAS
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Lauren Noll, Carlos Cravioto
Director: Gregory JM Kasunich
Janie May is an aspiring country singer stuck in her small Texas hometown. When she becomes a finalist in a singer-songwriter radio competition, things start to look up for her .But fortunes can change in a heartbeat.

PARADISE
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Narrated by: ED HARRIS - Gangster ED ( street name) - Unc The Crip (the name I gave him lol)
Director: Child
"Paradise," a short film directed by Child and featuring music by Terrace Martin and Alex Isley, serves as a visual and musical tribute to Los Angeles. The film integrates ordinary scenes of city life with artistic elements, showcasing LA through the eyes of two young girls, who are Child's nieces.

AN OLD FRIEND
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Jason Faunt, Tom Skerritt
Director: Nuk Suwanchote
An imaginary friend (Jason Faunt) finds out his sole purpose is to bring happiness to his child, only to discover his child is a 90 year old man (Tom Skerritt) on his death bed

SOLERS UNITED
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Leah Harvey, Hannah Onslow, Anna Demetriou,Homer Todiwala, Fatumina Said Abukar, Isabella Speaight
Director: Sara Harrak
As grass roots womxn's football team 'Solers United' face eviction, emotions bubble between teammates, Nelly and Bills. Enter new striker Sals with looks as impressive as her footwork, Bills can't help but envy her instant connection to Nelly. As the halftime whistle blows, tensions reach a boiling point and Nelly and Bills must confront their emotions to mend their fractured bond.

THE CREATURE OF LOVE
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Camille Koefoed, Gil Sidaway, Sash Lake
Director: Evelyn Wadsworth
A middle-aged woman (Greta) is working on a project to bring her dead husband’s corpse back to life. She quickly realises that the parts she’s working with are not fresh enough. So she enlists the help of the local mortician (Jurgen) who supplies her the body parts. Over time they work together and a romance blossoms between the pair. Emotional dilemmas arise leading to disastrous consequences.

TWAIN
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Éanna Hardwicke, Toni O'Rourke
Director: Pip
A young man confronts his incarcerated twin brother unearthing secrets from the past.
In the confines of a prison visiting booth, twin brothers face one another. The conflicted visitor, bearing a message for the inmate, grapples with scars of the past. As childhood memories and buried secrets resurface, these young men—though separated by glass—remain bound by fate.

MARION
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring: Caroline Noguès-Larbère, Radouan Leflahi, Laurent Fernandez
Directors: Joe Weiland,
Finn Constantine
Marion, the only female écarteur in France, prepares for her performance in a packed arena.

SISTER WIVES
AWARD WINNING SHORTS PROGRAM:
10th MAY 10:00am - 12:30pm
KARMA SOHO SANCTUM
Starring Mia Mckenna-Bruce, Michael Fox, Louisa Connolly-Burnham
Director: Louisa Connolly-Burnham
Two sister wives who are married to the same man start to develop feelings for each other.