Communist, anti-colonialist, right-wing extremist? What convictions guide the moral mind of Jacques Vergès? Barbet Schroeder takes us down history’s darkest paths in his attempt to illuminate the mystery behind this enigmatic figure. As a young lawyer during the Algerian war, Vergès espoused the anti-colonialist cause and defended Djamila Bouhired, obtained her release, married her and had two children with her. Then suddenly, at the height of an illustrious career, Vergès disappeared without trace for eight years. He re-emerged from his mysterious absence, taking on the defense of terrorists of all kinds, from Magdalena Kopp and Anis Naccache to Carlos the Jackal, and represented Historical monsters such as Nazi lieutenant Klaus Barbie. Participated in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Festival.

In Beirut, five women meet up at a beauty salon, a highly colourful and sensual microcosm. Layale loves Rabih, but he is married man. Nisrine is a Muslim and she has a problem with her coming wedding: She’s no longer a virgin. Rima is tormented by her attraction to women. Jamale is refusing to grow old. Rose has sacrificed herself to look after her older sister. At the salon, men, sex and motherhood are the subjects at the heart of their intimate and liberated conversations. Selected for the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.

A feature about the late Ian Curtis, the enigmatic lead singer of iconic English post-punk band Joy Division, spanning Curtis’ last years leading up to his tragic suicide in 1980, and the struggle between his enduring love for his wife and his burgeoning relationship with his girlfriend, his decimating bouts with epilepsy, his incredible talent and all consuming stage performances. Caméra d’or special mention, Régard Jeunes and Label Europa Awards at Cannes Festival.

A British family prepares to bury its patriarch. Tension rises as old arguments between siblings raise their ugly heads. The appearance of a stranger claiming that the dead man had a terrible secret only makes matters worse, forcing the family to take drastic steps to stop the funeral from degenerating into a complete fiasco. Selected for Locarno Festival.

Constance Reid is 23 when she marries handsome British Army lieutenant Clifford Chatterley. It’s 1917 and Clifford is posted to the Flanders front, only to return with irreversible paralysis. The young couple move into a house not far from the place of his youth, Chatterley. Letting herself go, sad and indifferent, Constance Chatterley turns to Parkin, the local gamekeeper. Based on the novel by D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley tells of the meeting between Constance and Parkin, her discovery of sensuality, and his return to life and pleasure. Winner of five César Awards, including that of Best Film and the Louis Delluc Award, selected for the Panorama Section at Berlin Festival, and for the Karlovy Vary and Istanbul Festivals.

At her wedding reception, Keren breaks a leg, unwillingly forcing her to cancel her honeymoon in the Caribbean. A strange little girl comes out of the sea and follows Batya like a shadow; the woman’s life is transformed when she takes the little girl under her wing. Joy is a maid from the Philippines working for a tough old woman; unwittingly, she helps the woman reconcile with her estranged daughter. A composite film made from scraps of humanity, like so many messages in a bottle verging on the absurd. A portrait of a messy world in which everyone scrapes by as best they can, looking for love and something to remember or to forget. Such is life in Tel-Aviv... Winner of the Caméra d’or at Cannes Festival, this film has fifteen nominations for the Israeli Film Academy Awards.

Ploy is a highly detailed, erotic psychological drama in which three strangers are locked inside a hotel room. It starts with subtle suspicions and builds up to jealousy, as the appearance of a young woman triggers devastating consequences for a married couple. Selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.

In December 1995, a serious clot on the brain left Jean-Dominique Bauby, a journalist and father of two children, in a deep coma. On awakening, he had completely lost control of his motor functions. He couldn’t move, or talk, or even breathe without help. Only one eyelid in his inert body could move. This eyelid became his link to the world, to others, to life. He blinks once to say yes, twice to say no. He uses it to choose the letters of the alphabet dictated to him by his visitor, thus creating words, sentences, complete pages… Award for Best Director and Prix Vúlcain de l’Artiste-Technicien (Janusz Kaminski) at Cannes Festival.

The second of the two movies made by Richard Lester starring The Beatles, a comedy symbolising the most outspoken, maddest pop cinema of the 60s, is back after a time on the shelf in a restored digital version, bringing the full splendour of its original colour and soundtrack.

After Flamenco (1995) and Tango (1998) –nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film-, in 2005 Carlos Saura completes his trilogy on modern urban song with Fados. After over two years of research into the subject, Carlos Saura takes an enormous step forward in his approximation to music. If, in his earlier musicals, Iberia, Flamenco, Tango..., he based his work on dancing, in Fados he makes a special effort with the plot and image to reflect the birth of a suburban, dockland music which is in itself a synthesis of all of the music born towards the end of the 19th century.

In the New York of late 2006, and for the first time, Lou Reed gave a live performance of his entire mythical album Berlin, accompanied by around 30 musicians and voices including the original guitarist on the LP, Steve Hunter, and guests like the singer, Antony. Having staged the concerts, Julian Schnabel filmed the event, which has continued throughout the summer in the shape of a European tour.