Inside the 2025 Cambridge Film Festival
Last month I had the privilege of attending the 44th annual Cambridge Film Festival. Presenting a curated schedule of the very best cinema classics and brand-new masterpieces, from independent, international, and archive cinema, the Cambridge Film Trust works to support new talent and widening access to cinema.
Here are my thoughts on some of the very best this year had to offer!
Illusions (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐
It was an honour to watch Illusions at its UK premiere. In her directorial debut, Alisa Melikova explores the everchanging nature of love and relationships over time through the lens of two married couples. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative style and the crosscutting between the past and present. I also thought the depiction of the present was a very interesting stylistic choice. The contrast of presenting the older actors and their deathbed confessions in what appears to be a church and a playground demonstrates how they are desperately clinging to their youth and attempting to find solace in the fact that they have led honourable lives. I found the narrative style intriguing, crosscutting between the unreliable narrator and character dialogue. For a movie rich in strong negative emotions and ambivalence, there were some unexpected laughs from the audience via the films dry and unusual sense of humour.
All That Heaven Allows (1955) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
As a part of this years’ ‘Private Lives, Public Fates’ season, I got to watch the 70th anniversary screening of this gorgeous piece of archive cinema. As someone with very little experience in classic cinema (unless it's a horror!), I was pleasantly surprised with just how much I enjoyed this film. This melodrama explores the themes of conformity and forbidden desire in 1950s American middle-class society through the widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman) falling in love with her younger gardener Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson). Filled with humour and heartbreak, this was a stunning technicolour vision, making every shot look like a postcard.
Shorts: Funny Games
I also got the chance to see some excellent collections of short films, the first of which, ‘Funny Games,’ featured a series of comedies exploring the games we play as human beings.
1:10 (2024) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An innocent spat between two children at a school sports day escalates into a physical altercation and death threats between their dads. I loved the use of ariel shots, cementing the audience as an outside observer by placing us physically above them. I particularly enjoyed the end reveal that while the two fathers were fighting, their sons were playing peacefully together.
Getaway (2024) - ⭐⭐⭐
After a recent breakup, heartbroken Daniel decides to escape to the countryside for a camping adventure with a group of swingers. This witty and upbeat comedy kept you on your toes, the audience never knowing where it would take our protagonist, and us, next as it explored the stigma attached to sexual liberation and kink. I found it refreshing that, while the ‘swinging’ was approached with humour, it was not treated as the butt of a joke as it sometimes can be and instead with genuine curiosity and exploration.
The Golden Squacco Heron (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐
Two best friends describe a set of childhood games they have invented to play on a country walk while searching for the famed Golden Squacco Heron. I felt the style was reminiscent of Wes Anderson with its symmetrical shots, bold title cards, and quirky humour. While I enjoyed the visuals, I would have preferred to see some of the games being played rather than simply listing them.
How Fast Can You Eat a Pickled Egg (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A hilarious documentary on the London pub, ‘The Cock Tavern,’ and their pickled egg eating competitions. It's safe to say I was pleasantly surprised at just how funny a documentary about pickled eggs could be. With a whole host of interesting and quirky regulars, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about how this competition began and how it has grown exponentially over time.
The Last Gammon (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Elmaz Ekrem Littlewood’s graduate film from the prestigious National Film and Television school exploring the climate crisis and rise of fake news. This satirical comedy integrated hand drawn 2D animation with textured 3D processing, creating a unique and almost unfinished look. I enjoyed the animation style and bright colour palette, contrasting the dark subject matter, my favourite part being the nightmare sequences as I loved how the style changed to look like a first draft.
Love Bites (2024) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The endearing tale of a vampire train conductor finding love on his rounds. I thoroughly enjoyed the charming visual effects, especially the very obvious hot dog on a string to give the ‘illusion’ it was floating in the mirror. I also really liked the use of a piece of paper with a heart cut out to create the effect of a zoom on the vampire couple. I struggled to wipe the smile off my face for the duration of this short, quickly deciding this was my favourite film of the festival.
Lowland Kids (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Director Sandra Winther explores the heartbreaking resilience of young lives amongst climate displacement in Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana. Featured in this year's Environment and Community season, this documentary reinvented what you can expect from documentaries with stunning cinematography that made me feel like I was watching a piece of fiction as opposed to real life. I found it clever to just follow the lives of one family rather than a whole community as I then felt more deeply connected to them. I also admired the use of a time jump showing the beginning of the crisis to the big move out of their sinking homes, showing how their attitudes changed over time.
Shorts: Violet Delights
The final short film collection I watched, ‘Violet Delights,’ featured dazzling portrayals of love and desire in the LGBTQIA+ community.
A Bird Hit My Window and Now I’m a Lesbian (2025) - ⭐⭐
After a bird flies into our protagonist's window, a stranger appears and decides they must hold a funeral for the bird. While I found the dialogue witty and premise amusing, I was unfortunately not a fan of the stop-motion dolls so found it distracted me from the story.
Beyond Eden (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐
A documentary exploring the radical feminism and lesbian separatism movements of the seventies through the lens of the original 'Land Dykes.’ I found it fascinating as I had not heard of the Women’s Land Movement or this group before, however, I found myself yearning for the stunning visuals of Lowland Kids as this film raised my expectations of just how cinematic a documentary can be.
Invincible Summer (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Our young protagonist joins Grindr in the hopes of losing his virginity and meets a handsome older man. I liked the visuals and found this short strangely heartwarming as the two shared meaningful conversation and ended the day with a new friendship.
Soviet Fantasia (2025) - ⭐⭐
This short had me gripped with the initial fourth wall break introduction but then unfortunately lost me. The opening had me expecting a fun and punchy comedy, however, what followed simply did not match that energy, leaving me feeling ultimately underwhelmed.
Una Notte (2025) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Taking place immediately after a hook up, two young men get to know each other better. From death row final meals to their sexuality, they find they have more in common than initially thought. I particularly liked the long tracking shot used for this conversation, following them through their walk in the rural village. I was deeply moved by their conversation and bittersweet ending and found myself conflicted between wanting to see more of them together, and knowing that their time together, no matter how brief, made a profound impact on their lives.