Belfast chronicles the life of a working-class Protestant family through the eyes of their 9-year-old son Buddy (Jude Hill) during the social tumult of the late 1960s in (you guessed it) Belfast, Northern Ireland. As the Protestants begin to mount full-on assaults on Catholic households, Buddy must come to terms with love, religion, growing up and the prospect of leaving the only home he’s ever known for a new life in England.

Kenneth Branagh writes and directs this semi-autobiographical take on his own childhood growing up in Belfast in the 60s and, as told from the perspective of a child, presents as more a series of charming anecdotes than any sort of heavy political diatribe. But the deeply personal nature of the film shines through, most of all in the beautiful performances of its cast, including Buddy’s Pa (Jamie Dornan), Ma (Caitriona Balfe), Pop (Ciarán Hinds) and Granny (Judi Dench).

Nominated for 7 Oscars in 2022, including Best Picture.

In 1973, while waiting to get his school photo taken, 15-year-old budding actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) asks 25-year-old photographer’s assistant Alana Kane (Alana Haim) on a date, sparking a fiery friendship, a business partnership, and possibly even a romance.

With Licorice Pizza, director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood) makes his long-awaited return to California’s San Fernando Valley – where he grew up and set many of his early films – for an unconventional coming-of-age romantic comedy. Hoffman, the son of late actor and frequent Anderson collaborator Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Haim make impressive film debuts here, alongside a revolving door of eccentric day players, including Sean Penn as an ageing movie star and a totally unhinged Bradley Cooper as a Hollywood producer.

And in case you’re wondering, the title refers to a slang term for a vinyl record, not some confectionary abomination.

Nominated for 3 Oscars in 2022, including Best Picture.