The 33rd edition of the UK’s leading indie film festival will run from 18 – 27 June at host cinema Vue Piccadilly and will close with the international premiere of Camilla Guttner’s art school drama ‘The Academy’. But there are also loads of cinematic gems screening in between!
Once a year, in mid-June, the Vue Piccadilly in central London takes on a different kind of vibe. It becomes filled with enthusiastic filmmakers of all ages and cultures and it screens some world cinema gems that can be hard to catch anywhere else.
This year, the festival also takes on a starry vibe as it awards the Raindance Icon Award 2025 to two fab actors. One will go to The White Lotus beloved thespian Jason Isaacs and the other, to Celia Imrie CBE, the star of such adored films as the Bridget Jones series, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel — and the Second Best installment of the film — and Calendar Girls.
Both will receive their Icon Award at the Opening Gala on 18 June, as the festival kicks off with the World Premiere of Christopher M. Anthony’s debut feature Heavyweight. The film stars Nicholas Pinnock (Top Boy, Marcella, For Life), Jordan Bolger (Peaky Blinders, The Woman King), Isaacs as Freddie Goodson, and a supporting cast which includes Jamie Bamber, Sienna Guillory, Blake Harrison and Joplin Sibtain. Heavyweight follows wildcard boxing contender ‘Diamond’ Derek Douglas and his support team ahead of a title fight he doubts he can win. The pressure escalates in realtime, as dirty tricks and revelations are revealed. The film promises to be an intense and visceral experience exploring a side of elite sport rarely seen.
“As part of the 33rd Raindance, it’s an honor for us to celebrate this year’s Raindance Icon Award recipients,” said Raindance founder Elliot Grove. “Both are the epitome of our industry with careers that include iconic film and television roles – and both remain champions of independent cinema here in the UK and internationally. Celia Imrie graced Raindance’s jury in 2017 and Jason Isaacs costars in this year’s opening film Heavyweight. We are proud to recognise and honor their achievements with this award.”
The festival also announced earlier in May that Canon Europe will be this year’s main sponsor. As main sponsor, Canon’s presence will be central to many aspects of the festival. This year’s industry hub will occupy One Ninetyfour, located under the BAFTA building at 194 Piccadilly. The space will this be re-branded the Canon Lounge, a film-focused place created to inspire a new and upcoming generation of indie filmmakers. Within the Canon Lounge will be a dedicated area where filmmakers can interact with Canon experts throughout the festival, alongside showcase elements that demonstrate the full scope and potential of Canon products including a 360-degree photobooth.
This year’s selection includes a mixture of narrative features and documentaries, but also the ever-important short films and immersive. The latter this year celebrates its 10-year anniversary at Raindance with a dynamic array of 32 projects, including world premieres and first-look previews. Notably, 27 projects are showcased on immersive social VR platforms like VRChat, Resonite, and Orion Drift, underscoring the growing power of these social spaces for both creation and play.
There will also be plenty of encounters, masterclasses and panels including all the ones listed below, in this Instagram post by Raindance. Not to be missed, for sure.
To be noted, and quite important to all the short films competing from around the globe, Raindance is an Oscar-qualifying festival, which means that the recipient of Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best Animation Short are eligible for consideration in the three Short Films categories of the Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run (provided the film otherwise complies with Academy rules). Honoring homegrown talent, Raindance will also presents an award to Best UK Short.
Juries this year include British actor and rapper Ashley Walters, who was recently seen as the cop on Netflix’s shocking series Adolescence, and before that in the series Top Boy; Mexican actor Cristo Fernández, who was featured as Danny Rojas in Ted Lasso, a character with whom he also shares a real life passion for football; Emily Beecham, an English actress who is best known for her role in the Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar!, the AMC series Into the Badlands and the title role in the 2017 film Daphne; Syrian journalist and filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab (For Sama and We Dare to Dream); and London-born producer Kemal Akhtar who produced several feature films including the English language Indian narrative Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain starring Martin Sheen.
Finally, I can’t leave you without talking about a few of my much-anticipated gems, as well as wonderful films I’ve watched and can’t wait for you to discover. They include Maja Tschumi’s documentary feature Immortals which is an insight into the hopes and broken dreams of a new generation of Iraqis that have known nothing but war since the U.S.-led occupation. But also Palestine Comedy Club, directed by Alaa Aaliabdallah, a doc featuring a troupe of Palestinian stand-up comedians who hit the road to tour a stand-up show across Palestine and Israel, as their search for humor amidst the injustice of everyday Palestinian life becomes a plea for humanity in the face of a brutal, new war. Rounding out some of my most anticipated titles in documentaries is the Italian “fairy tale” of Saint Damian, about a Polish immigrant, you guessed it named Damian, who lives atop a tower overlooking Rome’s Stazione Termini, the main train station. Directed by the duo of filmmakers Gregorio Sassoli and Alejandro Cifuentes, I’ll be conducting a Q&A with them on June 25th, a Wednesday at 6.30, at the Vue Piccadilly, so why not join us then!
QA still from the documentary ‘Saint Damian’ byGregorio Sassoli and Alejandro Cifuentes, image courtesy of Raindance
In narrative features there is Berlinale favorite of mine Paternal Leave, written and directed by Alissa Jung and starring Jung’s real life husband Luca Marinelli, along with mind-blowing newcomer Juli Grabenhenrich. You can find my review of the film here. And Somewhere in Love by Morgan Simon, a stunning film featuring a trio of talents that promise to blow the story off the screen — Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Félix Lefebvre and Lubna Azabal. I’ll also be there at the first screening of the film on Tuesday, June 24th at 9 p.m., to conduct the Q&A with Simon, so see you there!
The festival will close on the 27th of June with the international premiere of Camilla Guttner’s The Academy which will feature a Q&A with actors Maja Bons and Andreas Lust, preceded by the awards ceremony and followed by an after-party at the Canon Lounge - Neon 194. The Academy is a German film which gradually unfolds on a rich panorama of the art world, where students, artists, professors, gallery owners – colorful and eccentric characters are seen all struggling with their work, love, and life. Soon, this dazzling world reveals itself to be a ruthless terrain, and the film’s protagonist, JoJo must do everything she can to stay true to herself in this toxic environment.
To view the full program and purchase tickets, check out the Raindance website.
All images courtesy of Raindance, used with permission.