F-Rated
Our programme of films featuring the work of female directors has coincided with the development of the F-rating, a new system designed to flag up the significant involvement of women in film, on either side of the camera.
The F-Rating Manifesto
The stories we see on screen influence our lives. We want to hear stories from everyone, not just from one section of society.
We want diversity in filmmaking, both on and off screen.
The F-rating was founded by Holly Tarquini at Bath Film Festival 2014 where we wanted to highlight films which feature prominent women both behind the camera and in front of it.
Every film which ticks yes to the one of the following questions receives the F-rating of approval:
- Does it have a female director?
- Is it written by a woman?
- Is/are there complex female characters on screen who exist in their own right (not simply there to support to the male lead)?
The F stands for feminist.
Feminism is: "The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities." We believe that feminism benefits everyone.
Featuring
This astonishingly ambitious feature from German writer-director Mascha Schilinski braids together the lives of four generations of girls across the tumult and violence of the German 20th century. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes, it is Germany's entry for Best International Feature at the 2026 Oscars.
On the river Elbe between Berlin and Hamburg, a family farm sits in a region that saw both world wars and defined Cold War divisions between East and West Germany. We visit with Alma in the early 20th century, Erika in the 1940s, Angelika in the 1980s and Lenka in the present. As time moves both forwards and backwards, each faces her own particular fate.
World Premiere
Physical endurance meets the resilience of the human spirit. Sally Orange MBE is taking her mental health message to the highest marathon in the world. Having faced the uphill battle of cancer recovery, Sally shares the essential tools and wisdom she used to find strength in the wild. Alongside a community of survivors and experts, she shows us that no matter how steep the challenge, nature provides a way up. Find your strength. Find your summit.This inspirational documentary transforms Sally's physical journey into a metaphor for everyone's personal Everest - their own health challenges.
We are delighted to welcome director Tom McShane and Sally Orange herself and others featured in this wonderful film to this special screening and a Q&A afterwards (subject to availability).
Preceded by the short film Summit's Up for Tony (Anna Marchant, UK, 2025, 14 mins)
After Raw at the 2017 Festival and Titane in 2022, Julia Ducournau's latest film will be a talking point for 2026. It features another returnee with Golshifteh Farahani playing Alpha's mother, a role far from her laid-back appearance in Paterson.
Alpha (Mélissa Boros), a rebellious 13-year-old, lives with her single mom, a doctor with an at-home practice amid the context of a new blood-borne disease. When Alpha returns from a party, drunk, her mother discovers a new, amateur tattoo on her daughter's arm. Worried she might have been infected by the same disease, their world is suddenly turned upside down, as fear invades their family unit, triggering a chain reaction that unleashes repressed trauma, memory and dread.
Sundance Film Festival 2025, Winner Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award; Women Film Critics Circle Awards 2025, Winner Adrienne Shelly Award; winner of 22 other international awards; Sight and Sound top 10 of 2025.
Eva Victor's story highlights Agnes's (Victor) journey after a traumatic experience as life moves on. Agnes also tries to move on, but the trauma doesn't let her while she really is unable to take legal course of action. The story focuses on her emotional journey as she acknowledges the bad thing that happened to her and tries hard to live with it. The world is such that bad things happen and it is never easy being a woman.
European Premiere
In a land torn by tradition and tyranny, young lovers Hasiba and Hafiz risk everything to escape. But freedom comes at a cost. When Hasiba is captured by extremists and forced into a brutal world ruled by men, her fight for survival takes a dark turn. With secrets, betrayal and forbidden love unravelling around her, she must choose between silence - and death - or risking everything to reclaim her voice.Director's Statement:
In societies where religious extremists hold power, patriarchy runs rampant.
Under the guise of faith, they view women as mere instruments created only to serve, to bear children, and ultimately to live and die in silence.
Love becomes a forbidden language, and the right to dream, learn, or choose one's own path is denied to women.
These extremists attempt to enslave minds with the monstrous force of dogma, rewriting the fate of women according to their own will.
They are captives of their own arrogance, seeking to impose their domination not only on women, but on the entire world.
European Premiere
My name is Diba. I'm 24, and, for as long as I can remember, I've always been a loner. Yet, I can no longer bear this solitude. I need to go far away to a place where the sky is eternally azure, like the blueness of the sea.Diba wants to be free of her nightmares, but within the fine line between reality and the imagined, only the truth will reveal whether to be or not to be.
Director Vahid Parshad has said that he tries to portray the suffering and solitude of an angry society in a world moving ever further from simplicity. "I wish to reach the light at the heart of the darkness that leads to a safer, kinder world. I will therefore capture images that faithfully reflect reality."
This astonishingly ambitious feature from German writer-director Mascha Schilinski braids together the lives of four generations of girls across the tumult and violence of the German 20th century. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes, it is Germany's entry for Best International Feature at the 2026 Oscars.
On the river Elbe between Berlin and Hamburg, a family farm sits in a region that saw both world wars and defined Cold War divisions between East and West Germany. We visit with Alma in the early 20th century, Erika in the 1940s, Angelika in the 1980s and Lenka in the present. As time moves both forwards and backwards, each faces her own particular fate.
Closing Film
Jodie Foster Retrospective
Pre-Release Screening
Paris-based psychiatrist Lilian Steiner enjoys a comfortable ex-pat existence and is stunned at the news that a client, Paula, has killed herself. Encounters with the grieving husband and daughter lead Lilian to suspect foul play, and her obsessive nature kicks in.
"Along with hilariously witty touches, there are fascinating currents of impulsiveness, avoidance and repression that run right through this story. This creates vividly flawed characters who are easy to identify with. To understand what happened to Paula, Lilian needs to look honestly at herself, which gives the film a deeper resonance than we expect. And it's ultimately both chilling and charming." Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Preceded by the 2026 Osprey Audience Award Winner
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Links
Revisit 2011 Festival
12th Keswick Film Festival
In 2011 we were joined by Kay Mellor and Jack Gold, celebrated Film4 and Agnès Varda and had a sing along to Frankenstein.
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