Fantasia. Vancouver International. Nightstream. AFI. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived at what could be the final film festival I cover this Fall season: Raindance Film Festival based in the UK. This will be the first film festival I have ever covered outside of North America, and I’m so excited to be able to check out and report on selected films for the festival.

Raindance will feature over 50 film premieres that will be available to stream for free or by donation across the UK. The festival will be a hybrid event between online content and live activity from October 28th to November 7th. The online content will be powered by Shift72, the same platform that Fantasia used for their festival in September.

This year for the Opening Gala on October 28th, Raindance will feature the UK Premiere of Stardust, a biopic about David Bowie’s first trip to America where he develops his iconic alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. The film is directed by BAFTA-nominated director Gabriel Range and stars Johnny Flynn (Emma, Beast) as the young David Bowie. This red carpet event will take place at The May Fair Hotel in London, where Gabriel will attend and take part in a post-screening Q&A. Of course, to accommodate social distancing precautions, this in-person event will have reduced audience capacity and guests will be offered specially designed Raindance masks.

The Closing Night Premiere Film on November 7th will be Here Are The Young Men, another UK Premiere. Directed by Eoin Macken, this story revolves around three Dublin teenagers whose life of drinking, drugs, and partying leads to unfortunate circumstances. The film stars Dean-Chapman (1917, Game of Thrones), Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma, Thoroughbreds), Finn Cole (Slaughterhouse Rulez, Animal Kingdom), and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street). Following the film, Eoin will take part in a post-screening Q&A.

Awards category for Raindance will be Best International Film, Best UK Film, Best Director, Best Performance, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Discovery and Best Documentary. Plus, as an Oscar qualifying festival, The recipient of Best Short of the Festival is eligible for consideration in the Short Film category of the Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run.

Short selections will fall into the programs ALTERED STATES, ANIMATION, GONE ASTRAY, QUEER, DOCUMENTARY, INTERNATIONAL, MUSIC VIDEOS, RELATIVE STATES, UNITED KINGDOM, AND OUTCAST. Feature length programs include A DIRTY WORLD, POLITICO, ARTY, FEMALE GAZE, ABSURDITIES, SONICA, QUEER, and GENERATION Z.

And, in what promises to be a unique and rare Special Event, Raindance will be the World Premiere of the live performance of Michael Beets’ In The Shadow It Waits. Performed, shot, and edited live by cast and crew on October 31 starting at 5pm GMT, audiences in the UK will be able to experience this critically acclaimed psychological horror presentation unfold in a way that’s tailor-made for the current circumstances.

There is a lot to look forward to at Raindance this year. To give you an idea of which films to keep on your radar, here are the top 5 movies I’m looking forward to most at Raindance this year:

THE WOMAN WITH LEOPARD SHOES

(Discovery | Narrative Feature | World Premiere)

Black and white cinematography and an intriguing premise draws me to The Woman With Leopard Shoes. Giving off a classic Hollywood filmmaking vibe and a potentially puzzling mystery, this is a World Premiere that seems to be making a lot out of a little. With the trailer featuring the tagline “One man. One room. One problem,” I’m excited to see how this story expounds upon this burglar’s predicament in what could be a mostly one location setting. I’m hoping that great acting and an engrossing mystery can complement the unique decision to present this film in black and white to deliver an entertaining mystery thriller.

AFTER SO MANY DAYS

(Sonica | Documentary Feature | European Premiere)

I am a big fan of the fact that After So Many Days is produced by the musical duo at the center of this ambitious story. Embarking on a 365 day effort to perform one show per day in an effort to drum up a bigger following and more awareness for their work, Jim Hanft and Sam Yonack document their triumphs and struggles in completing this task. Just hearing the music in the trailer indicates to me that I’m likely going to like the duo as talented artists and a synergetic band. But I’m also looking forward to what stories this adventure procures and what this duo learns from this physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding experience. Even though the film is already available on VOD in the USA and Canada, with much of this movie taking place in Europe, Raindance is an appropriate occasion to debut the film overseas.

NOT TO BE UNPLEASANT BUT WE NEED TO HAVE A SERIOUS TALK

(Absurdities | Narrative Feature | UK Premiere)

The premise is - as the program this film falls under implies - a bit absurd. According to the synopsis and trailer, a successful and promiscuous man is carrying and has passed on an STD that lies dormant in men, but eventually abruptly kills female partners. With his upcoming promotion in jeopardy, this man decides to contact each of his partners in order to identify the source of how he contracted this condition. There are a lot of messages this film (whose full title I’m reluctant to use repeatedly) could attempt to convey with a premise like this. I’m quite interested in what theme or messages this film will ultimately offer to viewers in the end.

HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN

(Closing Film | Narrative Feature | UK Premiere)

Besides being chosen as Raindance’s Closing Night Film, the cast is what draws me to Here Are The Young Men. Dean-Charles Chapman’s leading performance in 1917 at the beginning of this year helped make the one-take styled film as riveting as it was. Paired with Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (who gave a phenomenal lead performance in Sing Street - one of my absolute favorite movies of the 2010’s) and Finn Cole (who would’ve had an appearance in F9 by now had the film not been delayed), this trio seems like a perfect storm of talent for the unruly characters they portray in Here Are The Young Men. And Anya Taylor-Joy might only be a supporting character, but her noteworthy performances in productions like The VVitch, Thoroughbreads, and Emma - not to mention a leading role in Netflix’s acclaimed new miniseries The Queen’s Gambit and other mainstream films - makes her a major draw for this film as well.

UPROOTED

(Arty | Discovery | Documentary Feature | International Premiere)

I love jazz music, and have always enjoyed every opportunity I’ve had to participate in swing dance nights at local clubs. Uprooted assembles an impressive collection of choreographers and dance directors to report the history of jazz dance. It’s a topic that seems to have a lot of depth to it - how far back in history does the roots of jazz dance go? What is the current state of jazz dance? How can society maintain the life and spirit of jazz dance? I hope Uprooted answers all of these questions and more, but regardless, I expect Uprooted to be an enlightening, entertaining, and thoroughly educational experience.

You can learn more about Raindance Film Festival here. The schedule can be found here, and you can see my full coverage of the festival here. Plus, follow our friends at Drink In The Movies for additional coverage of festival selections.