Libbie Cohn and J.P. Sniadecki’s 75-minute single-shot documentary shows everything (it seems) that can happen in People’s Park in Chengdu, China. Conceptually brilliant, bursting with life, it’s the funniest, most free and most real documentary you’ve ever seen about China.

Ji Dan’s documentary about the daughters of a dirt-poor family living among Beijing scrap heaps, and their ferocious determination to get an education, is exhilarating, heart breaking, life affirming, shocking, despairing and ecstatic, all at once. One hundred and fifty minutes of the most vivid family drama you’ll ever see.

After a take is wrapped, a film cameraman keeps shooting while going for a poetic, voyeuristic and strangely sentimental walk.

Demonized and denounced by their families, 30,000 children live in the streets of Kinshasa, DR Congo. Amongst them is the indomitable José, who aspires to form a rap group and change his fortunes. Uncovering instances of poignancy and optimism amidst abject squalour, Marc-Henri Wajnberg’s film builds to a rousing climax that pulses with youthful abandon. This film has been classified so that those under 18 may attend. Classification: PG—coarse and sexual language; drug use.

Marked by a vibrant evocation of Havana street life and excellent performances from three non-pro naturals, Una noche throws off a restless energy well attuned to its tale of impetuous Cuban teens preparing to make the dangerous ocean journey to Florida. Writer-director Lucy Mulloy’s sexy, pulsing debut feature… amounts to a bracing snapshot of desperate youths putting their immigrant dreams into action.—Variety. Winner, Best New Narrative Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actor, Tribeca 2012. This film has been classified so that those under 18 may attend (with adult accompaniment). Classification: 18A—sexually suggestive scenes.

Thomas Vinterberg’s best film since Celebration stars Mads Mikkelsen as a kindergarten teacher accused of child abuse. "Vinterberg makes a storming comeback with this superbly thrilling drama… Forthright, powerful, composed and directed with clarity and overwhelming force, yet capable of great subtlety and nuance."—Guardian. Winner, Best Actor, Cannes 2012.

As a workaholic food mogul (Pierce Brosnan) and a heartbroken cancer survivor (Trine Dyrholm) cross paths in postcard-perfect Sorrento, Oscar-winner Susanne Bier (In a Better World) conjures a comic romance that’s "gloriously enjoyable… packed with humour that springs from recognisable human foibles… Brosnan and Dyrholm have fizzingly good chemistry together…"—Telegraph

Orri Jónsson, Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir and Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir’s wildly entertaining and unexpectedly inspiring documentary spotlights a singular woman who became a musician at the age of 70. Armed with little more than cheap keyboards, household items and an adventurous spirit, she crafted an astonishing 59 albums in seven years and became an icon to boundary-pushing Icelandic musicians like múm and Sin Fang. Plays with: Noms de pays & p.s. beirut—chapter 1 + 2

In the immediate aftermath of the Egyptian revolution, a culture clash erupts as affluent activist Reem insinuates herself into the life of Mahmoud, an impoverished horseman and former Mubarek pawn. Yousry Nasrallah’s characteristically complex drama "bursts at the seams with ideas and impressions… breathlessly thrusting the viewer into the midst of current events."—Hollywood Reporter

Kimmo Pohjonen is an extraordinarily gifted and innovative accordionist whose wonderful compositions and playing style have opened up a huge range of territory for the instrument and won him a recent partnership with the Kronos Quartet. Kimmo Koskela’s alluring documentary profiles the boundless creativity of this Finnish iconoclast who proves to be equal parts punk and sprite.

Olivier Gourmet is again superb as a French departmental minister, equal parts idealist and vain opportunist, who begins a moral decline when forced to compromise in Pierre Schöller’s cutting and trenchant dissection of French politics. Michel Blanc co-stars. Winner, FIPRESCI prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2012, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, César Awards 2012.

After the mammoth artistic triumph that was Carlos, Olivier Assayas switches gears to tell the loosely autobiographical story of Gilles (newcomer Clément Metayer), a high-school student in early 70s Paris who is torn between his artistic inclinations and the political activism favoured by his friends, especially the volatile Christine (Lola Créton).

In Jazmín López’s mysterious and astonishing debut—a kind of Argentine Gerry—a group of five friends deep in a forest wander around like a lion herd. Lost in their word games, they play and seduce each other, while going back and forth into adult territory in a desperate search to avoid their already written story…

Un prophète’s Niels Arestrup and Tahar Rahim reunite as the de facto father and son who send a subjugated woman (Émilie Dequenne) spiralling into madness. Joachim Lafosse’s psychological drama serves as "a spare but furious attack on patriarchal authority. As tragedy, Our Children is both classical and contemporary."—Film Comment. Winner, Best Actress, Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2012.