You would have been hard pushed not to have a spotted of late at least a few ‘Top Ten’ lists where film critics or publications list their favourite films of the year. A frustrating thing about this phenomenon is they so often mention films that they’ve seen at festivals in advance of any release and that most folks cannot yet possibly have seen or indeed may never get to see in a cinema in this country. There’s none of that here though, these are all films you could (and perhaps, we might venture, should!) have seen in a cinema in 2025.

(One the films on most of these lists is Oliver Laxe’s Sirât - screening from February 27 at a cinema near you! - which I can tell you now will be on our Top Ten list for 2026!)

We also rather enjoy the fact that our list (a Programming Team effort) isn’t just words on a page or a screen. Why no, our ‘interactive' list actually gives you the opportunity to see these brilliant films! Oh, and we threw in our favourite restoration from 2025 as well!

Enjoy!