With so many praise worthy films released this year, it’s safe to say it was a challenge to narrow it down to just 10, but as the old saying goes – only the strong survive. With a home run of directorial debuts and brand new talent, this year was a breath of fresh air for any movie lover or ritualistic Letterboxd poster. Here’s our year in movies…

Bathtubs, that one grave scene and vampirical urges. Emerald Fennell’s second feature Saltburn, which follows her Oscar winning 2020 directorial debut Promising Young Woman, delightfully doubles its helping of sick and twisted. With a stellar line up headed by Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, it’s hard to go wrong. The whirlwind journey from Oxford to the ultra grand Catton family home of Saltburn, brings us to the setting for the film’s tumultuous exploration of class, sex, power and obsession. Set to the nostalgic beat of the 2000’s founding mothers Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Madonna; Fennell nailed the heady mix of golden one liners, gruesome visuals and sexual tension to result in a film that you cannot look away from, no matter how much you think you should.

From Olympian to award winning director, there is nothing Savannah Leaf cannot do. Her debut feature Earth Mama tells the poignant story of the realities of motherhood and the societal inequalities that make being a “cookie cutter” mom an unequal opportunity in today’s world. Single mother Gia, played by rising star and established hip hop artist Tia Nomore, tries her best to navigate her third pregnancy whilst fighting for her two children who are in the Bay Area’s foster care system. Raw and gritty, the cinematography upholds the unabashed genuineness felt throughout the film with a documentary style honesty surrounding it, as we see her try her best to break the cycle of trauma that she fell victim to.

Justine Triet presents us with the courtroom thriller of the year with the French-English powerhouse that is Anatomy of a Fall. The film opens with the death of Sandra Voyter’s (Sandra Hüller) husband outside their chalet in the French mountains. From there, we are brought along the investigation which takes over the lives of Sandra and her son blind Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) as she is put on trial as a suspect. With her young son as the primary witness, he falls privy to the scandalous details of his parents marriage along with the rest of the courtroom as dual narratives from the defendant and plaintiff muddy the waters. Memory is at the core of the tense story which is due to make palms sweat and hearts ache.

This isn’t your ordinary love triangle. Celine Song brings a beautiful softness to the concept of heartbreak, fate and identity in this show stopping directorial debut. Nora and Hae Sung evolve from childhood best friends to long-distance acquaintances to each other’s what-could-have-been’s over their 24 years of knowing one another. When Hae Sung visits Nora in New York for the first time since her family left Seoul 24 years prior, surprisingly ripe emotions rise to the surface for them both, as well as for Nora’s husband Arthur (John Magaro) who is caught in the crossfire. Swoony parallels and warm-hued moments teamed with performances deserving of a multitude of awards will make Past Lives the humble IT girl of the coming award season.

If you ever wondered what Colin Firth working at a Brixton Burrito shop would be like, look no further than Raine Allen Miller’s Rye Lane; a witty, cosy and relatable rom-com that is bursting at the seams with personality. When Dom (David Jonsson) and Yas (Vivian Oparah) meet at a mutual friend’s exhibition, they find themselves heading the same way home and on the streets of Peckham, they cannot help but divulge their life trauma to one another. With impromptu karaoke sessions, breaking and entering and some tears, comes a heart-warming and fun film that’ll have you laughing one minute and aw-ing the next.

A24 delivers once again with their Gen-Z horror treat, Talk to Me. Directed by the YouTuber-cum-Director brother duo Danny and Michael Phillippou, the Australian feature is an emotional and physical rollercoaster. When friends Mia (Sophie Wilde) and Jade (Alexandra Jensen) go to a friend’s house for a party, they end up playing a party game that is not for the faint of heart. With everyone recording her for their hit of Snapchat clout, Mia volunteers to hold the supposed embalmed hand of a dead medium and sees things she shouldn’t. Addicted to the high they feel when playing, the group take it too far and they can’t seem to escape the power of the hand. Full of action, grief and betrayal, Talk to Me put star Sophie Wilde on the map and is A24’s most successful film of the year.

Dark humour, dysfunctional families and loneliness may not sound like the recipe for a festive Christmas, but it’s the one we get in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. In 1970, Baton is the New England prep school that houses students year round, with a handful of those having nowhere to go during the holidays. When teacher Mr.Hunham (Paul Giamatii) and cafeteria manager Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) are put in charge of babysitting the students left behind, they don’t have an easy time of it. It’s when they form a soft spot for resident pain-in-the-ass Angus (Domnic Sessa) that things start to feel a little bit more fun. Payne devotes just as much effort to portraying found family and mental health as he does with the witty one liners, a task that is not easy for some but thanks to the outstanding performances it’s effortless.

How to Have Sex is Molly Manning Walker’s powerful first feature on friendship, growing up and the issue of consent. Mia McKenna-Bruce shines as Tara, showing her range with ease as we follow her and her two friend’s trip to the party town of Malia, Greece. Tara’s quest for sex on the trip is slightly different to her more experienced friends as feels the pressure to get her first time out of the way. After a night spent with Paddy (Samuel Bottomley) we come to question the area of consent. From discussing the dreaded wait for your A-Level results to the depiction of female relationships, Manning Walker delivers a complex, intense and utterly candid reflection of many realities of today.

Trouble in paradise are the three words needed to summarise Ira Sachs’ Passages. A sexy, painful and trying story of a gay couple’s marriage which falls victim to collapse after Tomas (Franz Rogowski) confesses to his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw) about spending the night with a woman. Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) becomes the third person in this unconventional threeway at high speed, with all parties in the vicinity caught in the crossfire. Tomas is at the center of the complex dynamic and must choose but cannot seem to fathom the thought or the concept of being alone. Hard conversations are framed beautifully throughout, Mubi can truly do no wrong.

Mahalia Belo’s The End We Start From based on Megan Hunter ’s novel of the same title is the latest survival film on the scene. The year is 2023, the unnamed protagonist played by Jodie Comer is about to give birth and an environmental crisis is on its way for London. Forced to go through labour in a hospital that is knee deep in water, you would think that’s the worst to come but that’s only the first 20 minutes of the movie. When she is separated from everyone she know’s with nothing but her newborn and a backpack, she must decide whether to adapt to a new way of life or hold out hope for the past. A moving story of motherhood, loss and female friendships about a future that doesn’t seem a million miles away from reality.