Tre Styles is a bright, decent kid trying to stay that way in a violent, drug-ridden neighbourhood. As he and his friends struggle with life, love and career decisions, the heat on the street is rising. A gripping, intelligent and highly moving account of urban survival. Brilliant soundtrack too.

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Italians, Koreans and African Americans are struggling to keep a lid on the tensions within their Brooklyn community, but Sal's pizza parlour provides the perfect social hub for the neighbourhood. However, as a sweltering hot day drags slowly on, racial tensions evolve from petty bickering to full scale violence and ... WHY WON'T THAT GUY TURN OFF HIS FREAKIN' RADIO!!!! Excuse me. A controversial but mature film from Spike Lee. Incendiary, compelling and highly recommended.

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Through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse, we observe the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the mid-1970s. Frustrated by money problems, Stan finds respite in moments of simple beauty: the warmth of a coffee cup against his cheek, slow dancing with his wife in the living room, holding his daughter. Killer of Sheep offers no solution to Stan's world, merely a presentation of his life and those around him; find out more...

A generic, but nevertheless, reasonably good warts and all biopic of Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, aka The Notorious B.I.G., from a drug dealing chilhood in a Brooklyn ghetto, through arrest, prison, his relationship problems, basic criminality and on to his success as a rap artist before his 1997 murder. find out more...

A depiction of the struggle of three siblings (who are 'passing') to survive the mean streets of Manhattan, 'Shadows' was Cassavetes' jazz-scored "improvisational" film exploring interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City. Made from a script supposedly improvised (it was in fact well rehearsed in a NY studio for weeks before shooting began) by a talented cast, Shadows marks a vital new era in independent filmmaking. find out more...

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff more than holds his own in this now cult-classic. Jamaican country boy Ivan travels to Kingston with dreams of becoming a big recording star, but his naive optimism is gradually destroyed by the web of corruption he finds there. Great story and a stonking soundtrack. find out more...

"Josephine Decker has created a new style of thriller that employs allegory, incorporates touches of David Lynch as well as Magritte -esque imagery. Decker's setting of a remote farm feels like a metaphor for what turns out to be hell. The raw and emotional (and yes, sometimes funny) dialog tells a story that can seem familiar at points but really is meant to keep you guessing and off balance. I really enjoyed how the undertones of this film came to life through her very deft contrast of the find out more...