1. El Laberinto Del Fauno (Guillermo del Toro)

I could not fault this creepy and dramatic film set during the Spanish civil war. We follow Ofelia, a young girl who uses magical escapism to interpret the horrors of the changing world around her. Watching is like stepping back through time into a childhood where there are fairies at the bottom of the garden, and monsters under the bed.

2. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnes Varda)

Varda is probably the most underrated director of the French New Wave. In Cléo from 5 to 7, we watch in real time as Parisian songstress Cléo struggles to come to terms with her cancer diagnosis, and begins to reject the closeted and constructed nature of her existence. Corinne Marchand is beautiful to watch as she navigates Varda’s photographically constructed Paris. (If you enjoy this, give Sans toit ni loi a watch too!)

3. Habla Con Ella (Pedro Almodóvar)

This is the perfect film to see Almodóvar do what only he can. Combining humour and heart, we track the lives of two men as they visit their comatose loved ones. In a series of flashbacks we see Benigno and Marco’s stories unfold and intertwine, the bold direction pays homage to a range of cinematic styles, including the bygone era of silent cinema, and we are left with a wonderfully fateful ending. Benigno is one of Almodóvar’s most interesting male characters, being a perfect cocktail of sweetness and psychopathy.

4. M (Fritz Lang)

Do not watch this film alone. Peter Lorre plays the terrifying, bug-eyed antagonist: a child murderer on the run. The audience can only watch with mounting horror as he commits his crimes and is slowly hunted down by the townspeople. The almost silent tracking shots of potential victims are haunting, as is the murderer’s telltale whistle…

5. Jeux d’enfants (Yann Samuell)

Enter the surreal world of Sophie and Julien, who meet as children and embark on a game of truth or dare that gets wilder and darker as the years go by. Whimsical and undeniably French, with characters floating through cut-out clouds and luridly bright colours reminiscent of Amélie, the film’s dual ending is poignant yet endlessly frustrating.