MARK TURNER wallows in the virtuosity of Swansea Jazz Festival openers, Simon Spillett and Pete Long

THE SEVILLE Film Festival showcased more than 200 films during its run last week, among them Spanish icon Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory and Palestinian Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven.
Almodovar’s quasi-autobiographical drama focuses on a former film director who, back in the day, confronted Spain’s repressive attitudes, while Elia Suleiman's It Must Be Heaven is a perplexed and comic look at his surroundings as he embarks on a globetrotting tour which takes in some absurd scenarios.
In a film he’s written and in which he is protagonist, Suleiman comes across as somewhere between Buster Keaton and Jaques Tati as he explores the Palestinian experience.

Featuring films with substantial political themes, this year’s festival has ignited a vibrant discussion, suggests RITA DI SANTO

RITA DI SANTO gives us a first look at some extraordinary new films that examine outsiders, migrants, belonging and social abuse

RITA DI SANTO draws attention to an audacious and entertaining film that transplants Tarantino to the Gaza Strip

RITA DI SANTO reports on the films from Iran, Spain, Belgium and Brazil that won the top awards