Wendy Ide, The Observer

Vlad (Slavko Sobin) is a refugee who fled the 1990s Yugoslavia conflict and rebuilt his life in Bristol. A drugs counsellor and musician, cracks begin to form when his Balkan band seeks success, unresolved trauma resurfacing and threatening the fragile peace he's built. 

Thea Gajić’s powerful feature debut is based on her father's life - a talented harmonica player, he fled Serbia for the UK to build a new life. Surviving Earth was made with the support of the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.

To mark this international festival of arts, cultural and education celebrating the contributions and diversity that refugees bring, we present a collection of films that explore refugee experiences past and present, as well as across different parts of the world.

Resistance, it used to be said, was futile. Tell that to the week’s most-watched titles, with Everybody to Kenmure Street in the top spot, followed by the right-to-roam documentary, Our Land. The story of two unlikely groups allied and defiant is told in Pride, starring George MacKay, who also features in Broken English, the artful portrait of true iconoclast Marianne Faithfull.