City's big-screen celebration brings a bold, unforgettable world to your doorstep

DAZZLING ARRAY OF FILMS FROM 25 COUNTRIES ON OFFER

- By MARTIN NEAL

Mark Kermode will explore soundtracks

(VICTORIA JONES/PA WIRE)

THE Cambridge Film Festival (CFF), one of the UK's most distinctive and longest-running celebrations of cinema, returns this autumn for its 44th edition.

And there will be an expanded 11-day programme filled with world-class films, bold new voices, and unforgettable stories from around the globe.

The festival will open with the multi-award-winning director Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia, his most sharply funny and playfully anarchic film to date.

Reuniting with Emma Stone and joined by Jesse Plemons, the Oscar-nominated director reimagines the South Korean cult favourite Save the Green Planet! as a twisted sci-fi comedy brimming with paranoia, absurdity and pitch-black wit.

When a man becomes convinced a corporate executive is an alien bent on destroying humanity, he sets off a spiralling chain of events that veer from the sinister to the surreal - and often hilariously so.

Running from October 23 to November 2, this year's festival will showcase nearly 100 titles from over 25 countries, including more than 30 UK premieres, alongside European and world debuts.

More than 50 per cent of the lineup is female-directed, marked with the Festival's signature F-Rating, championing women filmmakers.

Among the other highlights are: