We take film incredibly seriously so we have scoured the film festivals, attended film clubs, visited the community cinemas and walked the aisles of local independent cinema screens to find the best new releases of 2024.

Reflecting on 2024 before the start of the new year each member of our Film Hub team has chosen their favourite new release of the year, and because independent cinema has been so good and made it hard to choose we've included a top three.

Find out our favourites and let us know if you have alternatives to add in our Best Films of 2024 survey 

Ella's thoughts: This was so hard! 2024 really did release some absolutely cracking films by brilliantly talented teams. My film of the year goes to Sister Midnight, co-produced by incredible Nottingham Producers and dear friends, Anna Griffin and Al Clark. 

Juwairiyyah's thoughts: 

This year has been dreamy for seeing South Asian women on screen, with two of my picks being feature length debuts- big shout outs to directors Fawzia Mirza and Chloe Abrahams here. Alongside these, I’m also taking moments to commemorate all the excellent restorations and short films to come out this year (Charles Burnett’s The Annihilation of Fish and The Archive: Queer Nigerians come to mind!)

Lauren's thoughts: I feel like 2024 was a great year for films, who would have thought I’d get into pumping iron after Love Lies Bleeding (did my first bicep curl the day after watching the film) or get excited about watching an Irish hip hop group live (and yes Kneecap are awesome live).

Mark's thoughts: Who knew that (partly) building a greenhouse in rural Ireland could have such dramatic weight.

Eirini's thoughts: My top film was Poor Things but I watched it on its first release date last December so chose The Brutalist instead! I’ve also a couple of honourable mentions.

Amy's thoughts: 2024 has brought us plenty of great cinema and I could give you my top twenty but here’s a few highlights that made me laugh, cry and feel mildly nauseous.

Ben's thoughts: 

The Zone of Interest:

‘This film’s greatest feat is perhaps its ability to showcase such unbelievable naturalism and realism whilst equally functioning as effective allegory and metaphor. Glazer’s direction exudes confidence, daring and restraint, consistently impeccable in its sound design, visual style and individual moments of symbolism - not to mention that ending…’

Top Three:

‘All three of these films share an impressive sense of play and experimentation in their form, yet each is distinct in their focus, atmosphere and feeling - whether that is evoking the banality of evil, contemplating the meditative beauty in the mundane or tackling contemporary concerns across borders of time, place and genre.’

Lateesha's thoughts: This was tough. I love a good documentary and have probably seen them more than anything this year, I’ve also seen a lot of brilliant shorts. I plan to catch up over the Christmas break. Honourable mention to Inside out 2! 

Hope's thoughts: 

So hard to choose this year, independent cinema continues to hit a nerve! Each of the films chosen stand out for their unique style and dramatic exploration into the subject's psyche.

Torn between the stomach turning and gritty debut from Luna Carmoon, Hoard and Alice Rohrwacher’s rapturous La Chimera for the top spot. Both outstanding independent films which call to be seen on the big screen. La Chimera stood out to me for its hypnotising magic realism and Italian folklore, blended seamlessly with reality. It gave me the feeling of realising I was walking around in a dream. La Chimera is drenched in the spirit of the carnival and yet grounded by the crackle of 16mm and that's why I love it and will be making my family watch it over the holidays!