Chloe Maayan

Continuing the recent trend of moody neo-noirs from mainland China, this tenebrous psychological thriller from director Wei Shujun follows a small-town detective into the mouth of madness. Stunningly shot on Super 16, Only the River Flows is a pungently atmospheric serial-killer procedural.

A noir-tinged story about a solitary man haunted by loss and regret. From director Bi Gan, the film was China's biggest arthouse hit of all time.

After winning the Berlinale Golden Bear with Black Coal, Thin Ice, Diao Yinan returns with a hyper-stylised noir set in modern China’s underbelly. Twisting the conventions of the genre, this impressively crafted choreography of violence, moral decay and neon colours is striking, intoxicating cinema.