What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 9th April 2026

The 45th Istanbul Film Festival takes place this year from Thursday 9th through until Sunday 19th April, in the Turkish capital city of Istanbul. The Festival was first presented as a film week in the summer of 1982, within the framework of the International Istanbul Festival. In 1983, under the title 'International Istanbul Film Days', thirty-six films were shown in one month. Beginning in 1984, the event became a separate activity and was shifted to April. Accredited by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) in 1989 as a 'specialised competitive festival', the 'film week' thus was renamed the Istanbul Film Festival. In 2025, starting with its 44th edition, Istanbul Film Festival restructured its programme to emphasise its international character. The festival's official selection was reorganised to comprise three competitive sections - the international Golden Tulip Competition, New Perspectives to include only debut or second feature-length titles from Turkiye, and the Short Film Competition. The Festival provides a broad showcase for recent Turkish film productions, and thus represents a rewarding medium where filmmakers from Turkiye and abroad get together. The Festival draws a special interest to world classics, presenting retrospectives, and curated sections included in its official selection which comprises around 130 titles each year, making it the most comprehensive film festival in Turkiye. The Istanbul Film Festival has, over the past 44 years, presented Istanbul audiences with a total of some 6,600 films, showcasing the cinema of 131 countries, and attracting an approximate attendance of 4,575,000. So reads the official website.

The Opening Night Gala Film presentation is 'Three Goodbyes', from Italy and Spain and is Co-Written and Directed by Isabel Coixet and stars Alba Rohrwacher.

In the Golden Tulip Competition are the following fifteen titles :-

* 'Rose of Nevada' - from the UK this mystery thriller film is Written, photographed, Directed, Edited and Scored by Mark Jenkin, and stars George MacKay and Callum Turner. In a derelict fishing village, a boat mysteriously appears in the old harbour. The Rose of Nevada, lost at sea with all hands thirty years ago, has returned. For the few who remember, it’s a sign. The Rose of Nevada must go out to sea again, maybe then the luck of the devastated village will turn. A new crew boards the ship, but something is amiss.

* 'Dead Dogs Don't Bite' - from Turkiye, this drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Nuri Cihan Ozdogan.

* 'Resurrection' - from France and China, this drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Bi Gan.

* 'Summer Beats' - from France this coming of age drama is Co-Written and Co-Directed by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret.

* 'LifeLike' - from Turkiye, Greece and Romania this drama film is Written and Directed by Ali Vatansever.

* 'Memory of Princess Mumbi' - from Kenya, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia this Sci-Fi romantic adventure film is Written, Co-Produced, photographed, Directed and Edited by Damien Hauser.

* 'Renovation' - from Lithuania, Latvia and Belgium, this drama film is Written and Directed by Gabriele Urbonaite.

* 'Those Who Whistle After Dark' - from Turkiye, Bulgaria and Germany this supernatural thriller is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Pinar Yorgancioglu.

* 'Lali' - from Pakistan, this supernatural comedy drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat. 

* 'Only Rebels Win' - from France, Lebanon and Qatar, this romantic drama film is Written and Directed by Danielle Arbid.

* 'Hen' - from Germany, Greece and Hungary this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Gyorgy Palfi.

* 'Rose' - from Austria and Germany, this drama film is Written and Directed by Markus Schleinzer, and stars Sandra Huller. Amidst the turmoil of the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, a mysterious soldier appears in a secluded Protestant village somewhere in Germany. Small and quiet, his face disfigured by a scar, this stranger declares himself the heir of a long-abandoned farmstead and produces a document to support his claim to the suspicious villagers. With time, he overcomes their doubts and shows himself to be a hard-working, God-fearing man, becoming part of the community in a quest for acceptance made up of impossible deceit.

* 'Hear The Yellow' - from Turkiye, this drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Banu Sivaci.

* 'On the Dry Rock' - from Turkiye, this docudrama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Yesim Ustaoglu.

* 'The Last Shore' - from Belgium, France and Qatar, this documentary film is Directed by Jean-Francois Ravagnan.

For the descriptors of the aforementioned films in main competition for the Golden Tulip, plus the full details of other film strands being showcased, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.film.iksv.org/en

Looking ahead to this weeks seven latest release new movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with a drama offering that follows a Palestinian family across three generations during the time spanning from the 1948 days of Nakba to the 2020's under Israeli occupation. Then we turn to a RomCom in which a woman crashes at an empty Italian villa, posing as the owner's fiancee, before she discovers an unexpected romance that may transform her life. Next up is a road trip drama about three friends drawn to a rural commune where old wounds threaten to surface. This is followed by an Aussie comedy musical about two teenage girls attending a debutante ball in a small rural town, and then we have a Canadian horror offering in which the host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way. And closing out the week we have a pair of animated films - the first from Spain that sees two Irish orphans journey by train across America, encountering villains and heroes, and they make an extraordinary friend while searching for a new home. And the second is from New Zealand and Canada and is a live-action/animation hybrid about a young boy who copes with loss by talking to the everyday objects in his life.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU' (Rated M) - is a Co-Produced drama film between the countries of Germany, Cyprus, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and is Written, Co-Produced, Co-Stars and Directed by Cherien Dabis, who made her feature film Directing debut with 'Amreeka' in 2009 which she would follow up with 'May in the Summer' in 2013. In the meantime she has Directed episodes of TV shows including 'The Sinner', 'Ozark', 'Little Voice' and 'Only Murders in the Building'. The film had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January 2025, was released in Germany in late November 2025, and is released this week here in Australia having garnered generally positive critical reviews, and so far collecting US$1M in Box Office takings. It is Co-Executive Produced by Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo, and has picked up six award wins and another five nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

In the Occupied West Bank of the 1980's, a Palestinian teenager is swept into a protest that changes the course of his family's life. Reeling from its aftermath, his mother, Hanan (Cherien Dabis), shares the story that led them to that fateful moment. Spanning seven decades, this epic drama traces the hopes and heartaches of one uprooted family, revealing not only the scars of displacement, but the unbreakable spirit of survival.

'YOU, ME & TUSCANY' (Rated PG) - is an American RomCom that is Directed by Kat Coiro who made her feature film Directing debut in 2011 with 'Life Happens' and which she would follow up with other titles including 'A Case of You' in 2013 and 'Marry Me' in 2022. In this film we find a free-spirited, young cook named Anna (Halle Bailey) makes a brash decision to become a squatter in an abandoned Tuscan villa owned by a man she barely knows, leading to a whole new world of adventure, lies, and love when she meets Michael (Rege-Jean Page), the homeowner's cousin. The film is released Stateside this week too.

'EVERYTHING GROWS IN EDEN' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian drama film is Written, Co-Produced, photographed, Directed and Edited by Jack Johnston in his feature film making debut. The film follows Lily (Sophie Reynolds), a young woman struggling to find her place in inner-city Melbourne, as she tries to support her best friend Shane (Cameron Mighell) through a difficult time in his life, when she promises to take him to an alternative mental health retreat near her hometown. But when their volatile mutual friend joins the trip, the journey instead leads them on an unexpected detour to a rural commune where hidden truths and unresolved tensions begin to surface. The film was made for just AU$9K.

'THE DEB' (Rated M) - is an Australian coming of age comedy musical film Co-Produced, Co-Starring and Directed by Rebel Wilson, in her feature film Directorial debut. It is based on the stage musical of the same name by Hannah Reilly and Meg Washington. Here, High School outcast Taylah Simpkins (Natalie Abbott) is certain that the upcoming Debutante Ball ‘the Deb,’ is her one chance to redefine herself and become the popular girl once and for all. When her cynical cousin from the city, Maeve Barker (Charlotte MacInnes), is sent to Taylah’s drought stricken small farm town of Dunburn as punishment for staging a protest at her own city High School, she thinks the ball is a farce and immediately tries to disrupt the status quo. In their search for the spotlight, Taylah and Maeve dig deep to find self-acceptance, and a date to the Deb. Also starring Julian McMahon and Shane Jacobson. The film Premiered in mid-September 2024 as the closing film of the Toronto International Film Festival, and has been mired in controversy and legal disputes ever since, resulting in its delayed release. 

'UNDERTONE' (Rated M) - this Canadian horror film is Written and Directed by Ian Tuason in his feature film making debut. Here, Evy (Nina Kiri), a woman who hosts a paranormal podcast with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco), where she is the skeptic to his believer. After Evy moves back home to become the caregiver to her dying mother (Michele Duquet), she and Justin are sent recordings by a married couple experiencing paranormal noises in their home, drawing Evy into fear and paranoia. The film saw its Premiere screening at the Fantasia International Film Festival in late July last year, where it won the gold audience award for Canadian films. The film was released Stateside in mid-March, has generated largely positive critical reviews, cost US$500K to produce, has so far grossed US$19M in Box Office receipts.

'BUFFALO KIDS' (Rated PG) - is a 2024 Spanish animated adventure film directed by Pedro Solis and Juan Jesus Garcia. Two parentless Irish siblings Tom and Mary (Conor MacNeill and Alisha Weir) arrive in New York City in 1886 via ocean liner and quickly find themselves on a wild, cross-country journey aboard an orphan train where they meet an extraordinary new friend who will change their lives forever. Fuelled by curiosity, friendship, and teamwork, their dangerous and discovery-filled quest will introduce them to devious villains, unexpected heroes, and surprising adventures in their heart-warming and hilarious search for a home. The English language version has the voice talents of MacNeill and Weir as well as Gemma Arterton, Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. The film premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in mid-June 2024, was released in its native Spain in mid-August 2024, in the UK in mid-October 2024, the USA in early February this year and only now does it arrive in Australia having so far grossed US$10M at the worldwide Box Office.

'I, OBJECT' (Rated CTC) - this New Zealand and Canadian Co-Produced live-action animated film is Written, Co-Produced, and Directed by Andrew Niccol, whose previous feature film Directing credits take in his debut with 'Gattaca' in 1997, 'Simone' in 2002, 'Lord of War' in 2005, 'In Time' in 2011, 'The Host' in 2013, 'Good Kill' in 2014 and 'Anon' in 2018. He also wrote the screenplay and Co-Produced 1998's 'The Truman Show'. Here then, a ten year old boy Tom (Bentley Storteboom) is struggling to connect with anyone after the death of his father, and becomes fascinated with the everyday objects around him, and envisions himself speaking to them, as they reveal their true identities to him. Starring Karl Urban, Jemaine Clement, Anna Faris and Skywalker Hughes.

With seven new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-