1. Booksmart: On the last day of high school two best friends discover they’ve needlessly missed out on all the fun and go on an epic rager. Funny. So funny. Smart. So smart. Full of heart and with two awesome leads.
2. Unrelated: A woman in turmoil joins an old friend and her family for an Italian holiday and is drawn into a flirtation with a much younger man. Joanna Hogg showed me how to make the tiny dramas compelling.
3. You Were Never Really Here: Joaquin Phoenix plays a loner with mother issues who goes on a violent rampage. But he is not a misogynistic asshole. Lynne Ramsay makes an impeccably-composed film about the brutality of violence and what it does to those who wield its power.
4. The Farewell: A young woman goes to visit her terminally-ill grandmother who everyone is pretending is perfectly healthy. Lulu Wang tells her own story with wit - examining the immigrant experience and familial love through a Chinese American perspective.
5. And Breathe Normally. Two struggling mothers find a way to help each other. A beautiful spare story about the importance of connections and putting humanity over bureaucracy.
6. Leave No Trace: A young woman outgrows the father who has raised her alone in the wilderness. A tender, beautiful story of the love between a parent and daughter that shows those trying to live on the fringes of society.
7. The Favourite: A love triangle and power play between three complex women. Absurdist. Theatrical. Utterly unique. Hilarious and moving.
8. Little Women: Greta Gerwig takes a bold approach to the classic tale and pulls it off with heart and style.
9. Mustang: 5 teenage sisters in rural Turkey are put under lock and key and slowly married off. Claustrophobic. Eye-opening. Sad but still beautiful. Realistic and tender examination of the bonds of sisterhood under trying circumstances.
10. Can You Ever Forgive Me? A misanthropic writer starts selling forgeries to make ends meet. An entertaining forgery caper mixed with a moving portrait of a lonely soul.