An exploration of relationships, consent and rebuilding life after harmful and potentially soul-destroying experiences.

To All the Boys: Always and Forever

Need to Know: The third and final installment in the much-loved To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series sees LJ, Lara Jean Song Covey, preparing for the end of high school. What will that mean for her relationships with friends, family and her childhood sweetheart?

Director: Michael Fimognari
Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Anna Cathcart, Jordan Fisher

Why Is It Worth Watching?

If you’ve seen the two earlier films in this trilogy, based on the books of New York Times number one bestselling author Jenny Han, then you’ll already be familiar with many of the characters – LJ, the Korean-American female lead (Lana Condor); Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), her love interest, and their myriad family and friends – who make a welcome return this time around. As her final year of high school comes to an end, LJ is happier than ever in her relationship with Peter and looking forward to them heading to Stanford University together.

But a spanner is thrown in works when Peter gets in on a lacrosse scholarship and LJ’s application is rejected. So unfolds a summer of uncertainty and indecision coupled with a trip to Korea and a romantic visit to New York followed by a cathartic beach trip where LJ and Peter consider breaking up. Can their high-school romance survive the challenges of long-distance love and impending adulthood? And do they even want it to? No spoilers except to say you will kick yourself if you don’t watch through to the end.

I May Destroy You

Need to Know: The story of a woman trying to recall a night when she was drugged and raped. There was much consternation when this was missed out for a Golden Globe nomination.

Director: Sam Miller, Michaela Coel

Cast: Michaela Coel, Weruche Opia, Paapa Essiedu

Why Is It Worth Watching?

It’s hard to imagine such gritty subject matter being described as a comedy-drama but writer Michaela Coel’s black humour and spot-on sense of timing render this searing tale of selfdiscovery both enlightening and, at times, hugely entertaining. Arabella (Coel), a Twitter star and writer, takes a break from penning her second novel for a night out in London. Her drink is spiked and she wakes up knowing something is wrong.

Friends help her piece together the night before. Not surprisingly, those same friends have traumas of their own and together they work through them until the explosive finale, which sees Arabella confronting her assailant in a set of thought-provoking scenarios – a kind of ‘what would you do?’ An exploration of relationships, consent and rebuilding life after harmful and potentially souldestroying experiences. Inspired by true-life and warmed by Coel’s inimitable talent.