H is for Hawk (2025) is a biographical drama film adapted by director Philippa Lowthorpe from the best-selling autobiography by the same name, published in 2014. The film follows Helen Macdonald, played by Claire Foy of The Crown fame, as she tends to a goshawk in the aftermath of her father’s death.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The first night of the London Literature Festival is opened by Sayaka Murata, interviewed by Octavia Bright. Sayaka Murata is a new-generation Japanese writer, celebrating the translation of her speculative fiction novel ‘Vanishing World’ into English. She has sold over two million copies of her books in over forty countries; famous for challenging family, romance and societal conventions in her blunt, defiant writing.  Her book ‘Vanishing World’ follows...

Abou Sangare in Souleymane’s Story (2024); Photo courtesy of Conic Films Souleymane’s Story (Boris Lojkine, 2024) is a French language film following breakout star Abou Sangare as Souleymane, an asylum-seeker from Guinea. This film follows Souleymane through the 48-hour period before his citizenship interview where he must revise a fabricated story sold to him by Barry, a “social worker” who helps him prepare documents and memorise dates.  The question this movie asks at its core is, “Who...