Exploring Zambia’s little-known culture of “witch camps,” Rungano Nyoni’s debut masterfully combines comedy, tragedy, and mesmerizing visuals. A portrait of a defiant young girl, I Am Not a Witch mounts an acerbic critique of women’s oppression and corruption through tourism, media and superstition.

Bertrand Mandico (The Wild Boys) defied all expectations of the genre with his surreal and captivating biopic of the Polish filmmaker Walerian Borowczyk. A fictionalized account of Borowczyk’s life, Boro in the Box is an elliptical paean to his singularly provocative cinema.

Another of Mandico’s chimerical cinematic offerings, Living Still Life echoes the strange rhythms and internal logic of dreams. Stop-motion animation and up-close, visceral shots of animals bring to life a world in decay, as we chase down the rabbit hole a woman driven by strange pursuits.

Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan are arch enemies in this gripping revenge thriller, in which Ireland’s rugged landscapes echo inner torment. Pulling apart the western trope of the strong, silent type, Christopher Andrews’s hard-hitting debut feature reveals old traumas behind fresh wounds.