Favourite Films of 2020

Considering what a cursed year this has been, I feel thankful and happy that I was still able to watch a lot of films in cinemas.

Compared to previous years, I only travelled to attend two film festivals before the pandemic restrictions - IFFR in Rotterdam in January and Berlinale in February. I am not sure when I’ll be able to travel again, but compared to other cities, we are lucky that cinemas in Dubai only closed once for 12 weeks between March and June. I was also able to watch films at Alliance Francaise, The Theatre, Mirage City Cinema. In total, I watched 270 in cinemas (new releases and old films), 151 since the cinemas re-opened in Dubai.

At home, I got a projector to avoid watching films on a TV or computer screen. It is a huge improvement, but in no way does it replace watching films in the cinema. I watched 94 new films streamed online, and probably could’ve watched more but I really struggled to watch films at home*, especially when the cinemas in Dubai re-opened. Even a bad film is a better viewing experience in the cinema for me compared to watching films at home.

I’m not in a very articulate mood today to explain why the following are my favourites, but suffice to say many of them deal with themes of isolation, loneliness and memories - overall feelings of 2020. There are some fun films in the list too.

Here’s my list, I’ve included favourite quotes for most of the films, and where I watched them too.

My Top 10 of 2020

1.First Cow (Kelly Reichardt,2019)
Berlinale 2020

We have to take what we can when the taking is good.”

First Cow_film still.jpeg
 

2. Let Him Go (Thomas Bezucha, 2020)
Vox Cinemas and The Roxy Cinemas, Dubai

“Sometimes that's all life is. A list of what we've lost.”

Let Him Go.jpg
 

3. Apples (Christos Nikou, 2020)
Streaming: Venice Sala Web on Festival Scope

“You can make a new beginning.”

Apples_.jpg
 

4. Nemesis (Thomas Imbach, 2020)
Streaming: IDFA 2020

"I never thought Switzerland would constrict itself in such a short time."

Nemesis.jpg
 

The Metamorphosis of Birds (Catarina Vasconcelos, 2020)
Streaming: IDFA 2020

“I suffer because I believe that the world must change too, but I don’t know how.”

The Metamorphosis of Birds .jpeg
 

1982 (Oualid Mouaness, 2019)
Novo Cinemas and The Roxy Cinemas, Dubai

1982.png
 

Nasir (Arun Karthick, 2020)
IFFR 2020, Rotterdam

“What else is life if not loneliness and silence?”

Nasir.jpeg
 

Blood Quantum (Jeff Barnaby, 2019)
The Roxy Cinemas, Dubai

“Maybe the earth just forgot about us.”

Blood Quantum_.jpg
 

Tesla (Michael Almereyda, 2020)
Vox Cinemas, Dubai

“Are dreams and intelligence enough to save the world?”

Tesla.jpg
 

Greenland (Ric Roman Waugh, 2020)
Vox Cinemas, Dubai

“My family wasn’t selected, ma’am. Ninety-nine percent of armed forces weren’t. We are all volunteers here just doing our jobs.”

Greenland.jpg
 



𝟸̶𝟶̶ 30 more in alphabetical order


Alone (John Hyams, 2020)
Reel Cinemas, Dubai

Alone.jpg
 

Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, 2020)
Streaming - iTunes (USA)

What a life, what a night, what a beautiful, beautiful ride”

Another Round.jpg
 

The Assistant (Kitty Green, 2019)
Berlinale 2020

“I overreacted. It was not my place to question your decision. I will not let you down again.”

the_assistant.jpg
 

Becky (Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion, 2020)
Vox Cinemas, Dubai

“There once was a little girl. When she was good, she was very, very good. But when she was bad, she was horrid.”

Becky.png
 

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross, 2020)
Streaming - Museum of Moving Image, Virtual Cinema

“ I can always come to this bar and feel like family.”

Bloody-Nose-Empty-Pocket.jpg
 

Careless Crime (Shahram Mokri, 2020)
Sharjah Film Platform 2020, Mirage City Cinema

Careless Crime.jpeg
 

Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu, 2019)
Streaming: Curzon Home Cinema

“I am alone, and nobody can fix it.”

Clemency.jpg
 

Da 5 Bloods (Spike Lee, 2020)
Streaming: Netflix

“After you've been in a war, you understand it never really ends.”

Da 5 Bloods.jpg
 

A Dark, Dark Man (Adilkhan Yerzhanov, 2020)
IFFR 2020, Rotterdam

A Dark Dark Man.jpeg
 

Debt Collectors (Jesse V. Johnson, 2020)
Vox Cinemas, Dubai

“I’m done with violence, brother. I’m done.”

Debt Collectors.jpg
 

The Earth is Blue as an Orange (Iryna Tsilyk, 2020)
Streaming: IDFA 2020

The Earth is Blue as an Orange.jpeg
 

Filmfarsi (Ehsan Khoshbakht, 2019)
IFFR 2020, Rotterdam

Film Farsi.jpeg
 

The Hottest August (Brett Story, 2020)
Streaming - Museum of Moving Image, Virtual Cinema

“Do you have any worries about the future?”

The Hottest August.jpg
 

It Must Be Heaven (Elia Suleiman, 2019)
Mirage City Cinema, Sharjah

It Must Be Heaven.jpg
 

Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019)
Pathe Tuchinski, Amsterdam and Vox Cinemas, Dubai

“The world is hard on ambitious girls.” 

Little Women.jpg
 

Lovers Rock (Steve McQueen, 2020)
Amazon Prime (USA)

Lovers Rock.jpg
 

My First Film (Zia Anger, 2019)
Streaming - Live interactive performance

“It happens to lots of people, it’s just that no one talks about it.”

My First Film.jpeg
 

My Mexican Bretzel (Nuria Giménez Lorang, 2020)
IFFR 2020, Rotterdam

"I’m surprised we don’t spend all day trying to kill one another, or that we make love."

My Mexican Bretzel.jpg
 

The Nest (Sean Durkin, 2020)
The Roxy Cinemas and Vox Cinemas, Dubai

“You’re embarrassing”
“And you’re exhausting.”

The Nest.jpg
 

Phantom Ride (Stephen Broomer, 2019)
Streaming: Alchemy Film Festival 2020

Phantom Ride.jpeg
 

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project (Matt Wolf, 2019)
Streaming: Bertha DocHouse & The Theatre, Dubai

“She hit record and she never stopped.”

Recorder Marion Stokes Project.jpg
 

Richard Jewell (Clint Eastwood, 2019)
Novo Cinemas, Dubai

“A little power can turn a person into a monster, Richard.”

Richard Jewell.jpg
 

Shams Al-Ma'arif (Faris Godus, 2020)
Vox Cinemas, Dubai

Shams Al Maarif_Book of SUn.png
 

She Dies Tomorrow (Amy Seimetz, 2020)
Streaming: Curzon Home Cinema

“I know I don’t want to be alone and I know that I’m going to die tomorrow.”

She Dies Tomorrow_.jpg
 

The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs (Pushpendra Singh, 2020)
Sharjah Film Platform 2020, Mirage City Cinema

The Shephardess and the Seven Songs.jpeg
 

Soul (Pete Docter, Kemp Powers, 2020)
Novo Cinemas, Dubai

"I'm going to live every minute of it.”

Soul.jpeg
 

Undine (Christian Petzold, 2020)
Berlinale 2020

Undine.jpg
 

The Viewing Booth (Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, 2020)
Berlinale 2020

“Maybe because I’m looking for lies.”

The Viewing Booth.jpg
 

The Woman Who Ran (Hong Sang-soo, 2020)
Berlinale 2020

The Woman Who Ran.jpeg
 

Tenet (Christopher Nolan, 2020)
Novo Cinemas (twice), Vox Cinemas

“Don’t try to understand it, feel it”

Tenet.jpg
 

Honorable Mentions:
13 (Shinya Isobe, 2020), Come Play (Jacob Chase, 2020), Freaky (Christopher Landon, 2020), Ghost Tropic (Bas Devos, 2019), Host (Rob Savage, 2020), The Invisible Man (Leigh Whannell, 2020), Relic (Natalie Erika James, 2020), Save Yourselves (Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson, 2020), Spree (Eugene Kotlyarenko, 2020), Unhinged (Derrick Borte, 2020)

 

*I didn’t get a chance to watch Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson is Dead on Netflix because I’m not sure if I’m ready to watch a film about her confronting the ultimate death of her father by enacting the different ways he might die. It is still hard to deal with my father’s death, but I will hope to find the right time to watch Johnson’s film.

I also didn’t get a chance to watch David Fincher’s Mank on Netflix and a bunch of other new releases on Netflix. If they were released in cinemas here, I would’ve gone on the first day. To find the enthusiasm to watch at home has been tough, but I hope to find the right time for them too.