120 Beats per Minute

Born of its director Robin Campillo's real-life involvement with Aids awareness group Act Up Paris, 120 Beats per Minute proudly bangs its activist drum. Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2017, this informed and immersive film is set in the early 90s as the Aids epidemic rages, and shows the collective's "positive and combative" approach to effecting change. Documenting the minutiae of their weekly meetings alongside their attention-grabbing protests, Campillo takes you into the midst of numerous impassioned debates, making time for a burgeoning relationship between a vivacious founder member (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) and a more reserved newcomer (Arnaud Valois). The kinetic camerawork channels both the group's youthful exuberance and impatience; for the mainly HIV-positive members, there's not a moment to lose. And the film's tight focus emphasises their single-minded determination and the safety and solidarity afforded by the fraternity in a hostile society, whose judgement is felt here only fleetingly. There's love, tragedy and laughter in an inspiring, visually arresting look at a group that is living the hell out of life and not going down without a fight.