David Nixon, head of cinema at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) since 2022, has brought his expertise and passion to one of Scotland’s premier cultural hubs.
With two screens showcasing over 350 films annually, ranging from blockbusters to international and arthouse gems, David’s job is to ensure DCA remains a haven for diverse cinematic experiences.
It comes as the future of DCA “hangs in the balance” as new accounts show the scale of the arts centre’s financial challenges.
As streaming and cinema coexist, the 34-year-old champions the unrivalled magic of the big screen and sees 2025 as a banner year for both audiences and releases.
But what are the top seven films David thinks we should look out for on the big screen in 2025?
Over to David to explain more…
1. The Brutalist (released January 24)
The Brutalist is an epic drama about an architect played by Adrien Brody.
He escapes post-war Europe and moves to America to try and rebuild his life.
It’s been described by critics as monumental.
It also comes with a monumental run time of 3.5 hours!
But rest assured it comes with a 15 minute interval built in which I’m sure our audiences will massively appreciate.
It’s just won Best Drama at the Golden Globes at the weekend just gone, and it’s tipped for success at the Oscars too.
For me it’s a big film in terms of scope, in terms of scale, in terms of storytelling, so it’s definitely a film that was made for the big screen.
2. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (released February 7)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is an Iranian political thriller.
It’s set during the protests which took place in Iran in 2022 after a young woman was reportedly killed by the police after she was arrested for “improperly” wearing a hijab. It’s therefore very political.
The film itself centres on a family and the kind of divisions that become apparent within the family.
The father is a judge whose job it is to prosecute the protestors.
It’s mainly fictional narrative, but it features some real images from those real life protests.
It’s very powerful. That kind of division within the family I suppose is meant to be a metaphor or an echo of the division within Iranian society.
It’s really good. It’s tense, it’s thrilling and it’s important.
The director Mohammad Rasoulof has had to flee Iran because he was sentenced to eight years in prison because of this film, because it criticises the Iranian authorities.
3. Mickey 17 (released April 18)
Mickey 17 is an interesting one because the release date has bounced around quite a lot of times.
It’s Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s first film since the Oscar winning Parasite from 2019.
It’s a sci fi comedy, starring Robert Pattinson and he plays a series of expendable clones who go on an interstellar mission to colonise a new planet.
It’s based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton.
I think because the date has moved so many times, because Bong Joon-ho is such a big and important director, we can’t wait to finally bring this film to our big screens.
4. Elio (released June 13)
This is the latest Pixar animation, so something for families during their summer holidays.
This comes off the back of last year’s box office smash, Inside Out 2.
It’s not part of the same franchise as that, but it is the next Pixar.
It’s written by the writer of Coco Adrian Molina so I think we are in safe hands.
It follows an 11 year old boy called Elio who accidentally becomes the intergalactic ambassador for planet Earth after he’s beamed up to space by aliens.
Pixar for me and many people is known for making real quality animations featuring stories that resonate with both children and adults.
So I think Elio promises to be no different to that.
For the summer holidays, this is something to look forward to.
5. 28 Years Later (released June 20)
I’m excited about 28 Years Later because director Danny Boyle is back with Alex Garland, writer of the first British post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later, released in 2002.
The cast here includes Jodie Comer who is having an amazing few years on screen, alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
It’s rumoured that Cillian Murphy will be making a return to the series, but notably he’s not in the trailer, which is interesting.
They are reportedly making more of the 28 Years Later series after this one, so we are looking forward to seeing if it lives up to the hype of the first film.
6. The Battle of Baktan Cross (title TBC – released August 8)
Paul Thomas Anderson is an auteur and we’re big fans of him at DCA.
His back catalogue includes Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will be Blood and so many more.
But this latest film is shrouded in mystery, so we don’t know anything about the plot, we don’t know anything about when it’s set.
The rumoured title is The Battle of Baktan Cross, although that’s yet to be confirmed.
What we do know is that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Regina Hall and we do know it’s Paul Thomas Anderson’s biggest budget film to date.
It’s reported that he’s had $140 million to play with which is exciting, because his films are normally lower budgets than that.
It will see Paul Thomas Anderson reunite with Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood once again who composed the score.
Paul Thomas Anderson as a director celebrates and champions celluloid film, so we hope to bring a 35mm print here for Dundee audiences.
We’re lucky we are one of the only cinemas in Scotland which can still project a 35mm film.
I think any Paul Thomas Anderson film is an event in itself, and the pull is him as the director.
The fact that no one knows anything, people are still super excited – or at least I am anyway!
7. Die, My Love (release date TBC)
Die, My Love is by Scottish director Lynne Ramsay. She’s one of my favourite film makers.
She returns with her first film since You Were Never Really Here in 2017.
It’s produced by Martin Scorsese who is also a big fan of her work.
It’ll star Jennifer Lawrence, (who attended a Dior show in Perthshire in 2024), as well as Robert Pattinson again.
It’s about a new mother who lives in the countryside who develops postpartum depression and then psychosis.
Again, not a feel good film, but anyone who’s seen any Lynne Ramsay films knows it will deserve a big place on our big screen.
It hasn’t got a release date yet, but it will likely play one of the big European festivals like Cannes and be released later in the year.
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