There are always a few you miss when you wade through a film festival catalogue. Here are five worth catching. Mongolian Pingpong: Ning Hao was one of the stars of last year's festival with Incense - a low-budget DV gem that mixed pathos with a liberal sense of humour. He treads a familiar path here - returning to the back of beyond to turn his gaze on the commercial world's impact on common folk. 9 Songs: Sex - and plenty of it. And, this being a film festival, no one will call you a pervert for buying a ticket. Michael Winterbottom presents an open, frank and explicit examination of the sexual relationship between a couple - Kieran O'Brien and Margot Stilley - who meet at a rock concert. It's had some critics rejoicing and some hiding behind their hands. A Hole in My Heart: Somehow, Lukas Moodysson managed to charm even in the grim realities of his Lilya 4-Ever, so what he'll do when he turns his gaze on the world of pornography is anyone's guess. Never for the faint-hearted, expect the culture of 'greed is good' to take a pounding - and all relationships to be a mess. Kekexili: Mountain Patrol: Lu Chuan - surprise Golden Horse winner - has won fans wherever it's screened for its touching portrayal of the endangered Tibetan antelopes and the people who protect them. A hauntingly atmospheric work. Appleseed: OK, let's lighten the load. This is a cutting-edge work from Aramaki Shinji that takes anime into the future - and into a world of part-humans, part-robots. Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) has given it his blessing. And that's good enough for us.
