I guess I watch about 300 feature, documentary and short films a year, so you may think I'd like a break over the holidays. But not so, I've already checked to see what's playing at the cinemas at the places I'll be holidaying in with my family this year, and I've got a lineup of DVDs of films I've missed this year and want to catch-up on. There are also plenty of must-see titles playing on Rialto Channel over the coming week.

I guess I watch about 300 feature, documentary and short films a year, so you may think I'd like a break over the holidays. But not so, I've already checked to see what's playing at the cinemas at the places I'll be holidaying in with my family this year, and I've got a lineup of DVDs of films I've missed this year and want to catch-up on. There are also plenty of must-see titles playing on Rialto Channel over the coming week.

Here are a few of my highlights:

Starring Ex-students from St. John's School for the Deaf

Directed by Alex Gibney

Premieres Thursday 26^th December, 8.30pm
Remote record here.

This is another excellent documentary from Oscar award-winning documentary writer and director Alex Gibney, who has previous brought us We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, Freakonomics, and The Armstrong Lie. This Emmy award-winning documentary examines the scandalous and emotional issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following the story of the first sexual abuse complaint in the United States as the issue escalates through to the Vatican. The original whistleblowers were a group of ex- students from St John's School for the Deaf, who claimed to have been sexually abused by the man they considered their second father. It's a heartbreaking story and what is particularly striking is the lack of compassion shown by the church as they deal with these complaints.

Starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Nick Frost

Directed by Joe Cornish

Premieres Saturday 28^th December, 8.30pm
Remote record here.

In his short, sharp debut feature, British director Joe Cornish gives the alien invasion genre a kick in the shins. This film is a low-fi sci-fi adventure that’s a mix of comedy, horror and action, from the producer of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. With a pumping soundtrack by Basement Jaxx, Attack the Block follows a gang of tough kids from South London who defend their block on the council estate from another gang, who just happen to be savage alien monsters. It's a relatively simple idea, but it's executed well and filled with a colorful bunch of riffraff kids played mostly by newcomers you can't help but root for.

Starring Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld & Rainer Bock

Directed by Christian Petzold

Premieres Tuesday 31^st December, 8.30pm  

German director Christian Petzold does an incredible job taking us inside 1980s East Berlin in this tense and superbly crafted film. Winner of the Best Director prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 2012, Barbara is one of the highlights of the Rialto World series and stars Nina Hoss as a Berlin based doctor sent to the provinces as punishment for requesting an exit visa. Regarded as sulky and cold by her colleagues, Barbara must keep her composure as she quietly plans her escape. If you enjoyed the German cold war thriller The Lives of Others a few years back then Barbara is a must see.