joe stevenson's chicken.iant central performance by newcomer stephen brandon. my favourite film of 2016 was the spine—chilling british production under the shadow, from iran—born london—based writer—director ba bak anvari. the uk's entry for the foreign language film 0scar, under the shadow was set in terrain, shot injordan and filmed in faster, there are not too roman polansky and the guilermo del toro but anvari's superbly creepy chiller conjures an atmosphere which is uniquely its own. with very strong performances by narges rashidi and avin manshadi as the mother and daughter terrorised by falling bombs, marauding djinn spirits and religious zealots, under the shadow is a film that you simply must not miss, believe me, it will take your breath away. films like under the shadow and notes on blindness found their audiences thanks in large part to the efforts of the uk's still thriving independent cinema circuit, the real heart of the movies. if you're lucky enough to have a local arthouse cinema, then make