The White Countess La Contessa Bianca (UK). From 10 Feb. Dir. James Ivory, starring Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson. In 1930s Shanghai on the brink of the Japanese invasion, a blind American diplomat falls for a widowed Russian countess working illegally to support her dead husbands family. "The White Countess" is the final film from the 44-year-long partnership between Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, who died in May last year. The screenplay is by Kazuo Ishiguro, whose novel "The Remains of the Day" Merchant Ivory Productions filmed in 1993 to a host of Oscar nominations.

In Un Altro Paese (It). From 10 Feb. Dir. Marco Turco. Documentary based on the book by Alexander Stille, "Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia And The Death Of The First Italian Republic", this film follows the story of the Mafia from its beginnings to the present day.

Le Couperet Il Cacciatore di Teste (Belgium/France/Spain). From 10 Feb. Dir. Constantin Costa Gavras, starring Jos Garcia and Karin Viard. Black comic-thriller about a manager in the paper business who decides to eliminate the competition after losing his job.

Prime (USA). From 10 Feb. Dir. Ben Younger, starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. A divorced Manhattan career woman begins a relationship with a young painter who turns out to be the son of her psychoanalyst.

The Libertine (UK). From 10 Feb. Dir. Laurence Dunmore, starring Johnny Depp and John Malkovich. Drama set in Restoration London recounting the life of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester a decadent playwright who fell from grace under the reign of Charles II.

North County (USA). From 10 Feb. Dir. Niki Caro, starring Charlize Theron and Woody Harrelson. True-story drama about a single mother's struggle against sexual harassment at work in Northern Minnesota's iron mines.

The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada Le Tre Sepolture (France/USA). From 10 Feb. Dir. Tommy Lee Jones. A ranch foreman tries to fulfil his best friends desire to be buried across the border in his hometown in Mexico, although this involves disinterring him twice first.

Transamerica (USA). From 10 Feb. Dir. Duncan Tucker, starring Felicity Huffman and Kevin Zegers. The journey of a male-to-female preoperative transsexual who learns she has a teenage son.

Underworld: Evolution (USA). From 10 Feb. Dir. Len Wiseman, starring Kate Beckinsale and Bill Nighy. Gory horror tracing the origins of the ancient feud between vampires and werewolves.