Once Upon a Time in Uganda
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Cathryne Czubek
A new documentary tells how a Ugandan filmmaker and an American producer have reshaped African cinema.

By ROBERT DANIELS

Amanda
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Carolina Cavalli
A delusional college grad befriends an agoraphobic misanthrope in this stylish dark comedy by the Italian | Director Carolina Cavalli.

From left, Galatéa Bellugi as Rebecca and Benedetta Porcaroli as Amanda in the Carolina Cavalli feature “Amanda.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

The Lesson
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Thriller | Directed by Alice Troughton
A tense standoff between two writers kindles familial fireworks in this wittily self-aware melodrama.

An unhappy family in a den of deceit: from left, Richard E. Grant, Daryl McCormack, Julie Delpy and Stephen McMillan in “The Lesson.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Biosphere
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi | Directed by Mel Eslyn
What happens when a petulant, anti-intellectual president destroys the planet and he and his childhood buddy, the brainy one, are the only survivors?

Sterling K. Brown (left) plays the wiser consigliere to Mark Duplass’s childish former president in “Biosphere.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Joy Ride
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy | Directed by Adele Lim
Four friends travel to China in a trip that goes entertainingly off the rails in this terrific comedy, starring Ashley Park and Sherry Cola.

From left, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, Ashley Park and Sabrina Wu in “Joy Ride.”
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI