Autobiographical films where directors look back at their own childhood have not exactly been in short supply in recent years, but with The Cathedral Ricky D'Ambrose hasserved us one of the very best. Although the film has been featured at several of the biggest international festivals and frequently popped up on lists of last year's best films, it has flown under the radar of many.

35-year-old D'Ambrose impressively demonstrates a special ability to unfold his childhood through beautiful, impressionistic images, explored through objects, gestures and tangled memories full of human passion and anxiety. The entire film exudes a tremendous control that is only possible with the power of recollection and an extraordinary talent.

Ricky D’Ambrose (b. 1987, USA) is a writer and director based in New York City. His first feature, Notes on an Appearance, premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival in 2018. His short films have been included in the official selections at the New York Film Festival, the Vienna International Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, and the Jeonju International Film Festival, among others. In 2017, D'Ambrose was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, as well as one of the decade’s Best New Filmmakers by Richard Brody of the New Yorker magazine. He has written about film and the arts for The Nation, Film Quarterly, n+1, and Filmmaker magazine. The Cathedral(2021), with a world premiere at Venice International Film Festival, is his second feature.