Film choice

Aisha (2022) Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm ★★★

With a stellar cast that includes Black Panther’s Letitia Wright and The Crown’s Josh O’connor, Frank Berry’s drama is a devastating insight into immigration and hope forged against the odds. Wright plays Aisha, a woman caught up in the labyrinth of Ireland’s immigration system, who develops a close bond with former prisoner Conor (O’conner). But their friendship is soon threatened by officials.

Philomena (2013) BBC Four, 9pm ★★★★

This true story is based on the work of journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), who worked with Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), an Irishwoman then in her seventies, as she searched for her son whom she was forced to give up for adoption as a toddler. Stephen Frears’s film delivers some savage emotional blows, as well as harsh truths about the historical influence of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

A Little Chaos (2014) BBC Four, 10.30pm ★★★

Alan Rickman turned his hand to directing (for the second, and final, time, following 1997’s The Winter Guest) for this period drama, set during the reign of France’s Louis XIV. It follows architects André Le Nôtre (Matthias Schoenaerts) and Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet) as they attempt to design the grand Gardens of Versailles for the King. A little soppy, but the costumes are gorgeous.