Taking place at a host of venues across East London, the East End Film Festival returns with an intriguing programme combining fiction and documentary films, shorts, events, and Q&As. It looks like it’s going to be a great few days.

Here’s a small selection of 5 programme highlights that we’re particularly looking forward to:

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry – Barbican Centre | 8 July | 16:00

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. Director Alison Klayman received unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China, and her film is a detailed and nuanced exploration both of contemporary China and one of its most fascinating public figures.

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Indignados – Rio | 8 July | 20:30

Inspired by Stephane Hessel’s bestseller ‘Time for Outrage’, veteran director Tony Gatlif’s powerful take on current global events shows us a world in flux through the eyes of a female illegal immigrant, taking us to the heart of the Occupy movement, the poverty of displaced people, and the dissatisfaction of a younger generation in revolt. Screens with short This Is Not My Home.

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Ping Pong + Q&A – Stratford Picturehouse | 7 July | 18:00

An uplifting-looking doc in which pensioners from across the planet compete in the World over 80s Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia. Eight players with 703 years between them guide us through the extraordinary world of Veteran sports, as the competition is interwoven with intimate and candid portraits of home lives. It’s an exploration of the hope, regret and immediacy of growing old.

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The Tempest – Genesis Cinema | 6 July | 18:30

A group of teenagers meet twice a week to rehearse a performance of Shakespeare’s final play in Oval, South London. Blending drama and documentary, The Tempest follows them as they use the play to create a portrait of what it means to be British, a process altered by the arrival of the London riots.

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The Legend of Kaspar Hauser – Hackney Picturehouse | 6 July | 21:00

Kaspar Hauser, a nineteenth century man who seemingly appeared from nowhere claiming to have had no previous contact with society, is reimagined as an androgynous woman washing up on a Mediterranean island, and starting a war between the Sheriff and the Pusher, both played by Vincent Gallo (!). A tale of faith, suspicion and flying saucers set to the thudding beats of techno behemoth Vitalic, …Kaspar Hauser is the sort of astonishing experience modern cinema rarely manages, a Techno Western in a world of its own. This one could go either way, but boy does it look intriguing.

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You can click here for information on how to book, and browse the full programme here.