Scheme Birds

It's a testament to the filmmakers' talent and sensitivity that Scheme Birds is never unbearable to watch, nor unduly sentimental in the way of so much liberal-minded cinema.

As a feature-length debut for Swedish duo Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin, it's a work of major promise.

This extraordinary documentary weighs the bleak details - and they are, at times, almost unbearably grim - against moments of lyrical beauty and even humour.

A solar black hole of infinite social gravity. Without films like this, not even light can escape.