Philip Ball

What is it that gives music its unique power? And what, exactly, do we mean when we say that music is magical? These are some of the questions director Mats Andersen sets out to answer in his new film. HOW MUSIC PLAYS US is a scientific documentary which takes us from the studios of some of today’s most prominent Norwegian musicians (Aurora Aksnes, Kjetil Møster, Jonas Benyoub) and way back to the early stages of human evolution where the physiological, mental and psychological foundation for our love affair with music was laid.

From Boris Karloff to Mel Brooks - Frankenstein has fired the imagination of generations of artists who have created their own interpretation of this Gothic masterpiece. Frankenstein: A Modern Myth looks at some of these depictions, including Danny Boyle's sell-out hit at the National Theatre. The film has exclusive access to rehearsals and interviews with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller - who alternate the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature - and with Danny Boyle. It also features cult film director John Waters: "I'm sympathetic to monsters, and this was the first one I came across as a child".