With the start of the cinema festival season we’re about to see the films that will take out the Oscars at next year’s awards. The first genuine contender to emerge is Beautiful Boy, a touching family drama directed by Shawn Ku.

Mario Bello and Michael Sheen play parents whose world is shattered when their teenage son goes on a shooting spree at college. It’s an all too familiar story, but one we’ve never seen through the eyes of the ones left behind.

The trailer does make me a little nervous, as it seems to resort of sentimentalism and melodrama, but I think there’s real potential here. If executed as well as its hype suggests, we may be looking at a major award winner.