Windstorm

Windstorm (Ostwind, 2013) is a German family adventure you can watch online on iFILM. Fourteen-year-old Mika has flunked the school year, so instead of a summer with friends she's packed off to her stern grandmother's stables, where the days look set to be all textbooks and boredom.

Then there's the locked stall at the far end of the yard. Inside is a black stallion named Windstorm — wild, unrideable, written off by everyone on the farm. Mika (Hanna Binke) somehow reaches him when no one else can. Night after night she slips out to the barn, and a friendship grows between the girl and the horse that nobody believes is possible. When the stables come under threat, the two of them have to prove what they're worth in front of everyone.

Directed by Katja von Garnier, with Jürgen Vogel as the local vet, the film launched a hit German franchise and leans on real horses and genuine riding rather than CGI. It's warm, uncomplicated viewing for a family night — and catnip for any kid who's horse-mad. Stream Windstorm (2013) online on iFILM.