Another year, another series of cinematic dilemmas. I know the feeling: you're only just catching up with the Best Picture nominees from last year, when all of a sudden there's a whole new slate of press information, set stills and blogger hype to be pouring over. Being at Cambridge, the problem is compounded by all sorts of other questions like, who has the time to check IMDB? Why don't I just watch iPlayer instead? Where is Cineworld, anyway?

Have no fear. Taking on the intimidatingly robust list of films to be released this year, I've compiled a cheat-sheet of films to look out for in 2013. Whether it's big stars or low budgets, conventional film-making or a Lars Von Trier project, let this be your guide to the year in watching. And while some may call it premature to judge films that won't be released for six months, this is culture writing; if you wanted facts, you'd be reading The Economist. So without further adieu, here's the break-down of 2013's trends, micro-trends and loose ends.

The Return of the Auteur

Browsing the list of directors releasing films this year, 2013 is set to be a huge year for cinephiles. Among these names we find Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man) and Terrence Malick (Tree of Life), who somehow has three films in post-production at once. But some slightly smaller names are helming the most exciting projects. Jeff Nichols, who gave us the master-piece Take Shelter in 2011, is directing a career-peak Matthew McConaughey in Mud, while Blue Valetine's Derek Cianfrance re-teams with Ryan Gosling for epic crime drama, The Place Beyond The Pines. Does it look a bit like Drive? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Probably not.

Cool Dudes Make Kung-Fu Films

Directed by rapper RZA and produced by Quentin Tarantino, martial arts blood-bath The Man With The Iron Fists will have Wu Tang fans and sadists alike rejoicing. Meanwhile, affable oddball Keanu Reeves is said to be releasing his own debut, Man of Tai Chi. Just as inexplicably, he's also produced a documentary on the rise of digital film. Make of that what you will.

So Nuts it Might Work

While plot summaries are notoriously misleading, this year's crop promises some ambitious concepts. Want to see a Beat poetry-based murder mystery starring Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsberg? Then you'll love Kill Your Darlings! Want to see Korean genre master Bong Joon-Ho direct an adaptation of a French sci-fi novel about a perpetual motion train? Check out Snowpiercer! Best of all, the genius behind 2010's Animal Kingdom, returns with The Rover, a Guy Pearce vehicle which sounds like a futuristic remake of Visconti's The Bicycle Thief. If that doesn't appeal to you, you shouldn't be reading this.

Will Probably Win an Oscar

While I'd like to be contrarian and back World War Z for Best Picture, the smart money usually goes for something involving period dress. Early bets could be for Julian Fellowes' adaptation of Romeo & Juliet or Dickens biopic The Invisible Woman. Personally, I'm hoping Richard Linklater's sequel Before Midnight lives up to its arrestingly brilliant predecessors to form the holy trinity of talky romance. While the trend in sequels seems to be diminishing returns, the early buzz has been finger-crossingly positive.

Speaking of trends, readers may be shocked by the paucity of women on this list. Frankly, I was too. Browsing the impending releases, the lack of female directors on major projects in 2013 is pretty dispiriting. For an industry so obsessed with innovation in other fields, the gender imbalance in Hollywood remains a largely undiscussed issue. Here's hoping 2013's festival season uncovers some new Kathryn Bigelow's in-the-making. God knows we could use it.