Zázrak

Juraj Lehotský : 2013
Miracle

Fifteen-year-old Ela has entered a detention facility following a series of conflicts with her mother. Many of the other girls living there have experienced more misery than some adults – truancy, running away, drugs and prostitution. Before arriving at the correctional centre, Ela was in a relationship with 30-year-old Roby, and she remains deeply in love with him. She imagines them sharing a future together, and is determined to do what it takes to make it a reality. But she is not allowed to contact him. She decides to run away from the centre during the New Year's Eve disco. The director took inspiration for this social drama from the story of a girl he once met. As he says, the aim of the film was "to see her life the way it is. To live her life with her little secret, in all its simplicity and ordinariness. I wanted to be close to her." Juraj Lehotský's feature debut received a Special Mention when it premiered in competition at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2013, and was winner of the jury award for Best Actress at Vilnius International Film Festival 2014.

Ekskursantė

Audrius Juzėnas : 2013
The Excursionist

After World War II, when Europe was divided in two parts, the state of Lithuania found itself on the Eastern side of the iron curtain. There, the Stalin regime soon demolished the established way of life and cruelly suppressed any kind of resistance to that process. Hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians were deported to work in concentration camps in north and east Russia. Based on a true story from Lithuania's history, the film follows Marija, an 11-year-old girl who escapes from an exile train taking her and her family to Siberia, to start the 6,000 km long, dangerous journey back to her homeland in Lithuania. Whilst travelling she encounters a variety of people: some indifferent, others who turn her away but do not prevent her journey, only a few risking not only their freedom, but also their lives in order to help her. A film about hope and destiny, love and friendship, sacrifice and good nature, and an immeasurable love for one's homeland. Audrius Juzėnas's third feature screened at Vilnius International Film Festival 2014.

Westen

Christian Schwochow : 2013
West

Two suitcases, a schoolbag, a plush toy – that's all Nelly Senff and her son Alexei take with them to begin their new life. A Volkswagen stops in front of their house in East Berlin. Nelly is nervous. The year is 1978. It's summer, three years after Wassilij's death. Nelly's boyfriend and Alexei's father died in a car accident in Russia. Since he is dead, Nelly wants to leave too. Away from the GDR, to leave the grief and the memories behind. To get a fresh start. That should be possible in the West, or so Nelly believes. When she leaves, when she gets into the car, she is wearing a floral dress. But over there in the West, she doesn't know anybody. The first place of refuge for immigrants from the East is Marienfelde, a cramped emergency camp in West Berlin. Marienfelde is a hotspot between two political systems. And the place where her past catches up with her. The West German secret police take her aside for interrogation; they ask her about Wassilij. Nelly has to decide whether she will let the trauma of the past destroy the future she had in mind for her and her son. Christian Schwochow's third feature won Best Actress award and the FIPRESCI Prize World Competition at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

The Girl from the Wardrobe

Bodo Kox : 2013
Dziewczyna z szafy

Brothers Jacek and Tomek live in a high-rise, one of many in the concrete housing estate. Tomek suffers from Savant syndrome and Jack works at home as a webmaster. Usually they are inseparable and only when Jack needs to go for a business meeting he leaves his brother with the repulsive Mrs Kwiatkowska, their neighbour. The new tenant living opposite the boys is very mysterious and seems to be something of a wild creature. Her name is Magda. She seldom leaves her flat, despises people and going out is unbearable for her. One day, Jacek needs to go to another town and asks Magda to stay with his brother. Although the young woman lives in a drug-induced world of her own, it turns out that Tomek fits right in and their meeting seems like destiny. This is the beginning of a friendship and at the same time the beginning of their end. An intimate, stylised story of three entirely different people, each lonely and alienated in his or her own way. Bodo Kox's unique feature debut was winner of the Best International Feature Film award at Rome Independent Film Festival 2014.

Four Letters Apart

Erlend E Mo : 2013
Children in the Age of ADHD

A film about three children at odds with themselves and the world around them, at a time when more and more are being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Victor is seven. He hates ADHD, believing it's something to do with his club feet. Martine is quick to become withdrawn, and struggles with uncontrollable rage when things do not go her way. For the most part, Marino keeps to himself, but easily becomes aggressive. Victor, Martine and Marino are in a special class in a normal school in Denmark. The class teachers and the children's parents decide to take part in an alternative treatment project focusing on the individual child's challenges and possibilities, rather than relying on medical diagnosis and medication. The film follows the whole process, and shows how the children make great strides over the course of a year, as the adults around them start to see each individual child in a new light. Erlend E Mo's documentary was winner of the Peter Wintonick Audience Award at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2014.

Göl zamanı

Cafer Özgül : 2013
Time of the Lake

Turkey in 1930. The entire country is in a state of transition following the Atatürk reforms. Two close friends, Ahmet and Refik, recent medical school graduates, decide to explore Anatolia, emulating the romantics of the 19th century. They arrive at a small town on the Aegean and are lodged by Haşim Bey who is an old member of the Party of Union and Progress. His daughter Elif is a shy and a melancholy girl. One night, she and Refik meet by the lakeside and a romance between them is kindled. But Refik is too filled with notions of adventure to settle down. He abandons Elif and travels on to Europe. Ahmet also is smitten by Elif. His attraction unrequited, Ahmet remains in the town just to be near her. As the years go by, Elif continues to wait for Refik. Despite occasional re-encounters, Refik's spark for Elif has never re-ignited, nor has he found anyone to replace her. And Ahmet continues to pine for Elif. Then, one day, Refik returns to town to visit his old friend who has been taken ill. The three are together again and there are old scores to settle. Cafer Özgül's fiction feature directorial debut premiered at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

La distancia más larga

Claudia Pinto Emperador : 2013
The Longest Distance

Two faces of the same country: a chaotic and violent city and a rural paradise containing some of the oldest mountains on the planet. Two characters who find each other at a crucial moment. Two brave journeys, one that begins as a children's adventure and ends up on the other side of the country, and a one-way trip, free and determined. Sixtyish Martina arrives from Spain to La Gran Sabana in south-eastern Venezuela: she intends to die atop Mount Roraima. These plans are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of her 12-year-old grandson Lucas. Destiny will bond them. Without knowing it, they are part of an unbreakable family circle. There will be second chances and choices to be made. Claudia Pinto Emperador's feature debut talks about the freedom of choice we have when defining our lives, how strong family ties can be and how second opportunities are all around us. It is an ode to freedom which reminds us there is only one destiny, the one you choose for yourself. Her film won the Glauber Rocha Award at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

Post partum

Delphine Noels : 2013

Luce and Ulysse love each other. They live a full and happy life managing their own little veterinary clinic on the Atlantic coast. Luce is awaiting a happy event. The future looks good. At least at first sight. But when baby Rose arrives, nothing goes as planned. Luce is out of her depth before the constant crying of her baby. Why does the baby cry so? Is she trying to warn her about something? Could it be that the little family is in danger? The downward spiral of a distraught young mother who each day feels more and more distant from her newborn child. Even though her relatives suffocate her with peremptory advice about how to bring up a child, Luce tumbles into the gaping, bottomless abyss that exists between the image of the perfect mother that society and her close family impress upon her, and her own experiences as a young mother. Delphine Noels's feature debut premiered at Bruxelles Film Festival 2013.

Evaporating Borders

Iva Radivojevic : 2014

The Mediterranean island Cyprus, that forms an easy access to Europe, is a favourite destination for people smugglers. The tensions caused by a massive flood of immigrants can be felt strongly here. This essay in five parts offers a series of vignettes, guided by the filmmaker's curious eye and personal reflections. Through the people she encounters along the way, the film dissects the experience of asylum seekers in Cyprus: a PLO activist and exile from Iraq is denied asylum within 15 minutes; neo-nazi fundamentalists roam the streets in an attack on Muslim migrants; activists and academics organise an antifascist rally and clash with the neo-nazis; 195 migrants drown in the Mediterranean. Poetically photographed and rendered, the film passionately weaves the themes of migration, tolerance, identity and belonging. Iva Radivojevic's first documentary feature premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2014.

Le vertige des possibles

Vivianne Perelmuter : 2013
Uncertain Times

Anne is in crisis. She is paid to write stories but can't manage it anymore. She is suddenly overcome with doubts. Not the fear of the blank page, just the opposite. She doesn't know where to begin nor how to end because she has no idea where her characters are going. And real life is the same. She feels dizzy when she starts writing, regretting all the paths that she didn't choose in life. How do you make a decision in a time of uncertainty? But this very night, led against her will to wander through the city in which she lives, she will have to find her bearings in a labyrinth of signs. Before the sun rises, she must act. Vivianne Perelmuter's mysterious and haunting feature debut received an Award of Merit at The Indie Fest 2013.

Ressac

Pascale Ferland : 2013
Riptide

After searching in vain for a job in the small seaside town where he was born, Édouard is forced to head off to the big city. He reluctantly leaves behind his mother-in-law Dorine, his wife Gemma and his beloved daughter Chloé. The weight of his absence is felt by all three women. Soon the news arrives of his unexplained death. Beyond the confusion, guilt and anger that accompany such an event, there is the love, hope and idealism of youth, unfulfilled desires and the dreams they share of a better future. When Gemma discovers the unusual legacy left by her late husband, she thinks she's finally found the key to happiness. But what is happiness in the eyes of others? And how do we achieve it? Loosely based on an incident in Québec's recent history, Pascale Ferland's first fiction feature conveys the harsh poetry of daily lives imbued with crushed dreams, regret and the characters' need for ideals and love. Her film premiered at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

Zapelji me

Marko Šantić : 2013
Seduce Me

After Luka's mother abandoned him when he was 10, he spent nine years in a children's home. His father died in a car accident when he was small. He's 19 now and expected to stand on his own feet. He moves into a tiny flat and finds work in an abattoir, where he meets Ajda. The bubbly, carefree girl is the very opposite of reserved, solemn Luka, who falls for her immediately. Buoyed up by Ajda's energy, Luka finds the courage to contact his mother and visit her in the country. But the encounter is upsetting: Luka is not made welcome and learns, after asking to see his father's grave, that the car accident was a fabrication. His father is alive, and has a new family. Troubled and confused, Luka seeks refuge in his relationship with Ajda. But his happy-go-lucky girlfriend turns out to be harbouring a dark secret of her own. A touching love story and a vivid portrait of a generation negotiating the path to adulthood with no assistance from parents or society. Marko Šantić's feature debut premiered at Slovene Film Festival 2013 where it won the Vesna for Best Director. His film screened in competition at goEast Film Festival Wiesbaden 2014.

Le bonheur

Fabrice Grange : 2013
Happiness

Alice, 30, lives a simple and uneventful life. She is happy, or rather thinks she is. But it is sham happiness that hangs by a thread, which snaps when Jean enters her life, a fortuitous encounter that completely messes up her existence. Forty-something, a father and translator, Jean spends his time between his small office and friends. He too, initially, does not understand that his encounter with Alice has changed everything. It all starts playfully. But some games are dangerous and Alice and Jean soon find themselves caught in their own trap. They discover that freedom, love, and happiness come at a price. Fabrice Grange's feature directorial debut premiered at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

From two worlds as a keepsake

Nika Shek : 2012
Yerku ashkharhic i hishatak

It is 1988, a multi-ethnic town in Soviet Azerbaijan. Eight-year-old Ashen's parents, both Armenian, are divorced, live in different parts of town and are forever in a tug-of-war over the girl. Ashen's father has remarried and his new Russian wife has become a second mother for Ashen. In fact everyone is kind to the girl and it doesn't matter what nationality they are. But childhood is not protected from aggression of the adult world, and when the conflict breaks out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where Ashen lives becomes a far more serious matter. Ashen's mother has to give her over to her father to keep her safe. Ashen survives, but not her family. She loses her father and both mothers. She is saved by an Azerbaijani neighbour who could not save her own daughter, whose father was Armenian. Could this woman become Ashen's third mother? Nika Shek's film, her feature directorial debut, premiered at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

Nuna

Lee Won-sik : 2013
A Boy's Sister

When she was still a young girl, Yoon-hee lost her little brother in a traumatic incident. Her younger brother died after saving her from a swollen river during the rainy season and she has been living with the pain and guilt ever since. Because of the incident, Yoon-hee cannot go out during the rainy season and she has been fired from numerous jobs due to this. One day, Yoon-hee's wallet is stolen by a teenager in their neighbourhood. In the wallet, there's only a picture of her younger brother. Yoon-hee begins a new job as a cafeteria worker at a high school and whilst working there, she meets Jin-ho, the teen who stole her wallet. Both carry similar emotional scars from past incidents. By trying to save Jin-ho from the perils in which he finds himself, Yoon-hee manages to overcome the trauma that has been afflicting her for so long. As he becomes her surrogate brother, she starts to heal her emotional wounds and finally takes the steps for re-entry into the world. Lee Won-sik's feature debut received its international premiere at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

Yam dam

Vivian Goffette : 2013

Christian lives a largely featureless life as a country vet. Married and childless, he and his wife have set up a small aid-to-Africa charity organisation and he serves as its president. But that isn't enough to fill the monotony of his existence. So Christian spends his idle hours surfing the web. On the internet he invents a second persona and flirts with a young African woman in search of a better life. Just idle flirting. Then, one day, Faustine, a 26-year-old from Burkina Faso, shows up at his consulting room. "I have no papers," she tells him. "But you promised to marry me." This forces Christian to embrace a certain spirit of improvisation and a radical rethinking of his lifestyle. Vivian Goffette's feature debut premiered at Montréal World Film Festival 2013.

Forbrydelsen

Søren Sveistrup : 2007
The Killing

Sarah Lund is looking forward to her last day as a detective with the Copenhagen police department. She is supposed to move to Sweden with her fiancé, but everything changes when a nineteen-year-old girl, Nanna Birk Larsen, is found raped and brutally murdered. Along with detective Jan Meyer, Sarah is forced to be a head of the extended investigation, as it soon becomes clear that Lund and Meyer are chasing a very intelligent and dangerous murderer. Local politician Troels Hartmann is in the middle of a hard election campaign to become the new mayor of Copenhagen when suddenly, evidence links the city hall to the murder. At the same time, the girl's family and friends struggle to cope with their loss. Over the course of twenty days, suspect upon suspect is sought out as violence and political pressures cast their shadows over the hunt for the killer.

Todos están muertos

Beatriz Sanchís : 2014
All are dead

Seeing Lupe, 35, in her bathrobe and slippers, stuck at home making pies, you would never imagine that back in the 80s she was a rock star. She and her brother Diego made up the band Groenlandia, whose first album was a huge hit. But Lupe has turned her back on that distant past of touring and concerts. She lives wholly dependent on her mother Paquita, 65, and has a teenage son, Pancho, who hates her. Her agoraphobia won't even let her leave the house to buy the ingredients she needs for cooking. Luckily her mother, Paquita, a superstitious Mexican woman with a heart of gold, is there to do the shopping, deal with her frequent crises and do what matters most: be a mother to Pancho. But Paquita is running out of time. She just found out that she's going to die and she has only one final goal: to prepare her family for life without her. It takes a drastic Day of the Dead ritual to wake up Lupe and teach her the value of saying goodbye. Beatriz Sanchís's first feature was winner of the Biznaga de Plata Special Jury Award and the Biznaga de Plata for Best Actress at Festival de Málaga de Cine Español 2014.

A Thousand Times Good Night

Erik Poppe : 2013
Tusen ganger god natt

Rebecca is a photojournalist obsessed with reporting in dangerous war zones. She documents a group of female suicide bombers in Afghanistan. She accompanies one of the suicide bombers to Kabul, where the premature detonation of the bomb severely injures her. While recuperating at her home in Ireland, she is confronted by her husband Marcus and her daughter Steph, who force her to choose between covering war zones, or prioritising her family. She chooses her family. Steph is intrigued by her mother's photographs and interested in humanitarian work in Africa, so Rebecca proposes a photography trip with her daughter to a refugee camp in Kenya. Marcus agrees, assuming that the trip will be safe. Instead, the camp is attacked by an armed group that begins murdering people in their tents. Rebecca's obsession with documenting violence returns, and she again recklessly exposes herself to danger, taking photos in rhythm with the gunfire. Erik Poppe's fourth feature is inspired by the director's own experiences as a war photographer in the 1980s. His film premiered at Montréal World Film Festival 2013 where it received the Special Grand Prix of the Jury.

Silmäterä

Jan Forsström : 2013
The Princess of Egypt

Marja, 25, has built her life around her 7-year-old daughter Julia. Marja works at night so she can spend the days with Julia, playing and telling an ongoing fairytale about the princess of Egypt and her mother. The harmony is broken when they meet Kamaran, an Iranian immigrant and successful businessman, who suspects that he is Julia's father: Marja and Kamaran had a short fling years back, and afterwards Marja never told Kamaran about the pregnancy. Now Kamaran wants to get in contact with his presumed daughter. Together with his wife and brother, he starts to pressure Marja and she fears they'll try to kidnap Julia. Marja becomes more and more possessive, overwhelmed by the fear of losing Julia and ready for anything, just to make sure that her daughter will not be taken away from her. Inspired by true events, Jan Forsström's feature directorial debut is a touching drama about insecurity, fear and motherly love. His film received its international premiere at Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2013, and was the recipient of the Banca Popolare di Bergamo award at Bergamo Film Meeting 2014.

Cumbres

Gabriel Nuncio : 2013
Heights

Miwi is awoken in the middle of the night by her father telling her that she must leave home and take her sister, Juliana, with her. Although no one explains why, she understands that she needs to protect her older sister. Despite growing up together in Monterrey, they don't really know each other and their journey creates a bittersweet relationship marked by love, pain and guilt. What was supposed to be a short trip becomes a long journey on unknown routes. The teenage sisters repeatedly encounter obstacles that jeopardise their search to find a safe place to stay. Though they drive farther and farther away, Miwi begins to discover that the tragedy of what happened is too complicated to escape. It doesn't matter how much physical distance there is between them and Monterrey, they can't separate themselves from the dark event that follows them. Gabriel Nuncio's feature directorial debut screened at SXSW 2014.

Immunity

Raymond Steers : 2014

A tall, attractive stranger comes to a small Eastern European town and rents an apartment. At first he appears to be a photographer shooting startling black and white portraits on an antique camera, but soon the woman working at the old photo lab, her cousin, the journalist, and her grandfather begin to suspect that there is more to the photographs than meets the eye. The stranger possesses a mysterious object to which only he is immune. It cannot be shown to women, children, or anyone high on alcohol or drugs. He takes a photograph of each man who views the object, capturing their faces which reflect a variety of shocked responses. The man does not know what the object is: perhaps it is the most gruesome thing in the world. Or the most beautiful. After viewing the object, no man can, or will, speak about what he saw. As more clients come to view the object things start to get out of hand. Raymond Steers's second feature premiered at Sofia International Film Festival 2014.

Three Days in Sarajevo

Nikolay Todorov : 2014

Two young women from different countries nightdream about a city they have never been to. They get acquainted on the internet and decide to visit the place together, looking for clues to their dreams. The city feels close in a strange way. They immerse into its mysteries, discover its spirit and run into its secrets, only to find an answer to their questions. Nikolay Todorov's feature debut premiered at Sofia International Film Festival 2014.

Walking on the Beach

Caspar Pfaundler : 2013
Gehen am strand

Anja is getting nowhere. Neither her academic career nor her private life are making any headway, and listlessness turns into depression. She has retreated to finish her master's thesis, but as much as she tries, she is stuck in her work. This situation seems to repeat itself with her relationship to her boyfriend Paul. When her grandmother dies and the family gathers at the funeral in The Hague, Anja flees to the seafront to come to terms with her loneliness. Walking the beach she feels her solitude and starts to see herself in a different light. From the intensity of her emotions there emerges a new self-perception. Caspar Pfaundler's second feature premiered at Diagonale Graz 2013, and screened at Belgrade International Film Festival 2014.

The Piano Room

Igor Ivanov Izi : 2013
Soba so pijano

A fable about the destinies of the guests who stay in the room with the piano in a hotel that is up for sale. This room, that hides them from the hypocrisy of the world outside, is the only place where they can find some kind of fulfilment. Although far from similar, as representatives of completely different social and cultural groups, all share emptiness in their life. As the years pass like revolving doors, motives become frustrations, ambition and fantasy lead to ruin. The fragments from the lives of these existentialist characters are sufficient for us to see all their lives, and they're intertwined around the central character, the Maid. She is young and silent. She makes the room in between the scenes with the other characters, and writes letters. Life begins, life ends, and lives are changed forever in the piano room. Only the Maid, oblivious to the thwarted dreams that check in and out, seems to move forward. Igor Ivanov Izi's second feature received its international premiere at Belgrade International Film Festival 2014.

The Fold

John Jencks : 2014

A teenage girl lies dead on the floor of a swimming pool. Ten months later, Anglican priest Rebecca Ashton moves to Cornwall in an attempt to deal with the death of her daughter. Enjoying her picturesque new environment, she finds a Bulgarian girl Radka Dimitrova sleeping rough in her church and with her mothering instincts firmly in tact her natural reaction is to protect her. Rebecca takes over Radka's English classes at local community centre St Piran's and the two become close. As Radka's dependence on Rebecca grows, Rebecca's motivation to help her becomes more uncertain: reminded of her deceased daughter, she offers to become Radka's guardian but neglects to tell her she has another daughter, Eloise. Ignoring Radka's jealous and volatile nature, Rebecca must come to her senses quickly or risk putting her family in grave danger. John Jencks's award-winning feature directorial debut received its European premiere in competition at Sofia International Film Festival 2014.

Medeas

Andrea Pallaoro : 2013

An intimate portrait of a rural family's inner lives and their relationship to a harsh and shifting landscape. Ennis, a stern, hard-working dairy farmer struggles to maintain control of his family and surrounding environment, while his wife, Christina, retreats into herself, progressively disconnecting from him and their five children. As tensions increase, each character must confront their yearnings and anxieties, culminating in a dangerous conflict between control and freedom, intimacy and alienation. A journey into the unpredictable boundaries of human behaviour, exploring the desperate lengths people are driven to by love and self-preservation. Andrea Pallaoro's feature directorial debut is an observational and intimate character study of a family and their environment that rejects pre-existing structural formulas and the limitations of conventional storytelling. His award-winning film premiered at La Biennale di Venezia 2013.

Staudamm

Thomas Sieben : 2013
The Dam

Roman has just finished school, moved into his first flat, and enrolled at university. Just when life is about to really take off for him, he loses direction. His lack of motivation scares away his girlfriend. He retreats into his dreary flat. And his only job is temping for an abusive lawyer. For hours on end he scans files about an unsolved case. A massacre at a high school committed by a student a year ago. But there are missing files, so his boss sends him into the village where the attack took place to collect more documents from the local police. Once there he meets Laura, a survivor of the mass murder, who becomes his guide into the fragile world of the traumatised village. Becoming more acquainted with Laura, Roman also becomes more interested in the tragic event. However, he begins to realise that Laura is hiding a secret and that she is more involved in the incident than she has revealed. Slowly, Roman learns the true extent of the massacre. Thomas Sieben's second feature premiered at Oldenburg Film Festival 2013.

Nikki: A Girl who has Rett Syndrome

Michael Knowles : 2008

Nikki is a twelve-year-old girl who suffers with the neurological developmental disorder Rett Syndrome. Now known to be caused by sporadic mutations in the MeCP2 gene, it is the most physically disabling of the autism spectrum disorders, striking at random in early childhood and diagnosed almost exclusively in females. Affecting about 1 in 10,000 girls, the symptoms include loss of speech and motor control, severe digestive problems, orthopaedic abnormalities including scoliosis, as well as seizures, extreme anxiety and impaired cardiac and circulatory function. Rett Syndrome isn't well understood, and this lack of understanding can cause people to shy away from girls who have it. Nikki is unable to communicate conventionally, yet her courage, strength, presence and smile captured filmmaker Michael Knowles's heart. His film brings awareness to this disorder, but also, by allowing the audience to get to know Nikki, it helps them realise that knowing a Rett girl can brighten their lives. Nikki is a journey about both inward and outward reflection, about understanding what is going on inside her and in other girls like her. Michael Knowles's documentary is available on Vimeo video-on-demand.

Nikki: A Girl who has Rett Syndrome (vimeo)

Little One

Darrell Roodt : 2012
Umfaan

In a field near a township in Johannesburg, a middle-aged mother makes a gruesome discovery: a little girl has been left for dead. Rushing her to the hospital, Pauline saves her life. But her life has been changed forever. Six-year-old Vuyelwa has been raped and her face badly beaten. She remains silent and unresponsive to all except the big-hearted woman who saved her. No one comes forward to claim her. The identity of her abusers and the whereabouts of her parents remain a mystery. Little One becomes yet another statistic in a country where one in every three girls under the age of 21 are victims of rape. But to Pauline, Vuyelwa is not a statistic – she's a survivor. She visits her daily. To help her cope with the shame and disfigurement, Pauline knits the girl a mask to cover her face. And under that mask, the little girl begins to smile. And so does Pauline – the girl has become like a daughter to her. Abandoned by her parents, she refuses to allow the child to be lost in the system. So when her attempt to adopt her is denied, Pauline takes matters into her own hands. After all, love is not a crime.

Autumn Blood

Markus Blunder : 2013

High in the Tyrolean mountains, on a secluded farm, a widowed mother dies leaving her two children alone and orphaned. Fearing being taken away and split up, they keep their mother's death a secret and survive off the land with no one to rely on but each other. Maria, the sixteen-year-old sister is one with nature, innocent, and unaware of the evils that exist in mankind. Her ten-year-old brother, Peter, is traumatised and mute from witnessing a disturbing incident years earlier: the death of his father, shot by the town's Mayor. As the girl transitions into womanhood a harsh brutality destroys her innocence when savage hunters follow orders issued by the Mayor's son to attack and rape her. A social worker from a distant city arrives to investigate but ultimately it is the siblings who must come of age to protect each other and survive. Markus Blunder's feature directorial debut premiered at Oldenburg International Film Festival 2013.