Spark and Light

So Yong Kim : 2014

"Mom's stable, asleep. Drive safe! Xoxo Dad." Soon after Elizabeth receives this text message, her mother isn't the only one lost in sleep. Elizabeth's car has broken down. It's freezing cold, no sign of life nearby. She just has to wait, patiently. The recovery guys will be here soon, Elizabeth. Till then, she warms her young hands on the vents, drifts into a strange slumber, followed by an even more surreal awakening. Icelandic landscapes merge with Elizabeth's memories. Fears are magically transformed into comforting and fantastical fabrics. Father, upstairs, alone. Stranded on her way to visit her dying mother in the hospital, Elizabeth's moments alone are turned into a hypnotic emotional journey. The seventh commission from designer Miu Miu as part of "Women's Tales", a series of short films by women who critically celebrate femininity in the 21st century. So Yong Kim's film screened at Venice Days 2014.

Jack

Edward Berger : 2014

Although he is only ten years old, Jack is responsible for himself and his little brother Manuel and this fills him with pride. Their single mother works during the day and often goes out at night. There's no father in sight. One day, Manuel burns himself with boiling hot water while bathing and Jack is blamed for the incident. It's reason enough for social services to put him in a home where he is dreadfully homesick. He soon gets into trouble and bolts, heading for home. He arrives back, only to find his mother is once again absent. Jack and Manuel set off to roam the city in search of her, sleeping in parks and in an underground car park, running away from the police. Some of the adults they encounter help the children, others are indifferent. For Jack, having a family is the most important thing in the world. Edward Berger's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2014.

IJspaard

Elan Gamaker : 2014
Icehorse

A man wakes up from a recurring nightmare in which he and two friends have some months earlier knocked down a young woman and, instead of going to the police, buried her body. When he begins to see the dead woman walking through the streets of Amsterdam, he attempts to find out what happened, and whether his horrific dream is in fact a memory. Elan Gamaker's second feature, an unusual psychological drama, premiered at Durban International Film Festival 2014.

Ničije dete

Vuk Ršumović : 2014
No One's Child

In the spring of 1988 a wild boy is found deep in the Bosnian mountains living amongst wolves. He is given the name of Haris and sent to an orphanage in Belgrade to be taken care of by Ilke. He becomes inseparable from the little Žika and slowly starts pronouncing his first words. In 1992, in the midst of war, local authorities force him to go back to Bosnia where he is given a rifle and sent to the front line. One night, for the first time in his life, the boy makes a decision entirely of his own. Vuk Ršumović's feature debut was winner of the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film, the FEDEORA Award for Best Cinematography, and the RaroVideo Audience Award for Best Film when it premiered in competition at Venice International Film Critics' Week 2014.

Cure – The Life of Another

Andrea Štaka : 2014

1993, after the Siege of Dubrovnik. Fourteen-year-old Linda has moved back to Croatia from Switzerland with her father. Her new best friend Eta takes her up to the forbidden forest above the city. The two girls become entangled in an obsessive, sexually charged game of swapping identities that leads to a fatal fall. The following morning, Linda comes back alone; slowly she begins to take Eta's place in her family. Ivo, Eta's boyfriend, is drawn in as well. Alone, in a country that she no longer fully understands, Linda loses herself; her personality splits in two: on the one hand her inner self and on the other the far away and persistent echo of her deceased friend. Andrea Štaka's second feature premiered in competition at Locarno Film Festival 2014.

Binguan

Xin Yukun : 2014
The Coffin in the Mountain

A young man tries to get away from his family's overwhelming power, but when he accidentally kills a local thug, his fate will be intricately linked to his father's. A woman, who for years has been a victim of domestic violence, finds comfort in the arms of her ex-lover. The news of the death of her husband arrives as she was planning his murder. An honest village chief plans to retire but an exceptional event related to his son will pull him into the abyss. Xin Yukun's feature debut premiered in competition at Venice International Film Critics' Week 2014.

Zerrumpelt Herz

Timm Kröger : 2014
The Council of Birds

In 1929 music teacher Paul Leinert receives an unexpected letter from his old friend Otto Schiffmann, a young and talented composer who has moved away from Berlin after a failed marriage. The letter is an invitation for Paul to come and visit Otto in his forest cabin – and to become familiar with his new work, a long-awaited symphony. Taking along his wife Anna together with his colleague Willi, the three find Otto's cabin but their host is nowhere to be seen. As they go looking for him, Paul notices something odd about the song of the local birds. Timm Kröger's graduation film and feature debut premiered in competition at Venice International Film Critics' Week 2014, and was winner of the Best Director Award at Belgrade International Film Festival 2015.

Jaskółka

Bartosz Warwas : 2013
The Caged Swallow

Agnieszka Jaskółka cannot stand her last name, which she has always associated with the memorable hit song by Stan Borys. For many Poles, that song was a symbol of the fight against an oppressive system, but for Agnieszka, it is a reminder of her unhappy childhood alongside her frustrated father. The talentless singer puts all of his unfulfilled ambitions on his daughter's shoulders, and he treats her with a combination of sensitivity and attacks of aggression. With time, he abandons his passion for music and replaces it with fanatical religiosity. Agnieszka discovers that one of the reasons for this change might have been a shocking secret from the past. Something that happened which left an unconscious imprint on the life of the then 9-year-old girl. Visiting her father years later, Agnieszka, with her daughter Nina, returns to her hometown to reconcile with her father. This trip will be a journey in time, during which Agnieszka will relive those events of thirty years before. A film about confronting the demons of the past and the capricious nature of memory. Bartosz Warwas's feature debut premiered at Festiwal Filmowy w Gdyni 2013, and screened at New Horizons International Film Festival, Wrocław 2014.

Đập cánh giữa không trung

Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp : 2014
Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere

While still a teenager, Huyền falls pregnant by a young loafer and finds herself forced into prostitution in order to save money for an abortion. Ironically, the only customer who is willing to pay is a man who is obsessed by pregnant women. The situation becomes even more complicated because this man makes Huyền so happy that she almost forgets that there is a baby growing inside of her. Independent director and producer Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp's film, her feature debut, was winner of the FEDEORA Award for Best Film when it premiered in competition at Venice International Film Critics' Week 2014.

Fremde Farben

Kamilla Kuczynski : 2013
Strange Colours

Anna is seven years old and lives in communist Poland. Two years ago her father escaped to West Germany. As the request of the mother to leave the country and follow her husband into the better world is authorised, the family relationship hardens. Not being aware of what is happening around her, Anna realises dreams might not come true and that she has left her home forever. Kamilla Kuczynski's graduation film premiered at Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis 2014, and screened in competition at New Horizons International Film Festival, Wrocław 2014.

Lato miłości

Marcin Filipowicz : 2014
Summer of Love

Grześ rents a log cabin in the mountains for his girlfriend, Jaśmina. He takes her there and in accordance with her wishes, leaves her there for a few days. The height of summer is approaching and along with it, the fullness of life. She stays there alone. Her phone rings persistently, but the sound of the ringing is broken by an empty echo. Jaśmina is experiencing the summer of love. Closed in one time and place, this is a story about decisions which, once made, become irreversible. Marcin Filipowicz's short film premiered at Krakow Film Festival 2014, and screened in competition at New Horizons International Film Festival, Wrocław 2014.

Fragmenty

Agnieszka Woszczyńska : 2014
Fragments

Anna is an estate agent. Together with her partner, they live the prosperous and comfortable life of young yuppies. They have a modern apartment with minimalistic interiors, eat in exclusive restaurants, jog in the morning. But their comfort has started to fade somewhat. This monotonous world, full of indifference and lies, devoid of colours, is a trap for Anna, a prison that is difficult to escape from. She is becoming bitter and malicious. She grows cold and desperately seeks experiences at the edges of her bourgeois lifestyle. A portrait of a woman's attempt to liberate herself from the shackles of her own identity. Agnieszka Woszczyńska's short film was winner of the Grand Prix for Best Cinematography at Łodzią po Wiśle 2014, and premiered at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at Festival de Cannes 2014.

Djeca tranzicije

Matija Vukšić : 2014
Children of Transition

The film follows the growing up of David, Natalija, Lana and Marta. After his excellent performance before the scouts of FC Barcelona, 8-year-old David, dubbed by the media 'Messi from Slavonski Brod', impatiently awaits invitation from La Masia. This still non-existent piece of paper is the basis of David's dreams, but also of the dreams of his entire family of five. 11-year-old Natalija comes from a modest background, does not have a smartphone and other trendy things. Because of that she is bullied by her classmates and is forced to change school. The 6-year-old Lana spends her days trying clothes, doing her face, dancing and playing cellphone games. A teenage life defined by bullying at school and on social networks became unbearable for 15-year-old Marta. What are happy childhoods and growing up in a healthy environment like, and are they possible in a society that has not achieved maturity itself? A film about the environment we create for our common future. Four stories. Four dreams of a happy childhood, in a society making it next to impossible. Matija Vukšić's documentary had its international premiere at Motovun Film Festival 2014.

Cherry Pie

Lorenz Merz : 2013

When we meet Zoé, it has all already happened to her. Zoé is young and alone, on the road, clearly running away. From a painful past? From herself? With not a franc to her name, she roams through an anonymous part of northern France. Via desolate petrol stations and dismal suburbs, she eventually reaches the English Channel, where she slips aboard a ferry as an invisible passenger. Some time later, she arrives in Brighton, clad in a stolen winter coat. She drifts aimlessly but deliberately, leaving behind the people and places she encounters. Her sorrow does not dissipate until a stranger offers her a cherry pie, on a desolate beach. Beautifully atmospheric, with minimal dialogue and narrative, and shot in a silvery palette often with an extremely shallow depth of field. Lorenz Merz's feature debut premiered at Locarno Film Festival 2013, and screened in the Bright Future section at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2014.

Ponto Morto

André Godinho : 2014
Idle Road

A young couple hits the road for a romantic holiday. On a desert route, they come across a car accident, and a dead woman on the side of the road. The couple is not that young. In fact they are actors on a film. Two production assistants try to leave the set, but all the roads seem to hit the same spot: the set, where they find a dead woman that can walk. A road movie that deals with narrative gimmicks and the codes of film genres. André Godinho's short film premiered in competition at IndieLisboa 2014.

Le beau monde

Julie Lopes-Curval : 2014
High Society

Alice, 20, lives in Bayeux. She works with wool, creates dyes, makes clothing. She is passionate about embroidery. But she doesn't know what to do with this innate talent until she meets Agnès, a rich Parisian, who helps her to be accepted into a prestigious school of applied arts. Without hesitation, Alice leaves everything behind to live alone in Paris. There she encounters Antoine, Agnès's son, and they fall passionately in love. In Alice, Antoine finds a sincerity and naivety which allows him to escape from the bourgeois milieu that he rejects. Thanks to Antoine, Alice discovers the inner workings of a world that fascinates her. It offers her culture, and she gives herself to it entirely. At the risk of losing herself. A sensitive love story, exploring with accuracy and delicacy, the distance between social classes. Julie Lopes-Curval's fourth feature premiered at Festival Paris Cinéma 2014.

A Nightingale Falling

Garret Daly & Martina McGlynn : 2014

Set in Ireland during the War of Independence, two sisters' lives are changed forever as they care for a wounded soldier in their home. A tragic love story of an Anglo-Irish household and its inhabitants caught in the crucible of deep dark secrets. Framed against a backdrop of a turbulent war-torn Ireland in the early 1920s, May Collingwood is forced to make critical and difficult decisions when she rescues a British soldier and must now protect herself and sister Tilly. They live in fear of the British Black and Tans, the rising IRA, their own entrapment, and ultimately the dark secrets of unrequited love unfolding from within. A powerful drama of lives overtaken and destroyed by the merciless politics, cruelties and hardships of the period. Garret Daly and Martina McGlynn's feature premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2014.

As ondas

Miguel Fonseca : 2012
The Waves

Beautiful seascapes swept before my eyes. Tied up in these images was my youth, my paradise lost. The vast sea, the beach, the people, all waiting, all dying gently, sadly, beautifully. Life and death were being recorded here as a whole: death as a part of life, a cosmic change, a transformation. And the waves, indifferent to everything. The minutiae of two sisters' relationship is placed in balance with the vastness of the ocean, cliffs and late summer sky. A terrain rendered even more starkly beautiful by the sense of frailty and loss at its very core. Miguel Fonseca's stunningly photographed short premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012, and won the Best European Short Film award at Ghent International Film Festival 2012.

Zajedno

Daniel Kušan : 2014
Together

Iva is an unemployed mother with a two-year-old daughter. She is trying to find a job and to carry on with normal life in a crazy world in which relaxed moments are unusually valuable. The only kind of support she has is from her husband, Marko, who she talks to over the phone during the day. He works at a car showroom and will soon lose his job. He is furious at a situation which rejects him and does not allow him to take care of his family. Telephone conversations with his wife are superficial, discontinuous and not intimate enough. The only thing they are left with is to survive until the end of the day – survive a bunch of unimportant people and situations which only waste their time – and take refuge in their home, their togetherness and family. Daniel Kušan's short film screened in competition in the Croatian Programme at Pula Film Festival 2014.

Zagreb Cappuccino

Vanja Sviličić : 2014

The story of two best friends in their early forties. Petra is getting divorced in Zagreb, and Kika arrives from Cologne to console her. Kika, a cosmopolitan party girl, teaches Petra, a fresh divorcee, how to carry on with her life without a husband and a family. Kika has taken the responsibility for that mission. Over several cups of coffee and nights out we get to know their fears and problems, their solitude, insecurities and inner strength. Vanja Sviličić's film, her feature debut, was winner of the Breza Award for Best Debut for the cinematography when it premiered in competition in the Croatian Programme at Pula Film Festival 2014.

The Bridge at the End of the World

Branko Ištvančić : 2014
Most na kraju svijeta

When the Croatian War of Independence ended, Bosnian Croats whose villages had been destroyed in the fighting were forced to relocate. They were rehoused as refugees in the homes of Croatian Serbs who had left Croatia. Now, the Serbian owners are returning and the Croatian residents are facing an uncertain future. Somewhere in this powder keg atmosphere, an old man called Jozo, a Bosnian Croat, disappears without a trace. The police officer Filip, who also lives in a Serbian house, is entrusted with the case. Everyone believes that a returning Serb has murdered Jozo, but Filip launches a detailed investigation, determined to be unbiased and fair, even though he has his own ghosts from the past to deal with. Through his relationship with his father, Filip tries to understand the real reasons for the old man's disappearance and so his investigation becomes more and more personal. Documentary filmmaker Branko Ištvančić's second fiction feature premiered in competition in the Croatian Programme at Pula Film Festival 2014.

How to Disappear Completely

Raya Martin : 2013

A young girl from the countryside dreams of disappearing. She plays a lonely game of hide-and-seek while her mother quotes the bible and her father relishes in alcohol and history. She decides to put on a stage play based on an old Filipino film about a family who disappears in the mountains during the war. But soon after the performance, she vanishes from the car, prompting her parents to look for her in the woods. One by one, they all start to disappear. Allowing dream and reality to mingle effortlessly, the film juxtaposes horror with documentary-like scenes. Who eventually disappears or whether anybody really does so is not the point, the intention here being not to tell a story, but to open up emotional and cognitive registers. Experimental filmmaker Raya Martin's feature premiered at Locarno Film Festival 2013.

La isla

Dominga Sotomayor & Katarzyna Klimkiewicz : 2014
The Island

A group of people gather for a family reunion in a house on a beautiful, isolated island. They wait for Jaime, who should have arrived earlier that day. But as the evening comes and he doesn't appear, a strange anxiety overwhelms them. The group dismantles and the family members wander away from the house separately, confronting the sea and an unspoken fear that slowly consumes them. A magical, subtle film, the first collaboration between Dominga Sotomayor and Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, who were inspired by a Wisława Szymborska poem and personal memories of youth. Their film was winner of the Tiger Award for Short Films at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2014.

Moonless Summer

Stefan Ivančić : 2014
Leto bez meseca

Before embarking upon studies abroad, sixteen-year-old Isidora spends a few days with her older sister at their childhood countryside house. Lost in the summer's stillness, as fleeting romances develop with two local boys, Isidora enjoys being in the moment but fears the impending changes. Stefan Ivančić's fourth short film premiered in competition in the Cinéfondation selection at Festival de Cannes 2014, and screened at Cinema City International Film Festival 2014.

Čudna šuma

Szabolcs Tolnai : 2014
Strange Forest

The son of a Hungarian family living in northern Serbia goes missing from the centre for drug rehabilitation. Searching for him, his parents discover that he was in debt to a local narcotics boss and that he was forced to escape and hide. His parents blame each other for the fate of their son and after a painful conflict, the father leaves the home. Over the following few days both parents search for their son, each facing in their own way, the harsh reality that surrounds them. Szabolcs Tolnai's fourth feature premiered in the National selection at Cinema City International Film Festival 2014.

An Unlikely Romance

Ivan Vojnár : 2013
Nepravděpodobná romance

Two young women, Luisa and Erika, have only had bad experiences with men, but they still tend to bear all the guilt themselves and are unable to break free of the power men hold over them. Indeed, their inability to goad themselves into action might very well lead to tragedy. What has to happen in order for them to change their lives for the better? And isn't it too late? This non-linear account of the relationship between an aspiring actress, her husband and her new friend intersects an important narrative line relating to Luisa's psychiatric therapy, which also incorporates a storyline involving her doctor's infatuation with his young female patient. Juggling real events with fiction, a tale about relationships which bring not only exhilaration, but also destruction. Its ambiguity is heightened by the heroine's unreliable narration, which relativises the film's plot. Ivan Vojnár's fourth feature screened at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014.

The Tribe

Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy : 2014
Plemya

Deaf-mute Sergey enters a specialised boarding school for deaf-and-dumb. In this new place, he needs to find his way through the hierarchy of the school's network dealing with crime and prostitution, The Tribe. By taking part in several robberies, he gets propelled higher into the organisation. Then he meets one of the Chief's concubines Anna, and unwillingly breaks all the unwritten rules of the tribe, putting him in a situation from which there is no escape. Communicating with the viewer exclusively through sign language, the director explains: "For me, the main goal was to make a more realistic, natural silent film, which would be easily understood without words. Sign language is like a dance, ballet, pantomime, kabuki theatre, etc. At the same time, there's no grotesque in it – people are communicating that way for real." Visionary filmmaker Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy's outstanding feature debut was the winner of three prizes, including the Grand Prix, when it premiered at Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes 2014. His film screened in the Special Events section at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014.

La mezza stagione

Danilo Caputo : 2014
Late Season

A small village where all change seems impossible. Three stories spelled out by sounds and noises. Cesare, a wanna-be electronic musician, is inspired by the sounds that he records around town and that he turns into music. Giovanni works night shifts at the local hotel but cannot get any sleep during the day because of all the noises surrounding him. Carosina, oppressed by the harsh voice of her dead father, will have to go through a strange ritual to free herself. In the opening scene we are witness to an old man's lament about a world he no longer understands. Subsequent sequences gradually introduce us to various inhabitants of an unspecified southern Italian village and to the many bizarre situations in which the characters of the three vaguely adumbrated stories appear. Although some of them meet on a daily basis, the viewer receives scant information about their relationships, let alone their lives, and with no plot context. Nevertheless, the tone generated by the artfully composed shots and musical accompaniment suggests something inauspicious, even subliminally disturbing. Danilo Caputo's feature debut premiered in competition in the Forum of Independents at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014.

Drevo

Sonja Prosenc : 2014
The Tree

One story, three angles. In three chapters, the film's plot is told through the eyes of two brothers and their mother Milena as we witness a tragic situation which befalls the family as the result of an accident. The two sons, adolescent Alek and his younger sibling Veli, are unable to leave their house, the only place where they feel safe. After a period of time, however, their refuge becomes a prison for the boys. The lead-up to the family tragedy gradually unfolds as an intimate drama conveyed via a non-linear narrative. Emphasis is placed on creating an increasingly dense atmosphere as the story develops, keeping the viewer in a constant state of tension. Sonja Prosenc's feature debut premiered in competition in the East of the West section at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014.

Kirsitubakas

Katrin Maimik & Andres Maimik : 2014
Cherry Tobacco

Summer is gradually drawing to a close and 16-year-old Laura is feeling jaded. There's a guy interested in her, but she just finds him silly; while both their families would love them to get together, Laura finds the idea exasperating. An unexpected offer to go hiking in the country for a few days to discover the wonders of the peat bogs provides her with a welcome opportunity to escape the mounting monotony as the end of the holidays draws near. Initially, Laura isn't exactly enthused by the overabundance of nature, nor by the somewhat rough-edged middle-aged team leader Joosep, who tries to impress the hiking party with his hillbilly style and bizarre rituals. Nevertheless, the unconventional pipe tobacco smoker begins to stir her interest and the feeling appears to be mutual. Much to her own surprise, Laura discovers that as the hike continues she is enchanted by the rugged charms of Joosep. The quest is coming to its irrefutable end and Laura has to decide whether a relationship with an older man is a mere step along the winding road towards becoming a woman, or whether it is her very first love. Katrin and Andres Maimik's collaborative feature debut premiered in competition in the East of the West section at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014.

Rozkoš

Jitka Rudolfová : 2013
Delight

Young film editor Milena is in love with Vladimír but their shaky relationship is mainly based on texting. "Are you someplace?" reads one of the text messages the characters keep sending each other, and the tone of the brief and rather vague message precisely describes the relationship void in which Milena finds herself. She and the friends and co-workers around her constantly talk yet they seem to lack the capacity to listen. Instead, their minds are eagerly occupied with the incessant search for satisfaction, perfection, and originality – but the struggle is unsuccessful and no one has time to stop and consider the reasons why. The characters clamour for attention although they themselves seem incapable of offering support to others. The meandering search for a satisfactory relationship and inner peace may thus take a little longer than Milena had envisaged. Jitka Rudolfová's razor-sharp psychological drama, her second feature, received its international premiere in competition in the East of the West section at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014.