Black Horse Memories

Shahram Alidi : 2015
Bîranîna hespa reş

Aseke is a member of a group of young people who are trying to teach Kurdish in Turkish Kurdistan, a land where the teaching of the language is forbidden by Turkish authorities. Part of their work is to print clandestine schoolbooks in underground schools and distribute them. While taking part in this dangerous activity, Aseke meets her untimely death. In an attempt to fulfil her last wish – to meet Mandana, a black horse she grew up with – her friends set out to return Aseke's body to her mother. Before she is buried, though, one hears the end of the story about the great Kurdish hero, Dervishi Abdi. Aseke's friend, Zerya, finds and brings Mandana from the Anatolian mountains to where Aseke has been laid to rest. And here something surprising happens: Mandana recalls her time with Aseke; memories are seen through the mare's eyes and, poignantly, end in her tears. Shahram Alidi's second feature premiered in the New Currents section at Busan International Film Festival 2015.

Black Horse Memories – trailer (YouTube)

Amama

Asier Altuna : 2015
When a Tree falls

A family tale of conflict between the urban and rural worlds, past and present, parents and children. Opposing ways of life struggle against one another whilst, in deeply eloquent silence, the grandmother, Amama, observes the world and watches her family's destiny unfold. A heart-rending drama with powerful imagery dealing with determinism in the family, imposed roles and self-sufficient worlds that are on the verge of extinction. Asier Altuna's feature was winner of the Irizar Basque Film Award when it premiered in competition at San Sebastián International Film Festival 2015.

Three Days in September

Darijan Pejovski : 2015
Tri dena vo septemvri

Having killed a man in self-defence, Marika, a prostitute, wants to get out of the city. On a train she meets Jana, a shy woman in her late 30s who is travelling to her cottage in the mountains. Just what Marika needs. The house, empty for years, was where Jana grew up with her twin sister Kristina. Their father Josif, a prominent politician, built a hotel on the property, but after several incidents he committed suicide. The hotel, now in ruins, belongs to Jana. But there is someone else in the village who would like to change that: Genz, the village policeman. Genz, is suspicious about Jana's new friend and soon discovers that Marika is wanted for murder. Long wanting the hotel property for himself, he now blackmails Jana, threatening the two women with jail. Jana, having no choice, accepts. Perhaps too easily. Why has she returned to the village after all these years? It isn't long before Marika herself discovers a few secrets. Darijan Pejovski's feature debut premiered in competition at Montréal World Film Festival 2015.

Evolution

Lucile Hadžihalilović : 2015

10-year-old Nicolas lives with his mother on a remote island, in a village inhabited solely by women and young boys. In a hospital overlooking the ocean, all the boys are subjected to a mysterious medical treatment. Only Nicolas questions what is happening around him. He senses that his mother is lying to him, and is determined to find out what she does with the other women at night, on the beach. What he discovers is the beginning of a nightmare into which he is helplessly drawn. But in Stella, a young nurse at the hospital, Nicolas finds an unexpected ally. A journey into a mysterious world of childhood dreams, fantasies and fears. Lucile Hadžihalilović's second feature premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2015, and was winner of the Special Jury Prize and the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography at its European premiere in competition at San Sebastián International Film Festival 2015.

Wir Monster

Sebastian Ko : 2015
We Monsters

Paul and Christine know that their daughter Sarah is going through a difficult phase. Fourteen years old, and angry with her parents for separating, she's been playing one against the other and making things unpleasant for their respective new partners. But then Sarah confesses to an act far beyond the realm of teenage rebellion, something so awful that her father's first impulse is to turn her in. Paul makes it as far as the car park of the local police station – but can't quite bring himself to go in. He shares the horrifying news with Christine and together they decide to keep Sarah's crime a secret. But when a classmate's father starts coming around looking for clues, things get complicated. And violence has a way of begetting more violence. Sebastian Ko's feature premiered at Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis 2015, and had its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2015.

Orage

Fabrice Camoin : 2015
A Stormy Summer Night

In the south, the heat, a storm. A vacation, a crime, adultery. Maria, Pierre, their daughter Judith and a friend, Louise, are forced to stop for the night in a small village, the summer deluge putting their final destination out of reach. A rumour. On the same night, in the same village, a man, Nabil Malek, has killed his wife and her lover. He has gone missing. As her marriage is on the verge of collapsing, Maria accidentally meets the fugitive. Together, they embark on a fatal escape to the coast with the hope of changing their destinies. Based on the novel Dix heures et demie du soir en été by Marguerite Duras. Fabrice Camoin's feature directorial debut premiered in competition at Montréal World Film Festival 2015.

Cinzento e Negro

Luís Filipe Rocha : 2015
Grey and Black

Maria and David live together in a modest housekeeper's room at José's house. Maria does cleaning jobs at several public institutions and looks after José, an elderly university lecturer afflicted with a degenerative disease. David merely survives. One day, David complies with an insistent request of José's and runs off with a big bag of money. Maria asks Lucas, a policeman, to find David, offering as a reward the money he stole. In the Azores, David withdraws from the world in a small cottage high up on the mountain of Pico Island. On his way there, on Faial Island, he becomes involved with Marina, a free-minded loner. They fall in love. Maria and Lucas track David to the Azores, look for him in Faial, where they come across Marina, and finally find him in Pico. When the quartet meet on the summit of Pico Island's volcanic mountain there will be a showdown. Luís Filipe Rocha's feature premiered in competition at Montréal World Film Festival 2015.

Félvilág

Attila Szász : 2015
Demimonde

In January 1914, a horrific murder shakes the city of Budapest to its core. Elza Mágnás, the most high-profile courtesan in the city, has just been strangled and her body thrown into the icy waters of the Danube. Through the eyes of Kató, a young and naïve chambermaid, the film depicts the last four days in Elza's life, her complex relationship with her governess, her patron and her lover. A period mystery drama based on a true story, a tale of love, passion, sex, power and murder. Attila Szász's second feature premiered in competition at Montréal World Film Festival 2015.