Des jeunes filles disparaissent

Clément Pinteaux : 2017
Young Girls Vanish

A historical mystery approached in a postmodern fashion: Between 1652 and 1657, fifty-eight girls were devoured by a wolf in Essone, France. Four centuries later, young women are once again disappearing in the same region. Director Clément Pinteaux sets out in search of clues. Crosses on a map indicate the locations where the girls were attacked and found so long ago. Landscapes in fog and rain. A young woman talks about the woman who went missing – a woman who is similar to her and yet different and whose work she continues today. Pinteaux observes the girls in their surroundings, together, on the job. Who will be next? Will there be a next time? Situated between staged and documentary material, the film encounters the girls on an equal footing – tracing moments of potential threat. Clément Pinteaux's short film premiered at Belfort Entrevues Film Festival 2017, and screened at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Eva

Benoît Jacquot : 2018

When an elderly writer dies in his bathtub one night, only a single person knows the secret existence of his last manuscript: Bertrand, a young man who is also accidental witness to the writer's death. Bertrand has the deceased's last play performed under his own name and is intoxicated by its success. But the world is soon eager for another work from this supposed young literary genius. In the midst of his attempts to put a new creation to paper, Bertrand encounters an attractive but mysterious woman named Eva. To him, she is much more than merely a high-class prostitute, and their conversations flow directly into the dialogue of his new play. But he finds it impossible to penetrate Eva's emotional armour. Nobody must know what really drives her – least of all this arrogant upstart, whose sexual dependency she exploits but whom she certainly does not trust. Bertrand becomes ensnared in an emotional entrapment that leads to catastrophe. Benoît Jacquot's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Utøya 22. juli

Erik Poppe : 2018
U – July 22

On 22 July 2011 five hundred young people attending a summer camp on the island of Utøya were attacked by a heavily armed right-wing extremist. The murderous attack claimed the lives of 69 victims. It was a trauma that rocked Norway to the core, and still does to this day. The drama opens with documentary footage of Oslo where, shortly beforehand, the same attacker had exploded a car bomb killing eight people; the scene then shifts to the island. We follow 19-year-old Kaja who is spending a few days of the holiday here with her young sister Emilie. The two are quarrelling because Emilie is in no mood for the camp and has absolutely no desire to go to the barbecue. And so Kaja ends up going alone. Suddenly, the first gunshot is heard. This first shot marks the beginning of a breathless 72-minute-long reconstruction of events, filmed in a single take, as seen through the eyes of the victims. Kaja's desperate search for Emilie. The fear in the eyes of the young people. Their escape into the forest. Their desperate hope of rescue. And the unknown assassin, getting closer and closer. Erik Poppe's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Black 47

Lance Daly : 2018

Ireland, 1847. After fighting for the British crown in the war in Afghanistan, Martin Feeney returns to his Irish homeland as a deserter. He finds his country in dire straits. Potato blight has destroyed the crops and over a million people have perished in the resulting famine. Martin's family has also been affected: his mother is among the victims and his brother has been sentenced to death by the British occupying forces. Martin's plan to emigrate to the USA with his sister-in-law and her children fails, and witnessing his last remaining relatives wasting away almost robs him of the will to live. In desperation, he begins a bloody vendetta across the social and political hierarchy of Ireland. To stop this wrathful avenger, the British hire Hannah who fought with Martin in Afghanistan. Lance Daly's feature premiered out of competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Daughter of Mine

Laura Bispuri : 2018
Figlia mia

Ten-year-old Vittoria is growing up in a Sardinian village untouched by tourism. One day at a rodeo she meets the impetuous Angelica, who is completely different to her own caring mother Tina. Vittoria does not suspect that the two women are connected by a secret. Tina has been visiting Angelica for a long time on the run-down farm where Angelica lives a happy-go-lucky life with some old horses and a faithful dog. Tina is not at all happy about Angelica and her daughter Vittoria getting to know each other. In debt, Angelica decides to move to the mainland. Relieved, Tina offers her financial support, but she cannot prevent further encounters between the two. Captivated by this fearless, independent woman, Vittoria begins rediscovering the island with her. Laura Bispuri's second feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.