Sayidat Al-Bahr

Shahad Ameen : 2019
Scales

Set in a dystopian landscape, the story of a twelve-year-old strong-willed girl, Hayat, who lives in a poor fishing village governed by a dark tradition in which every family must give one daughter to the sea creatures who inhabit the waters nearby. In turn the sea creatures are hunted by the men of the village. Saved from this fate by her father, Hayat is considered a curse on the village and grows up an outcast. Nevertheless, she does not surrender to this fate and fights for a place within her village. After her mother gives birth to a baby boy, Hayat must accept the brutal custom of giving herself to the sea creatures or finding a way to escape. Shahad Ameen's film, her feature debut, was winner of the Premio Circolo del Cinema di Verona when it premiered in competition at Venice International Film Critics' Week 2019.

Lola vers la mer

Laurent Micheli : 2019
Lola to the Sea

Lola, an 18-year-old transgender girl, learns that she is finally going to get her operation just as her mother, who was supposed to be supporting her financially, passes away. With bleach blonde hair, Lola lives in a foster home with Samir, her only friend. Impulsive and lonely, she is trying to get her diploma as a veterinary assistant. When her mother dies, her father Philippe makes sure that Lola will miss the ceremony. Two years before, Philippe threw her out of the family home, when Lola was still Lionel. Philippe is determined to fulfil Catherine's last wish: to be dispersed to the North Sea, in the dunes of her childhood home. Lola on the other hand is furious with her father, but she will not leave her mother alone on this last journey. So they take off together, both unwilling to share a car but determined to take Catherine home. As the trip progresses, however, it becomes apparent that the outcome of their journey isn't entirely the one they expected. Laurent Micheli's feature premiered in competition at Festival du Film Francophone d'Angoulême 2019, and was selected in competition in the Alice nella Città section at Rome Film Festival 2019.

Saturday Fiction

Lou Ye : 2019
Lan xin da ju yuan

It is December 1941, and Shanghai has been under Japanese occupation for four years. China has become a wartime intelligence battlefield for both the Axis and Allied powers. Iconic actress Jean Yu returns to Shanghai, ostensibly to appear in the play 'Saturday Fiction' directed by her former lover. But what is her true aim? To free her ex-husband? To gather intelligence for the Allied Forces? To work for her adoptive father? Or to escape from war with her lover? As she embarks on her mission, with friends ever more difficult to distinguish from undercover agents, as everything spirals out of control, Jean Yu starts to question whether to reveal what she has learnt about the imminent Pearl Harbor attack. Lou Ye's feature premiered in competition at Venice International Film Festival 2019.

Cat in the Wall

Mina Mileva & Vesela Kazakova : 2019

A cat found on the stairs of a block of flats in London acts as a catalyst for unfolding conflict between migrants from Bulgaria and their British working class neighbours. The Bulgarian family owns their flat and looks down on their neighbours living on benefits. Both sides have their own prejudices and are about to fall victims of the Council's gentrification plan, which creeps in this community like a corporate monster. An examination of society's absurdities and unfairness through the eyes of Irina, a single Bulgarian mother whose place in London is challenged in every way, turning her into a metaphoric "cat in the wall", just like the real one. Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova's feature premiered in competition in the Concorso internazionale section at Locarno Film Festival 2019.

Beware of Children

Dag Johan Haugerud : 2019
Barn

When crisis strikes we reveal our true colours. The film traces the dramatic aftermath of a tragic event in a middle class suburb of Oslo. During a break at school 13-year-old Lykke, the daughter of a prominent Labour Party member, seriously injures her classmate Jamie, the son of a high profile right-wing politician. When Jamie later dies in hospital, contradictory versions of what actually happened risks making a difficult and traumatic situation worse. Was it only innocent play? Liv, the school's principal and the secret lover of Jamie's father, must find the strength to confront a community in distress, and her own highly conflicted emotions. Dag Johan Haugerud's feature premiered in competition at Venice Days 2019.

Favourites

Martin Monk : 2019
Favoriten

After falling out with her mother, rebellious Sofia wants to hitchhike to Italy in search of her biological father. When she meets middle-aged Michael, who reluctantly agrees to give her a lift, the strangers develop an unlikely friendship on their shared journey through the south of Austria. Michael, too, seems to be on the run from something intangible. Sofia senses this, and together they drift through a day of driving. A brief encounter suspended in time. But what is their destination? Martin Monk's short premiered in competition in the Cinéfondation selection at Festival de Cannes 2019, and screened in the Student Film Competition Programme at Sarajevo Film Festival 2019.

The Garden Left Behind

Flavio Alves : 2019

Young transgender woman Tina, an undocumented immigrant living with her grandmother in New York City, is on the cusp of major life changes. Having moved to New York City from Mexico when she was just five, Tina now works as a taxi driver to support herself and Eliana, her homesick grandmother who longs to return. The film traces the relationship between the two women as they struggle to build a life for themselves. As she prepares to transition with the support of friends – if not family – Tina is drawn into activism when members of the local trans community are targeted by police. A powerful portrait of the day-to-day realities of trans women of colour, the film also looks at issues around the surge in violence against them in present-day USA. Flavio Alves's feature directorial debut was winner of the Audience Award when it premiered in the Visions section at SXSW 2019.

Adoration

Fabrice du Welz : 2019

Paul is a lonely young boy who lives with his mother in a private psychiatric clinic where she works as a nurse. His father left them a long time ago. Simple and naive, Paul likes to roam the forest and observe nature, living in harmony with the elements. One day a new patient arrives at the clinic. Her name is Gloria, a young schizophrenic teenager, troubled and solitary. Paul falls madly in love and because he believes that she is in danger, helps her to escape and runs away with her. Adolescents adrift, fleeing this adult world that scares them, reassured by the soft presence of the murmur of the river. They embark on a journey to the "haven of peace" described by Gloria: the house of her grandfather, on the coast of pink granite in Bretagne. This is the beginning of a long journey that will take the two children to the heart of madness. Fabrice du Welz's sixth feature premiered in the Piazza Grande section at Locarno Film Festival 2019.

They Say Nothing Stays the Same

Joe Odagiri : 2019
Aru Sendo no Hanashi

Toichi is a boatman who ferries the villagers to a town on the other side of the river. Besides rowing a boat for the villagers all day long, he barely has any communication with others except Genzo, a young neighbour. In the upstream of the river, a large bridge is being constructed. Everyone is excited, but Toichi has mixed feelings about it. One day, Toichi meets a mysterious young girl. Having no family and no place to go, Toichi lets her stay with him, but this encounter starts to bring about changes to Toichi's life. Joe Odagiri's feature directorial debut premiered in competition at Venice Days 2019.

La Llorona

Jayro Bustamante : 2019
The Weeping Woman

With the words "If you cry, I'll kill you" ringing in their ears, Alma and her sons are in Guatemala's armed conflict. Thirty years later, a criminal case is brought against Enrique, a retired general who oversaw the genocide. But he's acquitted through a mistrial and the spirit of La Llorona is unleashed to wander the world like a lost soul amongst the living. At night, Enrique starts to hear her wailing. His wife and daughter believe he's having bouts of Alzheimer's-related dementia. Little could they suspect that their new housekeeper, Alma, is there to mete out the vengeance the trial did not. Jayro Bustamante's third feature was winner of the Giornate degli Autori Director's Award when it premiered in competition at Venice Days 2019.

Shako Mako

Hailey Gates : 2019

Farah, a bread seller, walks the streets of a Middle Eastern town, while an American military vehicle, surrounded by soldiers, slowly passes by. A moment's silence. Then, a devastating explosion. Civilians are bloodied, wounded. The horrors of war. Farah looks around aghast and wailing. But nothing here is quite what it seems. In fact, "Farah" is a character played by an aspiring actress called Laila. And this isn't Iraq, but a replica village erected on the Fort Irwin army base in California, used to train American troops before being sent abroad. Laila believes her acting talents are being wasted away in this arid simulation, where female role-players are limited to mute, background roles. She takes things much more seriously. Laila plots her way out. The seventeenth 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. Hailey Gates's directorial debut screened at Venice Days 2019.