Bergman Island

Mia Hansen-Løve : 2020

An American filmmaking couple, Chris and Tony retreat to the mythical Fårö island for the summer to each write screenplays for their upcoming films. In this wild, breathtaking landscape where Ingmar Bergman lived and shot his most celebrated pieces, they hope to find inspiration for their next features. As days spent separately pass by, the fascination for the island operates on Chris and souvenirs of her first love resurface. As the summer and their screenplays advance, the lines between reality and fiction will then progressively blur against the backdrop of Fårö's wild landscape and tear the couple even more apart.

Le Grand Viveur

Perla Sardella : 2020

Mario Lorenzini is a mystery of cinema. Dying suddenly, he left behind him an unprecedented and secret cinematographic body of work, filmed in Super 8, chronicling the daily life of an Italian village. He was a farmer, a hunter, and a film buff. He lived in Rimasco, a small community in the Piedmont mountains. At the end of the 1960s, Lorenzini bought a Super 8 camera and became an amateur filmmaker. A man of passion, a great pleasure-seeker, he then dedicated himself to filmmaking. He filmed the day to day of mountain-dwelling life, his neighbours, the slaughter of pigs, the passing of the seasons, and the scenery of a territory that subtly changes with every take. Perla Sardella's documentary of Lorenzini's archives premiered in competition at Visions du Réel 2020.

Sisters with Transistors

Lisa Rovner : 2020

Think of early electronic music and you'll likely see men pushing buttons, knobs, and boundaries. While electronic music is often perceived as a boys club, the truth is from the very beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, techniques and tropes that would define the shape of sound for years to come. As one of the film's subjects, Laurie Spiegel explains: "We women were especially drawn to electronic music when the possibility of a woman composing was in itself controversial. Electronics let us make music that could be heard by others without having to be taken seriously by the male-dominated establishment." Sisters with Transistors is more than just the history of a music genre: it's the story of how we hear and the critical but little-known role female pioneers play in that story. With the wider social, political and cultural context of the 20th century as a backdrop, this all archival documentary reveals a unique emancipation struggle, restoring the central role of women in the history of music and society at large. Lisa Rovner's documentary was selected to premiere at SXSW 2020.

Darkness

Emanuela Rossi : 2019
Buio

Stella, a 17-year-old, and her younger sisters, Luce and Aria, are locked inside their secluded, dark mansion with bars on the windows. Out there the Apocalypse: two thirds of humanity is dead since sunlight has become too strong and men only can go outside, women can't stand it. Their claustrophobic life is brightened up by special games, such as the Air party or the picnic by the lake. These games, usually led by Stella, are aimed at reimagining the past they shared with their late mother. But their father gets angry – he would like them to completely erase the past. Things break down when Luce, the second daughter, who is by now a teenager, starts asking about the outside. After an incident where Aria leaves the house and Stella goes to fetch her, and after a couple of days of the father's continuous absence, Stella decides to go out into the world. As she finds out, the stories the father has been telling are a far cry from the truth. Emanuela Rossi's feature debut premiered in the Alice nella Città section at Rome Film Festival 2019.

Gunpowder Heart

Camila Urrutia : 2019
Pólvora en el corazón

Claudia and María have fallen in love. They roam the streets of the city of Guatemala. Claudia works at a call centre and is uninterested in the world around her. She lives with her activist grandfather, who tries to persuade her to join his cause. María unlike Claudia, is more spontaneous and lives with her mother in the outskirts of the city. The chaotic streets are filled with common stories of abuse, unforgiving police officers, and charming secret corners. Everything changes one night when they are attacked by three men. Although they manage to escape, Claudia is faced with the dilemma of choosing revenge or listening to her grandfather's advice. Camila Urrutia's feature debut premiered in competition at Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival 2019, and was selected to have its North American premiere at SXSW 2020.