3000 Layla

Mai Masri : 2015
3000 Nights

Layal, a newly-wed Palestinian schoolteacher is falsely accused and incarcerated in an Israeli prison where she discovers that she is pregnant. Terrified and alone, after Layal gives birth to a baby boy, the chief warden threatens to take her baby away unless she agrees to inform on her fellow inmates who are planning a revolt against the prison administration. Through her struggle to protect her child and her relationship with the prisoners around her, she finds the strength to stand up for herself and fight for her son. Documentary filmmaker Mai Masri's feature debut premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2015.

Bunny

Megha Ramaswamy : 2015

A little girl mourns the loss of her bunny after it is found "dead" under mysterious circumstances on a rainy afternoon. But when she wanders off into the woods with the boy next door in search of her beloved companion, she makes an even more startling discovery. A vivid and enchanting exploration of childhood fantasies and fears, Bunny is a love letter to the fantastical childhood we leave behind. Megha Ramaswamy's short had its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2015.

Le bois dont les rêves sont faits

Claire Simon : 2015
The Woods Dreams Are Made of

Like an accessible form of Paradise Lost, weekend trips to the woods offer a concentrated dose of well-being and a refuge in nature. A place where all life's possibilities enjoy the right to exist, a place for all, rich and poor, French and foreign, gay and straight, old and young, old-fashioned or trendy, a mirage dreamed up by the exhausted urban dweller. The woods as an island in the urban fabric, a place where the hardships of living in the city fall silent. A place to recover, to play and have fun, to dream. Over the course of the seasons, sharing with others as many utopias as can be dreamed up by as many individuals. Claire Simon's documentary premiered in the Fuori concorso section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Finding Bosnia

Ivana Horvat & Adrian Hopffgarten : 2015

Ivana Horvat fled Sarajevo with her mother in 1992 during the siege of the capital city because of the Bosnian conflict, leaving her father and his fate behind. Three years later, her father was reunited with his wife and daughter and the Horvat family began rebuilding their life together in Portland, Oregon. Despite speaking her native language at home, Ivana feels distanced from her Bosnian heritage. She has made it her goal to make Bosnia "real" and to embrace her cultural background by not only returning to Bosnia, but also by meeting and interviewing other Bosnian refugees in Portland, Paris, and wherever else the journey takes her. Ivana shares her unique story of life, death and spirit using home videos shot over a period of 20 years and footage of present day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her experience on this intimate and personal journey celebrates the country and its people worldwide. Ivana Horvat and Adrian Hopffgarten's documentary premiered at Sarajevo Film Festival 2015.

Finding Bosnia – official trailer (vimeo)

Acasă la tata

Andrei Cohn : 2015
Back Home

Robert is a young writer passing through a difficult time in his life. He decides to return home to his native village for the first time since his mother passed away three years ago. In more than 10 years, he paid only a few visits to his parents and this fact is reflected by the distant relationship Robert has with his father. As it happens, he meets two former classmates: Petrica – his old best friend, now married with children, and Paula – his teenage sweetheart. She is divorced after an unhappy marriage and is now working at a local store. She doesn't seem to be engaged in a relationship. Andrei Cohn's feature debut had its international premiere in competition at Sarajevo Film Festival 2015.

Dolanma

Tunç Davut : 2015
Entanglement

As seasonal forest workers, brothers Kemal and Cemal struggle with an uncertain future, living in a house inherited from their father on the outskirts of a village in the west of Turkey, by the Black Sea. Intending to begin a new life, Nalân arrives one day with Kemal and quickly adopts the house as her own. Although her presence soothes Cemal, who feels shaken by his mother's recent death, it deepens a growing rift between the two brothers. Torn between leaving and staying, Nalân opens herself up to Cemal's compassionate world. In this inevitably inextricable situation, all three sink into their own despair. Hoping to reconcile their relationship after Nalân's departure, the brothers carry on living like two strangers sharing the same house. Tunç Davut's feature debut premiered in competition at Sarajevo Film Festival 2015.

L'accademia delle muse

José Luis Guerín : 2015
The Academy of Muses

A teacher talks of muses, those figures able to inspire poets to create something that did not exist before. When he returns from teaching class, a professor of philology is interrogated by his wife, who distrusts his pedagogical approach, and his Academy of the Muses which, inspired by classical references, is intended to regenerate the world through poetry. This controversial project sets off a series of situations dominated by language and desire. A fascinating journey into the world of someone who believes in words and their power to change people, but then realises that these changes have consequences in real life. José Luis Guerín's feature premiered in competition in the Signs of Life section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Des millions de larmes

Natalie Beder : 2015
Millions of Tears

A meeting in an empty roadside café-restaurant. A man in his sixties is waiting. A young woman enters, she seems tired, weighed down with her backpack, and her whole life inside it. He offers to take her a part of the way. She accepts. Natalie Beder's short premiered in competition in the Pardi di domani section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Looking for Grace

Sue Brooks : 2015

When the impulsive 14-year-old Grace decides to run away from home, her parents Dan and Denise embark on a long car journey from Perth, across the entire region of Wheatbelt in Western Australia to find her. But life unravels faster than they can put it back together. Enlisting the help of a retired detective, the couple soon realises that it is time to confront the realities of their changing relationship to one another, and to their daughter. A poignant family drama about the big consequences of small choices and a reflection on teenage and middle age trauma. Sue Brooks's feature premiered in competition at Venice International Film Festival 2015.

The Endless River

Oliver Hermanus : 2015

A young waitress welcomes her husband home to the small South African town of Riviersonderend after his four-year jail sentence. At first it appears their plans for a new life together are finally being realised. But when the wife and son of a foreigner living on a nearby farm are brutally murdered, the young woman and the grieving widower begin gravitating towards each other. Trapped in a cycle of violence and bloodshed, the two form an unlikely bond seeking to transcend their mutual anger, pain and loneliness. Oliver Hermanus's feature premiered in competition at Venice International Film Festival 2015.

L'attesa

Piero Messina : 2015
The Wait

Anna is not yet 60 and already feels like her life is over. The pain of bereavement is etched into her face and her slow movements; it is reflected in the shabby walls of the residence and the ivy that covers them. Then, in that timeless place, there is a telephone call from Jeanne, Giuseppe's girlfriend. Anna should tell her immediately of the terrible loss, but she is petrified: she did not know that her son had a girlfriend. Jeanne's arrival in that villa made up of mourning brings a breath of fresh air and a certain naivety. Anna is yet unable to tell the girl the truth. She is sure it would break the spell. The excuse is always the same, that she is waiting for the right moment. So the two women spend the Easter Days in that solitary place, waiting together for the return of the man they love. To wait for someone is an act of faith. It does not matter if the wait is long or short, if the person is dead or has simply vanished. To wait means to believe that they are elsewhere and to long for their return. And if two women removed from time are convinced that the return of someone far away is imminent, then that person lives yet. Piero Messina's feature debut premiered in competition at Venice International Film Festival 2015.

Abluka

Emin Alper : 2015
Frenzy

Kadir is released after a 15-year prison term and goes in search of his younger brother Ahmet. Meanwhile, İstanbul is in the grip of political violence. Hamza, a high-ranking police officer, helps Kadir find a job as an informant. He collects garbage, checking to see whether it contains material related to bomb-making. Ahmet works at the municipality as part of a team responsible for destroying stray dogs. When Ahmet shuts himself up in his house to care for a wounded dog, Kadir thinks he is being threatened by terrorists. Kadir relays his concern to Hamza, who sends the police to investigate. Emin Alper's feature was winner of the Special Jury Prize when it premiered in competition at Venice International Film Festival 2015.

Eco

Xacio Baño : 2015
Echo

Xosé and his girlfriend Rocío are vacating his parents' apartment in A Coruña. Nobody lives there now. There are marks from the old furniture on the walls, memories inside the boxes. Thirty years to build a life and two days to disassemble it. When they shake the rugs, the dust invades the house. It's time to open the windows. Xacio Baño's short premiered in competition in the Pardi di domani section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Maria do Mar

João Rosas : 2015

It's a summer weekend in a country house near Sintra. Fourteen-year-old Nicolau is spending a couple of days with his older brother Simão and his friends, all of them in their late twenties. Everyone is drawn to the beautiful and quiet Maria do Mar, but Nicolau will see his life the most deeply shaken by her. Between homework and tree-climbing, stories about a deceased philandering grandfather and the origins of the tortellini's shape, a friend in a costume nursing a broken heart and seduction games, Nicolau observes this group of young adults. João Rosas's short premiered in competition in the Pardi di domani section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Persi

Caterina Mona : 2015

Davide, Carla and Giulia were three. Davide, Carla and Max are three. But their peace of mind is unravelled by the news of two girls found after being kept prisoner for years in a cellar. The information reopens a wound for Carla and gives Davide new hope. What happened on that day, ten years ago, that changed the couple's lives forever? Caterina Mona's short premiered in competition in the Pardi di domani section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

O espelho

Rodrigo Lima : 2015
The Mirror

A man is mysteriously called to the entrance gate of an abandoned country home. As if she was coming out of a water mirror, a woman emerges from the mud at the bottom of a lake. As they approach each other, a spell is cast. Together they experience the enchantment of hallucination, memory and dreams. Reflections in the water will reveal secrets hidden in the nature of the soul. A recreation of the short story by Machado de Assis, Rodrigo Lima's feature debut premiered in competition in the Fuori concorso section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Suite Armoricaine

Pascale Breton : 2015

Françoise returns to Rennes to teach art history at the university, many years after studying there herself. Ion, who has appeared out of nowhere at the start of the new academic year to study geography, is in love with Lydie, a blind student. He claims, out of shame, that his mother Moon is dead. There's also rock music, stronger than ever, with John who has never stopped playing it, and Françoise's friends who have never stopped listening to it. Still further away, at the beginning, there is a stream that Françoise has made invisible in her memory, and which is waiting to be visited, like a painting in a museum. Pascale Breton's feature was winner of the FIPRESCI Award when it premiered in competition at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Renaître

Jean-François Ravagnan : 2015
Rise

Sarah gets a phone call that is a blast from the past. Alone and lying to her nearest and dearest, she has only one thing in mind: to cross the Mediterranean and return to Tunisia. Driven by powerful emotions, she undertakes a journey in order to keep a promise she once made to the man she loved. Jean-François Ravagnan's short premiered in competition in the Pardi di domani section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Renaître – bande-annonce (vimeo)

Dream Land

Steve Chen : 2015

Lida, a single woman in the developing metropolis of Phnom Penh, sells modern and upscale housing developments to the growing middle and upper classes. Meanwhile, she suffers constant heartache over her deteriorating relationship with her photographer boyfriend, Sokun. Unable to escape her inner prison, she decides to travel to the quiet beach town of Kep with some close friends to find peace. There, Lida discovers that the ghosts of the past can also haunt you in beautiful ways. Steve Chen's feature debut premiered in competition in the Concorso Cineasti del presente section at Locarno Film Festival 2015.

Arianna

Carlo Lavagna : 2015

Arianna is nineteen and has never had her period. The high doses of hormones her doctor has prescribed don't seem to have any affect on her body development. In the early summer she returns for a holiday to the childhood home where she lived with her parents until the age of three – a beautiful villa on the shores of the Bolsena lake. During her visit, ancient memories gradually resurface and come back to haunt her, making her decide to stay at the house even after her parents return to the city. In the silent, sweltering afternoons, something begins to shift inside her. The encounter with her younger cousin – so feminine and different from her – and the loss of her virginity to a young man her age, force Arianna to face the ghosts that have been tormenting her and bring her to finally face the true nature of her sexuality. In a world seen through the eyes of a 19-year-old intersex, the film questions the relationship between power and abnormalities and the consequences of their conflict. Documentary filmmaker Carlo Lavagna's feature debut was winner of the Premio Laguna SUD for Best Italian Discovery and the FEDEORA Award for Best Young Actress when it premiered in competition at Venice Days 2015.