Lola vers la mer

Laurent Micheli : 2019
Lola towards 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.

Temblores

Jayro Bustamante : 2019
Tremors

When Pablo arrives at his family's house outside Guatemala City, everyone is already waiting tensely for this beloved brother, son and husband to appear. Everyone at the clan's villa is horrified: Pablo has fallen in love with another man, Francisco. In doing so, he is calling into question all the values by which this deeply religious evangelical family lives. In spite of resistance from his relatives, Pablo moves in with Francisco, who is closely linked to the city's subculture and leads a completely different, liberated existence. Pablo loses his old home, but somehow never really settles in the new one. His wish to unite the two worlds turns out to be a dead end. Putting their faith before everything else, his relatives are adamant that Pablo can be 'healed'. With help from their ultra-religious community, the family does everything in its power to get their prodigal son back on track, no matter the cost. Jayro Bustamante's second feature premiered in the Panorama section at Berlin International Film Festival 2019.

Un monde plus grand

Fabienne Berthaud : 2019
A Bigger World

In order to forget the death of Paul, the man of her life, Corine leaves Paris for a few weeks to direct a project in Mongolia. But her meeting with the shaman Oyun disrupts her journey, as Oyun proclaims that Corine has received a rare gift and must be trained in shamanic traditions. Back in France, she cannot refuse what is now imposed on her: she must go back to Mongolia to begin her initiation. She will agree to start a journey of discovery, which will lead her to discover a new culture, ancestral and forgotten ways, but most importantly herself. Based on Mon initiation chez les chamanes by Corine Sombrun, Fabienne Berthaud's feature premiered in competition at Venice Days 2019.

Unremember

Flavia Castro : 2018
Deslembro

Joana, a teenager, feeds her soul with literature and rock. In 1979, when amnesty is granted in Brazil, she lives with her family in Paris. Overnight and against her will, Joana moves back to the country she barely remembers. In the early 1980s, in Rio de Janeiro, the city she was born in and where her father has forcedly disappeared, she recovers pieces of memory from a fragmented childhood. Not everything is real, not everything is imagination. And as she remembers, Joana is able to write her own story in the present tense. Interweaving personal and political history, Flavia Castro's largely autobiographical first feature premiered in competition in the Orizzonti section at Venice International Film Festival 2018, and screened in the New Cinema section at Transatlantyk Festival 2019.

I Am They

Fox Fisher & Owl Fisher : 2019
A Non-binary Love Story

I Am They is a feature length documentary that follows the story of Fox and Owl, as they explore the many challenges facing non-binary people in the UK today; from legal issues to language, from marriage to hate speech. Through a protest-wedding Fox and Owl set out to raise awareness of the wider issue of lack of legal gender recognition in the UK, and speak with many other non-binary people about the challenges they face. The film also explores issues and topics faced by older non-binary people, non-binary youth, non-binary people of colour and non-binary people from across Europe. Their film is the first feature documentary on trans issues by My Genderation, an ongoing film project focusing on trans lives and trans experiences, created by trans people for a much wider audience. It was published today, 14 July, International Non-Binary People's Day.

I Am They – A Non-binary Love Story (YouTube)

Field of Blackbirds

Arzana Kraja : 2019
Fusha e mëllenjave

Once a political prisoner who was brutally tortured during the late eighties in Kosovo, Syla now leads an uneventful life in London where he was given refuge twenty years ago. The seeming stability of his new life is fractured by his nephew's chance remarks that suggest Syla has a child. Profoundly disturbed, Syla is compelled to return to Kosovo, and to finally confront the demons in his past. Syla journeys to unearth what happened to Zylfija, the love of his life and the child she carried when he was forced to leave her behind. He ultimately is forced to face up to the events which destroyed his life. Arzana Kraja's feature debut premiered as the opening film at Prishtina International Film Festival 2019.

Les fauves

Vincent Mariette : 2018
Savage

Summer is in full swing in a Dordogne camping site. Several youngsters mysteriously disappear, and as rumours begin to circulate about the presence of a panther in the surrounding area, the teenagers can sense a feeling of danger to their core. 17-year-old Laura, who is spending the holidays with her family at the campsite, is trying to solve the mystery when one of her friends vanishes without trace. Unlike all the others, Laura isn't frightened of the mysterious feline; on the contrary, she is strangely attracted to it. In this electric atmosphere, Laura meets Paul, a creepy yet charming writer. An ambiguous relationship develops between these two, who, though seemingly different, are brought together by their passion for mystery. Vincent Mariette's coming-of-age thriller premiered at Fantastic Fest 2018, and screened in competition at Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival 2019.

What Might Have Been

Florian Koerner von Gustorf : 2019
Was gewesen wäre

Astrid is in her late forties and has her life firmly under control. She has fallen in love with Paul, and their first weekend trip together takes them to Budapest for a few romantic days, just the two of them. But in the Hungarian capital things happen differently than they had planned. They run into Julius, Astrid's first great love, whom she had met at an artists' party in East Germany in 1986. It was a love that was never easy, but always exciting. There are still feelings that couldn't really be quashed by the course of history. Together with Paul, Astrid looks back at her past, and suddenly everything could be as it had never been. A fantastic coming-of-age story set in the adult world. Florian Koerner von Gustorf's directorial debut premiered in the New German Cinema section at Filmfest München 2019.

The Last Children of Paradise

Anna Roller : 2019
Die letzten Kinder im Paradies

Fourteen-year-old Leah lives in an isolated cabin with her ten-year-old brother Theo and their grandmother. Leah is going through a difficult period in her adolescence: though still firmly rooted in the world of children, she is slowly taking on the worries of an adult. A sad event that unexpectedly befalls them marks the definitive end of one period in Leah's life. She now finds herself responsible for her younger brother, but she carries out the task with the ease of a child. A story about losing a sense of security that had felt like paradise. Anna Roller's short screened in the Future Frames section at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2019.

Carmilla

Emily Harris : 2019

Lara is a sheltered 15-year-old girl who lives with her father and strict governess Miss Fontaine. When a carriage crash brings the enigmatic young Carmilla to recuperate at their house, she provides an outlet for Lara's curiosity and burgeoning sexuality. The pair begin a passionate friendship, but rumours of a supernatural presence drive Miss Fontaine's mistrust of Carmilla. A moody and atmospheric coming-of-age love story, enveloped in mystery and set in the 1780s, it is inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 novella, considered one of the earliest works of vampire fiction. Emily Harris's feature premiered in competition in the Best of British strand at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2019.

Daughter

Mara Tamkovich : 2018
Córka

Piotr returns home on the day of his daughter Kamila's 16th birthday to find her unconscious in a pool of blood. The doctors' diagnosis is a shock for the man. What can a father do when his beloved daughter was hurt so much by someone? What can he do when the system fails him, standing in the way of justice? The father takes care of his daughter in the cruel world. From now on, their lives will never be the same. The film is a part of the social debate in the current context of the #MeToo campaign. Mara Tamkovich's short premiered at Gdynia Film Festival 2018, and was winner of the Cineuropa Audience Award for Best Short Film when it screened in competition in the Silver Lynx Fiction section at FEST 2019.