Bring Me Home

Kim Seung-woo : 2019
Na-reul cha-ja-jwo

Six years after her son went missing, dedicated mother Jung-yeon still hasn't lost hope – even after her husband's shocking accident while rushing to follow up on a potential sighting. Although she's in mourning, drowned in despair for her losses, she doesn't give up. Just when everything feels like it's in vain, she hears about a young boy living in a fishing community outside the city who seems to resemble her lost son. Facing strange surroundings and corrupt cops covering up child abuse, Jung-yeon may not be able to handle all the obstacles in her way, let alone fend for herself. Kim Seung-woo's feature debut premiered in the Discovery section at Toronto International Film Festival 2019.

Mies

Mirthe Fernandes : 2019

Mies, in her early twenties, seems an average young woman at first glance. Silent one day, lively the next. When things go well, she opens herself up to the outside world, after which it can change within a few seconds. She then becomes a self-centred doll that no longer speaks a word. Mies lives her life slightly differently from the average young woman on her way to independence. Mies is not only concerned with her own thoughts, but also with a number of other voices and opinions that haunt her mind. Those voices determine her life. What is it like to sometimes live in a closed ward of the clinic for months while the only thing you want is freedom? What Mies experiences is dissociation, another reality that is for her reality. An intimate portrait of the experiences and perceptions of a young mentally ill woman, but a person who is much more than her diagnosis. Mirthe Fernandes's short documentary screened in competition at Nederlands Film Festival 2019.

Mies (Official site)

Entwined

Minos Nikolakakis : 2019

Panos, a doctor from the city, relocates to a remote village, offering his services to its ageing community. It's love at first sight when he sets eyes on the fair Danae, who has a rare condition that causes her skin to resemble tree bark. Feared by the superstitious villagers, Danae lives in isolation deep in the forest, trapped in a proverbial castle, and the enamoured doctor is determined to rescue her. As Panos searches for a cure for Danae, time stands still in the dreamlike paradise he now inhabits. Unbeknownst to him, however, Danae is not a helpless princess waiting for her prince – and it's not long until she presents him with an ultimatum that will drain him of more than he ever thought possible. Though only days have passed, Panos is aware that, for both lovers, time is running out. An intimate and atmospheric arthouse horror film, mixing folklore and ancient Greek mythology. Minos Nikolakakis's feature debut premiered in the Discovery section at Toronto International Film Festival 2019.

Dark, Almost Night

Borys Lankosz : 2019
Ciemno, prawie noc

When Wałbrzych is shaken by a series of mysterious disappearances of children, Alicja Tabor, a journalist, arrives in the city. Coming back to her homeland after many years, this relentless reporter wants to meet the families of the missing kids and to solve the mystery even the police can't solve. During her private investigation, quite unexpectedly, Alicja tracks down dramatic events whose beginnings go back decades ago. Searching for the truth, the journalist will have to face a new threat and something she's been running away from her whole adult life: the mystery of her childhood and the shocking secrets of her own family. Borys Lankosz's feature screened in competition at Gdynia Film Festival 2019.

Stories from the Chestnut Woods

Gregor Božič : 2019
Zgodbe iz kostanjevih gozdov

In a decaying forest on the Yugoslav-Italian border in the years after World War II, a stingy, old carpenter and a lonely, young chestnut seller share imaginative memories of the past as they weigh fateful decisions for the future. Stubborn in his old age, Mario, the Stingy Carpenter, is known for his unflappable competitive nature and for his preoccupations with income. He fails to notice his wife's descent into illness, one among several missed opportunities to care for his loved ones. Mario tries to impart his hard-gained wisdom to Marta, the Last Chestnut Seller, who has been left to tend the chestnut groves after her husband's departure. In their decaying surroundings, these lonely souls share fond memories – transformed into imaginative tales – and melancholic contemplations of their futures. Should they remain, haunted by a life that was, or does another path call: joining countless others on the rickety cart to a world unknown? Gregor Božič's feature debut premiered in the Discovery section at Toronto International Film Festival 2019.

Simple Women

Chiara Malta : 2019

On Christmas Day 1989, young Federica suffers her first epileptic seizure while she's watching the trial and execution of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena on television with her family. Since childhood, her only passion was cinema, and one film in particular played an important role: Hal Hartley's 'Simple Men', in which Romanian actor Elina Löwensohn has an onscreen seizure. For Federica, it was a critical moment of reflection and connection. Years later, Federica has the opportunity to make a film in Bucharest about the life of her long-time icon. But the real Elina is much different from the one in Federica's imagination and, very quickly, the true characters of both the actor and the director are revealed. Seeing through a new lens, Federica's mind becomes clouded and her ideas for the film less clear. Mid-production, she has a fit of epilepsy, and, with her vision blurred, the faint lines between life and art fade entirely. Chiara Malta's fiction feature debut premiered in the Discovery section at Toronto International Film Festival 2019.

Mo

Radu Dragomir : 2019

Friends since childhood, Mo and Vera are now college students. Mo's father died when she was a teenager, but she is still affected by the loss. During an exam, Mo is caught cheating by Ursu, one of her toughest professors. Mo defies him and Ursu seizes her mobile phone and throws the girls out. Later that day, the girls receive a phone call from Ursu, who invites them to a restaurant in order to return the mobile phone. After dinner, they are invited in his apartment, where he turns into an extremely kind and understanding person, winning Mo's heart with some good music and all the movies in the world. It's all fun and games, until Mo loses control. Radu Dragomir's feature debut premiered in competition in the Romanian Days section at Transilvania International Film Festival 2019, and screened in competition at Sarajevo Film Festival 2019.

Wasp Network

Olivier Assayas : 2019

December 1990. Airline pilot René González steals a plane and flees Cuba, which is about to topple into an economic crisis precipitated by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Having abandoned his wife and daughter, he begins a new life in Miami. Soon he is joined by other Cuban dissidents, members of the activist organisation Brothers to the Rescue, working towards the destabilisation of the Castro regime. Along with fellow exile and pilot Juan Pablo Roque, René gradually becomes more aware of the moral compromises the Brothers make to do their work – and the degree to which the CIA is involved in supporting anti-Castro activities. Olivier Assayas's feature premiered in competition at Venice International Film Festival 2019, and had its North American premiere in Special Presentations at Toronto International Film Festival 2019.

When the Persimmons Grew

Hilal Baydarov : 2019
Xurmalar Yetişən Vaxt

Immobile in a home in which the sands of time fall to the rhythm of rural Azerbaijani sounds, a mother waits for her son. When he arrives, their conversations circle around existential questions and news from afar, troubling and cryptic. Unrest cloaks the world outside. Mother and son grow closer, silence melts into words, and life springs up between them. The son leaves, and winter settles upon the forever-outdated house, in which temporalities blur and past and present beat to the rhythm of the same clock. Hilal Baydarov's documentary was winner of the Jury Prize when it premiered at Visions du Réel 2019, and the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary at Sarajevo Film Festival 2019.

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 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.