Alpha and Highest 2 Lowest
COMPÉTITION (SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE)
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME by WES ANDERSON at 08.30 11.15 (runtime 1h45)
The story of a family and a family business.
O AGENTE SECRETO (L’AGENT SECRET / THE SECRET AGENT)\by KLEBER MENDONÇA FILHO at 11:15 (runtime 2h38)
Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son but soon realizes that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.
EAGLES OF THE REPUBLIC (LES AIGLES DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE) by TARIK SALEH at 15:45 (runtime 2h07)
ALPHA by JULIA DUCOURNAU at 22:30 (runtime 2h08)
Alpha, a troubled 13-year-old lives with her single mom. Their world collapses the day she returns from school with a tattoo on her arm.
HORS COMPÉTITION SÉANCES SPÉCIALES & DE MINUIT (CANNES PREMIÈRE)
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST by SPIKE LEE at 19:00 (runtime 2h13)
When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma. Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the 5th in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City.
DITES-LUI QUE JE L’AIME (TELL HER I LOVE HER) by ROMANE BOHRINGER at 19:15 (runtime 1h32)
Romane has directed a film adaptation of the book that Clémentine Autain wrote and dedicated to her mother, actress Dominique Laffin. Through this project, Romane is forced to confront her past and her own mother, who abandoned her when she was nine months old.
SPLITSVILLE by MICHAEL ANGELO COVINO at 19:30 (runtime 1h40)
Splitsville picks up with Ashley (Adria Arjona) asking for a divorce, watching as the good-natured Carey (Kyle Marvin) runs to his friends, Julie (Dakota Johnson) and Paul (Michael Covino), for support. He’s shocked to discover that the secret to their happiness is an open marriage; that is, until Carey crosses the line and throws all of their relationships into chaos.
UN CERTAIN REGARD (SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA by ARAB NASSER & TARZAN NASSER at 11:00 (runtime 1h30)
Gaza, 2007. Yahya, a young student, forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they start peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego …
MÉTÉORS by HUBERT CHARUEL at 14:00 (runtime 1h51)
France’s rural wasteland. Three long-time friends, Tony has become the construction king, Mika and Daniel the kings of nothing. They have big dreams but little luck. Cornered after another blunder, they end up working for Tony at the nuclear dumping ground. So far, so bad…
UN POETA by SIMÓN MESA SOTO at 16:45 (runtime 2h)
Oscar Restrepo’s obsession with poetry brought him no glory. Aging and e
Olmo Schnabel's directorial debut PET SHOP DAYS screened as a Festival Favorite at SXSW, 2024. The film stars Jack Irv, Darío Yazebek Bernal, alongside Willem Dafoe, Peter Sarsgaard and more.
Impulsive black sheep Alejandro (Bernal) and pet store employee Jack (Irv) enter a whirlwind romance that sends them down the rabbit hole of depravity in Manhattan’s underworld.
In an interview at SXSW with director Olmo Schnabel, actor Darío Yazebek Bernal, EP Jeremy O'Harris, here is what they had to say:
Can you tell us a little bit about the film? Was it difficult to get off the ground?
OLMO: It was a collaboration among friends, and yes was a difficult movie to make. Obviously when you’re not part of the industry and you’re doing something that might seem challenging or on the periphery of what people will accept, there is a lot of trial and error. It was a kind of search party to find the right producing partner to help me get this movie made. It wasn’t until I met Francesco Melzi d’Eril that I found a producer who was very excited and motivated to put this film together. I think because he’s from another cultural background, he was willing to take some risks. Whereas if you go meet with an agency or head of a studio in the US, they have a mandate to fill that this film didn’t fit into. Someone like Francesco is willing to bet on young filmmakers, and to take a risk. With Francesco I met Jeremy who was very instrumental. He helped me meet other people who were super useful for getting this out into the world. It was important to create a dialogue and have the support system I needed, because it wasn’t easy.
JEREMY: Olmo had worked a long time and garnered a lot of financing before I got involved. It was a real mountain to climb getting the movie made. Francesco is a great champion of Italian cinema and independent cinema. He’s worked a lot with Luca Guadagnino. I think that in Francesco, Olmo found a real partner who could read the universe he was building.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the story? Is it based on true events?
OLMO: Jack Irv, the lead in the movie who also co-wrote it, based it off a friendship he had with a friend of ours named Alejandro. In its core it’s based off a relationship he was very excited and surprised about. I believe it’s more of a fantasy of what they could do together than what they weren’t doing together. It’s a mixture between the attraction of a real relationship but also that kind of naïve childlike curiosity of what could happen if they went on this crazy adventure together. And Jack had that kind of spontaneous completely loose and free story that didn’t need to be hyper realistic. It was much more like if something was going to happen, then it’s destiny. Like if you’re going to win the lottery, you’re going to win it; I’m not going to explain to you how the ticket ended up in your hand. Similarly, these two characters literally bumped into each other on the street and this wild adventure ensues.
DARIO: I think the movie itself is
Spring is just around the corner, which means it’s that time of year for the annual True/False Fest to take over Columbia, Missouri. Dedicated to only premiering and screening non-fiction films, the festival (a nonprofit Ragtag Film Society project) is a unique four-day event rooted in four key values: integrity, inclusivity, playfulness, and sustainability. We’re […]
The post Film Festival Watch: 14 Sundance-Supported Films to Catch at the 2025 True/False Film Fest first appeared on sundance.org.
Fiume o morte! and Raptures take IFFR 2025’s top awards
The winners of the top IFFR 2025 prizes are here! Alongside the Tiger Award and Big Screen Award, the Tiger Special Jury, FIPRESCI, NETPAC, and Youth Jury awards were announced during the ceremony tonight in 'de Doelen'.
The festival doesn't end here though – there's still plenty to catch over the closing weekend, including Mouly Surya's HBF-backed closing film This City Is a Battlefield. Read more below.
Tiger Competition winner
Fiume o morte! by Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Italy, Slovenia)
The jury said: "At times of the rise of ultra-nationalism within a contemporary European context, the film playfully grapples with the past not as a closed chapter, but as a living reality."
Big Screen Competition winner
Raptures by Jon Blåhed (Sweden, Finland)
The jury said: "A film that asks painful questions that were relevant almost a century ago and, as it turns out, are even more relevant today."
Tiger Special Jury Award winners
L’arbre de l’authenticité by Sammy Baloji (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
The jury said: "A beautiful essay film with a methodical, playful and meditative approach to both science and history."
Im Haus meiner Eltern by Tim Ellrich (Germany)
The jury said: "For a seemingly simple portrayal of family relations and ageing, it is deeply honest, emotionally fraught, and sensitively framed."
FIPRESCI Award winner
Fiume o morte! by Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Italy, Slovenia)
The jury said: "Whilst full of dry, self-reflexive humour, the film manages to use its creative exploration of history to provide in-depth commentary on worrying contemporary political developments, specifically the rise of the global far-right."
NETPAC Award winner
Bad Girl by Varsha Bharath (India)
The jury said: "The film that we have chosen unfolds a coming-of-age story in a provocative way, it is cinematic and playful, with unexpected narrative solutions."
Youth Jury Award winner
The Visual Feminist Manifesto by Farida Baqi (Syria, Lebanon, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands)
The jury said: "From the first instance, the film proves itself to be one of a kind: unravelling its story in the format of a poem, it gracefully takes its viewer along."
Montreal, Saturday, November 30, 2024 - The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) ends tomorrow, Sunday, December 1st. The winners of this 27th edition were revealed during an awards ceremony which took place this evening at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
GRAND PRIZE FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION
Republic by Jiang Jin (Singapore, China)
“Republic captures the restless dreams and defiant spirit of Beijing’s youth as they forge a communal utopia within the tiny, vibrant space of their self-declared Republic, challenging the political and social constraints that surround them. The intimate, immersive cinematography brings the viewer directly into the room, transforming the confined setting into a boundless world of collective imagination, resistance and the pursuit of freedom.“
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION presented by Vital Distribution
To Our Friends by Adrián Orr (Spain, Portugal)
“By blending fictional storytelling with documentary, To Our Friends offers a nuanced exploration of youth, identity and the complexities of personal growth, effectively capturing the essence of Sara's metamorphosis while employing deliberate techniques that dissolve the boundary between the constructed world of cinema and the reality of its subjects. Through moments where characters subtly acknowledge the camera’s presence and a hybrid narrative that dismantles the divide between fiction and nonfiction, the film creates a meta-cinematic effect, positioning itself as a profound meditation on storytelling and the narratives we construct about ourselves in both art and life.“
The jury for the international feature film competition was comprised of Andrea Bussmann (filmmaker), Dominique Dussault (producer) and Beatrice Fiorentino (critic).
GRAND PRIZE FOR NATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION presented by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and PRIM
Intercepted by Oksana Karpovych (Quebec/Canada, France, Ukraine)
“Without losing sight of its intentions, convictions and without losing its edge, this powerful film maintains a rare balance, both formally and thematically. It reveals the brutal consequences of an invasion, as well as the human and social dramas that in wartime are the lot of the majority. Intercepted makes tangible the actual situation in Ukraine, while revealing something about contemporary Russia. We believe it is important not to forget this ongoing conflict, and its impacts.“
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR NATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION presented by Télé-Québec and Post-Moderne
Archéologie de la lumière by Syl
Highlights:
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Silent City Driver wins the Grand Prix for the Best Film of Official Selection Competition, also scooped the Best Production Design Award;
- The Best First Feature Film Award goes to No Dogs Allowed;
-
Southern Chronicles gets the Best Baltic Film award;
- In the Rebels with a Cause competition programme, the award for the Best Film goes to Protected Men;
- In the Critics' Picks programme, the award for the Best Film award goes to The Brothers Kitaura;
- In the first-ever Doc@PÖFF competition, the Best Film award goes to The Watchman;
-
Pyre scooped the Audience Award
At the Award Ceremony of the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), awards were presented to the winners of the festival’s six competition programmes and PÖFF’s youth and children’s film sub-festival Just Film.
OFFICIAL SELECTION COMPETITION
The jury of PÖFF's flagship programme, chaired by Christoph Hochhäusler, chose
Sengedorj Janchivdorj's
Silent City Driveras their favourite, awarding it the Grand Prix for Best Film. Silent City Driver uses Mongolia's striking urban landscapes and skyscapes to tell a raw, powerful story of life on the edge, weaving existential reflections on life and death with a unique cinematic style. The film was written by Sengedorj Janchivdorj, whose previous feature, The Sales Girl (2021), was a hit around the world, including at PÖFF's summer open-air festival Tartuffe, where it won the Audience Award.
The jury commented on the film as follows: "This dark fairy tale from Mongolia took us by surprise. From the very first shot on, we felt the sensation of a film breaking new ground. Silent City Driver is a very stylish film, but style here is substance, the formal choices are not used to divert, but to deepen this very cinematic universe, populated by unique characters, bigger than life, but very very human. The Grand Prix for the best film goes to Silent City Driver by Sengedorj Janchivdorj.
The Best Director Award was given to
Nir Bergman, for
Pink Lady. The jury praised the director with the following words: "The award for best director goes to a film that shows expert craftsmanship at all levels. When the vast complex machine of a film works in perfect sync, when every performance is subtle and moving, every emotional step feels honest and heartbreaking… and all of these elements weave seamlessly into an immersive and gripping world — this is a sign of great directing. The winner of this year's Best Director, The Pink Lady by the director, Nir Bergman — is a masterclass in precise and effortless direction.
The Best Cinematography Award was presented to Claudia Becerril Bulos for her work on
Empire of the Rabbits (dir. Seyfettin Tokmak).
"The cinematograph
Bruno Chatelin met for a quick interview with David Jovanovic after his successfull screening in PÖFF competition (first feature) and an incredingly long and passionate Q&A!
Dule (pictured above at Tallinn Nordic Forum Hotel with the director) is a happy boy who spends his childhood together with his hero father and mother, too small to understand that his home will soon be taken by the mine next to the village. If death caused by pollution does not take the boy sooner. Dule’s father Vid knows.
Dule playfully tries to find magic solutions in order to extinguish the pulsating ache in his father’s behaviour patterns and to save plants growing in his home garden. One after the other, everyday activities become iconic sparks of hope and the greenhouse becomes an Eden that needs Dule’s protection.
A remarkable feature of “Sun Never Again” is its pervasive symbolism which has been created using the main techniques of the art of film in a manner where besides iconic references, the relationship between light and shadow and composition is meaningfully eloquent. A seemingly unnoticeable story is thereby intertwined with the deeply contemplated philosophical approach of director David Jovanović to create a power pearl of a film which captures the audience with its detail-sensitive dramaturgic flow and fills the soul with meaning.
Elise Jagomägi
Today, the European Film Academy announced the winners of this year’s Excellence Awards. These awards honour the different arts and crafts of film making in eight categories. The winners will receive their awards at the award ceremony of the 37th European Film Awards on 7 December in Lucerne. A special eight-member jury decided on the winners in the following categories based on the European Film Awards Feature Film Selection.
European Cinematography
Benjamin Kračun for THE SUBSTANCE
The jury: “Just as Elisabeth Sparkle’s world in THE SUBSTANCE contracts, the cinematography of Benjamin Kračun simultaneously excels. Despite the constraints of her environment, he playfully explores her physical and psychological demise with highly stylised lens distortions and manipulations. It is loud and glossy, but also manages to eke out an unexpected intimacy and vulnerability. The audience is transported through to an unbearably painful, and hilariously raucous ending, achieved only through collaboration with all departments and is undoubtably a celebration of cinematography and cinema.”
European Editing
Juliette Welfling for EMILIA PÉREZ
The jury: “In the feverish musical odyssey EMILIA PÉREZ, Juliette Welfling's editing strikes us with its incredible fluidity and elegance. The richness of the story's registers and tonalities is orchestrated with remarkable meticulousness, immersing the audience in the narrative without feeling any of the usual stop-and-go between sung scenes and the others. Very impressive!”
European Production Design
Jagna Dobesz for THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
The jury: “The difficult life and psychological drama of young Karoline in post-WWI Copenhagen is expertly illustrated by an excellent, interesting, visually strong, and striking production design.
Through skillfully designed interiors, along with carefully chosen exteriors, production designer Jagna Dobesz strongly and powerfully contributes to the visual quality and atmosphere of the movie.”
European Costume Design
Tanja Hausner for THE DEVIL’S BATH
The jury: “With great precision and great intelligence, Tanja Hausner's costumes in THE DEVIL'S BATH build every single character in a masterful and very modern way. They contribute perfectly to the overall picture and story. On top of that, each costume, including the background actors and extras, is a piece of art, exciting in colour, proportions, texture, and visual rhythm.”
European Make-up & Hair
Evalotte Oosterop for WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS
The jury: “Evalotte Oosterop's make-up and hair in WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS takes into account the complexity of the protagonists' relationships. Without a guideline to follow, she creatively combines classic hairstyles with something we're not so used to see, matching the story perfectly.”
European Original Score
Frederikke Hoffmeier for THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
The jury: “In an original and experimental way, Frederikke Hoffmeier's original score in THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE works wi
Today, the European Film Academy announced the winners of this year’s Excellence Awards. These awards honour the different arts and crafts of film making in eight categories. The winners will receive their awards at the award ceremony of the 37th European Film Awards on 7 December in Lucerne. A special eight-member jury decided on the winners in the following categories based on the European Film Awards Feature Film Selection.
European Cinematography
Benjamin Kračun for THE SUBSTANCE
The jury: “Just as Elisabeth Sparkle’s world in THE SUBSTANCE contracts, the cinematography of Benjamin Kračun simultaneously excels. Despite the constraints of her environment, he playfully explores her physical and psychological demise with highly stylised lens distortions and manipulations. It is loud and glossy, but also manages to eke out an unexpected intimacy and vulnerability. The audience is transported through to an unbearably painful, and hilariously raucous ending, achieved only through collaboration with all departments and is undoubtably a celebration of cinematography and cinema.”
European Editing
Juliette Welfling for EMILIA PÉREZ
The jury: “In the feverish musical odyssey EMILIA PÉREZ, Juliette Welfling's editing strikes us with its incredible fluidity and elegance. The richness of the story's registers and tonalities is orchestrated with remarkable meticulousness, immersing the audience in the narrative without feeling any of the usual stop-and-go between sung scenes and the others. Very impressive!”
European Production Design
Jagna Dobesz for THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
The jury: “The difficult life and psychological drama of young Karoline in post-WWI Copenhagen is expertly illustrated by an excellent, interesting, visually strong, and striking production design.
Through skillfully designed interiors, along with carefully chosen exteriors, production designer Jagna Dobesz strongly and powerfully contributes to the visual quality and atmosphere of the movie.”
European Costume Design
Tanja Hausner for THE DEVIL’S BATH
The jury: “With great precision and great intelligence, Tanja Hausner's costumes in THE DEVIL'S BATH build every single character in a masterful and very modern way. They contribute perfectly to the overall picture and story. On top of that, each costume, including the background actors and extras, is a piece of art, exciting in colour, proportions, texture, and visual rhythm.”
European Make-up & Hair
Evalotte Oosterop for WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS
The jury: “Evalotte Oosterop's make-up and hair in WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS takes into account the complexity of the protagonists' relationships. Without a guideline to follow, she creatively combines classic hairstyles with something we're not so used to see, matching the story perfectly.”
European Original Score
Frederikke Hoffmeier for THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
The jury: “In an original and experimental way, Frederikke Hoffmeier's original score in THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE works wi