Entertainment

Music enthusiast Duncan (Chris O'Dowd) is pretty much obsessed with singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), who, after two decades, finally releases a new album with "Juliet, Naked". But when Duncan's girlfriend Annie (Rose Byrne) listens to the new songs first and on her own, she can't get much out of them, which makes Duncan furious. While he publishes a euphoric review on his fan website after listening to the album, Annie writes an article in which she scathes the record - whereupon Crowe finally contacts her personally. Film adaptation of the novel of the same name by "About A Boy" and "High Fidelity" author Nick Hornby.

When simple-minded friends Jean-Gab and Manu find a giant fly trapped in the boot of a car, they decide to train it in the hope of making a ton of cash. From internationally acclaimed director Quentin Dupieux, "Mandibules" is a wild and surreal road movie, an utterly unique comedy about friendship, big dreams and bigger disasters.

In 2006, a group of thieves performed what is considered one of the most famous and smart bank heists in the history of Argentina. How they robbed the Rio bank is as surprising as what happened afterwards. This is their story.

In 1930s Paris, Madeleine, a pretty, young, penniless and talentless actress, is accused of murdering a famous producer. Helped by her best friend Pauline, a young unemployed lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. A new life of fame and success begins, until the truth comes out. Crime comedy and free adaptation of a 1934 Parisian play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, with Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Isabelle Huppert, Dany Boo and Fabrice Luchini.

A crazy referendum throws Switzerland into a state of emergency. By the acceptance of the initiative “No Bilangue” there should be from now on only one national language: French. Many German-speaking Swiss are therefore having a crisis. Including fifty-six-year-old Walter Egli, who works for the Federal Police and must ensure that the transition to monolingualism is carried out properly. Although he hardly speaks any French himself, he is sent to Ticino with a French-speaking partner to uncover a Ticino resistance group that is fighting the new law by all means necessary. Peter Luisi and Beat Schlatter have created a wonderfully contemporary hymn to multilingualism in the form of a comedy that has attracted over 350,000 viewers to Swiss cinemas. Luisi and Schlatter were nominated for the Swiss Film Award for Best Screenplay.

Detective Yvonne is the widow of police chief Santi, a local hero in a town on the French Riviera. When she learns he was in fact a crooked cop, she tries to right his wrongs. Crossing paths with Antoine, a victim of Santi, sets off a series of wild events.

Etienne (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) is barely twenty when he falls in love with Valérie. They are hardly older when their daughter Rosa is born. And then, one day, Valérie leaves and never returns. He chooses not to make a drama of it and builds a happy life for him and his child. Sixteen years later, when Rosa (Céleste Brunnquell) is about to lead her own life, Etienne recognizes his wife in a television report. The past brutally resurfaces, and father and daughter are propelled into one last chaotic family journey. Director Erwan Le Duc walks a fine line between slapstick and emotion and manages to walk it throughout the film without giving in to cheap effects. Formally innovative and rhythmically told, the film surprises with its poetic lightness.

The young, upbeat teacher Antoinette is looking forward to her summer vacation with her secret lover Vladimir, the attractive father of one of her students. But nothing comes of it: Vladimir spontaneously books a donkey trekking in the Cevennes with his family. Antoinette decides to follow him on the Stevenson Trail, taking her straw hat, a pink rolling suitcase and Patrick, the donkey who accompanies her. The stubborn animal demands all her patience, yet turns out to be a good listener and leads her to completely new, refreshing insights about life and love.

For twenty years, Bruno (Vincent Cassel) and Malik (Reda Kateb) have lived in a different world—the world of autistic children and teens. In charge of two separate nonprofit organizations, they train young people from underprivileged areas to be caregivers for extreme cases that have been refused by all other institutions. It’s an exceptional partnership, outside of traditional settings, for some quite extraordinary characters. "Hors normes" is a deeply touching feel-good comedy from "Intouchables" directors Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.

Blanco (Javier Bardem), the "patron" of a factory making industrial scales, is under enormous pressure: he is desperate to win the local business award. Everything has to be perfect when the investigating commission arrives, but nothing goes according to plan. A vengeful ex-employee, a depressed supervisor and an overambitious intern with a crush on him make life difficult for Blanco. Despite all the obstacles, he does everything he can to win the competition – even if it means crossing moral boundaries. In the process, he unwittingly sets off a series of wild events. A delightful tongue-in-cheek social satire by Spanish director Fernando León de Aranoa, starring Javier Bardem as a model boss who shamelessly manipulates the lives of his employees.

In Ruben Östlund's wickedly funny Palme d'Or winner, social hierarchy is turned upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power and beauty. Celebrity model couple, Carl and Yaya, are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain. What first appeared instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival.

Demosthenes (Yorgos Tsiantoulas) and Nikitas (Andreas Labropoulos), two queer bros, spend a day at the rocky beach of Limanakia, in the south of Athens, a landmark for the LGBTQ community of the Greek capital. Surrounded by gay men, naked or in swimming suits, sunbathing or cruising for casual sex, the two friends recall the events of a recent summer, hoping to turn them into Nikitas' feature debut screenplay. Their day-long debate is intertwined with the action at the amphitheatrical rocks: friendly chats, blow-jobs, DIY fashion shows, a bit of Greek rebetiko music, a joint. "The Summer with Carmen" is an unapologetically out-and-proud comedy from Zacharias Mavroeidis that spotlights the friendships between gay men, a complex and multifaceted type of relationship that rarely holds the leading part in movies.

Rosa is about to turn 45 and realises that she's always lived her life to serve everyone else. So she decides to leave it all behind, take charge of her life and fulfil her dream of starting her own business.

Daniel Berger, a civil servant in land registry office in the canton of Vaud has an enviable life with his own villa and expensive car... It is well known around Lake Geneva that keeping relations on an even keel makes for good relations. But, the senior member of the Council of State decides to apply methods of New Public Management and assigns Werner Schäfer from Zurich to carry out the job. When Werner Schäfer also comes to live next door to Daniel Berger, life takes on a more complicated nature...

Passion is overrated - and certainly has nothing to do with love! At least that's how Charlotte (Sandrine Kiberlain) sees it. For her, tales of passion no longer fit into the 21st century - after all, good sex is also possible without feelings. Accordingly, her first date with married family man Simon (Vincent Macaigne) ends up in her bedroom. He is completely flabbergasted – in 20 years of marriage, he has often longed for non-binding affairs, but has never met the right woman - until now. Pressure to divorce and serious feelings are not to be feared from Charlotte, who is disillusioned with relationships. The two make a pact: pleasure desired, feelings forbidden – only as long as it goes well. Because the secret lovers are not only on the same wavelength in bed, but also let all the covers down in intimate conversations, the hours they spend together become longer, the intervals between meetings shorter. Soon Charlotte and Simon have to face an uncomfortable truth: they may be done with passion, but passion is not yet done with them... About the art of infidelity, the end of passion and the true dramaturgy of love: with "Chronique d'une liaison passagère", director Emmanuel Mouret presents a language of love that couldn't be funnier, more romantic or more playful. Filled with artful situational comedy and adorned in the most beautiful colors of spring: one of the smartest and most beautiful love films in a long time.

A group of very different individuals who in 1975 lived in a commune called Tillsammans, "together". Now it is 1999, and the collective has turned into the world's smallest. The commune consists of only two people - Göran and Klasse. Feeling a bit lonely, the idea occurs of a reunion with their old friends... Lukas Moodysson and an ensemble of Sweden's best actors are back with the follow-up to the Swedish cult original "Tillsammans! - Together" that offers Moodysson's signature mix of humor and seriousness.

This episodic portrait of a Bohemian village is built around the wobbly friendship between two men of opposing natures – farm truck driver Pávek (Marián Labuda) and his mentally challenged assistant Otík (János Bán). Pávek wants to get rid of his unreliable protégé once the harvest is over, after which Otík would move to Prague. But the naïve assistant is unprepared for life in the big city. The young man’s broad smile while wearing headphones over his ears is now viewed as an inherent component of the colourful village idyll. The film also features the tetchy Turek (Petr Čepek), jealous of his wife Jana (Libuše Šafránková), and the absent-minded dreamer, Doctor Skružný (Rudolf Hrušínský), who enjoys admiring the wonder of the Bohemian countryside while driving.

Andrea, a small-town policewoman, has decided to move on from her unhappy marriage with the help of a transfer to a higher position in the police department of the next bigger city. As she drives home after a birthday party, she has no chance of stopping when her not-yet-divorced husband suddenly appears in front of her car, drunk. Unable to break, she runs him over and kills him. In a state of shock, Andrea flees the scene. Still, that night, being called to duty as the local police officer to the crime scene, she discovers to her horror that someone else has accepted responsibility for the accident: Franz, a religion teacher and recovered alcoholic, is convinced that he ran over the victim, and so is everyone else in the village. While Franz starts drinking again, Andrea applies herself to the task of eliminating all traces of her guilt... In his second feature film, Josef Hader blends humour with melancholy as he takes a look at sad, drunken men and a woman with a plan.

Kingdom of Bhutan, 2006. Modernization has finally arrived. Bhutan becomes the last country in the world to connect to the internet and television, and now the biggest change of all: democracy. To teach the people how to vote, the authorities organize a mock election, but the locals seem unconvinced. Traveling to rural Bhutan where religion is more popular than politics, the election supervisor discovers that a monk is planning a mysterious ceremony for the election day.

Sophia, a 40-year-old philosophy professor, is in a stable if somewhat sociallyconforming relationship with Xavier. From gallery openings to endless dinner parties, ten years have already flown by. Sylvain is a craftsman, renovating Sophia and Xavier’s new country house. When Sophia and Sylvain meet, Sophia’s world is turned upside down. Opposites attract, but can they last? Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Monia Chokri ("A Brother’s Love") returns with a fun and smart relationship study in the form of a romantic comedy, playing on the couple’s social differences without caricaturing their different backgrounds.

In mid-1970s, fleeing life with her abusive husband Rolf, Elisabeth moves into her brother Goran's commune, with her two children Stefan and Eva. A big house in suburban Stockholm, the commune is called "Together" and inhabited by a crowded assortment of people. Initially resistant to Elisabeth's entry, the commune soon accepts her and her children as part of their family. Soon Elisabeth is acclimating to her new surroundings and the commune's liberal attitudes towards sex, drugs and politics. But just as she's becoming settled, her husband shows up looking to get the family back together. Despite showing tenderness for his characters, Lukas Moodysson takes an ironic, sometimes sarcastic look at the quirky commune of the seventies. Re-release of the Swedish cult film on the occasion of the 2023 sequel "Tillsammans 99".

Down-on-his-luck, unemployed Alexandre has two months to prove to his wife he can take care of his two young kids and be financially independent. Now, the thing is, although The Box, a user-friendly startup, wants to hire him on pro- bation, the company’s slogan is “No kids!” and Séverine, his future boss, is a short-tempered “killer”. So if Alexandre wants to land the job, he’s bound to lie... Will his meeting with Arcimboldo, an “entrepreneur of himself” and the king of online odd jobs, help the brave, disoriented Alexandre overcome all those challenges?

Jiří Menzel directed six films based on literary works by Bohumil Hrabal. The penultimate of these was the 1983 film A Feast of Snowdrops. Hrabal’s eponymous book, which is a colorful collage of portraits of the inhabitants of a cottage settlement in the Central Bohemian village of Kersko, was first published in 1978, but then still in censored form. Jiří Menzel wanted to rehabilitate the long-censored author for film, so he prepared a film script based on his book. However, the film was only allowed to be made by the state cinema management after the audience success of Cutting in Short, another adaptation of Hrabal’s work. The film is set in the local restaurant, where seasonal holidaymakers and old-timers from Kersko gather day after day. The peaceful life of the village is disrupted by a grotesque boar hunt and the ensuing dispute between two groups of gamekeepers over who should get the trophy. The tragicomedy, which accentuates the bucolic rather than the existential level of the subject, was filmed in the real cottage village of Kersko.

Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp) and Thomas (Eirik Sæther) are in an unhealthy, competitive relationship that takes a vicious turn when Thomas suddenly breaks through as a contemporary artist. In response, Signe makes a desperate attempt to regain her status by creating a new persona hell-bent on attracting attention and sympathy. "Sick of Myself" is Kristoffer Borgli's directorial debut and celebrated its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The film combines grotesque, deep black comedy elements with subtle body horror and is a bitterly angry reckoning with the addiction to attention and the craving for recognition.

Beautiful and troubled 20-something Donya, an Afghan translator who used to work with the U.S. government, has trouble sleeping. She lives by herself in Fremont, California, in a building with other Afghan immigrants and often dines alone at a local restaurant watching soap operas. Her routine changes when she’s promoted to writing the fortunes at her job at a fortune cookie factory in the city. As her fortunes are read by strangers throughout the Bay, Donya’s smoldering longing drives her to send a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead. Shot in black and white, and with warmth and a wry sense of humor, director Babak Jalali has crafted a loving portrait of a young woman haunted by the past but still filled with desire for companionship and connection. Featuring a cast of unforgettable, unique characters, and anchored by a beguiling debut performance from real-life Afghan refugee Anaita Wali Zada, Fremont is an ode to the curious beauty of trying to build a new life in a strange land.

A retired orchestra conductor is on vacation with his daughter and his film director best friend in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday.

Winfried is a charming music teacher with a social consciousness, and a penchant for silly jokes. His daughter Ines, on the other hand, is an ambitious career woman. When the father appears unannounced in the lobby of her company in Bucharest, Ines tries to grin and bear it. But because of his jokes and the subliminal criticism of her lifestyle, the two inevitably soon start to quarrel. A multi-layered and ingenious comedy about a father-daughter relationship and at the same time about modern capitalism, which is sometimes serious, sometimes bitter and sometimes really funny.

Fallen Leaves tells the story of two lonely people (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) who meet each other by chance in the Helsinki night and try to find the first, only, and ultimate love of their lives. Their path towards this honourable goal is clouded by the man’s alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not knowing each other’s names or addresses, and life’s general tendency to place obstacles in the way of those seeking their happiness. This gentle tragicomedy, previously thought to be lost, is the fourth part of Aki Kaurismäki’s working-class trilogy ("Shadows in Paradise", "Ariel", and "The Match Factory Girl").

Benjamin is a PhD student without scholarship support. Under the pressure of his parents, and in need of money, he becomes a substitute teacher in a middle school. Without training nor experience, and facing a declining public educational system, he discovers how tough this job can be. Hopefully, his supportive and committed colleagues will lead him to take a fresh look at the profession. With Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos und François Cluzet.

Giovanni, a renowned Italian filmmaker, is about to start shooting a political film. But between his marriage in crisis, his co-producer on the verge of bankruptcy and the rapidly changing film industry, everything seems to be working against him! Always on the edge, Giovanni will have to rethink his way of doing things if he wants to lead his little world towards a bright tomorrow. The story of a filmmaker whose life has always been shaped by cinema, and whose films have always accompanied him in his own life - a film about cinema.

After failing the medical entrance exam, Léopold enters midwifery school by default, hiding the truth from those around him. While he is unconvinced of his commitment to this exclusively female environment, his meeting with Nathalie, an experienced midwife with a passionate character, will change his view of this fascinating world and upset his certainties. A witty and lively comedy comedy with Karin Viard and Melvin Boomer starring as leads.

George's obsession with owning the designer deerskin jacket of his dreams leads him to turn his back on his humdrum life in the suburbs, blow his life savings, and even turn him to crime. The black comedy by cult director Quentin Dupieux celebrated its premiere at the "Director's Fortnight" in Cannes in 2019. Jean Dujardin and Adèle Haenel shine in the leading roles.

While on a short vacation, American sailor Stanley Robin falls in love with watch saleswoman Suzanne. Their newly-found luck is put to the test by Zermatt's classy nightlife. To win Suzanne over, the lovesick sailor embarks on a high-speed ski run. There isn't much time to strengthen the tender bonds of their transatlantic love... A classic rom-com with Hollywood star Cornel Wide and Swiss acting legends such as Heinrich Gretler, Zarli Carigiet, as well as Liselotte Pulver in her first on-screen appearance.

Sarah is a London career woman in her forties who suffers from an uncontrollable fear of flying that she doesn't tell anyone about. To avoid ruining her planned vacation with her new boyfriend, she secretly attends a course to help her overcome her panic. But theory is followed by practice: before Sarah knows it, she finds herself on a plane to Reykjavík with the inexperienced course instructor and a motley crew of fellow sufferers. As expected, the trip quickly gets out of hand. Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall and Ella Rumpf shine as members of an angst-ridden community in this wacky black comedy. Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson's ensemble film is great fun that astutely analyzes our society and shows that sometimes you have to let go together in order to take off.

Philippe Abrams is director of the Salon-de-Provence post office. To make his wife happy, Philippe commits fraud in order to obtain a transfer to the Côte d'Azur. But he is found out: he is transferred to Bergues, a little town in the North instead. For the Abrams family – Southerners full of prejudices – the North is an awful, cold region inhabited by uncivilised people who speak an incomprehensible language, known as "cheutimi". Philippe moves there alone... The secret to the success of Dany Boon's hilarious comedy, which attracted more than 800,000 viewers to Swiss cinemas in 2008, lies in its pointed wit and subtle irony, which skillfully plays with clichés and regional identities. Boon, who himself comes from the northern region of France, has succeeded in making an unconventional, lively film about friendship; a global hym to local dialects.

When faced with a lack of job offers, the lovable Étienne, a passionate but frequently out-of-work actor, becomes the new director of a prison theatre workshop. Surprised by the talent he finds in the disparate troupe of inmates, he soon expands his thinking beyond the prison walls – and comes up with the idea of staging “Waiting for Godot” on a real theatre stage. When the amateur actors actually get the green light, a triumphant tour begins. The friendship between the prisoners and the kind-hearted director grows stronger with every rehearsal and performance. But while Étienne finally gets his chance to succeed in the theatre world, his actors have to return to prison at the end of every performance. Director Emmanuel Courcol tells this true-life story with plenty of heart and humour. Kad Merad excels in the leading role of this equally entertaining and touching comedy.

Louis (Grégoire Ludig) just found the corpse of a man in front of his apartment building. Taken in for custody by Captain Buron (Benoît Poelvoorde), he finds himself on the wrong end of a surreal interrogation. But how can you prove you are innocent when the cops are crazy? Cult director Quentin Dupieux returns with a retro seventies whodunit comedy set during an all nighter at a police station.

In search of significance and social prestige, a billionaire businessman decides to make a film to leave his mark. To do so, he hires the best: a stellar team formed by famous filmmaker Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz) and two renowned actors, both enormously talented, but with even bigger egos: the Hollywood actor Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) and radical theater thespian Iván Torres (Oscar Martínez). Both legends, but not exactly the best of friends. Through a series of increasingly eccentric challenges set by Lola, Felix and Iván must face not only each other, but also their own legacies.

The result of the small handkerchiefs "Petits mouchoirs", 7 years later. The band, which erupted, is found on the occasion of the anniversary surprise organized for Max.

Wanja doesn’t give a damn about the trend of self-realization, until the algorithm also assigns her a perfectly fitting dream job. The newfound privileges and recognition at work feel good, but will they really make her happier than sniffing glue? She soon misses her wacky childhood friends, and begins to understand that the teenagers have something the adults have lost: community.

«The Sandman» tells the bizarrely absurd story of the philatelist Benno. One day, he realizes that he is losing sand. Day by day those sand losses are increasing and he is threatened to completely disintegrate. In addition, his neighbour Sandra, whom he hates deeply, prevents him from sleeping by singing every night in his café below Benno's apartment. However, he finds himself forced to address his worst enemy when he realizes that only she can save him. Then begins a mad race against the clock....

There's a theory that we should be born with a share of alcohol in our blood. That modest intoxication opens our minds to the world around us, diminishing our problems and increasing our creativity. Heartened by that theory, Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) and three of his friends, all tired high school teachers, embark on an experiment to uphold a constant level of intoxication throughout the workday. If Churchill won WW2 in a heavy daze of alcohol, who knows what a few drops might do for them and their students? Initial results are positive and the teachers' little project is elevated to a genuine academic study gathering results Both their classes and their results continue to improve, and the group feels alive again! As the units are knocked back, the experiment progresses for some and derails for others. It grows increasingly clear that while alcohol may have fueled great results in world history, some bold acts carry consequences. Director Thomas Vinterberg skillfully balances drama and comedy, kindness and despair, and manages to leave you not depressed or even warned, but with a lot of joie de vivre.

Victor (Daniel Auteuil), a disillusioned man in his sixties, finds his life turned upside down the day that Antoine, a brilliant entrepreneur, offers him an experience of a new kind: mixing theatrical artifice and historical reconstruction, Antoine's firm allows its clients to step back into any period of their choice. Victor chooses to return to the most important week of his life, when, forty years earlier, he met the love of his life...

Emil has fallen in love with Larissa. But before the two can really get to know one another, Larissa dies unexpectedly. And Emil, who only wants to obscure the sad truth about Larissa’s death, is mistaken for her former boyfriend. Larissa’s family takes a sincere liking to Emil; her sister Nora even begins to take an interest in the young man who had apparently been with Larissa during the last weeks of her life. Emil is suddenly needed and finds he is able to console Larissa’s family. But the closer his relationship with Nora becomes, all the more difficult it becomes for Emil to live with his fabricated past.

In 1934, the novel The End of Old Times by Vladislav Vančura was published. Fifty years later, it was revived by Jiří Menzel’s film adaptation. The nostalgic comedy is set shortly after the First World War on a farm with a castle, where a Russian emigrant, Megalrogov (Josef Abrhám), a would-be prince, arrives. A charming man of refined manners, he is in fact above all a skilful storyteller and fantasist who likes to embellish his stories. That is why he manages to charm the snobbish society so much that the running of the estate starts to revolve around him. The basic theme of Vančura’s satirical story is the conflict between two social orders. Menzel has shifted this conflict to a more conciliatory lyrical level through the camera of Jaromír Šofr, and has strengthened the comedy by imitating the style of silent slapstick.

Late in the 19th century, Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary – known as Sisi (Susanne Wolff) - is living in an aristocratic women-only commune in Greece. Countess Irma (Sandra Hüller) is sent there to be Sisi’s companion, and she is captivated by the eccentric and extravagant recluse. But the outside world is reaching out to break Sisi. And no matter how much Irma and Sisi resist, in the end they are left with only one fatal path that will bind the two women together forever.

Sebastian makes a decision on his 18th birthday: to escape his parents' house, he goes to the French speaking part of Switzerland as an "au pair". Not only is he the only male domestic help there – what is initially merely intended to be a linguistic stay turns into an introduction to life and love. For with his host family, the Dumoulins, all hell breaks loose. The story of a young man who dares to try something new and finds his destiny in the process. Romantic comedy with nuanced overtones.

Quebec, the 60s. Sylvette and Anglomard welcome their 14th child, Aline. In this modest family, music is king. When a producer discovers Aline and her golden voice, he has only one idea in mind: to make her the greatest singer in the world. Supported by her family, guided by Guy Claude’s experience and budding love for her, Aline will create an extraordinary destiny for herself. Freely inspired by the career and life of megastar Céline Dion.

Astronaut or beer taster, globetrotter or forester, but above of all, comic book artist. Rakel can imagine many things for her future. But there's one thing the young woman definitely doesn't want to be: a mother. Rakel's plans go out of the window when she learns that she has already been pregnant for over six months. It is too late for an abortion, and Rakel can no longer ignore the unborn baby. After six months of not noticing it at all, it now creeps into her already chaotic life in the form of a comic foetus. Mixing drawings with live-action film in an original and humorous way, the refreshing coming-of-age drama NINJABABY always manages to hit the right note.

In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly - he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. This British comedy starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren is based on the true story of one of the most spectacular thefts of all time.

When Abel learns that his mother is about to marry a man in prison, he freaks out. With the help of his best friend, he will do whatever it takes to protect her. But meeting his new stepfather may well offer him a new perspective.

Julie is turning thirty and her life is an existential mess. Several of her talents have gone to waste and her older boyfriend, Aksel – a successful graphic novelist – is pushing for them to settle down. One night, she gatecrashes a party and meets the young and charming Eivind. Before long, she has broken up with Aksel and thrown herself into yet another new relationship, hoping for a new perspective on her life. But she will come to realize that some life choices are already behind her. The third film in Joachim Trier’s Oslo trilogy is a comic drama about love in our time and about having all the opportunities in life, but still feeling like the worst person in the world. With her impressive performance, Renate Reinsve wins the Best Actress Award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Newly retired, Alice and her husband Peter are ready to finally enjoy their life as pensioners. But their pent-up marital problems bubble to the surface on a cruise trip through the Mediterranean. The spouses end up going on separate journeys of self-discovery, both finding unexpected ways of how to spend their golden years.

At the end of the 1980s, Stella, Victor, Adèle and Etienne are 20 years old. They take the entrance exam to the famous acting school created by Patrice Chéreau and Pierre Romans at the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre. Launched at full speed into life, passion, and love, together they will experience the turning point of their lives, but also their first tragedy. Director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's new film screened in competition at the 2022 edition of Cannes and has autobiographical elements, as she herself was a student of Patrice Chéreau and Pierre Romans, who are embodied by Louis Garrel and Micha Lescot. Nadia Tereszkiewicz, who won the Best Promising Actress award at the Lumières Awards 2023, shines in the leading role.

A very mixed group of travellers are in a life-threatening situation on board a plane flying to Mexico City. Their defencelessness in the face of danger provokes a general catharsis that ends up becoming the best way to escape from the idea of death. This catharsis, developed in the tone of a riotous, moral comedy, fills the time with unforeseeable confessions that help them forget the anguish of the moment and face the greatest of dangers, that which they each carry within themselves. Oscar-winner Pedro Almodóvar has made a light, very light comedy that is reminiscent of his colorful classics. On board as passengers on the verge of a nervous breakdown: lots of old acquaintances from the Almodóvar universe such as Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas and Blanca Suárez as well as superstars Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas with respective cameos.

Children's book illustrator Juliette returns from Paris to her hometown in the French provinces, hoping for two relaxing weeks with her family. Instead, she meets her sister, who is going through an existential crisis, her loving but moody father, her mother, who is going through an esoteric phase, and her beloved grandmother, who is struggling to come to terms with her new life in a nursing home. In her charming, warm-hearted comedy, French director Blandine Lenoir ("Aurore" and "Annie Colère") tells a story about family relationships, the search for meaning in one's own life and the small absurdities of our daily lives in a profound yet highly entertaining way. Brilliantly played by Izïa Higelin, Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Noémie Lvovsky, "Juliette au printemps" is an adaptation of the successful graphic novel by Camille Jourdy.

Selma, a psychoanalyst, deals with a cast of colorful new patients after returning home to Tunisia to open a practice.

To catch a train that left without them and has their kids on board, a father (Jérôme Commandeur) and a grandfather (André Dussollier) start a wild goose chase. While the adults are trying to one-up each other to catch the night train, the kids are doing their best to wreak havoc on the train.

The Odd-Job Men tells the story of a week in the life of Moha, Valero and Pep – workers in a small plumbing and electricity company in the outskirts of Barcelona: they are the guys who enter your home and fix what's broken. Moha, the youngest, is on a one-week trial period with the company. He is shy but does surprisingly well with customers. Moha is set to replace Pep, who is about to retire. However, Valero is not at all comfortable with Pep retiring. He doubts Moha has what it takes, or that customers will accept a Moroccan worker. Maybe six days are not enough to make somebody change, to make him overcome his prejudices. Maybe it's not enough time to make a new friend. But it's possibly enough to discover that we have to live together: one small step for a plumber, but a giant leap for mankind. «Ultimately, «6 Días en Barcelona» is a film that addresses one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how we can understand each other.» - Neus Ballús, director of this profound comedy.

The Polish woman Wanda, 35, looks after Joseph, 70, in his family villa by the lake. She is there for him around the clock and also helps his wife Elsa, 75. The youngest son Gregi, 28, likes her very much. The work is poorly paid, but Wanda needs the money for her own family in Poland. Since everyone lives under one roof, Wanda gets an intimate view of their family life. So intimate that Wanda unexpectedly becomes pregnant.

Max is a battle-weary veteran of the wedding-planning racket. His latest — and last — gig is a hell of a fête, involving stuffy period costumes for the caterers, a vain, hyper- sensitive singer who thinks he's a Gallic James Brown, and a morose, micromanaging groom determined to make Max's night as miserable as possible. But what makes the affair too bitter to endure is that Max's colleague and ostensible girlfriend, Joisette, seems to have written him off, coolly going about her professional duties while openly flirting with a much younger server. It's going to be a very long night… especially once the groom's aerial serenade gets underway.

Alain is in his 40s and runs a famous publishing house which publishes novels by his friend Léonard, a bohemian writer. Alain's wife, Selena, is the star of a popular TV series and Léonard's companion, Valérie, is the devoted assistant of a political figure. Although they are longtime friends, Alain is about to turn down Léonard's new manuscript, complicating the relationship between the two couples.

A headstrong Chinese-American woman returns to China when her beloved grandmother is given a terminal diagnosis. Billi struggles with her family's decision to keep grandma in the dark about her own illness as they all stage an impromptu wedding to see grandma one last time.

Isidora and Enrique are about 80 years old and live with their equally aged cats in an elegant apartment in Santiago. But it is on the eighth floor and will quickly make Isidora a prisoner if the lift fails again. On such a day, of all days, the daughter announces her visit. That can't bode well. Soon the fidgety Rosario sweeps through the apartment like a hurricane. She's allergic to cats, but that's not all. After her girlfriend "Hugo" has joined her, the real reasons for the visit shine through: They're going after the apartment. This is too much for Isidora, who can hardly hide her approaches of dementia from the guests. And suddenly it's no longer about money, but about love, transience and missed opportunities. A virtuosoly staged chamber play that glides seamlessly from comedy to tragedy and back again.

Following the death of his wife, professional chef Cheng travels with his young son to a remote village in Finland to connect with an old Finnish friend he once met in Shanghai. Upon arrival, nobody in the village seems to know his friend but local café owner Sirkka offers him accommodation and in return Cheng helps her in the kitchen surprising the locals with the delights of Chinese cuisine. Gradually his cooking encourages these vastly different cultures to connect and Cheng is soon a celebrated member of the community. Unfortunately his tourist visa is soon to run out and it's up to the villagers to come up with a plan to help him stay.

In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending to their sheep. Their ancestral sheep-stock is considered one of the country's best and the two brothers are repeatedly awarded for their prized rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although they share the land and a way of life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi's sheep, the entire valley comes under threat. The authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak. This is a near death sentence for the farmers, whose sheep are their main source of income, and many abandon their land. But Gummi and Kiddi don't give up so easily - and each brother tries to stave off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by using his wits. As the authorities close in the brothers will need to come together to save the special breed passed down for generations, and themselves, from extinction

A heavy-metal-loving teenager’s holiday plans fall through at the last minute, meaning he must spend the summer with the person who annoys him most: his mum. The comic actor Simon Bird makes a fine directorial debut with a tender portrait of the relationship between a prickly teenager and his mother over one summer. Beautifully played by Monica Dolan and Earl Cave (son of Nick), the two veer from loathing to love and back again as they both struggle to identify how their lives will move forward. Gentle, wry and affectionate, it marks Bird out as an idiosyncratic new UK voice.

Fifty years after her graduation, Senta von Meissen invites eight former school friends to a class reunion at her castle. The table is set for ten people. One place remains empty: Teddy, the hostess's once great school sweetheart, died in an accident on the Rhine Falls during the after-graduation trip. But was it really an accident? The evening turns into a murderous act of revenge.

Ricky is released from a mental hospital, and knows exactly what he wants to do. He hunts down Marina, a porn film star he once had sex with, and tries to convince her to be his wife. She is a bit reluctant, so he ties her up. Will this approach endear him to her?

Rabiye Kurnaz is someone you might generally call an ordinary woman, except that she is a real dynamo. Taking care of her children and much more, she is the one running the show in her terraced house in Bremen. Shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001, her son Murat is accused of terrorism and is (one of the first) shipped off to Guantanamo prison camp. This marks the beginning of a journey into the heart of world politics for this resolute German-Turkish woman. Together with human rights lawyer Bernhard Docke, whom she soon has completely on her side (like almost everyone around her), she battles for the release of her son – using her very own brand of self-taught English – all the way to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Cologne-based comedienne, author, presenter and much more Meltem Kaptan is the perfect fit for Andreas Dresen’s special talent for combining explosive topics (in this case based on actual events) and the everyday concerns of the average citizen. Kaptan’s, or rather Rabiye’s, performance is overwhelming, and not just for the lawyer (played by Alexander Scheer) who quickly becomes a friend. A portrait of a passionate woman who holds the steering wheel of her beloved vehicle as firmly in her hand as she does the reins in this turbo-charged film.

Eugen is in his late thirties and has neither a family of his own nor a secure income. Instead, he has established an underground music club in Prague, the city his father originally came from. When the club burns down, he is forced to return to Switzerland to raise money for the renovation. His return confronts him with Karlchen the smuggled crocodile, his father's lifelong lie and the grotesque charm of the bourgeoisie.

A small theater troupe is stranded in Switzerland after World War II: the artists hope to get a visa to South America. But to get it, they first have to pay off debts to the Swiss government – and perform an operetta. Swiss cinema classic, based on one of the most successful Swiss stage plays of the time.

Twig, Cap and Rusty live however they can in the Bois de Vincennes, east of Paris. This may completely change the day they learn they are the national lottery winner – though it is less than expected! Yet, they still need to collect the money and share it in equal parts. The hardest part of all will be to resume a “normal” life, filled with surprises and contradictions.

When architect-turned-recluse Bernadette Fox goes missing prior to a family trip to Antarctica, her 15-year-old daughter Bee goes on a quest with Bernadette's husband to find her.

The mayor of Lyon, Paul Théraneau, is in a delicate position. After 30 years in politics, he is running out of ideas and is faced with a feeling of existential emptiness. To overcome this, Paul hires a young and brilliant philosopher, Alice Heimann. Then follows a dialogue between two diametrically opposed personalities who will turn their certainties upside down.

Abel and Marianne discover that their 13-year-old son Joseph has secretly sold their most precious possessions. They soon find out that Joseph is not the only one - all over the world, hundreds of children have joined forces to finance a mysterious project. Their mission is to save the planet.

Lucien asks a friend, Léon, to carry to the woman he desires, Alice, a basket of provisions and to thank him for it offers him its cap. Léon seduces Alice, small brunette and admits later to his friend his "overflowings". Léon returns at Alice's home but it is not any more the same person; she is blonde and bears no resemblance to the woman the day before. One is sensual and welcoming, the other, mysterious and independent. Alice in Verbland. No drama, no action, a so "seventies" nonchalance... and the art of the conversation as the main subject of a delicious film, worn by remarkable actors (Marie Dubois, Jean-Luc Bideau and Jacques Denis). A wonderful, free and independant film.

A widowed farmer begins a new life on her own terms by fighting against corruption and injustice in her community.

In a desperate attempt to cure his midlife crisis, MARTIN has fled his family to live high up in the Norwegian mountains. Hunting and gathering like his ancestors did thousands of years ago.

Two friends – Paul Girard, the “people’s mayor” of Delémont who has his sights set on a national career and Liu, a Chinese watchmaker living in the Jura – decide to organise the semi-finals of the Miss China competition in Switzerland. Paul is hoping this original, media-hyped project will help him acquire the image his party has been refusing him: that of future deputy. Liu, meanwhile, hopes to open the Chinese market to luxury watches. Instead of the heroes’ welcome they were anticipating in bringing the women to the touristic Meccas of Switzerland, the two partners are met with resistance from the political milieu and indifference from their sponsors.

An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.

One of the highlights of Vera Chytilová’s filmography is the grotesque moral «Daisies» (1966). The surrealistic narrative about a pair of young women who decide to be as corrupt as the world around them does not arise from concrete socio-political realities. As a result, the biting account of conformity, petty-bourgeois narrow-mindedness, and the limits of light-heartedness has timeless qualities. Daisies marked the beginning of Chytilová’s collaboration with Ester Krumbachová, who contributed to the eccentric costumes and script. The collage-like visual component then gave a lot of space for experimentation to the cinematographer Jaroslav Kucera. It is still an original gem of Czech cinema of the 1960s, which infuriated the communist officials of the time.

Robbie, a young ne'er do well (Paul Brannigan), a broke new father with a good heart is in serious trouble with the law. When he holds his newborn son for the first time, roguish Robbie is determined that the boy will have a better life, one with more opportunities than he has been offered in this insular, blue collar world. But first Robbie must sort out a variety of pressing problems --his girlfriend's family wants to do him harm and run him out of town being first and foremost among them. He is given a lucky break by a judge who shows mercy, granting him community service instead of jail.

Shy and loveable Palestinian Salam is already in his thirties without, however, having quite found his way in life. That is why he eagerly takes on an internship with the successful TV soap «Tel Aviv on Fire». In order to reach the television studio, Salam has to pass through the check-point between his home in Jerusalem and Ramallah on a daily basis. This is where he meets Assi, chief of the Israeli border crossing, who is excited to meet one of the "makers" of his wife's favourite series. To impress his sweetheart, Assi puts increasing pressure on Salam to design the series according to his preferences. Meanwhile, Salam realises that Assi’s creative ideas are his big chance to become a screenwriter. When Assi’s demands are no longer compatible with those of the Arab creator’s, Salam is faced with a dilemma... Director Sameh Zoabi uses Tel Aviv on Fire to approach the conflict in the Middle East from a completely different, original and heartfelt comedic angle.

Suffering from agoraphobia, Seconda is unable to leave her house. When she finally succeeds, new challenges push her limits even further.

After the death of his mother, a middle-aged insurance salesman inherits her small cottage. Selling the cottage, which is attractively located near the center of a big city, makes him a rich man and he buys a large house in the countryside. The salesman then decides to throw a big garden party and invite all his colleagues from the office. Loosened by large amounts of alcohol, the guests gradually shed all their inhibitions and reveal their innermost frustrations.

Since the death of her husband, Martha, 80-year-old, has lost her zest for life. In her village in the Emmental, especially her friends Lisi, Hanni and Frieda are concerned about her. After discussion, they decide to help her realise a long-held dream: to open a lingerie boutique. The news causes consternation in the little town of Trub.

Abu Shadi is a divorced father and a school teacher in his mid-60s living in Nazareth. After his daughter's wedding in one month he will be living alone. Shadi, his architect son, arrives from Rome after years abroad to help his father in hand delivering the wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom. As the estranged pair spend the day together, the tense details of their relationship come to a head challenging their fragile and very different lives.

In a town in the Northwest of the province of Buenos Aires, a group of neighbors is organized to recover the economy of the area, but when the Corralito is implemented in the country and they suffer a fraud, their hopes disappear. Now, they will unite to recover the lost money and give the blow of their lives to their greatest enemy.

Santa Claus tries to outrun a gang of knife-wielding youth. It's one of several vignettes of Palestinian life in Israel - in a neighborhood in Nazareth and at Al-Ram checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Most of the stories are droll, some absurd, one is mythic and fanciful; few words are spoken. A man who goes through his mail methodically each morning has a heart attack. His son visits him in hospital. The son regularly meets a woman at Al-Ram; they sit in a car, hands caressing. Once, she defies Israeli guards at the checkpoint; later, Ninja-like, she takes on soldiers at a target range. A red balloon floats free overhead. Neighbors toss garbage over walls. Life goes on until it doesn't.

Filmmaker Elia Suleiman leaves his native Palestine in search of a new homeland – only to find that Palestine is with him wherever he goes. The quest for a new life quickly becomes a comedy of errors: whether in Paris or in New York, something always reminds him of home. All the while, Suleiman keeps returning to the same nagging question: What kind of place could we ever truly call home?

Paulette and her husband have been running a housekeeping school. After the sudden death of her husband, Paulette discovers that the school is on the verge of bankruptcy and has to take her responsibilities.

Keti (36) and her son Nika (16) find themselves in a precarious situation when Nika hits an old man in a car accident. The victim’s family promises to refrain from pressing charges against Nika if he compensates their loss in cash. Within a single day Keti has to raise a large amount of money to prevent her son Nika from being imprisoned. An unexpected turn gives the drama a tragicomical air.

Resemblances can be unnerving. Such as the one between the viscount who went, puffing on his pipe, to the guillotine during the Terror, the army chaplain who has a brigand's tattoos on his chest and is a compulsive baptizer of soldiers, pillagers and rapists, the Parisian down-and-out left as flat as a pancake by an encounter with a steamroller, and, last but not least, the cultivated concierge—and occasional arms dealer—in an upscale building. Almost all the film's characters meet in that very building except, of course, the homeless, who are carted by the cops from pillar to post. Yet amid all this chaos, there are dream spaces, love stories and solid friendships that perhaps allow us to hope that tomorrow will be better than today.

Frances (Greta Gerwig) lives in New York, but she doesn’t really have an apartment. Frances is an apprentice for a dance company, but she¹s not really a dancer. Frances has a best friend named Sophie, but they aren’t really speaking anymore. Frances throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles. Frances wants so much more than she has but lives her life with unaccountable joy and lightness. FRANCES HA is a modern comic fable that explores New York, friendship, class, ambition, failure, and redemption.

A comedy that chronicles a chance encounter between Robert and a Chinese named Jun who wanders lost through the city of Buenos Aires in search of his uncle after being assaulted by a taxi driver and his henchmen.

Broke, with nothing but her cat to her name and doors closing in her face, Paula is back in Paris after a long absence. As she meets different people along the way, there is one thing she knows for sure: she's determined to make a new start and she'll do it with style and panache.

After 20 years of marriage, Maria decides to leave her husband. She moves into room 212 at the hotel across the street, with a bird’s-eye view of her apartment, her husband and the life she shared with him. While she wonders if she made the right decision, many of the people in her life offer their opinions on the matter. They intend to let her know, whether she likes it or not, on what proves to be a life-changing evening.

Keiji and Ryoichi have recently moved house and now have to find their way around their new neighborhood. No easy feat for kids. School is boring and so they prefer to skip it. What's more, they don't get on at all with the other children at first and are constantly arguing. Gradually, however, normality returns to everyday life, but there are still conflicts: the brothers are particularly shocked when they find out that their father is making a fool of himself in front of his superior. Ozu wonderfully succeeds in showing – through the eyes of children – society in Japan during the interwar period. In addition to this portrait of society, it is above all a film about childhood and childlike innocence. This silent gem is one of the most beautiful films about childhood in the big city.

Sibyl, a jaded psychotherapist, returns to her first passion: writing. But her newest patient Margot, a troubled up-and-coming actress, proves to be a source of inspiration that is far too tempting. Fascinated almost to the point of obsession, Sibyl becomes more and more involved in Margot’s tumultuous life, reviving volatile memories that bring her face to face with her past.

A yellow cab is driving through the vibrant and colourful streets of Tehran. Very diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio captures the spirit of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive…

Upstanding community leader Nils has just won an award for "Citizen of the Year" when he learns the news that his son has died of a heroin overdose. Suspecting foul play, Nils begins to investigate, and soon finds himself at the center of an escalating underworld gang war between Serbian drug dealers and a sociopathic criminal mastermind known only as “The Count.”

Alma is a scientist at Berlin's famous Pergamon Museum. In order to obtain research funds for her studies, she accepts an offer to participate in an extraordinary experiment. For three weeks, she must live with a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence designed to allow it to morph into that of her ideal life partner. Enter Tom, a machine in human form, created to make her happy.

Kyle and Mike have been best friends forever and, through the years, have formed a unique bond – but then, Mike reveals that he slept with Kyle's fiancée, just before the planned wedding. In seven chapters, The Climb recounts the story of this long and turbulent friendship between two men through its ups and downs.

An african student in Paris needs to work by night to finance the rest of his studies. By coincidence he gets a lot of money and turns back home to Burkina Faso with his french friend - but life is not that easy anywhere. Still watching how it is to be a stranger here or there can be quite funny.

Claire is a single mother with a grown-up son. She’s a dedicated midwife who is completely wrapped up in her job. Although the maternity ward where she works is to be closed, she turns down a job offer from a larger clinic because she cannot reconcile their methods with her own ideas about midwifery. In the midst of all this upheaval she receives a phone call that rekindles memories of her youth. Béatrice, her late father’s former mistress, asks to meet her. Béatrice is a true bohemian – loud, colourful, egocentric and completely different to the focussed, helpful Claire. The younger woman asks herself why, after all these years of silence, Béatrice has suddenly decided to approach her for help, and is at first less than enthusiastic. Martin Provost has made a name for himself with powerful portraits of women (Séraphine, Violette). Sage Femme revolves around the encounter between two headstrong women, perfectly cast with two of French cinema’s grandes dames. A dramatic comedy about the need for change, and the question of whether steak, pommes frites and red wine is really what one would call a healthy lunch.

Julián receives an unexpected visit from his friend Tomás, who lives in Canada. The two men, accompanied by Julián's faithful dog, Truman, will share emotional and surprising moments prompted by Julián's complicated situation.

Humble, unassuming Ma and timid Cao have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. They have to combine their strength and build a home to survive. In the face of much adversity, an unexpected bond begins to blossom, as both Ma and Cao, uniting with Earth’s cycles, create a haven for themselves in which they can thrive.

While on a short vacation, American sailor Stanley Robin falls in love with watch saleswoman Suzanne. Their newly-found luck is put to the test by Zermatt's classy nightlife. To win Suzanne over, the lovesick sailor embarks on a high-speed ski run. There isn't much time to strengthen the tender bonds of their transatlantic love... A classic rom-com with Hollywood star Cornel Wide and Swiss acting legends such as Heinrich Gretler, Zarli Carigiet, as well as Liselotte Pulver in her first on-screen appearance.

Suzanne is 16. People her own age bore her. Every day on her way to high school, she passes a theater. There, she meets an older man, who becomes obsessed with her. Despite their age difference, they find in each other an answer to their ennui and fall in love. But Suzanne is afraid she’s missing out on life – that life of a 16-year-old, which she had struggled so much to enjoy in the same way as her peers. Fulminant acting and directing debut by Suzanne Lindon - a bittersweet drama about the danger of living past one's own life.

Every Tuesday, Claudine (Jeanne Balibar) goes to a mountain hotel to meet men passing through. When one of them decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine’s daily life is disrupted and she finds herself dreaming of another life. An intimate auteur film, "Laissez-moi" is Maxime Rappaz's first feature. Presented at the opening of ACID, a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival, the film is a portrait of a woman. A woman in her fifties who looks after her son alone, and who once a week indulges in an interlude with passing men.

Sophia, a 40-year-old philosophy professor, is in a stable if somewhat sociallyconforming relationship with Xavier. From gallery openings to endless dinner parties, ten years have already flown by. Sylvain is a craftsman, renovating Sophia and Xavier’s new country house. When Sophia and Sylvain meet, Sophia’s world is turned upside down. Opposites attract, but can they last? Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Monia Chokri ("A Brother’s Love") returns with a fun and smart relationship study in the form of a romantic comedy, playing on the couple’s social differences without caricaturing their different backgrounds.

Emma has left Russia to live with her husband in Italy. Now a member of a powerful industrial family, she is the respected mother of three, but feels unfulfilled. One day, Antonio, a talented chef and her son's friend, makes her senses kindle. Director Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me by Your Name", "Challengers") thought long and hard about whether he would rather become a chef or a filmmaker. "I Am Love" is a cinematic feast that captivates the viewer from the very first minute with its hypnotic and erotic images, featuring a brilliant Tilda Swinton.

Etero, a 48-year-old woman living in a small village in Georgia, never wanted a husband. She cherishes her freedom as much as her cakes. But her choice to live alone is the cause of much gossip among her fellow villagers. Unexpectedly, she finds herself passionately falling for a man, and is suddenly faced with the decision to pursue a relationship or continue a life of independence. Etero must grapple with her feelings and decide how to find her own path to happiness. With "Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry", which premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight in 2023 and won the Swiss Film Award for Best Feature Film in 2024, director Elene Naveriani tells the story of a woman who strives for her own freedom and has to fight against the social constructions in and around her. The film is based on the Georgian novel of the same name by Tamta Melashvili.

Taeko and her husband Jiro are living a peaceful existence with her young son Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy’s long-lost father, Park, back into her life. To cope with the pain and guilt, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man. In this family drama told in the bittersweet tone characteristic of his work, Koji Fukada ("Harmonium", Cannes 2016 Un Certain Regard Jury Prize), explores the themes of loss and the sense of individual loneliness through the portrait of a woman seeking a new meaning in her life.

7 short films by 7 directors that revolve around the most beautiful thing in the world, the butterflies in your stomach, the clammy hands on the first date, all the unexpected things that can happen when you go on a blind date. Einfach so Christoph Schaub (Switzerland, 1997, 14 Min.) Angela has planned her blind date perfectly: She will arrive early at the restaurant, so she can get a good look of the stranger before he sees her. For reassurance she takes along her trusty companion, her dog Zacki. The stranger is late to arrive and a series of misunderstandings begin to create havoc... Fortunately she has Zacki by her side, who saves the day and finds her the man of her dreams. Le chevalier à la rose Blaise Biguet (Switzerland, 1997, 17 Min.) Sepp, a young farmer, doesn’t want to have anything to do with the Montandons daughter nor with arranged marriages. Against his parents’ advice, he signs up to a dating agency and decides to travel to Lausanne to meet Rosa, his first blind date. On the train his fellow passengers begin to take a strange interest in him... Little Sister Anka Schmid (Switzerland, 1997, 16 Min.) Lisa, a young, shy post office employee, lives life as a recluse. Matters of the heart have never been her strong point. Mona, her sister, places an ad in the newspaper for her. Lisa at first doesn’t approve of this intrusion into her private life, but then as 19 men respond to the ad, she is temped. Angélique Samir (Switzerland, 1997, 11 Min.) Allesandro can’t believe his eyes, when he sees his sexy, beautiful blind date walk into the café they had arranged to meet at. He feels too intimidated to talk to her and tries to slip off unnoticed. But Angelique is a woman who knows what she wants and doesn’t take no for an answer. She follows him through the streets of the city, right up to the roof of his house where Alessandro tries to hide away... Joyeux Noël Bianca Conti Rossini (Switzerland, 1997, 11 Min.) On Christmas Eve Annie, a young girl with a lively imagination, wonders who the stranger is her mother Lise has invited to join them for dinner. What if he’s the murderer who has been roaming the streets of the city, preying on single women ? Her mother becomes wary as well and panic sets in when the doorbell rings. Who’s this stranger trying to force his way into the house ? L'hacienda du bonheur Heikki Arekallio (Switzerland, 1997, 12 Min.) In her grey, sad council flat Silvia dreams of a life, like those of the glamorous characters in her favourite telenovela "L’Hacienda du Bonheur", which she watches every night with her two children Johnny and Pamela. In a bid to find a soul mate, that lives up to her fictional expectations, she decides to place an add in the local newspaper... Les voies du Seigneur Antoine Plantevin (Switzerland, 1997, 16 Min.) Sister Angelique is praying with all her might for Rinalde to arrive – a prisoner on leave who was meant to meet her, but hasn’t turned up yet. The Mother Superior, who walks in on her praying in the chapel, strongly advises her to be cautious of men; perverts who could take advantage of her innocence. Sister Angelique listens to her words of wisdom, but when she hears Rinalde’s motorbike pull up outside, she rushes out to greet him. May the Lord be with her !

Mathieu (Guillaume Canet) lives in Paris, Alice (Alba Rohrwacher) in a small seaside resort in Western France. He is a famous actor, about to turn fifty. She is a piano teacher in her forties. They were in love fifteen years ago, then separated. Time has passed. They each went their ways and slowly healed. When Mathieu goes try to overcome his melancholia in a thermal spa, he stumbles upon Alice.

Victor (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a renowned filmmaker, has started work on a film adaptation of Chekhov’s play "The Three Sisters". The project is in fact a pretext so that Victor can patch things up with Julie (Delphine Seyrig), his ex-wife, an actress whom he still loves. The ensemble includes Cécilia, a conscientious Italian actress, and Esther, a more carefree debutante who soon manages to exasperate Julie. With "Repérages", French-speaking Swiss filmmaker Michel Soutter has created a delicate intimate play about art, jealousy and reconciliation, in which life and imagination, memory and the present come together. Renato Berta's camerawork is as atmospheric as the locations in Bex in the canton of Vaud, and the international acting team, including Italian actress Lea Massari, is outstanding.

An engineer from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, with a family and political ambitions, falls in love with an Italian waitress. He puts his marriage and career on the line for this relationship, but the young woman is not prepared to give up her job and independence for him. A film about an unequal couple, told as a chronology of failure in 112 days. The cinematic form forces us to observe from a distance, while at the same time the film touches us with an interesting, strong female character. Co-writer of Alain Tanner's first color film is writer John Berger, with whom the filmmaker has made some of his most beautiful and famous films ("La salamandre", "Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l'an 2000").

This is the story of Marco Carrera, known as "the hummingbird". As a teenager in the early 1970s, during a vacation by the sea, he meets Luisa Lattes. The two never become a couple, but their love for each other would fade, either. The gentle Marco later marries and lives with his wife and daughter in Rome. Fatal coincidences and losses characterize his eventful life - and he has to learn to deal with the unexpected and major changes. "Il Colibrì" tells of the fate of a sensitive man, of family misfortune, the power of memories and of a great, unbreakable love. The film skillfully oscillates between different time periods, from the 1970s to the present day. "Il Colibrì" is based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Sandro Veronesi. Italian director Francesca Archibugi has assembled a great ensemble of actors in front of the camera, including Pierfrancesco Favino, Nanni Moretti und Bérénice Bejo. The result is an unconventional, disarming and deeply touching family story.

Chiara lives on an island off the Atlantic coast, where her husband grew up. They are a happy couple, and very much in love. Antoine is a fisherman and having learned his demanding trade, Chiara has worked alongside him for 20 years. The arrival of a new trainee, Maxence, will disrupt their lives and cast everything Chiara believes in into question. Héloïse Pelloquet's romantic first feature follows a woman's great passion and her quest for freedom. Starring an amazing Cécile de France.

An excavator operator who writes songs: Gerhard Gundermann is a poet, a lateral thinker and an idealist, who dreams and hopes and loves and fights, who spies on others and is spied on himself. Shortly before the end of the GDR, he works in open-cast lignite mining and releases his first records. With his bittersweet lyrics and songs about home, love and transience, he sings his way into the hearts of an ever-growing audience. When "Gundi" and his family could easily make a living from his music after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he doesn't want to give up his job as an excavator operator... "Gundermann" is a love story and a music film, a story of repression and surrender. In his new feature, director Andreas Dresen succeeds like few others in making the extraordinary visible in the everyday life of his sibjects. He takes a fresh look at a country that has disappeared, and tells the story of the life of Gerhard "Gundi" Gundermann (1955 - 1998) with sensitivity, tenderness and humor, whose story and whose songs still make the soul resonate today - and never let one go.

Little Sali and Vreni grow up in the Swiss countryside, where their farmer fathers work together. When a disagreement arises between the two men that turns into extreme animosity, the children are prevented from seeing each other. Meeting as young adults some years later, Sali and Vreni must confront the hostilities between their families, as well as the tense atmosphere of the village, if they are to love each other. A heartbreaking and, for its time, uncharacteristically melancholy love story with excellent leading actors, the young Margrit Winter and Erwin Kohlund. Cinematéque Suisse and SRF have carefully restored and digitized the classic with the support of Memoriav in order to come as close as possible to the untraceable, once mutilated original.

In New York in the early 1950s, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) is working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a failing marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens. When Carol's involvement with Therese comes to light, her husband retaliates by challenging her competence as a mother. And as Carol and Therese take refuge on the road, leaving their respective lives behind, a confrontation emerges that will test each woman's assumptions about herself and commitments to one another. Director Todd Haynes ("Dark Waters") adapts the successful novel by Patricia Highsmith, which was first published in 1952 under the title "The Price of Salt" and (then later re-published as "Carol"), which the author denied writing until 1989. In the leading roles, Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as the modern Greta Garbo is her usual impressive self though the real sensation is Rooney Mara, who finally made her breakthrough with her portrayal of a character that would probably have been played by Audrey Hepburn in classic Hollywood.

Passion is overrated - and certainly has nothing to do with love! At least that's how Charlotte (Sandrine Kiberlain) sees it. For her, tales of passion no longer fit into the 21st century - after all, good sex is also possible without feelings. Accordingly, her first date with married family man Simon (Vincent Macaigne) ends up in her bedroom. He is completely flabbergasted – in 20 years of marriage, he has often longed for non-binding affairs, but has never met the right woman - until now. Pressure to divorce and serious feelings are not to be feared from Charlotte, who is disillusioned with relationships. The two make a pact: pleasure desired, feelings forbidden – only as long as it goes well. Because the secret lovers are not only on the same wavelength in bed, but also let all the covers down in intimate conversations, the hours they spend together become longer, the intervals between meetings shorter. Soon Charlotte and Simon have to face an uncomfortable truth: they may be done with passion, but passion is not yet done with them... About the art of infidelity, the end of passion and the true dramaturgy of love: with "Chronique d'une liaison passagère", director Emmanuel Mouret presents a language of love that couldn't be funnier, more romantic or more playful. Filled with artful situational comedy and adorned in the most beautiful colors of spring: one of the smartest and most beautiful love films in a long time.

Music enthusiast Duncan (Chris O'Dowd) is pretty much obsessed with singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), who, after two decades, finally releases a new album with "Juliet, Naked". But when Duncan's girlfriend Annie (Rose Byrne) listens to the new songs first and on her own, she can't get much out of them, which makes Duncan furious. While he publishes a euphoric review on his fan website after listening to the album, Annie writes an article in which she scathes the record - whereupon Crowe finally contacts her personally. Film adaptation of the novel of the same name by "About A Boy" and "High Fidelity" author Nick Hornby.

Victor (Daniel Auteuil), a disillusioned man in his sixties, finds his life turned upside down the day that Antoine, a brilliant entrepreneur, offers him an experience of a new kind: mixing theatrical artifice and historical reconstruction, Antoine's firm allows its clients to step back into any period of their choice. Victor chooses to return to the most important week of his life, when, forty years earlier, he met the love of his life...

Sara and Jean have been in a loving, stable relationship for ten years. They are happy. He is her rock, someone she can hold on to. When they first met, Sara was in a relationship with François, Jean’s best friend. One day, Sara sees François on the street. He does not see her, but she is overwhelmed by a sensation that her life could suddenly change. François does indeed get in touch with Jean to suggest that they work together again. Before long, things are in danger of spiralling out of control. "Avec amour et acharnement" is Claire Denis’s third collaboration with acclaimed writer Christine Angot, with whom she wrote "Un beau soleil intérieur", which also starred Juliette Binoche. In a performance that is just as brave and committed, the actor proves to be exceptionally supple as her body becomes the terrain for a captivating theatre of emotional opposites. Eric Gautier’s precise cinematography shows us contrasting images of fingers comfortably intertwined, but also Sara’s entire body in forward motion, erupting in deep, uncontrollable moans. Encircled by a wall of passionate flames, Denis’s protagonists appear to be under siege, seemingly oblivious to society and its inexorable tendency to separate all things into opposing categories.

Jaakko is a blind man who is confined to a wheelchair. He is in love with Sirpa, with whom he has had a long-distance relationship but only by telephone. The two have never met in person. One day Jaakko decides to travel to meet Sirpa, relying on strangers' help to make the journey.

Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, with Nora now being married to Arthur (John Magaro), they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

Astolfo, a retired professor evicted from his apartment, decides to move into an old noble but decrepit palace, the last remnant of his family patrimony in a remote village of Abruzzo, where he hasn’t been for decades. Soon enough, as a newcomer, he befriends a vagabond, a retired chef and a young handyman. A group of four live harmoniously at his place when he comes across Stefania, a charming and generous woman of his age. Astolfo falls in love and struggles with feelings he thought belonged to the past. Encouraged by his loyal group, Astolfo makes a brave step and learns delightedly that it’s never too late to fall in love.

Buenos Aires, November 2001. Argentina is embroiled in crisis, with the Peso plunging deeper and deeper. Julio Färber (Diego Cremonesi), the charismatic bandoneon player of the "Vecinos de Pompeya," a five-piece working-class tango band, is trying to keep his head above water, but every month he is earning less and less from their gigs as well as from the traditional shoe shop he inherited from his father. At the very moment he takes the decision to leave his beloved Buenos Aires forever, it clearly appears that life is conspiring against him: overnight, the government freezes all bank accounts in the whole country, preventing Julio from purchasing the flight tickets and sparking violent protests throughout the town. And Mariela (Marina Bellati), a witty young woman and feisty cab driver, bumps into his car at full speed, damaging Julio's last possession of value before stealing his heart. "Adiós Buenos Aires" is German Kral's feature film debut and was inspired by the real and tragic events that shook Argentina at the end of 2001.

Halim and Mina who run a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco's oldest medinas. In order to keep up with demanding customers, they hire a talented young man as an apprentice. Slowly Mina realises how much her husband is moved by his presence.

Nightclub singer La Paloma succumbs to the persistent courting of a chubby rich admirer and marries him. Before the marriage, she was thought to be dying, but soon she is well. She believes her husband’s love has cured her, but her efforts to love him begin to fade as she discovers true love with her husband’s old school friend. An excessive film opera that brings fiction to life in its most beautiful form.

With a father suffering from neurodegenerative disease, a young woman lives with her eight-year-old daughter. While stuggling to secure a decent nursing home, she runs into a friend who although being in a relationship, embarks an affair. Mia Hansen-Løve's luminous and light-footed film delves into the everyday life of a young woman who has so much to give, both to her father, who is caught up in his illness, and to her lover, who is reluctant to end another relationship for her.

Paterson is a bus driver in the city whose name her shares: Paterson, New Jersey. Every day, he drives his route and observes the city as it drifts across his windshield. During his lunch break, he writes poetry into a notebook. In contrast to Paterson's steady routine, his wife Laura's world is constantly changing. New dreams come to her almost daily, each a different and inspired project.

It is deep Autumn and Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci), partners of twenty years, are on holiday. They are travelling across England in their old campervan visiting friends, family and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with young-onset dementia two years ago their lives have had to change. Jobs have been given up and plans put on hold. Their time together is now the most important thing they have. As the trip progresses however, their individual ideas for their future begin to collide. Secrets are uncovered, private plans unravel and their love for each other is tested like never before. Ultimately, they must confront the question of what it means to love one another in the face of Tusker’s irreparable illness.

Takua Pa is a small town in the south of Thailand. Ever since the tsunami, people here have no jobs. Young people ride motorcycles around in circles; old people remember better times in the past. One day a stranger comes to town. Ton is an architect. He rents a room in a small hotel owned by Na. They begin to have a secret love affair but soon people start to whisper. The town has found its enemy. This film is about a love that grows where there is no more love, like a flower that grows in the dirt; and about a town that tries to destroy the beauty it cannot have for itself.

Spring, 1912. Georgette, a mismatched newly-wed travelling by steamer on her honeymoon, meets Esther, who has been promised in marriage to a missionary. When Esther refuses to leave the ship in India to wed this unknown man of the cloth, Georgette dons her clothes and departs. Despite the lure of adventure however, Georgette soon realises that she is in over her head. But it is too late. She has gone too far to turn back now. Confronted with the missionary as her future husband, she finds herself powerless, as tender feelings begin to invade her bosom. At this point her legal husband Braun appears, with Esther in tow, intent on getting his wife back. The drama takes its course.

As soon as school is over, Sasha’s otherwise relaxed and complicit mother pressures him to enroll at the university. Sasha, however, lives in the moment. Plus he currently wants to hone his graffiti skills with his friend Max. And maybe get to know his father. But then, he meets the dazzling Zhenya. Carried by the light and the ease of the summer in Kaliningrad, they fathom their feelings, talents and fears together. In her sensitive debut, Julia Trofimova tells of young people in today’s Russia who cannot possibly please everyone. Parents’ need for security is countered by a variety of possible paths and identities.

It is love at first sight for fun-loving Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield) meeting the smart blonde Diana (Claire Foy) in 1950s England. Things appear to be going perfectly, until one day Robin is diagnosed with polio. Paralysed from the neck down, doctors give him just months to live. Against all medical advice and the fact that no polio patient has ever survived outside a hospital environment, Diana takes her husband home. Together they begin a battle, not only against the illness and its resulting constraints it causes, but also against the prejudices they experience. The pair set off on a journey with such dedication and zest for life that it is not only on their own lives that they begin to have an influence… Andy Serkis’ classically staged directing debut is based on the true story of the Brit Robin Cavendish.

On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman. An intense relationship develops between the two.

Jake and Mati are two outsiders in the northerly Portuguese city of Porto who once experienced a brief connection. A mystery remains about the moments they shared, and in searching through memories, they relive the depths of a night uninhibited by the consequences of time.

Émilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses paths with Amber. Three girls and a boy – They’re friends, sometimes lovers and often both.

Paris, 1981. The winds of change are blowing on election night and the French storm the streets, elated. But Élisabeth struggles to share the general mood of optimism. Her marriage is coming to an end and she will now have to support her family. She is distraught, and her father and teenage children are worried that her tears simply will not dry. But what if listening to her emotions could help her to start filling the blank page of her future? What if she were to write a letter on a whim to the host of her favourite radio programme? Or invite a homeless girl into her house? What would happen if she were to make the kind of gestures that actually change lives?

Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo), a young dancer, decides to separate from Gastón (Gael García Bernal) after giving back Polo, the son they both adopted and were unable to raise. In a desperate search through the streets of the port city of Valparaíso, Ema seeks love affairs in order to overcome her guilt. However, she has a secret plan to recover everything she’s lost.

After losing her virginity, Isabelle takes up a secret life as a call girl, meeting her clients for hotel-room trysts. Throughout, she remains curiously aloof, showing little interest in the encounters themselves or the money she makes.

Grappling with a mid-life crisis, Sacha leaves his girlfriend and escapes to his grandparents’ Airbnb. He is surprised by the presence of Marjan, an Iranian woman who is facing her own marital crisis. They are both annoyed at having to share the apartment and rather than finding a place of retreat, tension builds. When Mina, a vibrant American, arrives, their mutual prejudices give way to curiosity and complicity. What began as an involuntary encounter becomes a moment of new possibilities.

Follows Anaïs, a 30-year old woman that is broke and has a lover she doesn't think she loves anymore. She meets Daniel, who immediately falls for her, but Daniel lives with Emilie – who Anaïs also falls for.

Brittany, 1980s. A bunch of friends yearning for excitement broadcast a free radio station from their hometown in the countryside. Jerome leads it with unique charisma while Philippe, the technical genius, lives in the shadow of Jerome, his big brother. When called for the military service, Philippe has no choice but to leave for West Berlin. He’s determined to keep on broadcasting, but realizes that he just lived the last glorious moments of a world on the verge of extinction.

In 1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. With the days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now searches for common fossils to sell to tourists to support herself and her ailing mother. When a wealthy visitor entrusts Mary with the care of his wife Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), she cannot afford to turn his offer down. Proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, Mary initially clashes with her unwelcome guest, but despite the distance between their social class and personalities, an intense bond begins to develop, compelling the two women to determine the true nature of their relationship. Director Francis Lee, as in his earlier film «God's Own Country» which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, takes up the theme of love between people who are attracted to each other despite (or perhaps because of) different social classes and personalities.

Phil, a robust middle-aged man suffers a stroke, causing him to lose his memory. Millie, who takes care of him, tells him falsely that they were secretly in love before his accident.

During World War II, Antonio (Nino Manfredi), Gianni (Vittorio Gassman) and Nicola (Stefania Sandrelli) are activists fighting for Italy's liberation from Nazi occupation. When the war ends and their ideals must change, the three men take different life paths. Antonio and Nicola incorporate their beliefs into adulthood, whereas Gianni takes a more affluent job as a lawyer's assistant. When the group reunites after several decades, their discourse unearths hostility and unsettling realizations.

Paul, a ships's mechanic on a cargo boat, goes ashore one day in Lisbon and makes the acquaintance of loneliness, of keeping silence, and of Rosa, a barmaid. A three-sided relationship develops between Paul, Rosa and Elisa, Paul's wife, who lives in a town on the Rhine. All of Pauls' money is stolen, he follows the tracks of the thief and gets stabbed. Nevertheless, an in spite of Rosa's departure and the distance that separates him from Elisa, Paul gradually recovers.

40-year-old Márta has found the love of her life. She met the mysterious János at a medical congress in New Jersey and arranged to meet him again in Budapest. Never before has she felt such strong feelings for someone. After almost 20 years, she now returns to her homeland in Hungary, leaving her brilliant career as a neurosurgeon and her previous life in the USA behind with the hope of a new, more fulfilling existence. As agreed with János, Márta waits on the Freedom Bridge – in vain. Irritated and disappointed, she sets off in search of the man of her dreams, but when she finds him, he claims to have never seen her before. At a blow, her new life shatters from one moment to the next, and Márta ends up traversing a fine line between love and madness. Packed with feeling and devotion, director Lili Horvát’s virtuosic imagery plunges us deep into the mystery of love and raises the question of what love actually is.

Lou (29) is a present-day nomad. Forever in search of the ultimate kind of freedom, she’s long ago blocked out what it is she is actually running from. At home everywhere and nowhere. Living a now-now life. Click and - next, please. Until she meets Aro (35) and Aro is different. Even if he preaches the same sermon: Just make sure not to define the status of the relationship you’re in and enjoy the summer while it lasts, not committing to anything. And yet, without looking for it, they get under each other’s skin. Now there are expectations, jealousy nags and contradicts their frantic pursuit of independence. All of a sudden, Lou does not know anymore what it is all about. Where does she come from? Where does she belong?

Oliverio is a young poet living in Buenos Aires where sometimes he has to sale his ideas to an advertising agencie in order to make a living or exchange his poems for a steak. One night he meets a prostitute in a bar in Montevideo. Her name is Ana and soon he falls in love with her. Back in Buenos Aires, he accepts a contract with a publicity agencie to get the money for three days of love with her. Will he get what his searching for when his ideal of love's pleasure is literaly going in levitation while making love?

As with the rest of his oeuvre, duplication and mirroring of female characters once again informs Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest work, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. It would not be out of place to make a literary analogy and, if one were to regard his two previous films (Drive my Car, Asako I & II) as novels, this new work could be described as a collection of short stories. The film’s recurring rhythm amplifies this effect. The three episodes, which each revolve around a woman, are in turn divided into three movements, like a piece of music. They tell stories of an unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap, and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding. The fragmentation serves to emphasise rather than undermine the exquisitely organic storytelling and mise en scène. Although most of the action takes place in a single space and involves just two actors, not once does it feel like filmed theatre. The secret lies not only in the writing, but also in the notion of a more complex temporality in each episode that flirts with science fiction in the final instalment. The moments we witness are crystallised into touching universal destinies marked by choices, regrets, deception and coincidences. They are the film’s true protagonists.

Elegant, retired architect Shauna (70) crosses paths with Pierre, a happily married doctor in his 40s, who first made an impression on her in a brief meeting 15 years previously. Both are quite troubled to meet again and begin an affair. While Pierre’s family life is soon turned upside down, Shauna struggles with feelings she thought belonged to the past.

Jacob Störr, a sea captain, makes a bet in a café with a friend, to marry the first woman who enters the place. And in walks Lizzy.

An endearing light comedy about a woman who spontaneously becomes a resident of Venice after her family left her begin. While enjoying the wonderful people she meets she achieves a new life and the first time independent of her family.

Mired in the nervous desperation of Havana, Raul dreams of escaping to Miami. When accused of assault, his only option is to flee Cuba. He begs his best friend, Elio, to abandon everything and help him reach the forbidden world 90 miles across the ocean. Elio’s commitment is tested when he is torn between protecting his twin sister and his own desire to get out. Brimming with the nervous energy of Havana’s restless youth and the evocative cinematography of the sun-bleached capital, UNA NOCHE follows one sweltering day, full of hope and fraught with tension, that burns to a shocking climax.

Christian, a reclusive young man from Leipzig, gets a job working the night shift at a big-box store. He's trained to stocks goods and operate a forklift by Bruno, a wistful former truck driver, who introduces Christian to a colorful group of overnight workers, including Marion, with whom Christian develops a troubled infatuation.

On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, King without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories and the time he dreamt of becoming a fireman. The encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade, opens a new chapter in the life of the two young men devoted to love and desire, and the will to change the status quo.

Mariana, Martìn and the city of Buenos Aires. Martìn and Mariana live across from each other on the same block, but never meet. They pass each other, not knowing about the other’s existence. She goes up the stairs as he goes down the stairs; he gets on the bus just as she gets off the bus. They go to the same video rental shop, but a video rack separates them; they sit in the same row at the cinema, but the auditorium is dark. The city brings them together, and, at the same time, keeps them apart. Director Gustavo Taretto told the story of Mariana, Martìn and the city of Buenos Aires once before: «MEDIANERAS is a short film that received 40 awards worldwide - a short film with a feature film hidden inside. Our aim is to bring the feature to light. In the film EL SOL DEL MEMBRILLO (QUINCE TREE OF THE SUN), Víctor Erice reflects, among other things, upon Antonio López’s obsession with painting a tree that he had planted and seen growing in his garden. The tree changes with the passing of time, the seasons, and especially in different shades of light. MEDIANERAS is my tree. I planted it over four years ago, and I’ve been watching it grow since then. Following the analogy with the painting, the short film unveils the gesture in the stroke, the artist’s palette, the trunk which holds it in place, the main branches and the colour of its leaves. Now, with the feature, the moment has arrived for going into detail, for exploring depth and hues, ambiguities and contradictions. The story changes in exactly the same way as the city that serves as its setting: Buenos Aires. Some of the scenes wither away, while others bloom.» (Gustavo Taretto)

On the way from Berlin to Portugal in her rusty '303' camper van, young biology student Jule picks up hitchhiker Jan. While having intense conversations about the society, the world and the nature of man, they try not to fall in love.

Three different characters in a Havana, that always seems to be like today, must choose between clinging to their self-restricting beliefs, or getting rid of them to live more freely. Ballerina Mariana has recently promised God celibacy, if she gets the main role of "Giselle"; Social-worker Julia always faints after hearing a certain word, like other people do in the streets to different words; and percussionist Elpidio was abandoned by his mother named Cuba quite some time ago and has not yet gotten over the loss. Now he fells in love with an northern activist. BONUS: Als Zugabe gibt's den Bergsteiger-Dokumentarfilm mit Daniel Anker, der in den 1990er Jahren eine neue Route durch die Eiger-Nordwand gelegt hat und sie als Liebhaber des Films «La vida es silbar» nannte. Sie erfreut sich bei jenen, die gerne Klettern, als beliebt.

Georg and Anna are around 80, cultivated music professors in retirement. The daughter, also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day Anna has a seizure - it is the beginning of a test for the love of the two.

Esmail, a young and charming Iranian lives in Denmark where he works as a mover. However, in the evening, he frequents the posh places in the city to seduce women, hoping to get married and obtain a residence permit. When he meets Sara, everything changes. On the verge of achieving his goal, he is hunted down by a mysterious man...

The time is 1702. A young samurai, Aoki Sozaemon (Okada Junichi) has left his countryside hometown, and is now living in Edo (now Tokyo), in search of Kanazawa Jubei (Asano Tadanobu), the man who killed his father. He is living in a dilapidated tenement house, in the poor quarters of the city of Edo. His neighbors in the so-called "row houses" are all good, solid folk who can never even hope to rise out of the squalor of their surroundings. Sozaemon, the provincial samurai, becomes friends with a variety of characters including a habitual drunk, an unsuccessful would-be petty official, a ragman, a perky girl, a doctor, and a scrivener. As the relationships between the characters unfold we are led deeper in the blossoming love story of Sozaemon and the beautiful widow, Osae (Miyazawa Rie). Although he has never forgot his task to find his father's enemy and to succeed in his vengeance, being around Osae and her son, Sozaemon feels a warm feeling inside, which leads to doubts about the entire act of revenge. However, to walk away from the "revenge-act (ADAUCHI)", could actually bring his entire family down, not only without the reward from the Shogun, but also, as a samurai, to be unsuccessful on revenge would be an act of cowardice, and a disgrace to the entire family name. Sozaemon, still not being able to decide on if he should take the act of revenge, goes on with his everyday life, teaching the neighborhood children mathematics, reading and writing. He wonders whether he can ever enjoy life without the specter of revenge and swordplay. With the discovery of the rich meaningful life rather than the meaningless death of a warrior, Sozaemon, together with his strange friends at the tenement row house, decides to plot an act of the lifetime...

Hiroshima mon amour concerns a series of conversations or one enormous conversation over a 36-hour long period between a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva), referred to as Her, and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada), referred to as Him. They have had a brief relationship and are now separating. The two debate memory and forgetfulness as She prepares to depart, comparing failed relationships with the bombing of Hiroshima and the perspectives of people inside and outside the incidents. The early part of the film recounts, in the style of a documentary but narrated by the so far unidentified characters, the effects of the Hiroshima bomb on August 6, 1945, in particular the loss of hair and the complete anonymity of the remains of some victims. He had been conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, and his family was in Hiroshima on that day.

In 1936 Tokyo, Sada Abe (Eiko Matsuda) is a former prostitute who now works as a maid in a hotel. The hotel's owner, Kichizo Ishida (Tatsuya Fuji), molests her, and the two begin an intense affair that consists of sexual experiments and various self-indulgences. Ishida leaves his wife to pursue his affair with Sada. Sada becomes increasingly possessive and jealous of Ishida, and Ishida more eager to please her. Their mutual obsession escalates to the point where Ishida finds she is most excited by strangling him during lovemaking, and he is killed in this fashion. Sada then severs his penis. While she is shown next to him naked, it is mentioned that she will walk around with his penis inside her for several days. Words written with blood can be read on his chest: "Sada Kichi the two of us forever". Opening the 1976 Quinzaine, Nagisa Ôshima’s widely-banned and barrier-breaking classic no doubt remains one of the most controversial films of all time. A provocative depiction of disturbing sexual obsession, and, equally, an incendiary (if overshadowed!) critique of Japanese society.

1971. Delphine, the daughter of farmers, moves to Paris to break free from the shackles of her family and to gain her financial independence. Carole is a Parisian, living with Manuel, actively involved in the stirrings of the feminist movement. Their encounter turns their lives upside down.

IN BETWEEN captures the daily duality of three young Palestinian women in Tel Aviv, caught between hometown tradition and big city abandon, and the price they must pay for a lifestyle that seems obvious to many: the freedom to work, party, fuck, and choose.

Gloria is a 58-year-old divorcée. Her children have all left home but she has no desire to spend her days and nights alone. Determined to defy old age and loneliness, she rushes headlong into a whirl of singles’ parties on the hunt for instant gratification – which only leads to repeated disappointment and enduring emptiness. But when Gloria meets Rodolfo, an ex-naval officer seven years her senior, she begins to imagine the possibility of a permanent relationship.

In the week leading up to their 45th wedding anniversary, the Mercers’ get news that causes a crisis in their marriage. The remains of a woman have been found in the Swiss Alps; the body is Katya, Geoff’s former girlfriend, who died in an accident on the glacier 50 years ago. Geoff’s wife Kate is unnerved as she realises that her husband still clings to memories of the dead woman, worrying that she was never more than “second choice”. When Kate looks through stuff Geoff has stored in the attic, she discovers his secret … Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay deliver confident performances in this story of how a crack in faraway, seemingly permanent ice can shatter the tectonics of a marriage that appears completely intact on the surface. With few words and almost imperceptible gestures, they reveal Kate and Geoff standing at the edge of an abyss. The actors’ nuanced portrayals of an ageing couple questioning a relationship that has lasted almost half a century, and struggling to reassure themselves of its future, were rewarded with Silver Bears for acting at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival.

Three different love stories, set in three consecutive decades, in two neighbouring Balkan villages burdened with a long history of inter-ethnic hatred: this is a film about the dangers – and the enduring strength – of forbidden love.

Two introverted people find out by pure chance that they share the same dream every night. They are puzzled, incredulous, a bit frightened. As they hesitantly accept this strange coincidence, they try to recreate in broad daylight what happens in their dream.

A struggling street photographer, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. Against their own expectations, the contrary pair develops a deep connection that transforms each of them in ways they never expected.

A runaway couple go on an unforgettable journey from Boston to Key West, recapturing their passion for life and their love for each other on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end.

The story follows the social intercourse between a cameraman, Masaya, with a visual impairment, and Misako who disconnects from the world.

Thirteen-year-old Sandra isn't happy to be the new girl in town, but then she falls in love with Mike, the boy next door. Everything seems perfect, until the day the young couple witness Mike's mother having an affair. Mike is devastated, but what he does not realize is that his mother's ardent lover is actually Sandra's father, an old childhood sweetheart. Divided by her loyalty to her father and her feelings for Mike, Sandra decides to keep her father's identity a secret. However, she can't keep up the charade for much longer, and whatever she decides, it is bound to have serious consequences.

The love story of an elderly couple. Having arrived at the end of their lives, the two 74-year-old protagonists take the liberty of making their own decisions concerning life and death. They stage their demise exactly as they staged their lives. After fifty years spent together, they don’t go because they have to, but because they want to.

In the bustling metropolis of Mumbai, Ratna is arranging the rooms of a modern penthouse apartment while she prepares the kitchen for dinner. This young woman from rural India works as a domestic aid for the wealthy entrepreneur's son Ashwin. However her actual dream is that of one day becoming a fashion designer. When Ashwin falls into a deep depression after the collapse of his upcoming wedding, Ratna stands by his side. Living under one roof and only exchanging few words, trust between the two gradually grows. During the colourful Ganesha Festival, Ratna and Ashwin finally get closer – contrary to all social conventions – and are faced with an unsolvable dilemma. Director Rohena Gera brilliantly combines a touching story about the universality of love with criticism of the Indian class system.

Paul, in his fifties, is a filmmaker. He writes a screenplay as if it were his job and starts looking for an actress for the lead role. The fact that he can't find her must be due to something: perhaps there are too many stories, too many images, too many actresses and too little peace. Perhaps it is also a necessity. Paul spontaneously throws away his script. Jean has just finished film school and is hired by Paul as his assistant. One day, Paul comes across an old photo of Dara, an Italian actress he once knew and admired, who has long since disappeared from the screen. Paul asks Jean to find her. Both of them do everything they can to bring her back to the screen. To achieve this, they embark on a world of feelings, confrontations and dreams.

Alma is a scientist at Berlin's famous Pergamon Museum. In order to obtain research funds for her studies, she accepts an offer to participate in an extraordinary experiment. For three weeks, she must live with a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence designed to allow it to morph into that of her ideal life partner. Enter Tom, a machine in human form, created to make her happy.

Argentinian biology student Miro falls madly in love with young actress Mercedes, but is without a clue as to how to win her love. Then, a series of misunderstandings put him in the hot seat as a famous film director. Miro grabs his chance to shoot a film with Mercedes as his leading lady, hoping that she will fall for him. Whilst his plan is crazy, it is simple enough and Cupid is on his side. But Miro hasn't reckoned with film students Peter and Luigi who wish to shoot a “making-of” documentary of the great Argentinian “director”at work.

A journey through the vastness of the Argentine desert and what appeared to be the end of the road will become the beginning of a new life.

Leningrad, one summer in the early eighties. Smuggling LP’s by Lou Reed and David Bowie, the underground rock scene is boiling ahead of the Perestroika. Mike and his beautiful wife Natasha meet with young Viktor Tsoï. Together with friends, they will change the destiny of rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union.

Before an office complex is set to be demolished, it expresses one last wish: a love story. It centers around desire, security, and a melody that runs through the entire fabric of the building. So when darkness descends and everything falls silent, the routine lives of those within its walls sparkle like stars, paving the way for intimate chance encounters and absurd humor to unfold. A nocturnal kaleidoscope of longing, loneliness and freedom.

Like a young bird yet to find the courage to lift its wings, Fúsi (43) lives alone with his mother, where they've always lived.

Felix lives in French Canada; he doesn’t have any money or ambitions, but he isn’t worried since his wealthy father is about to die. Meira’s life is completely different: she is a young member of the Hasidic Jewish community in Montreal, she is married and has a child. Despite the solid certainties provided by her environment, Meira is yearning for something different. Unexpectedly, she finds it in the eccentric Felix. Their encounter will unleash feelings stronger than any social barrier.

«The Sandman» tells the bizarrely absurd story of the philatelist Benno. One day, he realizes that he is losing sand. Day by day those sand losses are increasing and he is threatened to completely disintegrate. In addition, his neighbour Sandra, whom he hates deeply, prevents him from sleeping by singing every night in his café below Benno's apartment. However, he finds himself forced to address his worst enemy when he realizes that only she can save him. Then begins a mad race against the clock....

In a traditional tribal society in the South Pacific, a young girl, Wawa, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an intertribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, refusing her arranged fate. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for individual freedom.

If you were to ask a group of film experts which country is currently the least appropriate setting for a hilarious, truly wacky romantic comedy, the chances are that Saudi Arabia would come out on top. But their guesses would be wrong, as Barakah yoqabil Barakah provides more than enough evidence to the contrary. He’s a municipal civil servant from Jeddah whose origins are humble to say the least, while she’s a wild beauty, the adopted daughter of a rich couple whose marriage has suffered due to their lack of biological children. He’s also an amateur actor in a theatre company rehearsing a production of "Hamlet", while she functions as a crowd-puller for her stylish adoptive mother’s boutique and runs her own boisterous, widely-seen vlog. Fate brings them together - in an environment hostile to dating of any kind. But the two of them show breathtaking ingenuity to circumvent the system of tradition, etiquette and religious police - with the crucial help of a quirky midwife and a pink push up bra. Barakah yoqabil Barakah is a film for anyone who’s always wanted to know just what else is going on in Saudi Arabia

“The King of San Gregorio” is a story about a pure and simple love. The film talks about the life of Pedro Vargas – who plays himself – a 30 years-old man living in the slum of San Gregorio and presents a physical handicap and a certain grade of mental disability. Nevertheless, none of these factors will stop him from being the protagonist of this beautiful love story with his “princess” Cati, a girl who has a severe mental disability. As any other romantic drama, there are antagonists who do not approve this love. Pedro’s mother, María is hard to accept that her man-son is in love and she is even willing to prevent the relationship. Besides, the frustrated sister of the female protagonist, Marta, fears the sexual arouse of Cati, interfering in her relation with Pedro. Nevertheless, Pedro struggles for being with his princess, entrusting to God and to the wise advices of Juan, an old man who teaches him how to believe in love. • Pedro Vargas - Chief Character Known as “the King” in San Gregorio hood, Pedro Vargas is a 30 years-old man, who presents a certain grade of physical and mental handicap. Nevertheless, he is a very sensitive, romantic and optimistic person. He strongly wishes to live the intense love he feels for his princess Cati, in a place beyond clouds. Cati, the princess – (María José Parga) She is Pedro’s sweetheart. She is a very beautiful green-eyed girl of a naïve aspect. She is 28, but looks younger since she is especially delicate. She presents a severe handicap, because of a poliomyelitis she underwent when she was 3. Due to this illness, she nearly can’t speak and when she does, she uses very short words. She is always laughing and it seems she is always thinking about another thing. The only thing she wants is to be with Pedro and when her sister forbids it, she cries and has violent attacks of nerves. She has a kind of obsession with the Dorothy, the character of the “Wizard of Oz” • María – (Gloria Münchmeyer) Explosive and melancholic, María - Pedro´s mother and his main antagonist - is a 64 years -old widow who works as a domestic servant. Her strong black eyes are her most outstanding feature. She is very over-protective with Pedro, not only due to his handicap, but also because he is her only child. In this context, María emphatically objects his son´s relationship with Cati. • Marta – (Giselle Demelchiore) Marta is Cati´s sister and the second antagonist in the story. She is 34 and in spite of being very pretty, she looks neglected, dark and sad. Due to the mother desertion, Marta takes care of her sister and it is the reason why she has postponed herself deciding to live alone with no boyfriend. She fears for Cati´s relationship with Pedro and especially for her sister sex life. • Juan – (Andrés Rillón) He is Pedro’s mentor and he is the one who will help Pedro to achieve his goal of being with Cati. He is 73, bald, with a neglected face and he moves in a noisy and old wheelchair. He is hypochondriac and has an ironic sense of humor.

The Death and Life of Otto Bloom chronicles the life and great love of an extraordinary man who experiences time in reverse – wandering blindly into the past, while remembering the future. The film charts Bloom's rise from scientific oddity to international superstar as he searches for love and meaning in this strange, backwards world. Over the years, he has a string of romances while challenging our preconceived notions about life, death and the nature of time. When the world proves to be not yet ready for Bloom's radical ideas, his fall from grace is as swift as it is tragic. But for Bloom, the end is only the beginning…

Unemployed Vijay is the youngest in his family consisting of his widowed mom, and two brothers. His passion is poetry - frowned upon by his brothers - who want him to find gainful employment instead. Vijay's poems are quite radical in which he laments about the poor, the destitute, and the arrogance of the rich after the departure of the British from India. His efforts to get them published are in vain. He takes to drinking, gets in trouble with the law, is disowned by his brothers, ends up at a brothel and befriends a prostitute named Gulabo. Gulabo is sympathetic, listens to him as he pours his heart out, and decides to assist Vijay. Watch what happens when Gulabo approaches some of her affluent clientèle to assist Vijay and try and get his work published, without revealing that they are written by an alcoholic, disheveled, homeless man. (imdb)

Which should take precedence - passion or duty? How do we choose? And who gets to judge? These are eternal questions, remorselessly thrust upon us by life. Anna Karenina made her choice, leaving her son Sergei to grow up struggling to understand why his mother took such a tragic and terrible path, and Count Vronsky haunted by the memory of the woman for whose death he still blames himself 30 years later. In 1904, in the aftermath of one of the battles of the Russian-Japanese war, Sergei Karenin and Alexey Vronsky find themselves thrown together in a remote Manchurian village, where fate offers them a chance to return to the events long past and, finally, to find the answers both have long been seeking.

A story of love and frailty, Air Doll takes the essence of what it means to be human and distills it down to its purest form in this bittersweet love story that smoothly intertwines fantasy and reality. In a shabby, rundown apartment in an old part of Tokyo, a bright beacon of purity shines into being one day. Silent and motionless, the air doll that belongs to quiet and retiring middle-aged Hideo (Itsuji Itao) has never been anything out of the ordinary. Each evening after work, he chats with her over the dinner table, bathes her and makes love to her before turning in for the night. However, after he leaves the house one day, the air doll begins to twitch and move, miraculously coming to life. Like a newborn marvelling at the wonder of the world, she is awestruck at the beauty of everything around her. Tottering about in her tiny maid's uniform, she ventures outside the apartment with childlike curiosity. As she wanders through the city, the air doll is enthralled, talking to anyone she finds and trying to comprehend her own ephemeral existence. Though her life is only a few hours old, it changes forever when she walks into a video store and falls helplessly in love with the clerk, Junichi (Arata).

In an amazingly beautiful place, on the bank of the wide Don, in a remote, half-destroyed village, surrounded by only steppe for hundreds of miles, a real drama takes place. An unexpected passionate love between a young man and a married woman literally destroys the lives of not only the main characters, but also their close ones.

Does love at first sight exist? This may certainly be the case, but sometimes you need time to be sure of this love. This film describes such a story about getting to know somebody and falling in love as a teenager, and about meeting again many years later. It begins in the 70s, in the summer in a small town by the river. Bruno and Lalo are teenagers and good friends. They hang around together in the heat, until one rainy day Lisa turns up, a beautiful young woman who capriciously and quick-wittedly turns the heads of both boys - and then decides on one of them. Three decades later she is back again and finds the friends from her youth living in differing situations. "I am single now", she says, but I can't get the picture of the three of us out of my head. No, she is certainly no longer the same Lisa for both men as she was back then. The pictures and memories that one had of one another, are these still any use in the present? What was it like back then, this love? What did we want, what happened to us? They ponder these questions in front of the camera, giving voice to their memories. How does a love story and history fit together? Can you carry on where you left off three decades ago? These and other questions are pondered by this film about making friends and falling in love as a teenager, and of meeting again many years later. The wonderfully easy-going triangle of their adolescence can probably not be revived. But what about unique and true love from back then? Paula Hernández’ film is also an experiment about how feelings are linked to the spirit of the time the ups and downs of life, in which light, air and sun play a not insignificant role. An intensive, thoughtful, atmospherically very emotionally intoned film about love and about time, which gives this love a new dimension.

Money and love worries of swimming teacher Aldo and rum factory worker Monica in Melaza, the cradle of Cuban sugarcane. With tangible love for Cuba, the director takes a fresh look at his struggling characters: you can also learn to swim in a piscina without water. In the Cuban village of Melaza, named after the once flourishing sugarcane fields, time stands still. Even when all kinds of things happen, nothing ever changes. The State pretends to take care of everything, but it shuts the rum factory and makes swimming lessons impossible. There's no use complaining, think the inhabitants, that’s just how it is. Melaza is the heartwarming love story of Aldo and Monica, a photogenic couple who live in a much too small cottage with their fat daughter and grumpy grandma. They try very hard to earn some extra money. Their attempts finally get the couple into deeper and deeper trouble. But together, the lovers manage to pull through it. New talent Carlos Lechuga tells his critical story with humour and sparse dialogue, taking us on a journey to the beauties of rural Cuba. Far from the hotels and from Havana, but with a reality familiar to everyone who has ever been to Cuba - or faced a shortage of cash. (Filmfestival Rotterdam)

Peter travels from Germany to Buenos Aires to find the woman he fell head over heels in love with some time ago and who wants to live with. But he doesn't know much more about her than her name, an address that is no longer true, and the memory of enchanting moments. He meets Olinda, who runs a local restaurant and was herself stranded in Argentina half a century ago in search of her great love.

Grebo and his very pregnant wife Liliane (Ariane Labed) are taking a well-deserved vacation at a popular Adriatic seaside resort. All inclusive! All the sun, swimming and fun that their hearts desire. What could possibly go wrong on such an idyllic holiday? At open-mike night, Grebo seduces the resort crowd and reminds his loving French wife of the Sarajevo rocker she fell in love with. But the evening's big surpise is the young couple's meeting with mysterious Flora. The charismatic young woman will soon put their young marriage to the test. Past secrets cannot stay hidden for long on Love Island.

Sandro is a forty-something teacher and still lives with his parents, who constantly meddle in his private life. He shows little interest in the blind dates his friend Iva pressures him to go on. On an outing to the Black Sea, he falls in love with the hairdresser Manana. When her husband Tengo is released from jail early, Sandro’s predicament takes on absurd dimensions. He gets caught up in wild family disputes and feels compelled to move Natia, pregnant with Tengo’s child, into his parents’ home. Wrong conclusions and misunderstandings are the driving force of this melancholy comedy, in which everyone meddles with everything but no one really listens, which only leads to yet further confusion. When in doubt, they all argue together with true ferocity, the situation invariably ending in intense outbursts. Levan Koguashvili’s second feature is thus in keeping with the best traditions of Georgian cinema. The narrative tone stays calm, as the events come thick and fast. Unsentimental, with various ellipses and allusions, and shot with wonderful colour compositions and an incredible feel for space, architecture and cityscapes, the film ultimately attains extraordinary profundity.

Shortly after assuming his post as food taster, Shinnojo loses his eyesight. The fish that was given to the head of the clan was poisoned. Prior to this, Shinnojo had held an inferior position in the ruler’s entourage. Realising that not only will he remain blind until the end of his days, but he must now relinquish his position and will need assistance for rest of his life, Shinnojo becomes dejected and melancholy. His wife, Kayo, is the only one able to prevent him from committing suicide: "I can’t imagine life without you. But, go ahead and kill yourself. If you do so, I will follow you immediately", is her response. Touched by her loyalty, Shinnojo gives up his plan to take his own life. Shortly afterwards, Shinnojo’s uncle advises him that, since he is no longer able to work, Shinnojo should ask Kayo to go to Shimada, the influential steward of the estate, and ask for his help. As time goes by, Shinnojo begins to get used to being blind. But then one day his aunt Ine tells him of a rumour she has heard about Kayo’s infidelity. Madly jealous, Shinnojo, who loves his wife and had always trusted her, orders his old servant, Tokuhei, to follow Kayo. Tokuhei discovers that the rumour is true. Having noticed that she was being watched, Kayo admits to having committed adultery with Shimada, explaining that the steward demanded her body in return for supporting Shinnojo. Throwing his wife out of the house, Shinnojo prepares himself for one last battle.

Luna and Amar are a couple. Their relationship is under great strain. First of all, Amar loses his job for being drunk at work. Luna is very worried and has little hope of realising her fragile dream of having a child with Amar. But her fears for their future increase when Amar takes on a well-paid job in a Muslim community hours away from where they live.Only after quite some time has elapsed during which they have had no contact with each other, is Luna allowed to visit Amar in this community of conservative Wahhabis in its idyllic lakeside location. She notices that the men and veiled women live in strict segregation and are closely watched. Luna asks Amar to return home with her but Amar insists that life in this isolated community of faithful followers has brought him peace and also keeps him from drinking. When he returns home a few weeks later, Luna realises that Amar’s attitude to religion has fundamentally changed. Amar claims that his only interest is to become a better person, but Luna finds it extremely difficult to follow his line of thinking. She begins to question everything that she has believed in, even her desire to have a child. As the wounds of a tragic war-filled past continue to haunt her, Luna tears herself apart searching if love is truly enough to keep her and Amar together on the path to a lifetime of happiness.

One city, four people, many stories: Shai is new in Bombay. The young amateur photographer wants to explore her parents' home country with her camera. She meets the unapproachable artist Arun and spends a night with him. Her paths separate. And while Arun gets lost in the fateful video diaries of the unknown housewife Yasemin, Shai makes friends with the washer Munna contrary to all conventions. He leads her through the remotest corners of the pulsating and modern metropolis, falls in love and begins to dream of the impossible.

Twenty-two-year-old Koli is studying at Tirana university. When he hears of his father’s death, he returns to his native mountain village in the north to attend the funeral. During a walk through the countryside of his childhood, someone takes a shot at him. In a state of shock, the young man discovers that he is part of a blood feud sparked by his grandfather sixty years earlier. He goes to see the family to whom, according to custom, he owes his life - and, in doing so, he makes the acquaintance of the murderer whom fate has determined will take it. Away from his modern urban environment, Koli suddenly finds himself in a world of ancient, inexorable rituals, from which he is unable to extricate himself even after his return to Tirana. How deeply entrenched in people are the traditions of their forebears? And to what extent are they able to accept them as part of their modern, superficial lifestyle? How far-reaching is the perception of one’s own destiny and affinity with one’s roots? Director Artan Minarolli dedicated his film drama to the eighty-six illegal immigrants who drowned off the coast of Italy during an attempt to flee their native country in March 1997.

In the ruins of post-war Poland, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Zula (Joanna Kulig) fall deeply, obsessively and destructively in love. As performing musicians forced to play into the Soviet propaganda machine, they dream of escaping to the creative freedom of the West. But one day, as they spot their chance to make a break for Paris, both make a split decision that will mark their lives forever.

Teo has a good job, a fiancee, a lovers, no intention to assume any responsibility in his life. The meeting with Emma, a blind woman, will upset his convictions.

“Höhenfeuer” is both a story of childhood and of a love affair: The deaf-born “Bub” and his sister “Belli” live with their parents on a remote farm in the mountains. The father intentionally resists the modern age: “I'd rather beat him to death than put him in a home”. After school Belli is not only a servant in her own home but also her younger brother's teacher. From early childhood, they have been an inseparable pair. They love one another. “Holy Mother of God, what sort of children have I?” wails the resigned mother, when the two children do things that are not “normal”. This is just the beginning of the story… Had the film been made 100 years ago – it would have been a saga.

A woman confronts her past – and invents her future. Seventy-six-year-old Elise knows exactly how she will spend the final years of her life: living with Paul, to whom she has been happily married for 50 years, in their villa on Zürichberg till her last breath, and tenderly cared for by Angela, their faithful housekeeper. But then Angela is discovered by the theatre and hired for a stage play. Paul hits a man with his '68 Maserati and subsequently becomes friends with him; Elise passionately kisses a young veterinarian.

Spring. Yorkshire. Young farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker for lambing season ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path.

A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox.

Mira, a young woman from Russia, comes to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to visit her father, a player who often loses and finally even has to give away Mira to an old man. But Daler, a young player, falls in love with Mira and simply abducts her into his rather weird world. Daler is the boss of the local, thoroughly rotten aerial cableway. Its faded yellow cabins are suitable for every cargo: tourists as well as for hay, beer crates, stolen goods and even as a love-home for a clandestine rendez-vous. For Mira, Daler arranges a romantic picnic, floating between heaven and earth. And so begins the love story of Mira and Daler. When the movie ends (but not the love), Mira will have got to know a strange, sometimes exotic world. She will have seen a civil war. She will have accompanied her father to his death and Daler on the way to a new life.

In a tiny village on the northeastern coast of Brazil, the young fisherman Jusce scrapes out a living by diving 30 meters with rudimentary equipment for lobster. His prize’ at the end of a long day of risky work is sitting close to Ana as she savors the drama of urban sophisticates on her favorite soap opera. Ana dreams of leaving the village to see the world. Jusce is content with the life he leads. Jusce’s old fishing buddy - Rogerio - returns from the big city for holidays. With his Buggy he drives around the dunes and scores Ana’s immediate attention. The day Rogerio gives Jusce a ride to Ana’s marks the beginning of their rivalry for Ana’s attention. Jusce has to reinvent himself in order not to loose Ana to the adventurous life style of Rogerio. Russian-born Kirill Mikhanovsky locates his love story in an impoverished fishing village in Brazil against the background of the harsh daily life of the fishermen. In expert manner the debut-director handles both image and sound, which intertwine provocatively throughout this visually impressive sleeper hit of the Cannes Critics’ Week.

"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.

The head of a shoe factory persuades the army to hold manoeuvres nearby: So his workers can meet men at a ball. But the pot-bellied reservists are anything but attractive. Utilizing a brief hint of freedom, The Love of a Blonde throws an undisguised, humorous and tender look at Czechoslovakia in the 1960s and the ridiculousness of its functionaries.

Shiraz is based on the true story of the 17th-century Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, his queen and the building of the world’s most beautiful monument to love, the Taj Mahal. Shot entirely in India, it features lavish costumes and gorgeous settings, including the extraordinary fort at Agra. Himansu Rai (also the film’s producer) stars as the humble potter Shiraz, who follows his childhood sweetheart Selima (Enakshi Rama Rau) when she is sold by slave traders to the future emperor. Newly restored by the BFI National Archive, and looking better than it ever has, the film also features a new score from world-renowned sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar.

In a remote Alpine village isolated from the outside world, young love is put to the test. Anna comes from the village and has a daughter from an earlier relationship, while Marco is an outsider from the flatlands hired by the mountain farmers to work the rugged land. Together they experience the joy of new love and the closeness of family. But when Marco suddenly starts losing control over his impulses and behaving erratically, a new tension rises in the community. Through the changing seasons and the harshness of life, Anna fights to preserve a love she believes can outshine even death. Awarded Best Fiction Film at the 2023 Swiss Film Awards.

Summer 1998 - Kabul under Taliban rule. Zunaira and Mohsen are young and in love. Despite the daily violence and misery, they hope for a better future. One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn.

College student Asako falls in love at first sight with Baku after meeting at a photography exhibit. Romance sparks between the two but doesn't last long when Baku suddenly disappears from her life. Two years later, she spots a man that bears a striking resemblance to him. Even though it is only his physical similarities to Baku that attracted her to him, she doesn't say so and starts dating the soft-spoken young man called Ryohei.

Naples in the early 1980s. Aldo works as a radio announcer giving passionate literature recommendations. After putting his children to bed and telling them a bedtime story, he enters the kitchen, stands next to his wife Vanda and confesses to cheating on her. Completely surprised by this news, and feeling like the ground has disappeared from under her feet, Vanda doesn't know how to react. What does this mean for her and the children? Thirty years later, Vanda and Aldo are still married. Based on the novel “Forever Connected” by Domenico Starnone, Daniele Luchetti shows that you can never escape your family, even if love draws you into a new relationship. This emotional drama, carried by its strong actors, is a highlight of young Italian cinema. Opening film of the Venice Film Festival 2020.

After the death of his beloved wife, retiree Tom decides to set out on a long journey. Carrying the ashes of the deceased in a small suitcase, he sets off from the northernmost point of Scotland to Land’s End in the south of England – the place where they first met. Tom makes the entire journey on public busses where he meets so many different people who share his story that he soon becomes a national celebrity. The road movie THE LAST BUS tells the heart-warming story of an ambitious man who embarks on a nostalgic journey, yet experiences many new and enriching encounters along the way. The perfect stage for legendary British character actor Timothy Spall.

Marie is Swiss, Filipa is of Portuguese origin. One wants to study forever, the other wants to get married. When Marie is lovesick, Filipa suggests that they spend a month together in Portugal with her family. There they have various encounters, but also conflicts. Love and emotions send them into a frenzy - and then they also have numerous decisions to make.

Beatrice is a blabbermouth and a so-called billionaire countess who likes to believe she’s in intimacy with world leaders. Donatella is a young quiet tattooed woman, locked in her own mystery. They are both patients of a mental institution and subject to custodial measures.

Originally planned as a joint train trip with her lover, the shy Finn Laura embarks on the journey to the north of Russia to visit ancient rock paintings alone by herself. When she is assigned her sleeping compartment, she finds her new companion is a rather obnoxious and crude vodka-drinking, shaven-headed miner named Ljoha. Over the next few days, the disparate passengers are forced to get along with each other in the close quarters of the compartment. Only when Laura gradually gives up her dismissive attitude it becomes apparent that the two have much more in common than she ever imagined. Director Juho Kuosmanen (THE HAPPIEST DAY IN THE LIFE OF OLLI MÄKI) sends two outsiders on an amusing and deeply touching journey during which they are confronted - without kitsch - with the truth of their feelings.

Project initially entrusted to Maurice Pialat, who had already begun to film it under the title of “Meurtrières” (see the special edition of Les Inrockuptibles devoted to Pialat), Messidor is based on a crime story which hit the headlines in France in the 1970s: two adolescent girls run away and go on a criminal spree which ends in their deaths. On the face of it, this subject is remote from the world we associate with Tanner, since a violent story of this kind and its social background would seem to impose the realistic, even naturalistic form always shunned by the Swiss director. Moreover, Tanner is instinctively averse to filming physical violence. “Killing a person”, he says, “is generally a gratuitous special effect.” Consequently, of all Tanner’s films Messidor is the only one in which someone dies of non-natural causes. It is also Tanner’s most sombre work, characterised by a despair unmitigated by his usual verbal and situational humour. This is because Tanner accepted the project only on condition that he could recast the original idea and use this violent story as a vehicle for more personal preoccupations: the limits of freedom (already treated in his previous film) are here related to the girls’ frantic flight in the Swiss countryside. What interests him is the possible sullying of this place of excessive peace and quiet, now transformed into a field of experience and criminal fun-and-games by the two characters..

On the way from Berlin to Portugal in her rusty '303' camper van, young biology student Jule picks up hitchhiker Jan. While having intense conversations about the society, the world and the nature of man, they try not to fall in love.

Self-discovery journey of two girls in their mid twenties while they travel along the Ecuadorian mountains and coasts. Esperanza (Hope) and Tristeza (Sadness) will not find postcard views or perfect love, but their journey will teach them there’s a world beyond that.

Adrien, a 70-year-old mountain farmer from the Valais, proposes a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway to his friends. The taciturn mountain men board the train, but they never really let go. Without cards and white wine, nothing works. Only Adrien makes it as far as Beijing: For the stubborn farmer, the long journey ultimately becomes a journey to himself, to his own feelings.

Yoko (Atsuko Maeda) hosts a popular global travel show yet is cautious and insular like many young Japanese. But she has a bigger dream. On assignment in Uzbekistan, Yoko and her small TV crew attempt to catch a mythical fish but fail. They also film segments in Samarkand but feel it’s lacking. Indifferent to her job, Yoko prefers texting her boyfriend in Tokyo. At night, she comes across a tied up goat and suggests releasing it on camera. The plan goes awry and Yoko feels indignant and naive. The team move to Tashkent where Yoko wanders into an opulent theatre, fantasizing she's on stage. She confides her ambitions to her cameraman but admits her heart's not ready. While filming, Yoko's timid nature inadvertently gets her in trouble with the police. At the station she hears of a disaster in Tokyo and realizes how important human communication truly is. Some of the team return to Japan but Yoko stays. As she ventures into the mountains she sings from the heart and her spirit is freed.

Magdalena hasn’t heard from her son in months — not since he left their town to cross the border into the United States. The authorities want her to sign her son’s death certificate, but an encounter with a bereaved parent makes Magdalena realize that she cannot live without knowing his fate. She begins an odyssey across Mexico, though areas of violence and desolation, chasing any available lead despite being warned not to publicly ask such questions. Along the way, she meets and travels with recently deported Miguel, who finds himself journeying home through a changed country. Grappling with the painful issue of migrants disappearing on their way to the U.S., writer/director Fernanda Valadez’s ambitious feature debut employs a tremendous economy of film language as it traverses across a varied contemporary Mexican landscape, expanding as our emotional experience of Magdalena’s journey swells to meet her own. The solemn Sin Señas Particulares punctuates its contemplation of family and loss with fleeting moments of human connection, allowing one woman’s aching personal story to encapsulate the weight of a tremendous real-world humanitarian crisis.

After being removed from the traveling circus, which is the only life he’s ever known, gray donkey EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure, all the while observing the follies and triumphs of humankind.

Abu Shadi is a divorced father and a school teacher in his mid-60s living in Nazareth. After his daughter's wedding in one month he will be living alone. Shadi, his architect son, arrives from Rome after years abroad to help his father in hand delivering the wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom. As the estranged pair spend the day together, the tense details of their relationship come to a head challenging their fragile and very different lives.

In THE BEEKEEPER, alienation and despair have so mestastasized in the film's central figure that he's virtually one of the walking dead. Spyros, a man soured by a secret, incestuous love for his daughter, on the day of her wedding, gives up his position as a schoolteacher, his wife, his home and his city to take up again the profession of his father and grandfather before him traveling across Greece to the town in which he was born and first learned to tend the bees, following the traditional beekeeper's route, looking for flowers that will produce the best honey, a wanderer obsessed by his job. Like a bee returning to its hive after searching for food he visits his old friends and his childhood home looking for threads to bind him to the present. He drives from town to town revisiting his old haunts and comrades relighting and reliving his history in his memory, trying to reconcile his past ideals with a swiftly changing nation that makes him feel uncomfortable. At some point he picks up a promiscuous young hitchhiker who sporadically tags along with him during his journey and seems to represent a new generation without memory and unconcerned with the past, drifting from one place to the next, flitting between the blinking lights of motor vehicles, gas stations, diners, cheap hotels and traffic signs along the dark, wet glistening roadways of present-day Greece. He becomes obsessed by her. She both irritates and entices him. What he seeks in her is a contact with the future. But for her the future is a casual encounter with the next moment. In the impossibility of their relationship there is a profound despair of a man without a future. He senses a rupture, but it's not the traditional one of the conflict of generations. It's really a rupture of language. He cannot communicate, even with love, with the body. From that comes his crisis of despair. Toward his end, he takes refuge in an abandoned cinema called the Pantheon. There, mocked by the sterile white screen above him, he tries - and fails - to bring himself to life in an attempt to connect sexually with the young hitchhiker but there can be no connection between these people from different worlds, either physical or emotional. For Spyros the past is everything, for her it is nothing. In Angelopoulos' words, «It's the conflict between memory and non-memory.» In the long run she only reminds him of his loneliness and isolation. Unable to come to come to terms with the present, betrayed by the past, wary of the future, Spyros falls back into silence and isolation and returns to his hives, abandoning himself to the stings of his bees.

Instead of stressing the imagination of disaster, French actress Mélanie Laurent and activist Cyril Dion try to show scientific solutions to the ideological fallacies of modern industrialism and mass consumerism.

Aharon has devoted his life to raising his son Uri. They live together in a gentle routine, away from the real world. But Uri is autistic, and now as a young adult it might be time for him to live in a specialized home. While on their way to the institution, Aharon decides to run away with his son and hits the road, knowing that Uri is not ready for this separation. Or is it, in fact, his father who is not ready?

A young man living in a cold southern village in South America, decides to start a trip looking for his father. By doing this he discovers unexpected facts about his Latin American essence.

A young girl informs her father she’s been kidnapped and asks him to bring the ransom money. Panicked, her father and brothers go to Tehran to look for her. They are unaware, however, that the girl has in fact eloped with her boyfriend and now spends her time in the company of a band of street musicians. Following the arrest of the band leader and full of the love for her boyfriend, the young girl descends an uncertain path.

Carla duda. Tiene 37 años, está casada, posiblemente embarazada y debería estar feliz mientras viaja hacia las vacaciones de verano con su marido y una moto de agua enganchada al auto. Pero quizás no quiere estar ahí. Quizás preferiría estar en la carretera con algún mochilero noruego, yendo a un hermoso parque nacional donde podría caminar entre grandes árboles y hablar sobre pájaros y viejas canciones pop con el guardaparques. Sí, quizás eso sería mejor.

Far'Hook is a twenty-year-old rapper. Following a settling of scores, he's obliged to leave Paris and lay low for awhile. His producer, Bilal, suggests that Far'Hook take his place accompanying his father Serge on a tour of all of the ports of France, following the path taken by the painter Joseph Vernet. Despite the shock between generations and different cultures an improbable friendship develops between the promising rapper and this builder from the North of France, during an adventure that will lead them to Marseille for a final concert, one of reconcialtion.

Life is no bed of roses for 52-year-old Juan "Coco" Villegas. He, who has been a gas station attendant for twenty years in Patagonia, finds himself jobless overnight. He first tries to survive by selling knives of his own making. But business is bad and he can't find real work. One day though, after fixing a vehicle on a farm, he acquires a beautiful Argentinian watch dog. From this blessed day on, things start shaping well at last...

While hitchhiking from Sofia to Ruse, Kamen meets Avé, a 17-year-old runaway girl. With each ride they hitch, Avé invents new identities for them, and her compulsive lies get Kamen deeper and deeper into trouble. Reluctantly drawn into this adventure, Kamen begins to fall in love with the fleeting Avé.

Leyla and Kaveh are the instruments of a cruel and bizarre game. The well-situated couple drive through the mountains distributing plastic bags full of money to every poor and unfortunate person they meet. At first everything goes according to plan as they disdainfully "share the joy" with their shocked "neighbors" while documenting the event via cellphone. They encounter those, however, who refuse the strange gift - and others who end up offending the irresponsible strangers. Gradually, the amoral game (part of which involves inventing a vast array of stories) begins to turn against the cynical manipulators.... This darkly comic parable seeks to critique modern society’s penchant for squandering resources, energy, and emotions in artificially constructed pranks. The dramatically terse, minimalistic narrative is intensified by the lead actors’ restrained performances, and by the gorgeous natural backdrop where the film plays out over the course of 24 hours. The picture took the NETPAC Prize at the Berlinale 2012 for Best Asian movie.

Andrei Gortchakov, a Russian writer, travels through Italy in the footsteps of a fellow composer to write his biography. With great sensitivity for the emotions of those who are far from their country, Andrei Tarkovski, supported by his Italian co-writer Tonino Guerra, draws a meeting of cultures and periods.

A Japanese man searches the internet looking for his dream car, a 1967 Citroen DS (in French: Déesse, or "Goddess") . He locates one in Australia and travels there to buy it. Upon his arrival he finds the seller dead. A 17 year-old blind girl tells him she can take him to find the real owner. Together they embark on a strange and erotic journey into the arid Australian desert, populated by abandoned mining towns - a desolate land and a dark haunting past. Before long, their separate quests become one: a shared desire to transcend the past and find redemption, achieved under the benevolent eye of the Goddess.

Life in a small town is akin to journeying in the middle of the steppes: the sense that "something new and different" will spring up behind every hill, but always unerringly similar, tapering, vanishing or lingering monotonous roads...

Soraya, 28, born and raised in Brooklyn, decides to return to live in Palestine, a country that her family was exiled from in 1948. On arriving in Ramallah, Soraya tries to recover the money left in an account by her grandparents but meets with refusal from the bank. Her path then crosses that of Emad, a young Palestinian whose ambition, unlike hers, is to leave the country for good. To escape the constraints linked to the situation in Palestine but also to earn their freedom, Soraya and Emad take things into their own hands, even if this means breaking the law. In this quest for life, we follow their trail through the History of a lost Palestine. Annemarie Jacir is telling not only or simply the story of a woman that comes to visit a region where her grandparents lived («here!»), no, the palestinian filmmaker is taking us as viewers deep into that, what facts and figures could never describe. It is this strong atmosphere, she has been creating, that touches us, it's the images of a well known situation, but again, not only the images in the photografic sense, she reaches in the way she's telling this little journey a level of inside view, that has in it's silent, feverish and constantly instabile way breathtaking and heartstopping moments. SALT OF THIS SEA is one of those movies, that give us an inner view of a situation that we all know somehow and where we run out of words to discribe. And this seems to me today much more important then to repeat what we know. Annemarie Jacirs movie is touching, because it goes under the surface even by simply showing surfaces, it goes under the surface by having a wonderful actress who is able to speak not only in words. And it goes there because she did put together so many little visible and invisible elements, without pointing them out: They are simply there, from the first moment, and they speak for themselves each of them and all together. The filmmaker created a kind of soft explosive that is not blessing but touching.

Three women in a bus in Lebanon. They have the same destination: a men's penitentiary. The first woman wants to visit her husband whom she hasn't seen since their day of marriage. The second one has only one goal: to get her husband who has to serve a long sentence to sign the divorce papers and thus gain back her freedom. The third woman is afraid. She carries the gun that her husband, a prison guardian, has forgotten at home. A straight road seems to be leading them quickly to their destination: from Beirut centre to the Mermel prison in the desert. However, the journey becomes complicated. The sound of a stray bullet causes quite a stir and also indicates that dangerous and terrible things are going on in this country which is at civil war. There are rumours about a massacre. Groups of refugees are spotted. The journey of the three women continues, a journey to the inner self of the country.

Before entering a prestigious American university, Gabriel Buchmann decided to travel the world for one year, his backpack full of dreams. After ten months on the road, he arrived in Kenya determined to discover the African continent. Until he reached the top of Mount Mulanje, Malawi, his last destination.

In hope of a better life, two young couples leave their respective countries. Melinda and Nik leave Albania by boat for Italy, in order to be able to live out their forbidden love. Vera and Marko leave Serbia by train for Austria, traveling through Hungary. Marko, a talented cellist, has the opportunity to enter the renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. But upon their arrival at the border, and even though their visas are in order, their problems begin. Despite the fact that they have nothing to do with a serious incident that took place the night before in Kosovo, and because of unfortunate coincidences, they are arrested. Their hope to realize all their dreams in Europe, synonym for the Promised Land, disappear. As is often the case with young people from the Balkans, they are paying for the previous generations' mistakes.

A man from Kathmandu and his wife have been trying unsuccessfully to have a child. The man travels to the mountains of eastern Nepal to seek help from a miracle healer. The healer indeed has a magic potion for him but tells the man he must get back to his wife within thirty-six hours for the medicine to work. The bus that winds its way through the narrow streets, hills and valleys of Nepal is full of people who all need to be somewhere else in a hurry - to meet an internet chat lover, bring someone some money for medicine, or to visit their parents. But the travellers are obliged to stop again and again on account of general strikes, traffic jams, breakdowns and angry villagers. Some of these obstacles are overcome by the passengers themselves, who get to know each other during the trip - they even dress up as a wedding party in order to be allowed to keep moving. Meanwhile, at home, everything has changed ... Deepak Rauniyar’s first feature-length drama is a road movie that is full of surprises and passion; it is also an unflinching portrayal of life in Nepal today.

A Greek-American filmmaker, known simply as «A», returns to his hometown in northern Greece for a screening of his latest controversial film. His real reason for coming back, however, is to track down three long-missing reels of film by Greece's pioneering Manakia brothers who in the early years of cinema traveled through the Balkans, ignoring national and ethnic strife and recording ordinary people, especially craftsmen, on film. Their images, he believes, hold the key to lost innocence and essential truth, to an understanding of Balkan history Thus he embarks on a search that takes him across the war-torn Balkans, a landscape of spectral figures and broken dreams, right to the heart of darkness: a damaged film archive in Sarajevo where his quest ends. Like a latter-day Ulysses he finds his «Ithaca», the missing, undeveloped film and is at last united with the work of the Manakia brothers... his gaze communes with theirs and another journey begins.

In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I, a young Bedouin boy experiences a greatly hastened coming of age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination. In 1916, in the Hejaz Province of the Ottoman Empire, the young Bedouin Theeb (Jacir Eid) is learning from his elder brother Hussein (Hussein Salameh) the skills for everyday survival in their harsh environment. Immersed in a way of life that has endured for centuries, the brothers are unaware of the tremendous upheavals taking place at the fringes of their world: the First World War is raging in Europe, the Ottoman Empire is coming undone, the Great Arab Revolt is brewing, and the British officer T.E. Lawrence is plotting with the Arab Prince Faisal to establish an Arab kingdom. When British officer Edward (Jack Fox) and his Bedouin guide Marji (Marji Audeh) stumble wayward into their tribe's camp, the two brothers' destiny is forever changed. Abiding by the Bedouin custom that guests cannot be refused aid, Hussein is assigned to accompany the two strangers to their destination - with the uninvited Theeb, eager for adventure, following close behind. The ensuing journey, filled with danger and hardship, will result in Theeb's greatly hastened maturation in a culture where a man's honour and righteousness determines his inclusion or expulsion from the community.

A story of friendship, courage and a politically naive man’s transformation into someone painfully aware of the social realities in contemporary Turkey ... Mehmet and Berzan, two young men from different regions of Turkey bond together as lower - class citizens in Istanbul. When Mehmet is unjustly arrested, his frightened roomates evict him and he loses his job. Mehmet’s loyalty to Berzan will eventually force him to disregard an uncompassionate bureaucracy and embark on a journey eastward across Turkey.

Vlada works as a truck driver during the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. Tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, he drives through unfamiliar territory, surrounded by the consequences of the war. When his job is over, Vlada needs to return home and face the consequences of his actions.

An orange Chevrolet Impala drives across a cemetery towards an abandoned shipwreck in the middle of a desert landscape. It is the 22nd of January, 1965. The day before, the Iranian prime minister was shot dead in front of the parliament building. Inside the wreck, a banished political prisoner has hung himself. The walls are covered in diary entries, literary quotes and strange symbols. Can they help Police Inspector Babak Hafizi in his investigations? Will they shed any light on why there is always an earthquake whenever somebody is buried in this desert cemetery? Assisted by a sound engineer and a geologist, Hafizi begins his investigations on the ancient island of Qeshm in the Persian Gulf. Fifty years later, their entire evidence, along with intelligence tape recordings, are found in a box, the contents of which attest to the fact that the inspector and his colleagues were arrested. But why? In his new film, Mani Haghighi once again creates a grotesquely absurd experimental set-up. His playful reenactment of mysterious events revolves around a real-life episode - but also imagines a truth of its own.

A runaway couple go on an unforgettable journey from Boston to Key West, recapturing their passion for life and their love for each other on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end.

Reda, summoned to accompany his father on a pilgrimage to Mecca, complies reluctantly, for he's preparing for his baccalaureat and, even more important, has a secret love relationship. The trip across Europe in a broken-down car is also the departure of his father: upon arrival in Mecca, both Reda and his father are not the characters they were at the start of the movie. Avoiding the hackneyed theme of the return to the homeland, the film uses the departure to renew a connection between two generations.

A kind of road movie which travels in the grooves of magically charged landscapes across Europe. From the Swiss Alps to eastern Poland, from Stromboli to Iceland… the film is a large-scale attempt to achieve the ideal cruising speed. Roman Signer marks the stages of the journey with his own highly personal set of instruments – strikingly succinct interventions full of underlying humour. The film is also a journey through mental and emotional states. A tightrope walk between devilment and melancholy. Danger – including mental danger – develops into a sensual stimulus. Sudden crashes and abrupt changes of mood create the rhythm and the climate of the film. “Chamber of music” is how Signer describes his exploits with rocket and fuse, “sculptural chamber music”.

Sebastián (Rodrigo De la Serna, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES) is a slacker who is not keen on getting a proper job, much to the disappointment of his wife. When Sebastián and his wife move to a new apartment, they constantly get wrong phone calls intended for a car service company. One day, Sebastián impulsively decides to answer the phone and pretends to be employed by the car service. Just like that, Sebastián has a new job and enjoys driving people in his beloved vintage Peugeot 505. He isn’t fond of one of his passengers, an elderly man named Jalil (Ernesto Suárez) who depends on Sebastián’s car services quite a bit; then one day, Jalil asks Sebastián to drive him almost 3000 kilometres, from Buenos Aires to La Paz, Bolivia. Sebastián agrees only for the money but as the two men take the long road journey, they encounter unexpected challenges which change their lives.

A journey through the vastness of the Argentine desert and what appeared to be the end of the road will become the beginning of a new life.

Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Oliver and Elena a young Swiss couple, travel through the Sahara when their truck breaks down. They are forced to stop in the oasis of Tar. The everyday life of the place rotates around a small Taxi Phone, owned by Said a young Tuareg. It’s the only place one can call from, get or send mail, find tourist guides. Here they meet other tourists, young people dreaming of immigrating to Europe, children with big hopes, and fantastic storytellers. While Oliver has a hard time getting accustomed to life in the desert and wants to resume the trip quickly, Elena is soon absorbed by this fascinating world.

Winter 1968: Showbiz legend Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in Swinging London to perform in a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in "The Wizard of Oz", but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband. And yet Judy is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood and gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids. Will she have the strength to go on? Featuring some of her best-known songs, including the timeless classic "Over the Rainbow", "Judy" celebrates the voice, the capacity for love and the sheer pizzazz of "the world's greatest entertainer". Renée Zellweger won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2020 for her portrayal of Judy Garland.

An excavator operator who writes songs: Gerhard Gundermann is a poet, a lateral thinker and an idealist, who dreams and hopes and loves and fights, who spies on others and is spied on himself. Shortly before the end of the GDR, he works in open-cast lignite mining and releases his first records. With his bittersweet lyrics and songs about home, love and transience, he sings his way into the hearts of an ever-growing audience. When "Gundi" and his family could easily make a living from his music after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he doesn't want to give up his job as an excavator operator... "Gundermann" is a love story and a music film, a story of repression and surrender. In his new feature, director Andreas Dresen succeeds like few others in making the extraordinary visible in the everyday life of his sibjects. He takes a fresh look at a country that has disappeared, and tells the story of the life of Gerhard "Gundi" Gundermann (1955 - 1998) with sensitivity, tenderness and humor, whose story and whose songs still make the soul resonate today - and never let one go.

In the spring of 1912, Alma Mahler (Emily Cox), grande dame of Viennese society and newly widowed, embarks on an affair with the "enfant terrible" of the Viennese art scene, Oskar Kokoschka (Valentin Postlmayr). A passion erupts that threatens their very existence. Director Dieter Berner focuses on two icons of the early 20th century art world and and uses powerful images to tell the story of Alma Mahler's passionate affair with Oskar Kokoschka, the intensity of which takes the two eccentric artists to their limits and threatens their very existence.

When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a gentle best friend. Through Priscilla’s eyes, Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla's long courtship and turbulent marriage, from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame. With subtlety, director Sophia Coppola draws the portrait of a woman trapped in a gilded cage. She places Priscilla Presley, usually in the King's shadow, in the spotlight and shows the American myth of this turbulent marriage, from the point of view of this infatuated young girl who would become a strong, independent woman. Priscilla Presley was involved in the film as producer; her autobiographical book "Elvis and Me" was the starting point. This film, which tells the story of an emancipation, resurrects the 60s and 70s, with elaborate historical settings, elegant costumes, opulent make-up and, of course, a lively soundtrack by Phoenix. "Priscilla" premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Cailee Spaeny won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her sensitive interpretation of the role of Priscilla.

Helsinki, 1945. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson. While focusing her artistic dreams on painting, the enchanting tales of the ‘Moomin’ creatures she told to scared children in bomb shelters, rapidly take on a life of their own, bringing international fame.bio

Withdrawing to the area around Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise to escape the pressures of Parisian life, Vincent van Gogh (Willem Dafoe) is treated brutally by some, and more kindly by others. The owner of the local restaurant feels for him and gives him a notebook for his drawings. Others are afraid of his dark and unpredictable mood swings. Even the artist and his close friend Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac) finds him too stifling and leaves him. Only his loyal brother, art dealer Theo (Rupert Friend) continues to support Vincent, even if he doesn’t succeed in selling a single painting. With moving insights into his life’s ups and downs, this film is a fascinating journey into the body and soul of Vincent van Gogh.

Empress Elizabeth of Austria is idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, "Sissi" celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elizabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna. She travels to England and Bavaria, visiting former lovers and old friends, seeking the excitement and purpose of her youth. With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out in front of her, Elizabeth rebels against the hyperbolised image of herself and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy. A bold and timely reflection on a woman’s worth and agency in 19th century Europe, that pulls back the curtain on Empress Elizabeth (Vicky Krieps), revealing the modern aspirations and darkest secrets of this disruptive early influencer. Directed by Marie Kreutzer ("The Ground Beneath my Feet", Berlin 2019 Competition).

The remarkable and charismatic Ingeborg Bachmann has conquered the male dominated bastion of German-language literature with her poetry. Though still young, Bachmann is at the peak of her career. Her relationship with Max Frisch is passionate, but professional friction begins to disrupt the harmony. When Ingeborg is struggling, her friends are there to help. On a journey into the desert, she finds a way back to herself and – above all – to her writing. Director Margarethe von Trotta has made a number of films about historic, combative and passionate female figures, such as Rosa Luxemburg and Hannah Arendt. In her new film, she focuses on Ingeborg Bachmann and the Austrian poetess's relationship with Swiss writer Max Frisch. These characters are brilliantly portrayed by Vicky Krieps ("Corsage") and Ronald Zehrfeld ("The Black Spider"). "Ingeborg Bachmann - Reise in die Wüste" is a visually powerful, elegant and stirring film.

November 22, 1963: John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, is assassinated in Dallas. His widow, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman), a First Lady admired for her elegance and culture, struggles to overcome the trauma, determined to shed light on the president's political legacy and celebrate the man he was. Director Pablo Larraín portrays of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history, seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady. "Jackie" celebrated its premiere at the 73rd Venice Film Festival.

In the wake of Princess Diana's death, the very private and tradition-bound Queen Elizabeth II and her family remain stoic and hidden behind the castle walls. While the heartbroken public becomes disillusioned with the Queen's absence, the increasingly popular new Prime Minister, Tony Blair battles to convince the monarchy that its desire for privacy could lead to its ultimate downfall. Director Stephen Frears focuses on the British royal family and shows the life of the royals at the time when the British throne was at its most shaky. For her spellbinding performance, Helen Mirren won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.

Quebec, the 60s. Sylvette and Anglomard welcome their 14th child, Aline. In this modest family, music is king. When a producer discovers Aline and her golden voice, he has only one idea in mind: to make her the greatest singer in the world. Supported by her family, guided by Guy Claude’s experience and budding love for her, Aline will create an extraordinary destiny for herself. Freely inspired by the career and life of megastar Céline Dion.

France, 1995. 17-year-olds Zahia and Fettouma Ziouani have been dreaming of becoming a conductor and a cellist since they were kids. Their wish is to make classical music accessible to all, and everywhere. But this is kind of an ambitious dream for suburban teenagers. One that can only become true with dedication, passion, courage – and a project: to create their own orchestra. Its name will be "Divertimento".

Barbara Hug (Marie Leuenberger) is a young radical lawyer fighting Switzerland’s antiquated prison system in the 1980s. Walter Stürm (Joel Basman) is a charmer and chancer. Taunting the establishment with his outrageous thefts and media savvy he’s in and often escaping out of jail and becomes known as the Jailbreak King. When the two meet an unlikely alliance is formed.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison and Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, «The Current War» is the story of the rivalry between the greatest inventors of the industrial age over whose electrical system would power the new century. Backed by J.P. Morgan, Edison dazzles the world by lighting Manhattan. But Westinghouse, aided by Nikola Tesla, has seen fatal flaws in Edison’s direct current design. Igniting the infamous war of currents, Westinghouse and Tesla bet everything on risky and dangerous alternating current.

Italy 1610. Caravaggio is both one of the most brilliant painters of his time and a rebel against Church rulings that dictate how religious subjects are represented. Having been informed that Caravaggio depicts prostitutes, thieves and vagabonds in his work, Pope Paul V orders the Vatican secret service to investigate, to decide whether to grant the clemency for which the painter has petitioned since being sentenced to death for the murder of a rival in love. The investigator – known as The Shadow - begins the inquiry that will lead him to discover the conflicting vices and virtues of the genius whose life – or death – lies in his hands. Biopic from Michele Placido with Riccardo Scarmarcio, Louis Garrel and Isabelle Huppert.

The film tells the story of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s marriage, one of the key points in his biography. His decision to change his life by getting married to put an end to rumors caused a serious mental crisis. When he subsequently made up his mind to separate from his wife, it devastated the young woman and ultimately drove her crazy.

1984: Searching for an experience beyond modern civilisation, Bruno Manser travels into the jungles of Borneo and finds the nomadic Penan tribe. When the existence of the Penan is threatened by relentless deforestation, Manser takes up the fight against logging with a courage and determination that makes him one of the most renowned and credible environmentalists of his time. Based on a true story.

Molly Bloom, a beautiful young Olympic-class skier, ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans, and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.

The incredible true story of legendary dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who transformed the world of ballet forever. From his poverty-stricken childhood in a Soviet city, to his blossoming as a student dancer in Leningrad, to his escape from the KGB and defection to the West at the height of the Cold War.

Follows Holiday during her career as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher, with whom she has a tumultuous affair.

Camille, a young idealistic photojournalist, goes to the Central African Republic to cover the civil war that is brewing up. What she sees there will change her destiny forever. - By adopting the lead character’s first name for the film’s title, Boris Lojkine’s approach shows all its humility. He applies the same dignified treatment to the tragic fate of a country and its inhabitants as he does to the true story of Camille, a young woman who observes and inhabits the world with rare intensity and tries desperately to account for the conflicts and drama in a Black Africa that the West would rather ignore.

Boundary-pushing dancer Ida Rubinstein selects Maurice Ravel to compose the music for her next ballet. Ravel ends up creating his greatest success ever: Boléro. With Raphaël Personnaz, Doria Tillier, Jeanne Balibar, Emmanuelle Devos, Vincent Perez, Suzanne Clément and Sophie Guillemin.