The American Film Institute announced the films that will screen in the World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight, Shorts and Cinema’s Legacy programs at AFI Fest 2015 presented by Audi. AFI Fest will take place November 5–12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, Dolby Theatre, the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, the El Capitan Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award consideration. This year’s Shorts jury features filmmaker Janicza Bravo, producer Keith Calder and the British Film Commission’s Tara Halloran.
The AFI Fest program features 127 films (74 features, 53 shorts), representing 45 countries. The breakdown by section is: Galas/Tributes (5), Special Screenings (7), American Independents (9), New Auteurs (11), World Cinema (29), Midnight (3), Breakthrough (5), Cinema’s Legacy (5) and Shorts (53), and includes 38 films directed/co-directed by women, 17 documentaries, 10 official Foreign Language Film Oscar submissions and 10 animated short films.
The program will also present 18 films from 39 AFI Conservatory Alumni including The 33 writer Michael Thomas (AFI Class of 1978); 45 Years editor Jonathan Alberts (AFI Class of 2001); Anomalisa director/producer Duke Johnson (AFI Class of 2006), cinematographer Joe Passarelli (AFI Class of 2006); Carol editor Affonso Gonçalves (AFI Class of 1993); Free In Deed cinematographer Ava Berkofsky (AFI Class of 2013); Funny Bunny director Alison Bagnall (AFI Class of 1994); Last Days In The Desert director/writer Rodrigo García (AFI Class of 1986); and Son Of Saul cinematographer Mátyás Erdély (AFI Class of 2005).
AFI Fest 2015 will also showcase the four films by AFI Conservatory filmmakers from the Class of 2014 that were finalists in the Narrative category of this year’s Student Academy Awards, including the three that made history by sweeping all medal placements in the category: Henry Hughes’ gold medal winner Day One, silver medal winner This Way Up by Jeremy Cloe, bronze medal winner Stealth directed by Bennett Lasseter and finalist Against Night by Stefan Kubicki.
Many films by returning AFI Fest directors are also featured this year, including Chevalier by Athina Rachel Tsangari, Chronic by Michel Franco, The Clan by Pablo Trapero, Dheepan by Jacques Audiard, Free In Deed by Jake Mahaffy, Funny Bunny by Alison Bagnall, Hitchcock/Truffaut by Kent Jones, The Lobster by Yorgos Lanthimos, Macbeth by Justin Kurzel, Queen of the Desert by Werner Herzog, Right Now, Wrong Then by Hong Sang-soo, Tale of Tales by Matteo Garrone, The Treasure by Corneliu Porumboiu, A War by Tobias Lindholm, The White Knights by Joachim Lafosse and No Home Movie by the late Chantal Akerman.
As previously announced, the Opening Night Gala will be the World Premiere of By The Sea (director Angelina Jolie Pitt) on Thursday, November 5. Among the Centerpiece Galas will be Where To Invade Next (director Michael Moore) on Saturday, November 7; The 33 (director Patricia Riggen) on Monday, November 9; and the World Premiere of Concussion (director Peter Landesman) on Tuesday, November 10. The Closing Night Gala will be the World Premiere of The Big Short (director Adam McKay) on Thursday, November 12. Also previously announced are the nine films in the American Independents section, which represents the best of independent filmmaking this year, and 11 films in the New Auteurs section, which highlights first and second-time narrative feature film directors from around the world.
WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS (29 Titles)
The World Cinema section showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year.
AFERIM! – This Romanian Western is an odyssey through the landscape of feudal Eastern Europe, following a father and son on a mission to find a gypsy. DIR Radu Jude. SCR Radu Jude, Florin Lazarescu. CAST Teodor Corban, Mihai Comanoiu, Cuzin Toma, Alexandru Dabija, Alexandru Bindea, Luminița Gheorghiu, Victor Rebengiuc, Alberto Dinache, Mihaela Sîrbu. Romania/Bulgaria/Czech Republic
BLOOD OF MY BLOOD (SANGUE DEL MIO SANGUE) – In this dual narrative, lust plays out in a 17th-century convent and a modern-day count lives a bizarre life within those same walls. DIR Marco Bellocchio. SCR Marco Bellocchio. CAST Roberto Herlitzka, Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Lidiya Liberman, Fausto Russo Alesi, Alba Rohrwacher, Federica Fracassi, Alberto Cracco, Bruno Cariello, Toni Bertorelli, Filippo Timi, Elena Bellocchio, Ivan Franek, Patrizia Bettini, Sebastiano Filocamo, Alberto Bellocchio. Italy/France/Switzerland. U.S. Premiere
CHEVALIER – In this wonderfully absurdist farce, six men at sea play a strange game that measures every aspect of who they are. DIR Athina Rachel Tsangari. SCR Athina Rachel Tsangari, Efthimis Filippou. CAST Yorgos Kentros, Panos Koronis, Vangelis Mourikis, Makis Papadimitriou, Yorgos Pirpassopoulos, Sakis Rouvas, Yiannis Drakopoulos, Nikos Orfanos, Kostas Philippoglou. Greece
CHRONIC – Tim Roth stars as an end-of-life caregiver who struggles with the intense relationships he develops with his patients. DIR Michel Franco. SCR Michel Franco. CAST Tim Roth, Robin Bartlett, Michael Cristofer, Sarah Sutherland, Nailea Norvind, Rachel Pickup, David Dastmalchian, Bitsie Tulloch. Mexico/France
THE CLAN (EL CLAN) – Argentina’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® follows the vicious crime saga of the notorious Puccio family. DIR Pablo Trapero. SCR Pablo Trapero. CAST Guillermo Francella, Peter Lanzani, Lili Popovich, Gastón Cocchiarale, Giselle Motta, Franco Masini, Antonia Bengoechea, Stefania Koessl. Argentina/Spain
THE CLUB (EL CLUB) – At a bucolic seaside home for aging priests, the arrival of a new member unearths long-buried secrets about the Catholic Church. DIR Pablo Larraín. SCR Guillermo Calderón, Daniel Villalobos, Pablo Larraín. CAST Alfredo Castro, Roberto Farías, Antonia Zegers, Jaime Vadell, Alejandro Goic. Chile
DHEEPAN – In this 2015 Cannes Palme d’Or winner, a refugee concocts a fake family to gain passage to France — but his violent past still haunts him. DIR Jacques Audiard. SCR Noé Debré, Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard. CAST Jesuthasan Antonythasan, Kalieaswari Srinivasan, Claudine Vinasithamby, Vincent Rottiers, Marc Zinga. France
EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTE) – This hypnotic epic follows the journey of a shaman and a German explorer in the Colombian Amazon. DIR Ciro Guerra. SCR Ciro Guerra, Jacques Toulemonde Vidal. CAST Jan Bijvoet, Brionne Davis, Nilbio Torres, Antonio Bolívar, Yauenkü Miguee. Colombia/Venezuela/Argentina
FREE IN DEED – When a young mother brings her special-needs son to a local storefront church for healing, a Pentecostal minister is forced to confront his own demons. DIR Jake Mahaffy. SCR Jake Mahaffy. CAST David Harewood, Edwina Findley, RaJay Chandler, Preston Shannon, Prophetess Libra, Helen Bowman, Zoe Lewis, Kathy Smith. USA/New Zealand. North American Premiere
IN THE SHADOW OF WOMEN (L’OMBRE DES FEMMES) – Master French filmmaker Philippe Garrel returns with this gentle, profound tale of a Parisian couple dealing with mutual infidelity. DIR Philippe Garrel. SCR Jean-Claude Carrière, Caroline Deruas, Arlette Langmann, Philippe Garrel. CAST Clotilde Courau, Stanislas Merhar, Lena Paugam, Vimala Pons, Antoinette Moya, Jean Pommier, Thérèse Quentin, Mounir Margoum, Louis Garrel. France/Switzerland
THE LADY IN THE VAN – Maggie Smith stars as a cantankerous yet eloquent homeless woman who sets up residence on the curb outside the home of a single writer. DIR Nicholas Hytner. SCR Alan Bennett. CAST Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Frances De La Tour, Roger Allam. UK
LANDFILL HARMONIC – In a landfill community in Paraguay, inhabitants turn trash into unique instruments for a world-touring orchestra of young musicians. DIR Brad Allgood, Graham Townsley. USA
A MONSTER WITH A THOUSAND HEADS – A Mexican woman with a cancer-stricken husband embarks on a series of increasingly violent confrontations with uncaring insurance stakeholders and bureaucrats. DIR Rodrigo Plá. SCR Laura Santullo. CAST Jana Raluy, Sebastián Aguirre Boëda, Hugo Albores, Nora Huerta, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Emilio Echeverria, Ilya Cazés, Noé Hernández, Verónica Falcón. Mexico. North American Premiere
MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART – Jia Zhang-ke’s tender, melancholic epic follows a capitalist Chinese family over a quarter-century of intense change. DIR Jia Zhang-ke. SCR Jia Zhang-ke. CAST Zhao Tao, Zhang Yi, Liang Jin Dong, Dong Zijian, Sylvia Chang, Han Sanming. China/France/Japan
EL MOVIMIENTO – In this stark black-and-white vision of anarchy, groups of armed men belonging to “The Movement” cause havoc on a war-scarred landscape. DIR Benjamín Naishtat. SCR Benjamin Naishtat. CAST Pablo Cedrón, Marcelo Pompei, Francisco Lumerman, Céline Latil, Alberto Suarez, Agustin Rittano. Argentina. U.S. Premiere
MY GOLDEN DAYS – Upon a man’s arrival home after years away abroad, he reflects on his youth, spent with little parental guidance, and ultimately a turbulent love affair. DIR Arnaud Desplechin. SCR Arnaud Desplechin, Julie Peyr. CAST Quentin Dolmaire, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, Mathieu Amalric, Dinara Drukarova. France
NAHID – A poor Iranian mother enters a “temporary marriage” with a well-off hotelier — with devastating results. DIR Ida Panahandeh. SCR Ida Panahandeh, Arsalan Amiri. CAST Sareh Bayat, Pejman Bazeghi, Navid Mohammad Zadeh, Milad Hossein Pour, Pouria Rahimi, Nasrin Babaei. Iran
NEON BULL (BOI NEON) – A young cowboy working the Brazilian rodeo circuit dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer. DIR Gabriel Mascaro. SCR Gabriel Mascaro. CAST Juliano Cazarré, Aline Santana, Carlos Pessoa, Maeve Jinkings. Brazil/Uruguay/Netherlands
NO HOME MOVIE – The late Chantal Akerman’s sweet, melancholic ode to her mother, an Auschwitz survivor, is about home and the wild places beyond it. DIR Chantal Akerman. SCR Chantal Akerman. Belgium
OUR LITTLE SISTER (UMIMACHI DIARY) – At a family patriarch’s funeral, three sisters make the impulsive decision to invite their much younger half-sister to live with them in the city. DIR Hirokazu Kore-eda. SCR Hirokazu Kore-eda. CAST Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose. Japan
PARADISE – In this powerful film, shot guerrilla-style on the streets of Tehran, a violent act throws the life of a 25-year-old woman into turmoil. DIR Sina Ataeian Dena. SCR Sina Ataeian Dena. CAST Dorna Dibaj, Fateme Naghavi, Fariba Kamran, Nahid Moslemi, Roya Afshar. Iran/Germany
RAMS (HRUTAR) – Two estranged brothers in rural Iceland must come together when a fatal outbreak strikes their sheep herds. DIR Grímur Hákonarson. SCR Grímur Hákonarson. CAST Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theodór Júlíusson, Charlotte Bøving. Iceland
RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN (JIGEUMEUN MATGO GEUTTAENEUN TEULLIDA) – In Hong Sang-soo’s latest, a director spends 24 hours with an attractive artist. This story then repeats itself midway through the film, but with important variations. DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Jung Jae-young, Kim Min-hee. South Korea
SON OF SAUL (SAUL FIA) – This sparse yet resonant film, set in Auschwitz near the end of World War II, follows an internee on a mission to give a young boy a proper burial. DIR László Nemes. SCR László Nemes, Clara Royer. CAST Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnar, Urs Rechn, Todd Charmont, Sándor Zsotér, Marcin Czarnik, Jerzy Walczak, Uwe Lauer, Christian Harting, Kamil Dobrowlski, Amitai Kedar, István Pion, Juli Jakab, Levente Orbán. Hungary
SWEET BEAN (AN) – In this heartwarming yet subtle tale, an aging Japanese woman brings surprise success to a small bakery with her special homemade recipe. DIR Naomi Kawase. SCR Naomi Kawase. CAST Nagase Masatoshi, Kiki Kirin, Uchida Kyara. Japan
TALE OF TALES (IL RACCONTO DEI RACCONTI) – From the director of GOMORRAH, this collection of three ancient fairy tales features a star-studded cast set against the backdrop of Italy’s greatest wonders. DIR Matteo Garrone. SCR Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Chiti, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso. CAST Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Toby Jones, Shirley Henderson, Hayley Carmichael, Bebe Cave, Stacy Martin, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Guillaume Delaunay, Alba Rohrwacher, Massimo Ceccherini, John C. Reilly. Italy
THE TREASURE (COMOARA) – A financially struggling family man enters into a crackpot plan to find buried treasure in this masterfully deadpan comedy. DIR Corneliu Porumboiu. SCR Corneliu Porumboiu. CAST Cuzin Toma, Adrian Purcarescu, Corneliu Cozmei, Cristina Toma, Nicodim Toma. France/Romania
A WAR – When a routine mission in Afghanistan turns ugly, a company commander must make an impossible decision to save his men. DIR Tobias Lindholm. SCR Tobias Lindholm. CAST Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny, Dar Salim, Søren Malling, Charlotte Munck, Dulfi Al-Jabouri. Denmark. U.S. Premiere
THE WHITE KNIGHTS (LES CHEVALIERS BLANCS) – This drama from Joachim Lafosse centers on the 2007 Zoé’s Ark scandal, when a French NGO illegally trafficked orphans out of war-torn Africa. DIR Joachim Lafosse. SCR Joachim Lafosse, Bulle Decarpentries, Thomas Van Zuylen. CAST Vincent Lindon, Valérie Donzelli, Reda Kateb, Louise Bourgoin, Rougalta Bintou Saleh. France/Belgium
MIDNIGHT SELECTIONS (3 Titles)
These dark and macabre films from around the world will grip audiences with terror.
BASKIN – A squad of Turkish policemen become entrapped in the basement of a cult of Devil-worshipping amputees. DIR Can Evrenol. SCR Can Evrenol, Cem Ozuduru, Ogulcan Eren Akay, Ercin Sadikoglu. CAST Gorkem Kasal, Ergun Kuyucu, Muharrem Bayrak, Mehmet Fatih Dokgoz, Sabahattin Yakut, Mehmet Cerrahoglu. Turkey
DER NACHTMAHR – A teenage girl who experiences severe nightmares makes a meaningful connection with a strange creature that has been haunting her. DIR AKIZ. SCR AKIZ. CAST Carolyn Genzkow, Kim Gordon, Julika Jenkins, Arnd Klawitter, Wilson Gonzalez Ochsenknecht, Alexander Scheer, Sina Tkotsch. Germany
SOUTHBOUND – In this refreshing take on the horror anthology, a series of characters encounter sinister forces on an isolated desert road. DIR Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, Radio Silence. SCR Roxanne Benjamin, Susan Burke, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Dallas Hallam, Patrick Horvath. CAST Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Kristina Pesic, Fabianne Therese, Nathalie Love, Hannah Marks, Dana Gould, Susan Burke, Davey Johnson, Anessa Ramsey, Mather Zickel, Fabianne Therese Karla Droege, Zoe Cooper, Roxanne Benjamin, Justin Welborn, David Yow, Tipper Newton, Matt Peters, Maria Olsen, Tyler Tuione, Kate Beahan, Gerald Downey, Hassie Harrison, Larry Fessenden. USA
BREAKTHROUGH SELECTIONS (5 Titles)
The Breakthrough section is dedicated to the true discoveries of the programming process. It exists as a platform for artists at a crucial stage in their career to share their innovative work with enthusiastic audiences.
THE LIAR – In this tightly wound thriller, beautiful, immaculately dressed Ah-young attempts to fool everyone into believing that she has it all. She doesn’t. DIR Kim Dong-myung. SCR Kim Dong-myung. CAST Kim Kkobbi, Chun Sin-hwan, Lee Sun-hee, Le Da-hae, Jang Seo-ee, Shin Yeon-suk, Kwon Nam-hee, Han Jin-hee. Korea
MA – Director Celia Rowlson-Hall uses her background as a choreographer to create MA, a modern-day retelling of Mother Mary’s pilgrimage. DIR Celia Rowlson-Hall. SCR Celia Rowlson-Hall. CAST Celia Rowlson-Hall, Andrew Pastides, Amy Seimetz, Matt Lauria, Peter Vack. USA. U.S. Premiere
THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF PÉROLA (A MISTERIOSA MORTE DE PÉROLA) – A young student, living alone in an old apartment, begins to lose herself in loneliness until reality merges with dreams. DIR Guto Parente. SCR Guto Parente. CAST Ticiana Augusto Lima, Guto Parente. Brazil/France. North American Premiere
NECKTIE YOUTH – Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, this bristling debut looks at a group of millennials, all peripherally related to a wealthy white teen who commits suicide. DIR Sibs Shongwe-La Mer. SCR Sibs Shongwe-La Mer. CAST Bonko Khoza, Sibs Shongwe-La Mer, Colleen Balchin, Kamogelo Moloi, Emma Tollman, Jonathan Young, Kelly Bates, Ricci-Lee Kalish, Giovanna Winetzki. Netherlands/South Africa
THOSE WHO FEEL THE FIRE BURNING – This poetic experimental documentary captures with raw force the modern migrant experience in Europe, as seen through the eyes of a deceased shipwreck victim. DIR Morgan Knibbe. SCR Morgan Knibbe. Netherlands
CINEMA’S LEGACY SELECTIONS (5 Titles)
Now in its third year, Cinema’s Legacy is AFI FEST’s celebration of motion picture history, and a special opportunity to screen both classic films and films about the history of cinema.
FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933) – Dolores Del Río, the glamorous face of AFI FEST 2015, stars in this pre-Code musical with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and fabulous song-and-dance routines. DIR Thornton Freeland. SCR Cyril Hume, H.W. Hanemann, Erwin Gelsey. CAST Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Blanche Frederici, Franklin Pangborn, Eric Blore. USA
THE FORBIDDEN ROOM – Winnipeg filmmakers Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson search the human subconscious in this cinematic head-trip. DIR Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson. SCR Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk. CAST Roy Dupuis, Clara Furey, Louis Negin, Mathieu Amalric, Geraldine Chaplin, Amira Casar, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse, Jacques Nolot, Udo Kier. Canada
HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT – For one week in 1962, French New Wave auteur François Truffaut interviewed the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. DIR Kent Jones. SCR Kent Jones, Serge Toubiana. CAST Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Arnaud Desplechin, Wes Anderson, James Gray, Richard Linklater, Olivier Assayas, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Peter Bogdanovich, Paul Schrader. France/USA
SAFETY LAST! (1923) – In Harold Lloyd’s brilliant and most famous film, the great silent comedian plays a small-town bumpkin in the big city who plans a breathless publicity stunt to attract attention for the department store where he works. DIR Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor. SCR Hal Roach, Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan. CAST Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, Noah Young, Wescott Clarke. USA
SEMBENE! – In this intimate documentary, the work of Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène is spotlighted, showing why he came to be known as the Father of African Cinema. DIR Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman. Senegal/USA
SHORTS SELECTIONS (53 Titles)
BAD AT DANCING – A perpetual third wheel and awkward outsider inserts herself into her roommate’s relationship. DIR Joanna Arnow. SCR Joanna Arnow. CAST Eleanore Pienta, Keith Poulson, Joanna Arnow. USA
BLOOD BELOW THE SKIN – Three teenage girls from different social circles form unexpected bonds when they discover the secrets that lie below the skin. DIR Jennifer Reeder. SCR Jennifer Reeder. CAST Jennifer Estlin, Kelsey Ashby-Middleton, Morgan Reesh, Tj Jagodowsky, Marissa Castillo. USA
BOYS (POJKARNA) – At a home for wayward boys, Markus prepares for a very important appointment. DIR Isabella Carbonell. SCR Isabella Carbonell, Babak Najafi. CAST Sebastian Hiort af Ornäs, Marcus Lindgren, Rainer Gerdes. Sweden
BUS NUT – The 1955 Montgomery bus boycott is articulated as an educational video on school bus safety. DIR Akosua Adoma Owusu. CAST MaameYaa Boafo. USA
COLOR NEUTRAL – A color explosion sparkles, bubbles and fractures in this handcrafted 16mm short from film artist Jennifer Reeves. DIR Jennifer Reeves. USA
DRAGSTRIP – A moment or two before the race. DIR Daniel Claridge, Pacho Velez. USA
E.T.E.R.N.I.T – A Tunisian immigrant working in asbestos removal must make a radical choice in the name of his family. DIR Giovanni Aloi. SCR Nicolo Galbiati. CAST Ali Salhi, Serena Grandi, Alessandro Castiglloni, Mohamed Omar Abd Rabou, Youssef Tarek, Stefano Piumi, Alessandro Palumbo, Andrea Pompa, Roberta Madeo. France
EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY (ALLES WIRD GUT) – A divorced father picks up his eight-year-old daughter. It seems like every second weekend, but something isn’t right. DIR Patrick Vollrath. SCR Patrick Vollrath. CAST Simon Schwarz, Julia Pointner. Germany/Austria
THE EXQUISITE CORPUS – Based on various erotic films and advertising rushes, myriad fragments are melted into a single sensuous, humorous, gruesome and ecstatic dream. DIR Peter Tscherkassky. Austria
FRANKENSTEIN’S BRIDE (LA NOVIA DE FRANKENSTEIN) – At her summer job, Ivana learns it’s easy to create a circle of lies, fiction and love when you’re bored. DIR Francisco Lezama, Agostina Gálvez. SCR Francisco Lezama, Agostina Gálvez. CAST Miel Bargman, Renzo Cozza, Claudia Cantero, Mariel Fernández, Jair Jesús Toledo. Argentina
FUCKKKYOUUU – A lonely girl finds love and rejection with her past self in this alluring collaboration with Flying Lotus. DIR Eddie Alcazar. SCR Eddie Alcazar. CAST Jesse Sullivan, Charles Baker. USA
GRAND FINALE – The end of a Fourth of July evening in Detroit. DIR Kevin Jerome Everson. USA
GROUP B – A rally car driver mounts a comeback after a long and troubled absence. DIR Nick Rowland. SCR Joe Murtagh. CAST Richard Madden, Michael Smiley, Dominic Wolf, Andrei Alen, Matthew Jure, Stephen Bent, Alexander Cambell. UK
HALF WET – A man with large pores tries to escape the realization that he’s slowly evaporating. DIR Sophie Koko Gate. UK
I REMEMBER NOTHING – An epileptic seizure told in five phases. DIR Zia Anger. SCR Zia Anger. CAST Audrey Turner, Eve Alpert, India Menuez, Adinah Dancyger, Lola Kirke. USA
LANCASTER, CA – A portrait of love in the California desert. DIR Mike Ott. SCR Cory Zacharia. CAST Cory Zacharia, John Brotherton. USA
THE LITTLE DEPUTY – Trevor tries to have his photo taken with his father. DIR Trevor Anderson. SCR Trevor Anderson. CAST Trevor Anderson, Luke Oswald, Rob Chaulk, Trevor Schmidt, Lynn Anderson. Canada
MAMAN(S) – Eight-year-old Aida and her family are thrown into chaos when her father returns from Senegal with a new wife. DIR Maïmouna Doucouré. SCR Maïmouna Doucouré. CAST Sokhna Diallo, Maimouna Gueye, Azize Diabate, Mareme N’dlaye, Eriq Ebouaney, Maissa Toumoutou, Aida Diallo, Khemissa Zarouel. France
MANOMAN – Beware what lies within. DIR Simon Cartwright. SCR Simon Cartwright. CAST Gordon Pearson. UK
MARYLAND PUBLIC TELEVISION INTERVIEWS THE REAGANS – The President nails an interview. Featuring: The First Lady and surprise guest. DIR Pacho Velez. USA
MYNARSKI DEATH PLUMMET (MYNARSKI CHUTE MORTELLE) – A handmade historical micro-epic and psychedelic photochemical war picture about self-sacrifice, immortality and jellyfish. DIR Matthew Rankin. SCR Matthew Rankin. CAST Alek Rzeszowski, Robert Vilar, Annie St-Pierre, Louis Negin. Canada
OBJECT – A hypnotic underwater search from the point of view of the rescue team, the diver and the people waiting on shore. DIR Paulina Skibińska. SCR Paulina Skibińska. Poland
OF THE UNKNOWN – In Hong Kong, millionaires and the working poor live side by side. DIR Eva Weber. UK/Hong Kong
PALM ROT – An old Florida fumigator comes face to face with a mysterious threat. DIR Ryan Gillis. SCR Ryan Gillis. CAST Greg Tonner. USA
PATTERN FOR SURVIVAL – A key ingredient in any survival situation is the mental attitude of the individuals involved. DIR Kelly Sears. USA
THE PETER CASSIDY PROJECT – In 1972, a reporter and his team attempt to discover the truth behind an infamous director and the controversial advertisements he directed in the late ‘60s. DIR Noah Lee. SCR Noah Lee. CAST Peter Falls, Lewis Pullman, Eden Brolin. USA
PINK GRAPEFRUIT – A young married couple, two single friends and a long weekend in Palm Springs. DIR Michael Mohan. SCR Chris Levitus, Michael Mohan. CAST Wendy McColm, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Nora Kirkpatrick, Matt Peters. USA
POSTINDUSTRIAL – Eleven floors of thoughts held tight by iron brackets. DIR Boris Pramatarov. Bulgaria
PYROMANCE – A lonely pyrotechnician finds an unlikely spark on the eve of the 4th of July fireworks show. DIR John de Menil. SCR John de Menil. CAST Paul McCarthy Boyington, Anna Khaja, Brantley Black, Karen Strassman. USA
RATE ME – A portrait of a teen escort comes to life via online user reviews. DIR Fyzal Boulifa. SCR Fyzal Boulifa. CAST Zehra Zorba. UK
THE RETURN OF ERKIN – A man just released from a long-term prison discovers that his former life has vanished, never to return. DIR Maria Guskova. SCR Maria Guskova. CAST Kahramonjon Mamasaliyev. Russia
REVIEW – A young woman recounts a story to a group of friends who listen with rapt attention, but the tale sounds very familiar. DIR Dustin Guy Defa. USA
RONALD REAGAN LIGHTS THE LIGHTS – The President conducts a delicate task. DIR Pacho Velez. USA
RONALD REAGAN PARDONS A TURKEY – The President makes a tough call. DIR Pacho Velez. USA
SEA CHILD – A young girl on the verge of womanhood is consumed by nightmares. DIR Minha Kim. SCR Islay Bell-Webb. CAST Rachel Park. UK
SERENITY – Everyone remembers their first time. Everyone has regrets. DIR Jack Dunphy. SCR Jack Dunphy. CAST Jack Dunphy. USA
SHARE – The victim of an unspeakable act gone viral returns to high school. DIR Pippa Bianco. SCR Pippa Bianco. CAST Taissa Farmiga, Keir Gilchrist, Madisen Beaty, Andre Royo. USA
THE SUN LIKE A BIG DARK ANIMAL (EL SOL COMO UN GRAN ANIMAL OSCURO) – Even computers need love. DIR Ronnie Rivera, Christina Felisgrau. SCR Bernardo Britto, Ronnie Rivera. CAST Agustina Woodgate. USA
SWIMMING IN YOUR SKIN AGAIN – A film about motherhood, banality, Miami, the water, the divine feminine and how to sing in church in a way that calls forth your own adulthood. DIR Terence Nance. SCR Terence Nance. CAST Norvis, Jr., Hadassah Amani, Genoa O’Brien, Vickie Lynn Washington-Nance. USA
TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY – When a young woman living abroad receives a letter from home, it’s what she needs to fuse her transient self with the person she’s always known herself to be. DIR Matthew Porterfield. SCR Matthew Porterfield. CAST Hannah Gross, Jean-Christophe Folly, Angela Schanelec, Gob Squad. USA
TEETH – That which is neglected, is lost. DIR Tom Brown, Daniel Gray. SCR Tom Brown, Daniel Gray. CAST Richard E. Grant. UK/Hungary/USA
THE FACE OF UKRAINE: CASTING OKSANA BAIUL – Adorned in pink sequins, little girls from war-torn Ukraine audition to play the role of Olympic champion figure skater Oksana Baiul. DIR Kitty Green. SCR Kitty Green. Ukraine/Australia
TRACKS – An amateur skateboarder is left to care for his girlfriend’s young daughter on the day of a championship tournament. DIR Logan Sandler. SCR Logan Sandler, Carly Stone. CAST Keith Stanfield, Lana Schwartz, Dominique Razon. USA
TUESDAY (SALI) – An ordinary school day for a teenage girl in Istanbul. DIR Ziya Demirel. SCR Ziya Demirel, Buket Coşkuner. CAST Melis Balaban. Turkey/France
TWELVE TALES TOLD – The dream factory folds in on itself. DIR Lurf Johann. Austria
TWO FILMS ABOUT LONELINESS – A split screen separates two distinct worlds that are closer than they appear. DIR William Bishop-Stephens, Christopher Eales. SCR William Bishop-Stephens, Christopher Eales. CAST Tim Key, Detlef Bierstedt. UK
UNDER THE SUN (RI GUANG ZHI XIA) – An attempted act of kindness sets two families on an irrevocable collision course from which there is no return. DIR Qiu Yang. SCR Qiu Yang. CAST Zhu Ping, Sun Zhongwei, Bai Lihong, Gong Weiming. Australia/China
VICTOR XX – In a small seaside town, a young person makes a personal discovery when they experiment with their gender. DIR Ian Garrido. SCR Ian Garrido. CAST Alba Martínez, Shei Benzidour, Yolanda Cruz. Spain
VOLTA (BOATA) – Nina is told she is just going for a walk. DIR Stella Kyriakopoulos. SCR Stella Kyriakopoulos. CAST Marissa Triandafyllidou, Katerina Douka, Giorgos Valais. Greece
WAVES ‘98 – Omar is lured into the depths of segregated Beirut. Isolated from reality, he struggles to keep his sense of home. DIR Ely Dagher. SCR Ely Dagher. CAST Elie Bassila. Lebanon/Qatar
WORLD OF TOMORROW – A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of the distant future in the latest opus from Don Hertzfeldt. DIR Don Hertzfeldt. SCR Don Hertzfeldt. CAST Julia Pott, Winona Mae. USA
YELLOW FIEBER – Athens was covered in a strange yellow dust. No one expected what was about to happen. DIR Konstantina Kotzamani. SCR Konstantina Kotzamani. CAST Mamadou Diallo, Eytuchia Stefanidou. Greece
YOLO – Filmed in the remains of Soweto’s historic Sans Souci Cinema (1948-1998), YOLO is a makeshift structuralist mash-up created in collaboration with the Eat My Dust youth collective. DIR Ben Russell. USA/South Africa
