A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces

USA, Berlin Forum 2021, Paris Cinema du Reel competition 2021

Documentary by Shengze Zhu

Synopsis

A portrait of urban spaces along the Yangtze River in the city of Wuhan. An engaging communal stage on which people perform in various ways: some dancing, singing, swimming; some shoveling, welding, and hammering. An evolving landscape that is continuously sculpted by nature and dramatically altered by roaring machines and rising infrastructure. Where desires are planted. Where memories are buried. The lost place.

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Aurora

Costa Rica, Rotterdam Big Screen competition 2021

Feature Film by Paz Fabrega

Synopsis

Thoughtfully, lovingly, Aurora tells the story of an unwanted pregnancy. Alongside her work as an architect, 40-year-old Luisa gives inspirational creative workshops to children. One day, she comes across 17-year-old Yuli by the school toilets; it turns out she has unintentionally become pregnant. Luisa decides to help her – in the process operating herself into a difficult position somewhere between friend, teacher and mother figure. Or does she secretly enjoy playing this role?

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Epicentro

Austria, France – Sundance Winner World Cinema Grand Jury Prize Documentary 2020

Hubert Sauper

Synopsis

An immersive and metaphorical portrait of post-colonial, “utopian” Cuba, where the 1898 explosion of the USS Maine still resonates. This Big Bang ended Spanish colonial dominance in the Americas and ushered in the era of the American Empire. At the same time and place, a powerful tool of conquest was born: cinema as propaganda. In Epicentro, Sauper explores a century of interventionism and myth-making together with the extraordinary people of Havana — particularly its children, who he calls “young prophets » — to interrogate time, imperialism and cinema itself. Continuer la lecture →

Eyimofe (This is my Desire)

Nigeria, Berlin Forum 2020

First feature film by Arie & Chuko

Synopsis

Tragedy and fate intervene as two Nigerians try to better the lives of their families. Eyimofe (This is My Desire) is a film about two people’s quest for what they believe will be a better life on foreign shores. Continuer la lecture →

Fire in the Mountains

India, Sundance World Cinema competition 2021

First feature Film by Ajitpal Singh

Synopsis

A mother toils to save money to build a road in a Himalayan village to take her wheelchair-bound son for physiotherapy but her husband who believes that a shamanic ritual (Jagar) is the remedy, steals her savings. Continuer la lecture →

Garage, Engines & Men

France, Paris Cinema du Reel competition 2021

Documentary by Claire Simon

Synopsis

A pretty little village in Provence. Yes, I grew up there but it seems to me today that life has somewhat deserted it. Apart from here, at the garage, that everyone, meaning the men, comes to in order to get their cars looked after. What do they do? What do they talk about? A breakdown turns into a puzzle full of suspense. The garage becomes the place for male transmission. There are only men here, and they repair metal bodies. Continuer la lecture →

The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs

India, Berlinale Encounters competition 2020

Feature film by Pushpendra Singh

Synopsis

The timeless story of the proud and beautiful nomadic shepherdess Laila is set against the backdrop of the current Kashmir conflict. A tribute to a very modern female figure, inspired by mystical poetry and traditional songs. Continuer la lecture →