Scent of Oranges (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth, Festival Gala
Directed by: Ivan Pokorný
Czech Republic, Germany, Slovak Republic, 2019, 92 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
Darek lives with his father and sister in a mountain village on the Czech-German-Polish border. His life changes after his mother's death. He has more freedom, but life has lost its luster. His mother could solve problems playfully and imaginatively; his father struggles with them - he's shut himself off, drowns his sorrows with alcohol, and puts too much of a burden on Darek's shoulders. Darek is growing up fast. He´s getting tougher and earning respect. And the charming Hanka has eyes for him. When his father loses his job, he can no longer keep the family together. But then pops up an old friend, Uli, bringing new prospects: they'll breed horses together. His dad gets caught up in the idea, picks himself up, and their problems seem to be over. Darek eagerly helps out and the horses give him new meaning, prestige and love. Now he can impress Hanka and score more points than his rival Hugo. But nothing is forever..
The Way I Spent the End of the World (2006)
Section: Discover & Explore: Balkan
Directed by: Cãtãlin Mitulescu
Romania, France, 2006, 106 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
It is 1989 in Bucharest - the last year of Ceausescu's dictatorship. Eva lives with her parents and her 7-year-old brother, Lalalilu. One day at school, Eva and her boyfriend accidentally break a bust of Ceausescu. They are forced to confess their crime before a disciplinary committee and Eva is expelled from school and transferred to a reformatory establishment. There she meets Andrei and decides to escape Romania with him. Lalalilu is convinced that Ceausescu is the main reason for Eva's decision to leave, so he devises a plan to kill the dictator.
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (2010)
Section: Discover & Explore: Balkan
Directed by: Florin Șerban
Romania, 2010, 94 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Silviu, a young man who has spent years in a youth penitentiary, is granted release. Before he can leave, his mother returns to Romania to bring his little brother to Italy with her, despite Silviu's objections. He meets a young woman, Ana, who is working on a research project in the prison and becomes interested in her. In desperation, Silviu resorts to violence and Ana becomes his hostage.
Storm Boy (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children, Festival Gala
Directed by: Shawn Seet
Australia, 2018, 99 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1
Score:
Storm Boy is a moving story about unusual friendships and unconditional love. Mike Kingley tells his granddaughter a story from his childhood, which he spent with his father on a deserted Australian coast after his mother's death. His carefree life was changed forever when he found a nest of newly hatched pelicans whose mother was shot by hunters. With the help of his father and a local Australian, Bill, they managed to raise three adult pelicans. An exceptionally deep bond of friendship formed between Mike and one of the birds, Mr. Percival. But this idyllic time of fun was coming to an end.
Sune vs Sune (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Jon Holmberg
Sweden, 2018, 89 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
On his first day as a fourth-grader, Sune is welcomed by an unwanted surprise. A new boy is in his seat, and he´s everything Sune wants to be. Not only that, but his name is also Sune - it´s the worst possible start to the fourth grade. At the same, Håkan notices that his big brother is about to enter the boring adult world, their dad Rudolf has a midlife crisis and wants to quit his job to pursue a career in music and their mum Karin glares jealously at the new Sune´s perfect mum and her even more perfect car. Welcome to the Andersson family!
The Mystery of Green Hill (2017)
Section: Discover & Explore: Balkan
Directed by: Čejen Černić
Croatia, 2017, 81 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Koko and his friends are spending summer vacation on the shores of a lake near the idyllic Green Hill, hanging out and playing. The magical countryside is disturbed by unusual events which alarm the children as well as the locals; under cover of night, burglars break into one house after another, stealing anything of value they can find. When the police turn a blind eye to denunciations by adults, the children decide to take matters into their own hands and unmask the burglars.
The Arctic Camels (2018)
Section: Competition of European Documentary Films for Children and Youth
Directed by: Karl Emil Rikardsen
Norway, 2018, 75 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
Torarin and Svalin live with their parents in Akkarfjord, way up in the north of Norway. When the siblings want a horse for riding, their parents buy two Bactrian camels for them instead. The exotic animals need to be trained, and the family soon discovers that camel training is not for amateurs. They take on an expedition to Mongolia, hoping to find a professional trainer who will accept an invitation to train their camels in Arctic Norway. Deep into the Goby desert, they actually find a candidate. But they are not prepared for Mongolian training methods.
Whale Rider (2002)
Section: Discover & Explore: People
Directed by: Niki Caro
Germany, New Zealand, 2002, 105 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
In a small New Zealand coastal village, Maori claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. In every generation, a male heir has succeeded to the chiefly title. The time is now. When twins are born, and the boy twin dies, Koro, the chief, is unable to accept his grand-daughter, Pai, as a future leader. A few years later, Koro is convinced that the tribe's misfortunes began at Pai's birth and calls for his people to bring their sons to him, in the hope that the new leader is among them. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must stand up to him and tradition.
Fight Girl (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Johan Timmers
Netherlands, Belgium, 2018, 84 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
When her parents end up in an acrimonious divorce, the headstrong, highly volatile Bo (12) moves to an Amsterdam suburb with her mother and brother. Once there, her neighbour, Joy, introduces her to the kickboxing club. She demonstrates natural talent and is very soon taking part in the Dutch championships, but her parents´ divorce is distracting Bo and threatens to ruin the contest. Bo must learn restraint and accept that she can´t control everything.
Bears Love Me! (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Eva M.C. Zanen
Netherlands, 2019, 85 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Eight year-old Jip is delighted when her parents plan a bargain foreign holiday in a camper van to see wild bears. It's her dream come true. However, not everyone else in her family shares her delight. Her sisters and mum would rather be elsewhere. Only her dad feels the same way. Once they're abroad, the family quickly realizes that their dreams of simple adventure were naive and they struggle to cope with new and unfamiliar challenges in a scary foreign country.
Emu Runner (2018)
Section: Discover & Explore: People
Directed by: Imogen Thomas
Australia, 2018, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
In the remote community of Brewarrina in northwest New South Wales, Gem, a spirited 9-year-old girl, is at a loss with how to deal with the unexpected death of her mother. She finds little guidance from her father, Jay Jay, a stalwart, well-meaning man who feels the skeptical eyes of the community on him as a newly bereaved parent to three children. Instead, at the moment of her greatest need for comfort, Gem encounters and forges a bond with a wild emu, the totem bird of her ancestors, which gains the attention of a new social worker in town.
For a Happy Life (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Salima Sarah Glamine, Dimitri Linder
Belgium, Luxembourg, 2018, 88 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
Amel, 17, of Algerian origin, lives alone with her father Karim. For the past couple of months, she has had a secret love affair with her best friend's brother, Mashir, 22, of Pakistani origin. Following a work accident, Mashir's uncle comes to live in the neighbourhood with his wife and his daughter, who he now wants to marry off. Barely arrived, he sees Mashir as the ideal son-in-law. And faced with the determination of this fragile man, nobody dares criticize his idea. Despite the love he has for Amel, Mashir is unable to openly oppose his uncle and risk disappointing his family. The noose is tightening around their relationship and Mashir's fate seems sealed. Amel, in a last-ditch attempt to save the one she loves, will break taboos and violently disrupt the lives of those around her.
Metal Heart (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Hugh O'Conor
Ireland, 2018, 88 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Sisters Emma and Chantal are worlds apart. Emma is self-conscious, angry at the world and unsure of which path to take in life. She dreams of starting a band (which will be 73% metal and 2% jazz fusion!) with her best friend Gary, who secretly has a crush on her. On the other hand, her twin sister Chantal is beautiful, confident, and knows exactly where her life is headed. When their parents go away, their simmering sibling rivalry threatens to boil over as they try out new versions of themselves and compete for the affections of the same guy.
When Father Was Away on Business (1985)
Section: Discover & Explore: Balkan
Directed by: Emir Kusturica
Yugoslavia, 1985, 136 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
In the tumultuous 1950s, as Yugoslavia resists the pressures of Stalinism, a young boy narrates the story of his family's troubled world. Mesha, a minor party official in Yugoslavia, has been sent away to the mines for fooling around with a voluptuous communist party official. The drama unfolds through the eyes of Mesha's six-year-old naive son, Malik, who thinks Papa is away on business.
Fig Tree (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian
Ethiopia, France, Germany, Israel, 2018, 93 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Sixteen-year-old Jewish Mina is trying to navigate between a surreal routine dictated by the civil war in Ethiopia and her last days of youth with her Christian boyfriend Eli. When she discovers that her family is planning to immigrate to Israel and escape the war, she weaves an alternate plan in order to save Eli. But in times of war, plans tend to go wrong. Davidian´s coming of age film debut film is based on her childhood memories of a civil-war-torn Ethiopia.
Here My Village (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Abas Aram
Iran, 2019, 83 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Farhad lives with his mother and sister in a village; he lost his father 5 years ago due to a fatal disease. Farhad is crazy about photos and magazines. One day, while in the city with his family, he spies a second hand camera in a shop window. He works hard to save up for the camera, but with no luck. When he sells one of their sheep to buy the camera, his mother figures it out and makes him get a refund on the camera. Then, desperate, Farhad grabs the camera and runs away...
Bears Love Me! (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Eva M.C. Zanen
Netherlands, 2019, 85 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1
Score:
Eight year-old Jip is delighted when her parents plan a bargain foreign holiday in a camper van to see wild bears. It's her dream come true. However, not everyone else in her family shares her delight. Her sisters and mum would rather be elsewhere. Only her dad feels the same way. Once they're abroad, the family quickly realizes that their dreams of simple adventure were naive and they struggle to cope with new and unfamiliar challenges in a scary foreign country.
Giant Little Ones (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Keith Behrman
Canada, 2018, 94 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
A heartfelt and intimate coming-of-age story about friendship, self-discovery and the power of love without labels. Adolescents face enormous pressure to make life-defining decisions every day and they want to lock in their identities sooner than later. All of this pressure is exacerbated by physical and social changes. Franky is under more pressure than most. His life was altered when his father left his mother for a man. Franky is left confused and angry toward his father for breaking up the family. Things are further confused for Franky when his wild birthday party ends in a sexual encounter no one could have imagined, including his best friend and girlfriend. As Franky's world crumbles, he and his friends are forced to decide what kind of people they want to be.
Bulbul Can Sing (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Rima Das
India, 2018, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
The lives of three friends on the threshold of adulthood are portrayed in the atmospheric light of dusk and dawn. Poetic sensuality contrasts with authentic scenes of everyday life in their Indian village, where care-free youthfulness comes face to face with merciless reality. The story´s protagonist is Bulbul, whose voice fails her when she has to sing in front of people. Fear of failure and self-doubt also plague the fragile Bonny, and Suman, who does not fulfil the traditional male image. The three teens are under the pressure of high expectations and strict moral codes.
My Grandpa is an Alien (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children
Directed by: Marina Andree Skop, Dražen Žarković
Croatia, Luxembourg, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2018, 79 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
In a single moment, the entire life of a girl Una is turned upside down; her grandpa is abducted by aliens and her mum collapses and ends up in a hospital. Una discovers that her grandpa is an alien himself whose spaceship hit the planet some time ago. But his pilot is still here! The small grumpy robot and Una have less than 24 hours to find and rescue her grandpa. This extraordinary adventure will lead to a new friendship, rational robotic logic will be replaced with emotions, and Una's selfless love will save her partly alien family.