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.
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.
I Used To Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Jessica Leski
Australia, 2018, 96 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
From The Beatles to the Backstreet Boys and One Direction, I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story will take you back to the fun, fantasy and feelings of your teenage years. Filmed over four years, and spanning three generations, this intimate story follows a diverse group of women who have had their lives dramatically changed by their boyband obsessions. These four women must navigate the challenges of love, sexuality, family and faith, while constantly grappling with all the problems and contradictions that are part of being in love with a boyband.
Jellyfish (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: James Gardner
United Kingdom, 2018, 101 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Between being bullied at school, put upon by her overbearing boss at the local arcade and having to look after her younger brother, sister, and manic-depressive mother, life isn´t easy for Sarah Taylor. However, when Sarah´s drama teacher channels her ferocious and volatile energies in to a stand-up comedy routine for the graduation showcase, Sarah discovers that she may have a hidden talent. As her love for comedy grows and the showcase draws nearer, the delicate balance in her life becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. Little by little the walls start to close in, ultimately forcing her to choose between her responsibilities as a caregiver and her newfound passion for comedy.
Broken Mirrors (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Imri Matalon, Aviad Givon
Israel, 2018, 104 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
From the outside, the Adler family lives an enviable life, but underneath Giora´s great love for his family lays an obsession with his eldest daughter Ariella. This strict military disciplinarian follows his teenage daughter´s every move, and he inflicts severe methods of punishment. Ariella commits a grave error, yet her father won´t punish her for it. Seeking a punishment of her own, Ariella embarks on a dark quest where she will discover a secret to her father´s past that will lead them to confront one another.
17 Seconds (2018)
Section: Panorama, Festival Gala
Directed by: Alon Marom
Israel, 2018, 84 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Four adolescents, outstanding athletes, live and train at Israel's national sports Academy. They are facing a system that pushes them to their limits while they question whether their youth isn´t being spent in vain. The story shifts between exhausting training routines and painful injuries to sporting peaks only a few are blessed to experience. But even when they hit rock bottom, what stops them from giving up is their fear of discovering that disillusionment from their dream will be much more painful than striving for it.
I Used To Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Jessica Leski
Australia, 2018, 96 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
From The Beatles to the Backstreet Boys and One Direction, I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story will take you back to the fun, fantasy and feelings of your teenage years. Filmed over four years, and spanning three generations, this intimate story follows a diverse group of women who have had their lives dramatically changed by their boyband obsessions. These four women must navigate the challenges of love, sexuality, family and faith, while constantly grappling with all the problems and contradictions that are part of being in love with a boyband.
A Boy and Sungreen (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: AHN Ju-young
South Korea, 2018, 99 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
There is a fragile and sensitive boy in a tough world. His mother named him Bo-hee, but others have given him an unusual nickname. There is a seemingly unbreakable girl. Her name is Nok-yang (Sungreen) and she is Bo-hee´s best friend. Bo-hee finds out that his mother has a boyfriend, and that his supposedly-dead father is alive. He sets out to find his father with Sungreen. His life is suddenly flooded with new people; his father´s friends, his cousin and her boyfriend. Tracing him down through the clues given by those people, Bo-hee gets closer to his father.
Icebox (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Daniel Sawka
United States of America, 2018, 88 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
The grim reality of the current US immigration system through the eyes of Oscar, a 12-year-old schoolboy from Honduras, whose unwanted ties to a brutal gang have prompted his parents to smuggle him out of the country in the hope that he will escape to America and lead a better life under the protection of his uncle Manuel, a recent immigrant. However, Oscar is caught in the Arizona desert by border police and sent to a juvenile immigration center, where he tries regain control of his life inside a "wire box" and reach his dream destination.