H is for Happiness (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children
Directed by: John Sheedy
Australia, 2019, 96 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 2
Score:
Young Candice Phee finds herself on an adventurous mission when, as part of a school project, she resolves to become a peacemaker in her quarrelsome, grief-ridden family. She is doggedly enthusiastic – and often unintentionally comical – as she devotes herself to making others happy. Her new schoolmate Douglas Benson believes that he has come from another dimension, but he turns out to be an unexpected ally and an ardent admirer. Based on Barry Jonsberg's novel “My Life as an Alphabet”, theatre director John Sheedy's film adaptation portrays all the colourful facets of life between a fantastical, magical forest and small-town conservatism. From A to Z.
The Dazzled (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Sarah Suco
France, 2019, 89 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 5
Score:
Camille, 12, passionate about circus, is the eldest of a large family. One day, her parents enter a religious community based on sharing and solidarity in which they fully invest. The girl must accept a way of living that questions her desires and her own torments. Gradually, indoctrination becomes sectarian. Camille will have to fight to assert her freedom and save her brothers and sisters.
H is for Happiness (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children
Directed by: John Sheedy
Australia, 2019, 96 min
Projection place: Congress Centre
Score:
Young Candice Phee finds herself on an adventurous mission when, as part of a school project, she resolves to become a peacemaker in her quarrelsome, grief-ridden family. She is doggedly enthusiastic – and often unintentionally comical – as she devotes herself to making others happy. Her new schoolmate Douglas Benson believes that he has come from another dimension, but he turns out to be an unexpected ally and an ardent admirer. Based on Barry Jonsberg's novel “My Life as an Alphabet”, theatre director John Sheedy's film adaptation portrays all the colourful facets of life between a fantastical, magical forest and small-town conservatism. From A to Z.
Kuessipan (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Myriam Verreault
Canada, 2019, 117 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 4
Score:
Two girls grow up as best friends in an Innu community. While Mikuan has a loving family, Shaniss is picking up the pieces of her shattered childhood. As children, they promised each other to stick together no matter what. But as they’re about to turn 17, their friendship is shaken when Mikuan falls for a white boy and starts dreaming of leaving the reserve that’s now too small for her dreams.
Life without Sara Amat (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Laura Jou
Spain, 2019, 75 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 6
Score:
Pep, a 13-year-old boy, is completely in love with Sara Amat, a girl from her grandparents' village. One summer night, Sara disappears, but Pep later finds her hidden in his own room. That's when the young woman explains that she has run away from home and asks to stay for a few days. Although Pep knows that the whole town is looking for her, he becomes her protector. Consequently, the boy is forced to live a double life: he must lie to everyone while satisfying Sara's demands, which puts him to the test and makes him mature before the summer's end.
Beyond the Horizon (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Delphine Lehericey
Belgium, Switzerland, 2019, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 5
Score:
The drought of 1976. Under the unforgiving sun, Gus is about to leave childhood behind. Nature withers, emotions swell, the family unit splinters; everything splits and cracks until the unthinkable occurs; the eagerly anticipated thunderstorms sweep across the tired and worn countryside, washing a whole world away.
The Crossing (2020)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children
Directed by: Johanne Helgeland
Norway, 2020, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 2
Score:
The story of the adventurous 10-year-old Gerda and her brother Otto, whose parents are in the Norwegian resistance movement during the Second World War. One day, just before Christmas in 1942, Gerda and Otto's parents are arrested, leaving the siblings on their own. Following the arrest, they discover two Jewish children, Sarah and Daniel, hidden in a secret cupboard in their basement at home. It is now up to Gerda and Otto to finish what their parents started: to help Sarah and Daniel flee from the Nazis cross the border to neutral Sweden and reunite them with their parents. This is a film about the confidence, uncompromising loyalty and great courage you can find in even the youngest of children.
Just Kids (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Christophe Blanc
France, Switzerland, 2020, 104 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 5
Score:
Jack (19), Lisa (17), and Mathis (10), abruptly become orphans. Each sibling reacts differently to the family tragedy. Lisa spreads her wings. Jack, having just come of age is appointed as his brother’s guardian by court decision. A new life begins. But how does someone just barely out of adolescence himself become responsible for a child? And how does one construct a future when the past has become a dangerous obsession? Fortunately, youth’s strength and energy can work miracles…
H is for Happiness (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children
Directed by: John Sheedy
Australia, 2019, 96 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 3
Score:
Young Candice Phee finds herself on an adventurous mission when, as part of a school project, she resolves to become a peacemaker in her quarrelsome, grief-ridden family. She is doggedly enthusiastic – and often unintentionally comical – as she devotes herself to making others happy. Her new schoolmate Douglas Benson believes that he has come from another dimension, but he turns out to be an unexpected ally and an ardent admirer. Based on Barry Jonsberg's novel “My Life as an Alphabet”, theatre director John Sheedy's film adaptation portrays all the colourful facets of life between a fantastical, magical forest and small-town conservatism. From A to Z.
The Club of Ugly Children (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Jonathan Elbers
Netherlands, 2019, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 3
Score:
The new president is serious about the school’s image, including looks. When Paul, whose large jug ears are quite apparent on class photo day, and some of the other “ugly” kids are taken on a surprise trip, they realize that the president wants to hide them away. On the run, Paul is helped by Sara, one of the “pretty” kids. They start an underground club to fight against the president. The movement soon turns into a revolution showing that you don’t have to be “pretty” to be a hero!
The Innocence (2019)
Section: International Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Lucía Alemany
Spain, 2019, 92 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 6
Score:
Lis is a teenage girl whose dream is to become a circus artist and leave the small village she calls her hometown, although she knows that doing so will mean a bitter confrontation with her parents. It's summertime and Lis spends her days hanging out on the village streets with her friends and flirting with her boyfriend, Nestor, who is a few years older than her. The lack of privacy and endless gossiping among the neighbors compel Lis to keep her relationship with Nestor a secret to ensure that her parents don’t find out. When the idyllic summer comes to an end, Lis will have to fight to secure her independence and overcome the challenges that adulthood brings.
The Crossing (2020)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children
Directed by: Johanne Helgeland
Norway, 2020, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 1
Score:
The story of the adventurous 10-year-old Gerda and her brother Otto, whose parents are in the Norwegian resistance movement during the Second World War. One day, just before Christmas in 1942, Gerda and Otto's parents are arrested, leaving the siblings on their own. Following the arrest, they discover two Jewish children, Sarah and Daniel, hidden in a secret cupboard in their basement at home. It is now up to Gerda and Otto to finish what their parents started: to help Sarah and Daniel flee from the Nazis cross the border to neutral Sweden and reunite them with their parents. This is a film about the confidence, uncompromising loyalty and great courage you can find in even the youngest of children.
The Club of Ugly Children (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Jonathan Elbers
Netherlands, 2019, 90 min
Projection place: Congress Centre
Score:
The new president is serious about the school’s image, including looks. When Paul, whose large jug ears are quite apparent on class photo day, and some of the other “ugly” kids are taken on a surprise trip, they realize that the president wants to hide them away. On the run, Paul is helped by Sara, one of the “pretty” kids. They start an underground club to fight against the president. The movement soon turns into a revolution showing that you don’t have to be “pretty” to be a hero!
The The Fantastic Journey of Margot and Marguerite (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Pierre Coré
France, 2018, 89 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 6
Score:
Marguerite and Margot are both 12. Each has their own family, friends, problems… and era! One lives in 1942 and the other in 2020. But when a mysterious magic chest transports them to each other’s era, they then have something else in common: their father is no longer there, one vanished during World War II, the other is not living at home. With 70 years apart, they embark in a wild adventure to find their present, explore history and their families’ memories.
Son-Mother (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Mahnaz Mohammadi
Iran, Czech Republic, 2019, 102 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 5
Score:
Leila is a single working mom of two, living in sanctions-gripped Iran. When her job at the factory is at stake, she considers marrying Kazem, a bus driver with a daughter. But tradition frowns upon a young girl sharing a household with her stepbrother. After Leila is fired from her job, she makes the decision to stay with Kazem and leave her son Amir in the care of a boarding school, until she figures out how to manage his return.
Rocks (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Sarah Gavron
United Kingdom, 2019, 93 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 6
Score:
Shola, or Rocks, as she's known, lives in a London council flat with her younger brother Emmanuel and their single mother. Mum is busy and stressed, leaving Rocks to spend all her free time with school friends. One day, she comes home to find her life radically altered: she is suddenly on her own with a child to take care of. Rocks is mercurial, impulsive, and deeply sensitive – not unusual for her age, she sometimes makes desperately poor decisions for what look to her like good reasons. When her closest friend Sumaya tries to help, Rocks doesn't know how to accept it, blinded by Sumaya's two-parent household and relative comfort.
The Crossing (2020)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children
Directed by: Johanne Helgeland
Norway, 2020, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 1
Score:
The story of the adventurous 10-year-old Gerda and her brother Otto, whose parents are in the Norwegian resistance movement during the Second World War. One day, just before Christmas in 1942, Gerda and Otto's parents are arrested, leaving the siblings on their own. Following the arrest, they discover two Jewish children, Sarah and Daniel, hidden in a secret cupboard in their basement at home. It is now up to Gerda and Otto to finish what their parents started: to help Sarah and Daniel flee from the Nazis cross the border to neutral Sweden and reunite them with their parents. This is a film about the confidence, uncompromising loyalty and great courage you can find in even the youngest of children.
Life without Sara Amat (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Laura Jou
Spain, 2019, 75 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 2
Score:
Pep, a 13-year-old boy, is completely in love with Sara Amat, a girl from her grandparents' village. One summer night, Sara disappears, but Pep later finds her hidden in his own room. That's when the young woman explains that she has run away from home and asks to stay for a few days. Although Pep knows that the whole town is looking for her, he becomes her protector. Consequently, the boy is forced to live a double life: he must lie to everyone while satisfying Sara's demands, which puts him to the test and makes him mature before the summer's end.
The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Lorenzo Mattotti
France, Italy, 2019, 82 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 5
Score:
To find his long-lost son and food to survive the winter, the great bear king leads his clan down from the mountains and into the world of men. After escaping terrible monsters and defeating an evil duke, the bears and men live together in peace – for a time.
The Wolves (2019)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Samuel Kishi Leopo
Mexico, 2019, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, 3
Score:
Along with their mother Lucia, the brothers Max and Leo have just crossed the border from Mexico into the United States in search of a better life. But it is not easy for them to gain a foothold in their new home country. While waiting for Lucia to return from work, the kids build an imaginary universe with their drawings and think about mom's promise of going to “Disneyland”, their land of dreams.