Wind (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Dadren Wanggyal
China, 2020, 96 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
Gelak is an illegitimate child, living with her mom Samdan alone in a distant Tibetan village, where women are not allowed to join the Sang Offering to the Sacred Mountain. Samdan has always relied on men for a living, and Gelak has been treated as a vicious witch by the villagers. Fed up with the prejudice she has to face growing up, Gelak decides to challenge the traditions and fight for herself…
My Sunny Maad (2021)
Section: New Czech Films and TV Programmes
Directed by: Michaela Pavlátová
Czech Republic, France, Slovak Republic, 2021, 85 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
The story of a Czech girl named Helena, or "Herry", who leaves Prague to marry her classmate Nazir in Kabul. In addition to the vision of a loving future in a large family, the young woman from Bohemia is also attracted by the desire for new experiences in an exotic environment.
The Joke (1968)
Section: Literature in Film - Classics
Directed by: Jaromil Jireš
Czechoslovakia, 1968, 79 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
After 15 years, Ludvík Jahn still hasn't overcome the consequences of a joke postcard with anti-state sentiments he sent his girlfriend in the 1950s; this led to his expulsion from university and mandatory service as a class enemy in a criminal military unit. He is on the verge of getting revenge on a professor who helped cause this difficult situation. During a village festival, he seduces the professor's wife, a radio editor. His "victory", however, has a strong bitter taste.
A Colourful Dream (2020)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category
Directed by: Jan Balej
Czech Republic, 2020, 74 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
A humourous adventure story dealing with the timeless theme of the conflict between unlimited power and the desire for freedom, bravery, and love. A group of street performers arrives on an island, where there is an omnipotent ruler and strict police order. A botched cannon shot during their performance triggers a number of unexpected events. Outnumbered, the young man Drin, girl Tuvi, and seagull Natan must battle against a totalitarian power. The duel will ultimately change the fates of all the inhabitants of the Island – humans and seagulls.
Persepolis (2007)
Section: Literature in Film - Comic Book Paradise
Directed by: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
France, 2007, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
The story follows Marjane, a smart and strong-willed girl whose life is forever changed when the Shah of Iran is overthrown by the Islamic Revolution of 1979. While far from being supporters of the Shah, Marjane's left-wing parents find their lives even harder under the new regime - and Marjane herself finds it impossible to adapt, rebelling in a country where rebellion increasingly has no place, especially for girls.
The Book Thief (2013)
Section: Literature in Film - Young Academy
Directed by: Brian Percival
Germany, United States of America, 2013, 131 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 3
Score:
A profoundly moving story of a girl who transforms the lives of those around her during World War II, Germany. Although Liesel is illiterate when she is adopted by a German couple, her adoptive father encourages her to learn to read. Ultimately, the power of words helps Liesel and Max, a Jew hiding in the family’s home, escape from the events unfolding around them in this extraordinary, acclaimed film directed by Brian Percival.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Section: Literature in Film - Classics
Directed by: Miloš Forman
United States of America, 1975, 133 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
Randle Patrick McMurphy is serving a sentence for repeated violent assault and sexual abuse. Instead of doing time in a labor camp, he plays crazy and is sent to the seeming calm of a psychiatric hospital. His zeal for life and strong personality in the institute soon clash with the absolutism of Nurse Ratched, who, with three orderlies, tyrannically rules the entire institute. But McMurphy's rebellion has little hope against the power of the machinery embodied by the nurse…
My Favorite War (2020)
Section: Competition of European Documentary Films for Young Audience
Directed by: Ilze Burkovska- Jacobsen
Latvia, Norway, 2020, 82 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
An animated documentary tells the personal story of its director, Ilze, about her growing up in Cold-War USSR – about choices a girl has to make in a very young age, then getting wiser and finding the courage to speak out. It is an exciting coming-of-age story about finding one’s own identity, truth, and loyalty. First, we meet Ilze as a little girl playing war at her granddad ́s farm, then she is faced with the horror of war threats at school. Ilze lives in a clash between Soviet reality and state propaganda denying what people actually experience. Moreover, Ilze also finds out how opposite in their beliefs are people whom she loves the most.
The Crossing (2021)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category
Directed by: Florence Miailhe
France, Czech Republic, Germany, 2021, 83 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 5
Score:
The story, inspired by the fate of the author's family from an area of Jewish settlements in Russia in the past, follows the vicissitudes of an adventurous and dramatic journey of two children, Kyona and her brother Adriel. They flee across half the world from the hatred and persecution of a repressive government, representing a generic type of totalitarian regime in the 20th century. The sensitive and engaging depiction of the path to adolescence in a comprehensible form tells the fate of the victims trapped under fascism, the Holocaust, and communism; its style may remotely recall Dickens' Oliver Twist or some great novels of 19th century literature. It is also a parable about a person striving for freedom and hope, but who must withstand the difficult trials on the painful path that ultimately leads to them.
Bangla Surf Girls (2021)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Elizabeth D Costa
Canada, 2021, 86 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
An immersive story that takes us into the heart of a slum near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where we witness the transformation of young girls who join a local surf club and dare to dream of freedom and escape from a life of drudgery and abuse. The film captures the raw emotions, the family dynamics, and the complex pressures of poverty, juxtaposed against the freedom of the waves. A coming-of-age story in a developing country.
Captains of Zaatari (2021)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Ali El Arabi
Egypt, 2021, 75 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 3
Score:
Two best friends, Mahmoud and Fawzi, living in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, have the dream of becoming professional soccer players while facing the difficult reality of their lives. Despite being confined under appalling conditions, they remain hopeful and practice day in and day out. When a world-renowned sports academy visits, both have the chance to make this dream come true.
Ashes in the Snow (2018)
Section: Literature in Film - Young Academy
Directed by: MARIUS A. MARKEVICIUS
Lithuania, United States of America, 2018, 100 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
During World War II, a 16-year-old aspiring artist and her family are deported to Siberia amidst Stalin’s brutal dismantling of the Baltic region. One girl’s passion for art and her never-ending hope will break the silence of history.
Neighbours (2021)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Mano Khalil
Switzerland, 2021, 124 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 3
Score:
In a Syrian border village in the early 80’s, little Sero attends school for the first time. A new teacher has arrived with the goal of making strapping Panarabic comrades out of the Kurdish children. To enable paradise to come to earth, he uses the rod to forbid the Kurdish language, orders the veneration of Assad and preaches hate of the “Zionist enemy”- the Jews. The lessons upset and confuse Sero because his long-time neighbors are a lovable Jewish family. With a fine sense of humor and satire, the Film depicts a childhood which manages to find light moments between dictatorship and dark drama. Little Sero gets involved in dangerous pranks with his friends, and dreams of having a television so he can finally watch cartoons. But he also experiences how the adults around him are increasingly crushed by the despotism, violence and nationalism which surround them. The film was inspired by the director’s personal experiences, and so his bitter-sweet memories connect the Syrian tragedy to the present.
1984 (1984)
Section: Literature in Film - Classics
Directed by: Michael James Radford
United Kingdom, 1984, 110 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
The classic George Orwell story set in a world where absolute conformity in action, word and thought including loyalty to Big Brother is demanded. In 1984, the world is divided into three vast states, whose inhabitants are dominated by all powerful governments. Winston, a worker, starts an illegal love affair with Julia, and becomes the target of a brain-washing campaign to force him to conform.
Shadows of Theresienstadt (2020)
Section: New Czech Films and TV Programmes
Directed by: Miloš Zvěřina
Czech Republic, 2020, 13 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
A short film dedicated to the fate of Jewish children imprisoned in the Terezín ghetto (1941-1945). This story of hope and human belonging which can stand up to evil is intended primarily for children. Therefore, in its story and art form, it also uses a poetic abbreviation and hyperbole, which makes it possible to convey the most important messages to children through animation. Chlapec Miloš s dívkou Jarmilkou objevují na půdě starého domu v Terezíně tajemné nástěnné malby a kufr plný vzpomínek na druhou světovou válku. Minulost ožívá a uprostřed válečné vřavy se zhmotňuje svět dětské fantazie. Žádná pohádka ale netrvá věčně a transportní vlaky se opět vydávají na cestu do Osvětimi.
Shadows of Theresienstadt (2020)
Section: New Czech Films and TV Programmes
Directed by: Miloš Zvěřina
Czech Republic, 2020, 13 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
A short film dedicated to the fate of Jewish children imprisoned in the Terezín ghetto (1941-1945). This story of hope and human belonging which can stand up to evil is intended primarily for children. Therefore, in its story and art form, it also uses a poetic abbreviation and hyperbole, which makes it possible to convey the most important messages to children through animation. Chlapec Miloš s dívkou Jarmilkou objevují na půdě starého domu v Terezíně tajemné nástěnné malby a kufr plný vzpomínek na druhou světovou válku. Minulost ožívá a uprostřed válečné vřavy se zhmotňuje svět dětské fantazie. Žádná pohádka ale netrvá věčně a transportní vlaky se opět vydávají na cestu do Osvětimi.
Transport R (2015)
Section: New Czech Films and TV Programmes
Directed by: Miloš Zvěřina
Czech Republic, 2015, 9 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
A poetic, but chilling film about hope and the human solidarity that can stand in the way of evil. The story of seven puppets that are exact replicas of those created by the child inmates of the Terezin ghetto takes place in train car prior to its journey to a concentration camp.
Transport R (2015)
Section: New Czech Films and TV Programmes
Directed by: Miloš Zvěřina
Czech Republic, 2015, 9 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
A poetic, but chilling film about hope and the human solidarity that can stand in the way of evil. The story of seven puppets that are exact replicas of those created by the child inmates of the Terezin ghetto takes place in train car prior to its journey to a concentration camp.
Mica (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Ismaël Ferroukhi
France, Morocco, 2020, 104 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
Saïd (Mica) sells grocery bags in souks. He lives with his mom and sick dad in a slum near Meknes. When Hajj Kaddour comes to take Mica to be an errand boy in a tennis club in Casablanca, the job leads to opportunities to learn to play tennis and perhaps… immigrate.
Beans (2020)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category
Directed by: Tracey Deer
Canada, 2020, 92 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
Twelve-year-old Beans is on the edge: torn between innocent childhood and reckless adolescence, he is forced to grow up fast and become the tough Mohawk warrior she needs to be during the Oka Crisis, the turbulent Indigenous uprising that tore Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990.