Nahuel and the Magic Book (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Germán Acuña
Brazil, Chile, 2020, 98 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 2
Score:
Nahuel lives with his father in a fishing town, yet he has a deep fear of the sea. One day, he finds a magical book that seems to be the solution to this problem, but a dark wizard is after it and captures Nahuel’s father. This is where his fantastic adventure begins: to rescue his father while overcoming his deepest fears.
On the Water (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Peeter Simm
Estonia, 2020, 106 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 3
Score:
Andres is a sensitive teenager raised by his strict grandparents in a small bland Soviet Estonian town. He is bullied at school and his only friends are the drunks, whores, and thieves living next door. Among them are the rough but sensible recidivist Valter and the simpleminded fisherman Kolla. His only escape from his worries is to go fishing on the lake...
Mission Ulja Funk (2021)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Barbara Kronenberg
Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, 2021, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
When Ulja (12) is prevented from pursuing her passion, astronomy, she decides to take matters into her own hands. With a stolen hearse and a 13-year-old classmate as a driver, she makes her way across Eastern Europe to watch the impact of an asteroid. In doing so, she not only has to shake off her persecutors, but also her pragmatic view of friendship and family.
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.
Fortuna - the Girl and the Giants (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Nicolangelo Gelormini
Italy, 2020, 108 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 4
Score:
A little girl called Nancy (6) lives with her mother in an anonymous suburb. She spends her time with two playmates, Nicola and Anna, dreaming of being Fortuna, an alien princess chased by giants who want to kidnap her and her friends. After a tragic accident happens to Nicola, an obscure secret surfaces in a struggle between reality and imagination, unveiling a horrible truth. A dark fairy tale, based on a true story.
The Wolf and the Lion (2021)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Gilles de Maistre
France, 2021, 99 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 5
Score:
After her grandfather’s death, 20-year-old Alma decides to go back to her childhood home – a little island in the heart of the majestic Canadian forest. Whilst there, she rescues two helpless cubs: a wolf and a lion. They forge an inseparable bond, but their world soon collapses as the forest ranger discovers the animals and takes them away. The two cub brothers must now embark on a treacherous journey across Canada to be reunited with one another and Alma once more.
All Foreigners Keep Their Curtains Closed (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Ingvild Søderlind
Norway, 2020, 83 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 2
Score:
An honest, funny, and warm slice-of-life story about identity, loss, love, and emerging sexuality. We follow 15-year old Mariana’s journey from being a typical irresponsible teenager who just goes with the flow to becoming a strong young woman who stands up – not only for herself, but also for those around her.
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.
Small Country: An African Childhood (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Eric Barbier
France, Belgium, 2020, 111 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 5
Score:
Gabriel, aged 10, lives in a comfortable ex-pat neighborhood in Burundi, his ‘small country’. Gabriel is a normal kid; he’s happy, carefree and has adventures with his friends and little sister. Then in 1993, tensions in neighboring Rwanda spill over, threatening his family and his innocence.
The Pit (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Dace Pūce
Latvia, 2020, 75 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 6
Score:
Markuss must adapt to a new life living with his granny in the countryside. After a neighbor’s daughter, Emīlija, insults his father, he does something cruel that has severe consequences which resonate throughout the village. Forced to work, he begins to harbor hatred towards the others in the village – all except an old sailor living in the nearby woods. Will this enmity between Markuss and the village continue, or can he redeem himself?
Her Name Was Jo (2020)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Joe Duca
United States of America, 2020, 103 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema, sál 5
Score:
When 10-year-old Jo’s abusive junkie stepdad, ODs on heroine, she panics when the police come, and flees with her friend Selma in her step-dad’s beat-up Buick. They are bound for Los Angeles, in hopes of finding her biological father, who she only knows from an old CD left her by her deceased mother, folk singer Johnny Alvarez. On the way, they must contend with trains, meth heads, unexpected deaths, and more; it’s a poetic, yet brutal portrait of the dark side of Americana.