Mon 05.06.2023 | 08:40Big Boys (2022)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category (over 15 years of age)
Directed by: Corey Sherman
United States of America, 2022, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
InfoFourteen-year-old Jamie prepares for a trip with his older brother Luke and his favorite cousin Allie. But he’s surprised to learn of the unexpected presence of Allie's boyfriend Dan. Despite his initial fears, Dan's sense of humor, shared interests, and self-confidence make him an object of interest. Moreover, Dan supports Jamie against Luke, who teases his brother for lack of virility and experience in his sex life. That makes his fascination even stronger, and Jamie does all he can to get closer to Dan, while also hiding his true feelings. The director decided to bring his own queer coming-of-age story to the screen, with an emphasis on today's notion of masculinity and positive acceptance of one's physical and mental identity. This small film with a big heart stands out for its excellent script and the performance of the main actor Isaac Krasner. It had its world premiere at the BFI Flare in London.
Mon 05.06.2023 | 10:30Bullets (2023)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category (over 11 years of age)
Directed by: Peter Pontikis
Sweden, 2023, 94 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
Talented and well-behaved 12-year-old Abdel lives with his mother in a tough neighborhood. When his best friend starts selling drugs for a local gang, Abdel gets caught up in criminal activities in an effort to help him out of trouble. He thus risks changing the course of his life and getting dragged down a path that he did not choose himself. After an unsuccessful task, he unintentionally reveals where the gang's base is located, which is immediately attacked by the competition. Abdel is forced by the gang to make amends for his mistake. An impressive drama with brilliant acting shows that even if you have a good home, parents, and dreams, you can still end up in bad company due to peer pressure. A realistic film, one that the teenager should not miss; it won the Young Jury Prize and the Church of Sweden Prize at this year's BUFF International Film Festival in Malmö, Sweden.
Mon 05.06.2023 | 15:30Psychobitch (2018)
Section: Top Teen Ten
Directed by: Martin Lund
Norway, 2018, 111 min
Projection place: Zámek
Score:
Frida would say it was her choice to be the class outsider. All the other kids at school agree - Frida is totally different. In the same school year as Frida, Marius does everything he can to be a success. When the two are paired up as study buddies, Marius sees it as another opportunity to show everyone what a great guy he is, but Frida has no intention of being helped or fixed by the class golden boy. Their study sessions become the catalyst for a turbulent relationship, but the fights between them lead to something exciting, challenging, and completely new.
Mon 05.06.2023 | 17:00Metronom (2022)
Section: Festival Laurels from around the World
Directed by: Alexandru Belc
France, Romania, 2022, 102 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Bucharest, 1972. Ana (17) dreams of love and freedom. One night, while partying with her friends, they decide to send a letter to Metronom, the musical program which Radio Free Europe broadcasts clandestinely in Romania. It is then that the Securitate, Ceausescu’s secret police, arrives...
Mon 05.06.2023 | 17:30The Quiet Girl (2022)
Section: Festival Laurels from around the World
Directed by: Colm Bairéad
Ireland, 2022, 95 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Cáit is a 9-year-old girl from an over-crowded, dysfunctional and impoverished family. When her pregnant mother’s due date approaches, Cáit is sent to live with distant relatives. Without knowing when she will return home, she is left at the strangers’ house with only the clothes she is wearing. In the care of the Kinsellas, Cáit blossoms and discovers a new way of living. But in this house where affection grows and there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one painful truth.
Mon 05.06.2023 | 19:30I Like Movies (2022)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category (over 15 years of age)
Directed by: Chandler Levack
Canada, 2022, 100 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
The clear and distinct title of the film is the basic premise of the life of a teenager, Lawrence, who is obsessed with the world of film. His longtime and only friend Matt shares his passion for amateur filmmaking and other unusual hobbies. Lawrence's mother struggles to cope with the death of her husband and the difficult adolescent years of her son, whose dream is to get into NYU's New York Film School. Lawrence's selfishness, rage, and almost pathological desire cause fundamental cracks in his relationships. He sees the people around him only as pawns on his journey to become a world-class filmmaker. A great script full of references to film classics and outstanding acting make this indie film a favorite of film festivals. The script was based on the debuting director Chandler Levack's own experiences as a video store salesclerk and it has a cast of fresh young actors' faces.
Mon 05.06.2023 | 20:00Winter Boy (2022)
Section: Festival Laurels from around the World
Directed by: Christophe Honoré
France, 2022, 122 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Lucas is 17 when his teenage world is suddenly shattered. He views his life as a wild animal in need of taming. Between a brother settled in Paris and a mother with whom he now lives alone, Lucas will have to fight to rediscover hope and love.
Tue 06.06.2023 | 11:10Sweet As (2022)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category (over 11 years of age)
Directed by: Jub Clerc
Australia, 2022, 87 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Aborigine teen Muura's life is like the landscape in which she lives with her alcoholic mother: lonely, boring and even pathetic. In her remote part of Australia, she has no friends and prefers to spend time away from home, which is beginning to lack any meaning. One day she runs out of patience and goes to her uncle. To keep his niece from getting lost in the welfare system, he signs Muuru up for a photography trip to the Australian outback with three other troubled teens. Their task is to find stories through the viewfinders of their small cameras. This fresh road movie tells the story of growing up and finding unexpected friendship, first love, new challenges, responsibility, and the truth about yourself. We sit next to Muura in the seat of a rundown bus and embark on a journey into the depths of the breathtaking Australian outback and the souls of broken young people who are taking a chance.
Tue 06.06.2023 | 15:00Baghdad Messi (2022)
Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon
Directed by: Sahim Omar Kalifa
Belgium, 2022, 88 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Iraq. Hamoudi (11) lives for football and he dreams of being as outstanding as his hero Lionel Messi. One day, when he is unintentionally involved in an attack, he wakes up in hospital with only one leg. While his parents do everything to keep the family safe, Hamoudi fights to achieve his dream in spite of his injuries.
Tue 06.06.2023 | 17:00Beautiful Beings (2022)
Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon
Directed by: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Czech Republic, 2022, 123 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Fourteen-year-old Balli is an outsider from a broken family. In vain, he seeks support at home and at school, where he is a victim of bullying. Everything changes when he meets a group of three troubled teenagers who unexpectedly take him in. A gang dominated by the violent Konni and intelligent Addi offers Balli a missing home. A story told with poetic feeling and rawness about relationships that can last forever and help shape us in our most important moments. About cruelty and tenderness born on the magical border between childhood and adulthood.
Tue 06.06.2023 | 17:30Scrapper (2023)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category (over 11 years of age)
Directed by: Charlotte Regan
United Kingdom, 2023, 83 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
When her mother dies, 12-year-old Georgie does everything she can to avoid going to an orphanage. She has a lot on her mind for her age. She must to both grow up quickly to be able to take care of herself, and use her child's ingenuity and innocence to deceive local authorities and others. She and her best friend Ali make money stealing bikes and she pretends to live with an “uncle”. But this fake family member is soon replaced by her real father, who’s been gone so long that she doesn't recognize him. Not happy with his intrusion, she tries to find out why her father has reentered her life. This great British dramedy combines elements of the social film genre, fresh formal flavors, memorable scenes (especially the interaction between Georgia and her father), funny lines and talking spiders. The film won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema section at this year's Sundance.
Tue 06.06.2023 | 19:30Mountain Onion (2022)
Section: Festival Laurels from around the World
Directed by: Eldar Shibanov
Kazakhstan, 2022, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Eleven-year-old Jabai sells mountain onions alongside the highway and one day he catches his idol trucker having sex with his mom. Jabai and his sister, Saniya, embark on a journey from their small village in Kazakhstan to China, to obtain the only thing that will save their father and help him become a strong man, the ‘Golden Viagra’.
Wed 07.06.2023 | 11:20Exodus (2022)
Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon
Directed by: Abbe Hassan
Sweden, 2022, 102 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
We follow the journey of a young Syrian refugee, Amal (12). Fleeing to Romania to reunite with her family at a refugee camp there, she first must pass through Turkey. Smuggled to Istanbul in a crowded shipping container, she barely escapes when it’s raided by Turkish immigration authorities. With one of the smugglers, Sam (40), they embark on a perilous journey across Europe to try to get Amal back to her family.
Wed 07.06.2023 | 15:30Comedy Queen (2022)
Section: Top Teen Ten
Directed by: Sanna Lenken
Sweden, 2022, 94 min
Projection place: Zámek
Score:
The story of 13-year-old Sasha, who, despite her immense sorrow, refuses to mourn her dead mother. She secretly writes a list of everything she must do to survive: shave her hair, stop reading books, say no to the world's cutest puppy and, above all, become a stand-up comedian to make everyone laugh, especially her father, who secretly cries in the shower when he thinks no one can hear him.
Wed 07.06.2023 | 18:30When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before (2023)
Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon
Directed by: Sonja Heiss
Germany, 2023, 116 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
Growing up on the grounds of one of Germany's largest psychiatric hospitals is somehow - different. For Joachim, the director's youngest son, the patients are like family. They are also much nicer to him than his two older brothers, who drive him into fits of rage. His mother, painting watercolors, longs for Italian summer nights instead of constant German rain, while his father secretly, but not discreetly enough, goes his own way. But as Joachim slowly grows up, his world, not only through the loss of his first love, gets more and more cracks...
Wed 07.06.2023 | 19:00Bullets (2023)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category (over 11 years of age)
Directed by: Peter Pontikis
Sweden, 2023, 94 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Talented and well-behaved 12-year-old Abdel lives with his mother in a tough neighborhood. When his best friend starts selling drugs for a local gang, Abdel gets caught up in criminal activities in an effort to help him out of trouble. He thus risks changing the course of his life and getting dragged down a path that he did not choose himself. After an unsuccessful task, he unintentionally reveals where the gang's base is located, which is immediately attacked by the competition. Abdel is forced by the gang to make amends for his mistake. An impressive drama with brilliant acting shows that even if you have a good home, parents, and dreams, you can still end up in bad company due to peer pressure. A realistic film, one that the teenager should not miss; it won the Young Jury Prize and the Church of Sweden Prize at this year's BUFF International Film Festival in Malmö, Sweden.
Wed 07.06.2023 | 20:00The Kings of the World (2022)
Section: Festival Laurels from around the World
Directed by: Laura Mora
Colombia, Luxembourg, Mexico, France, Norway, 2022, 104 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Rá, Culebro, Sere, Winny and Nano, five street kids from Medellin, five kings without a kingdom, with no law and no family, looking for The Promised Land. The five embark on a trip to claim a piece of land that Rá inherited after a long process of land restitution. A subversive tale about a savage and lovely clan that transits between reality and delirium. A journey to nowhere where anything can happen.