Film programme 2023

Fresh Memories: the Look (2023)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Volodymyr Kolbasa, Ondřej Moravec

Czech Republic, Ukraine, 2023, 10 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

Score:

• Info

The war in Ukraine has destroyed thousands of households and lives. Look into the eyes of those who lost their homes or places closely connected with them.

Darkening (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Ondřej Moravec

Czech Republic, Germany, 2022, 25 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

Score:

• Info

How does a person with depression perceive the world? This film provides a deep insight into the "dark night of the soul", as well as hope.

Brainz VR Cinema (2023)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

International, 2023, 234 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

Score:

• Info

Kiddo (2023)

Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon

Directed by: Zara Dwinger

Netherlands, 2023, 91 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3

Score:

• Info

Eleven-year-old Lu is living in a foster home when her long-lost mother Karina shows up unexpectedly and takes her on a wild road trip in a beat-up sports car – all the way to her grandma in Poland. Lu soon finds out it’s all or nothing with Karina when she gets pulled into a Bonnie and Clyde-like fantasy. But reality quickly catches up, forcing them to decide what they’re willing to do to stay together forever.

Dating Amber (2020)

Section: Top Teen Ten

Directed by: David Freyne

Ireland, 2020, 92 min

Projection place: Zámek

Score:

• Info

Set-in Ireland during the mid-90s, Eddie and Amber (both 17) are in the closet about their sexuality and decide to stage a relationship in order to stop everyone speculating. Eddie is keen to follow his dad into the military, while Amber dreams of moving to the liberal hub of London. However, their ‘ideal’ arrangement begins to fall apart, forcing Eddie deeper into denial as Amber realizes that a perilous future awaits her best friend unless she intervenes.

Zlín Dog - Student Live-action Films 3 (2023)

Section: International Competition of Student Films Zlín Dog

International, 2023, 95 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

Score:

• Info

Winners (2022)

Section: International Competition of Student Films Zlín Dog

Directed by: Dániel Füzes

Hungary, 2022, 16 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

Score:

• Info

Adam and Balint live in a violence-filled suburb of Budapest. When they are beaten up by a friend, they are forced to face the fact that being a man means much more.

Those Who Follow (2022)

Section: International Competition of Student Films Zlín Dog

Directed by: Frederic Kau

Germany, 2022, 29 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

Score:

• Info

Mirko is a member of a special police unit. His girlfriend, however, is annoyed by the extremist messages its members send each other.

Island of Freedom (2022)

Section: International Competition of Student Films Zlín Dog

Directed by: Petr Januschka

Czech Republic, 2022, 27 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

Score:

• Info

It's 1981 in communist Czechoslovakia and Henry meets his childhood love Eva on a charter flight to Cuba.

Rave To The Grave (2022)

Section: International Competition of Student Films Zlín Dog

Directed by: Vladimír Horník

Slovak Republic, 2022, 23 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

Score:

• Info

The widow Olga makes strives to bury her tyrant husband to finally achieve a sense of freedom. But a sequence of absurd events makes it impossible for her to do so.

Mountain Onion (2022)

Section: Festival Laurels from around the World

Directed by: Eldar Shibanov

Kazakhstan, 2022, 90 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5

Score:

• Info

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’.

Delegation (2023)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category (over 15 years of age)

Directed by: Asaf Saban

Poland, Israel, Germany, 2023, 99 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

Score:

• Info

Israeli high school students Frisch, Nitzan, and Ido, their classmates, teachers and Frisch's grandfather Josef, travel to Poland to visit Holocaust sites. The trio’s friendship faces problems; Nitzan is in love with Ida, but he is dating another girl, and Frisch is starting to feel more than friendship for Nitzan. When they visit camps where millions died, hear Joseph's stories, and watch the musical Fiddler on the Roof on a bus, their lives change. But it is not the tragic past of their nation that brings about change; it is mainly the journey itself. The teens are out of school, out of the country, and out of order. They are more aware of who they are and what is important to them. The sensitive film, which opens the theme of love, identity and friendship against a background of cultural traditions and tragic history, premiered at this year's Berlinale.

Přání k narozeninám (2022)

Section: Open-Air Cinema

Directed by: Marta Ferencová

Czech Republic, 2022, 93 min

Projection place: Open Air Cinema

Score:

• Info

Katak, the Brave Beluga (2023)

Section: World Children´s Film Panorama

Directed by: Christine Dallaire-Dupont, Nicola Lemay

Canada, 2023, 82 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2

Score:

• Info

While his peers have all turned white, as expected at their age, young beluga Katak is still small and grey. To prove that he has grown up and to grant the last wish of his adored grandma, Katak departs on a perilous journey to the Great North…

Little Allan - The Human Antenna (2022)

Section: World Children´s Film Panorama

Directed by: Amalie Næsby Fick

Denmark, 2022, 80 min

Projection place: Aula

Score:

• Info

When Little Allan’s parents get divorced, and he must move to a whole new town, his desperate search for new friends suddenly finds him acting as a human antenna for his elderly, UFO-obsessed neighbor. When a telepathic alien girl, Britney, crash-lands, they must help her get home, and a unique friendship is formed. But he isn’t the only one interested in Britney. A mad taxidermy-collector is on her trail in an attempt to answer the age-old question: Is there life in space, and can he stuff it?

Dear Zoe (2022)

Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon

Directed by: Gren Wells

United States of America, 2022, 94 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1

Score:

• Info

A powerful story of grief and resilience told from the point of view of a 16-year-old girl, Dear Zoe is a coming-of-age drama in which Tess enlists her biological father – a lovable slacker from the wrong side of the tracks – and the charming juvenile delinquent next door to help her come to grips with the death of her little sister.

Big 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:

• Info

Fourteen-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.

Sea Sparkle (2023)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category (over 11 years of age)

Directed by: Domien Huyghe

Belgium, Netherlands, 2023, 98 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

Score:

• Info

Twelve-year-old Lena rides a skateboard, listens to Angèle, is quite good at sailing and loves the ocean. She enjoys a carefree childhood by the sea, with her feet in the water and her head in the clouds. On her sailboat, she fights the winds and waves as passionately as her father did on his fishing expeditions. When he and the rest of his crew don't return one day, some say it was an accident, others say he was reckless. Lena is sure it couldn't have been her father's fault. It must have been a giant sea creature that overturned the ship. She just needs proof to prove everyone wrong. Lena's rage focuses her on a single task: to hunt down the underwater monster she believes is responsible for the disaster. This story of a teenager against a background of sadness, is based on the director's own experience. It was the opening film of the Generation Kplus section at this year's Berlinale.

Missing 10 Hours (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Fanni Fazakas

Hungary, 2022, 16 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

Score:

• Info

Rape cases often involve more than just the perpetrator and the victim. Your decisions as a bystander will influence the course of an evening.

Thank You for Sharing Your World (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Yu Sakudo

Japan, 2022, 33 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

Score:

• Info

Takashi lost his eyesight in grade school. He begins to lose interest in a world he can’t see, until he’s invited to an event which changes how he sees the world.