“I Wanted to See Her Face One Last Time”: Hana Jušić On Quit Staring at My Plate
Quit Staring at My Plate, the debut feature from Croatian filmmaker Hana Jušić, explores the life on an introverted young woman, Marijana, whose story revolves around her family whether she…
“If It’s Only About Social Problems It Can Become Boring”: Mehmet Can Mertoğlu On His First Feature Albüm
One of Turkey’s most promising young directors, Mehmet Can Mertoğlu, puts a surrealist spin on the issue of adoption in his debut feature, Albüm. The filmis centred on a couple…
“We Still Have Room for Improvement”: Todor Matsanov On Bulgarian Social Drama Hristo
One young homeless boy’s persistent fight to have an ordinary life is the subject of Hristo, the feature debut by Bulgarian co-directors Todor Matsanov and Grigor Lefterov.
Interview: Sofia Exarchou on Park: “The Olympics is a show, but look what stays here after the show”
Sofia Exarchou balances poetic imagery with raw realism in Park, a coming-of-age story full of diary-like snatches of memory. It’s set in the abandoned surroundings of Greek Olympic stadiums, where…
FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project Review: The Days That Confused
The Days That Confused (Päevad, mis ajasid segadusse) is immersed in the atmosphere of a small Estonian town in the late ‘90s, and reveals 28-year-old director and screenwriter Triin Ruumet…
FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project Review: Godless
Godless, winner of the Golden Leopard at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, is a dark and daring debut feature by Bulgarian filmmaker Ralitza Petrova. Bezbog, its Bulgarian title, refers to…
FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project Review: Chouf
Following its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Chouf – the new Marseille-set crime drama by French-Tunisian director and screenwriter Karim Dridi – shoots its way into Polish cinemas…
FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project Review: Toril
Toril, the first feature by French filmmaker Laurent Teyssier, begins with a poetic image about contemporary society: an immense bullfight, intercut with red title cards, in which the beast is…
FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project Review: X500
WARSAW: Following his feature debut La Playa, director Juan Andrés Arango explores the topics of immigration, inhospitable environments and mental changes in his latest documentary-style drama X500, which screened in…
FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project Review: Playground
One of the most divisive titles so far at the 32nd Warsaw Film Festival has been Polish production Playground, Bartosz M. Kowalski’s debut feature, which explores the topic of child…
Julie: The Story of A Fugitive on the Run
Canarian Spanish director Alba González de Molina presented her debut feature Julie at the 32nd Warsaw International Film Festival in the 1–2 Competition for first and second features. It is…
