Warsaw Film Festival Special Screenings of this year’s edition of Warsaw Film Festival – a noncompetitive section focused on new films by acclaimed directors from all over the world including a World Premiere of Life is Like a Trumpet / Zivot je truba by Antonio Nuić from Croatia.
Afterthough / Hayored Lema'ala / W górę i w dół, dir. Elad Keidan, (Israel/France 2015), 105 min.
A story about two men living in Haifa. An existential comedy in which the overbearing mountain in Haifa with its endless stairs takes control over destinies. World premiere: Cannes 2015.
Amnesia / Amnezja, dir. Barbet Schroeder, (Switzerland/France 2015), 96 min.
Two Germans meet on Ibiza in the 1990s. He is a 25-year-old DJ, she has been living alone at the seaside for 40 years. As their relations develop, she puts everything she had previously lived by into question. The cast includes Marthe Keller, Max Riemelt and Bruno Ganz. World premiere: Cannes 2015.
Brave Men’s Blood / Borgríki 2 / Krew bohatera, dir. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson, (Island 2015), 93 min.
Hannes is tipped off about a corrupt lieutenant. He doesn’t know that he cannot trust anyone and that his actions are endangering his family. A powerful picture, gripping to the very end. World premiere: Rotterdam 2015.
Chasuke's Journey / Ten no Chasuke / Podróż Chasuke, dir. Sabu, (Japan/France 2015), 106 min.
A madcap comedy, the kind that could only come from Sabu, one of Japan's most highly regarded middle-generation directors. World premiere: Berlinale 2015.
The Daughter / Powrót, dir. Simon Stone, (Australia 2015), 94 min.
A well-hidden family secret brings disappointment and danger. An adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play 'The Wild Duck'. The cast includes Miranda Otto, Geoffrey Rush and Sam Neill. International premiere: Toronto 2015.
Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad / Une histoire de fou / Historia szaleństwa, dir. Robert Guédiguian, (France 2015), 120 min.
The very timely story of how a son from a pacifist Armenian family in Marseille becomes a terrorist. The moving story of a mother whose politically radicalized son accidentally injures an innocent passer-by when blowing up the Turkish ambassador’s car in Paris. World premiere: Cannes 2015.
Entertainment / Rozrywka, dir. Rick Alverson, (USA 2015), 104 min.
A forgotten stand-up comedian goes on tour, performing in prisons and poky rooms. His jokes seldom get a laugh. Resigned to his fate, he trudges through a series of increasingly surreal encounters. A bitter anti-comedy about loneliness and unfulfilled dreams. World premiere: Sundance 2015.
The High Sun / Zvizdan / Słońce w zenicie, dir. Dalibor Matanic, (Croatia/Slovenia/Serbia 2015), 123 min.
Three decades, two nations: Serbs and Croats, and one forbidden love. Three different couples in consecutive decades struggle with prejudice and ethnic hatred towards their lovers. World premiere: Cannes 2015.
Janis: Little Girl Blue, dir. Amy Berg, (USA 2015), 106 min.
An Oscar-nominated director presents a portrait of Janis Joplin. The narrator is singer Cat Power, who reads the words of the legendary Joplin from her private letters. These personal thoughts reveal a gentle, sensitive, but powerful woman. World premiere: Venice 2015.
Life Is Like a Trumpet / Zivot je truba / Życie jest jak trąbka, dir. Antonio Nuić, (Croatia 2015), 90 min.
A jazz musician from a wealthy family of butchers gets an unusual wedding gift from his father. A film where drama and comedy are intertwined, offering different perspectives of the same event. World premiere at 31st Warsaw Film Festival.
Panama, dir. Pavle Vučković, (Serbia 2015), 105 min.
Jovan’s girlfriend Maja leads a double life. When her videos on Facebook start getting mixed up with real life, Jovan loses himself in a labyrinth of conflicting feelings. He will stop at nothing to understand who Maja really is… Pavle Vučković’s debut film premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival. World premiere: Cannes 2015.
The Program / Strategia mistrza, dir. Stephen Frears, (Great Britain 2015), 103 min.
In 2012 world-famous cyclist Lance Armstrong revealed that his brilliant career had been based on doping. This film by maestro Stephen Frears tells a story based on facts in which journalist David Walsh struggles for years to bring the truth about the champion to light. World premiere: Toronto 2015.
Room / Pokój, dir. Lenny Abrahamson, (Irleand/Canada 2015), 118 min.
Five-year-old Jack has spent his whole life in a room with his mother. A life-affirming adaptation of Emma Donoghue's best-selling novel which has been translated into dozens of languages and won numerous awards. World premiere: Toronto 2015.
Truman, dir. Cesc Gay, (Spain/Argentina 2015), 108 min.
Two childhood friends haven’t seen each other for years. When they meet again it feels like they’ve never been apart. A humorous and honest, gentle portrait of the courage it takes to accept that death is just another part of life. World premiere: Toronto 2015.
Valley of Love / Dolina miłości, reż. Guillaume Nicloux, (France 2015), 93 min.
Isabelle and Gerard answer an invitation from their dead son. In the scorching heat of Death Valley, they follow his instructions in the fragile hope that they might see him again… World premiere: Cannes 2015.
Yakuza Apocalypse / Gokudo daisenso, reż. Takashi Miike, (Japan 2015), 125 min.
A madcap vampire-gangster action comedy by Japan’s most famous director of classic low-budget V-cinema action pictures, many of which have become cult films worldwide. World premiere: Cannes 2015.
