From Sophie Hyde's hilarious and heart-breaking Animals, starring Alia Shawkat and Holliday Grainger, to Sick, Sick, Sick and Finland's naughty breakout Aurora, the most unusual take on a romantic comedy in recent years, there is plenty to, well, discover in one of Warsaw Film Festival's most adventurous section. Buckle up!
Animals dir. Sophie Hyde
Animals dir. Sophie Hyde, UK, Ireland, Australia 2019, 109’
Who says the fun has to stop one day? An honest, funny, unconventional snapshot of modern women. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance festival.
Aurora dir. Miia Tervo, Finland 2019, 105’
A party animal girl from Lapland meets an Iranian refugee. He is running away from death, while she is running away from love. They need each other in order to finally stop running.
Buoyancy dir. Rodd Rathjen, Australia 2019, 93’
A gripping story, inspired by real-life events, about modern-day slavery in South-East Asia. The film was awarded the Panorama Prize by the Berlinale’s Ecumenical Jury.
Heroes / Şehitler dir. Köken Ergun, Turkey, Australia 2019, 88’
Every year, on the anniversary of the battle of Gallipoli, hordes of tourists flock to the site. A rare insight into how nationalist emotions are kept alive by the state through a tourism of martyrdom.
Just 6.5 / Metri Shesh-o Nim dir. Saeed Roustayi, Iran 2019, 135’
A great action thriller uncompromisingly showing how law enforcement is unable to stop drug dealing. A box office megahit, the film won the Iranian Audience Award at this year’s Tehran festival.
Land of Ashes / Ceniza Negra dir. Sofía Quirós Ubeda, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, France 2019, 92’
An intimate and magical coming-of-age story about Selva, who must find her own way to adulthood. The first Costa Rican feature film invited to the Cannes festival.
One Child Nation dir. Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, USA, China 2019, 85’
How Chinese people have been dealing with the devastating social experiment: the one-child policy? Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance festival.
Our Mothers / Nuestras Madres dir. César Díaz, Guatemala, Belgium, France 2019, 77’
Ernesto is a young anthropologist working for a forensic foundation identifying the bodies of those who went missing during the Guatemalan civil war. His father also disappeared at the time.
Sick, Sick, Sick / Sem Seu Sangue dir. Alice Furtado, Brazil, France, Netherlands 2019, 100’
A story about the bright and dark side of love which leads to obsession. And this obsession will use any means to feed itself. Even voodoo. Premiered in Cannes' Directors’ Fortnight section.
The Pig / Praseto dir. Dragomir Sholev, Bulgaria, Romania 2019, 96’
The story of a 13-year-old boy nicknamed Pig. Bullied at school, one day he is pushed to his lim
