Five paraplegics and a young able-bodied teenager must avoid the pitfalls of the street, stay united and find the force to hope in music. Benda Bilili! – in English “beyond appearances”, is the name of a Kinshasa band which has acquired a global following, having erupted out of the Congo in the past couple of years and taken Europe by storm. From the first rehearsals to their triumph in international festivals, Benda Bilili! is the story of this dream come reality, as well as a plunge into the streets of Kinshasa without a safety net.
Cast: Leon Likabu, Roger Landu, Coco Ngambali Yakala
Directed by: Florent de la Tullaye, Reno Barre
Thirteen year-old Marta has recently moved back to her native region of Italy with her mother and older sister and struggles to find her place on her own, restlessly testing the boundaries of the unfamiliar city. Marta’s only source of socialization is the local church, where she attends a series of catechism classes in preparation for her upcoming confirmation. A gritty exploration of a realistic coming-of-age tale that tackles questions of faith in impoverished southern Italy.
Cast: Yile Vianello, Salvatore Cantalupo, Pasqualina Scuncia, Anita Caprioli, Renato Carpentieri
Directed by: Alice Rohrwacher
Police officer Gromov, surgeon Kaminsky and taxi driver Mozerov are a smashing trio. During the old school days they played in a band called Gromozeka, and as the local rebels were the idols for their schoolmates and horror for the teachers. A lot has changed since then and each of them has their own different troubles: one is futilely waiting for the well-deserved promotion, another is having a hard time maneuvering between his wife and his lover, but the daughter of the third is featuring in porn videos. Despite the long time passed since they saw each other last, Gromozeka is united on stage at a school reunion party in order to play the greatest hits of the 1980s.
Cast: Nikolay Dobrynin, Boris Kamorzin, Leonid Gromov, Yevgeniya Dobrovolskaya, Polina Filonenko
Directed by: Vladimir Kott
Bibinur is already of age, and her last dream does not bring happy tidings. She sees herself, aged five, walking through a blossoming orchard, beckoned by her dead relatives sitting in the trees. Bibinur realizes she has only five days left, and she must use this time to set the old debts straight to pass on to the other side peacefully. Suddenly the usual quietness of the village is disturbed by the arrival of businessmen and landowners who start fixing shady deals. One of them spends the night at Bibinur’s house, where he is about to have several surprising revelations.
Cast: Firdaus Akhtyamova, Ernest Timerkhanov, Ruslan Mustafin
Directed by: Juri Feting
On a water-skiing outing, a girl drives a speedboat and pulls a young man, when a crash occurs. After waking up from a coma, the man embarks on a mysterious travel – an odyssey where intuition and telepathy accelerates the journey in time. Dharma Guns revisits the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice fighting with the tyranny of Time-God. At a time when the industrial death of cinema seems to have been rationally, technically and economically organized, a cinema of poetry and fantastical adventure – intentionally created in a B-movie style – is possible.
Cast: Guy McKnight, Elvire, Lionel Tua, Diogo Doria
Directed by: F.J. Ossang
Habemus Papam is a traditional announcement in Latin, meaning “We Have a Pope!” The conclave of cardinals has spent several days in isolation, considering the candidates. The crowd of people in the St. Peter’s Square has also been waiting patiently. Everyone’s attention is suspended in tension until the moment the new pope appears on the balcony and greets all the believers. However, an unexpected problem occurs as the new pope has a panic attack. A famous psychoanalyst, an atheist, is called to help.
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa
Directed by: Nanni Moretti
“Dance, dance... otherwise we are lost” are the words of Pina Bausch (1940 – 2009), a legendary German avant-garde dancer and choreographer. Her unique creations transformed the language of dance and offered a visual experience like no other. This revolutionary 3D film by Wim Wenders captures the aesthetics of Pina Bausch’s greatest works in a thrilling way. Partly musical, partly documentary, the film is a magical ode to the love of movement.
Cast: Pina Bausch, Dominique Mercy, Regina Advento, Malou Airaudo
Directed by Wim Wenders
Scriptwriter: Wim Wenders
The film revolves around the life and mind of world-renowned musician José González. Using video diary, surveillance camera, concert footage, tour documentation and animation, directors Mikel Cee Karlsson and Fredrik Egerstrand give form to something as elusive as the creative process of one of Sweden’s finest – and most secretive – musicians. The film was shot over a three year period on location in Sweden, Japan, Singapore, United States, South Africa, England, Chile and Argentina.
Cast: José González, Erik Bodin, Don Alsterberg
Directed by: Fredrik Egerstrand, Mikel Cee Karlsson
Bettina and Marcus is a passionate couple living in a canteen in the middle of a plain field dotted by never-ending rows of poles. Marcus, trying to create his own company, has become an electrician. Bored Bettina manages the workers’ canteen and longs for a better life. Their nine-year-old daughter Tessa avoids school whenever possible and wanders through the industrial area, looking for various things to entertain herself. The casual way of life changes its pattern when Marcus hires a Hungarian engineer to work in the company. A tragic accident shatters the fragile harmony.
Cast: Lisbeth Gruwez, Sam Louwyck, Kimke Desart, Zoltan Miklos Hajdu
Directed by: Caroline Strubbe
Claire, a beautiful young actress, is in relationship with Ethan, an aspiring arthouse
filmmaker. When she accepts the lead role in a werewolf film to be directed by a young horror filmmaker, Ethan begins to spiral into a dangerous depression and self-doubt. In retaliation against Claire, he casts her best friend, Charlie, also an actress, as his girlfriend in his new film. As both productions move forward, Claire's life becomes more surreal and starts to resemble the werewolf film she is working on.
Cast: Kate Lyn Sheil, Joe Swanberg, Ti West, Amy Seimet, Jane Adam, Larry Fessenden
Directed by: Joe Swanberg
Scriptwriter: Joe Swanberg
Producer: Joe Swanberg
This witty romantic comedy proves that not everything in this genre has to be shallow and cheap. The story involves a husband, Gabriel, and his wife, Gabriela, who, tired of their twenty years of marriage, yield to the temptation of online dating. Despite their seeming mutual alienation, the slightest nod now stirs up the passion. Moreover, their teenage son has taken a fancy to a future work in the porn industry. It is possible they will be able to satisfy their cravings, however – by what means and through which people – remains a mystery.
Cast: Dana Voicu, Ionel Mihailescu, Paul Diaconescu, Jordi Garcia, Ana Popescu, Ioan Andrei Ionescu
Directed by: Alexandru Maftei
JØRGEN LETH (Denmark, 1937) is a true living cultural icon. Theatre, film and jazz critic, poet, writer, sports commentator, and anthropologist, having travelled to Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and India, and having written volumes on his observations. He is also a leading figure in experimental documentary filmmaking with several dozens of films in his filmography. His surrealistic short The Perfect Human (1967) was later famously explored in The Five Obstructions (2003), co-directed with Lars von Trier. The Erotic Man, Leth's docu-fictional account of his sexual encounters with women in third world countries, is a collection of scenes based on documents, letters, pictures and poems that depict man's erotic nature. The controversially reviewed film premiered at the 2010 Toronto IFF.
Cast: Alexander Gruszynski, Dan Holmberg, Adam Philp
Directed by: Jorgen Leth