Festival 2022
January 6th - 9th
Isaac (Lithuania – Oscar submission - feature)
In 1941, Lithuanian activist Andrius Gluosnis kills a Jew, Isaac, at the Lietukis garage massacre. Years later, in Soviet Lithuania, his friend, movie director Gutauskas, returns from the USA with a screenplay of a film that tells in detail the massacre and a situation where Isaac is being killed. This screenplay becomes evidence for an investigation that the KGB began on the events of 1941. Gluosnis' friend Gutauskas becomes the main suspect. Gluosnis’ life sets about to crumble during the preparations for the film – his guilt tortures him until he understands that he has to make peace with the victim.
The Pit (Latvia – Oscar submission - feature)
A neighbour's daughter, makes some contemptuous remarks about about his dead father, a ten year old boy decides to trick her and, after a long chase, manages to make her fall into a pit. The cruel lesson has severe repercussions throughout the village, and the only person who seems to understand the child and his fears is an old sailor who lives alone in a modest house, suffers from diabetes and has a mysterious past. Throughout the piece, the special bond between the boy and the sailor is explored with candour and sincerity, as they both start working on the completion of a particularly valuable stained-glass window. This is just the beginning of an intense emotional journey, which gradually gains depth and sensitivity.
Tigers (Sweden – Oscar submission - feature)
Martin is one of the most promising football talents Sweden has ever seen. At sixteen, his lifelong dream comes true when he is bought by one of Italy's most prestigious clubs. Yet that dream comes at a very high price in terms of sacrifice, dedication, pressure and - most of all - loneliness. Martin begins to question whether this is actually the life he yearned for. "Tigers" is a life-and-death rollercoaster ride through the modern-day football industry. With a unique perspective on the world of professional sports, Ronnie Sandahl tells the true story of 16-year-old football prodigy Martin Bengtsson. A coming-of-age drama about a young man's burning obsession in a world where everything, and everyone, has a price tag.
January 13th - 16th
Flee (Denmark – Oscar submission - animated feature doc)
The film follows Amin Nawabi as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. Recounted mostly through animation, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee fleeing his home country of Afghanistan to Denmark as a refugee.
Lamb (Iceland – Oscar submission - feature)
In the isolated depths of rural Iceland, a childless couple, Maria and Ingvar, make an alarming discovery one day in their sheep barn: a newborn unlike anything they've seen before. They decide to raise the girl, Ada, as their own, but sinister forces - including one very pissed-off ewe - seem determined to return Ada to the wilderness that birthed her. The masterful and terrifying feature excavates primal fears - of parenting, loss, and the vast and merciless wild - in a dark and unnatural folktale for the ages.
On The Water (Estonia – Oscar submission - feature)
Andres is a sensitive teenager raised by his strict grandparents in a small bland Soviet Estonian town. He is being bullied at school and his only friends are the drunkards, whores, and thieves living next door.A gifted angler, Andres is at his happiest on the water, no matter what season of the year. Andres is often joined in his fishing expeditions by half-crazy neighbor Kolla (Aarne Soro), whose cock-eyed vision of the world makes complete sense to the lad.
Worst Person in the World (Norway – Oscar submission - feature)
A fickle Norwegian, Julie, has never stayed committed to one thing in her entire life. A teenaged overachiever, she dabbled in medicine before she discovered that she was more interested in matters of the soul than the body. So, she cuts and dyes her hair, dumps her med school lover and pivots to psychology pursuits before burning that all down too, shifting once again—this time to photography. But unsurprisingly, photography manages to bore Julie as well, and soon enough she’s off to the next new thing, next new hairstyle. She meets Aksel Willman, an acclaimed graphic novelist fifteen years her senior. Despite their age gap, the two hit it off and begin a relationship in this coming-of-age film.
January 20th - 23rd
Compartment No 6 (Finland – Oscar submission - feature)
A young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment no. 6 to face the truth about their own yearning for human connection.
The Jump (Lithuania – Oscar submission - feature doc)
It's Thanksgiving Day, 1970, the Atlantic Ocean. A Soviet sailor jumps across the icy water onto the American boat in a frantic bid for freedom. To his horror, the Americans return him to the Soviets. Through rare archival footage and a dramatic reenactment we relive one of the most unpredictable Cold War thrillers.
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Sweden – feature doc)
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World is a 2021 documentary film about Björn Andrésen and the effects of fame thrust upon him when he appeared in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film, Death in Venice. Andrésen was just 16 when the film came out, and was unprepared for instantly becoming an international celebrity.
The President (Denmark/Norway – Feature Doc)
When dictator Robert Mugabe was removed from power in a military coup, the generals promised they would not seize control for themselves but would ensure democracy in a na-tional election. Against a backdrop of economic crisis, food shortages, and political violence, the stakes could not be higher. Working to defeat the ruling party, which has controlled Zimbabwe since independence, is the young and charismatic Nelson Chamisa, who draws comparisons to a young Nelson Mandela in expressing the country’s utmost desire to be “governed” and not “ruled”. After decades of a corrupt elite clinging to power using any tool available—legal or not—can a free, fair, and cred-ible election be truly possible?