Festival films

Looking into a plot of 1,000 square meters in Geraki, Laconia, a village in Southern Greece, an international team of archaeologists has been constructing the distant past of the acropolis of Ancient Geronthrai. Between olive trees and stones, amidst these harsh landscapes of the Southern Mediterranean, archaeologists along with the people of Geraki add their own layer of time to the eternal quest for understanding the past.

Washington D.C., 1999. Nine-year-old Emmanuel “Mannie” Sanford receives a video camera and starts filming his surroundings: community basketball games, visits to his sickly grandfather, playful struggles with older siblings, escapades of his drugged mother. Captured by the innocent eyes of a child, who is as cheerful as he is crafty, these everyday images reveal the complexity of a family living within a neglected neighbourhood just 17 blocks from the United States Capitol.

An intimate coming-of-age drama documents four teenage outstanding athletes living in a prestigious sports academy, where the intense daily routine forces them to sacrifice youth in favor of success.

What does the simplest of phrases “going to school” mean for children in different places of the world? What do they see and what do they experience? The everyday “journeys” to school around the globe are fascinating and full of surprises. An international documentary series that follows children at the four corners of the planet on their way from home to school. Their personalities are as varied as the landscapes in which they live. These children guide us through the endless diversity of landscapes across various continents and share their dreams, as well as their fears – of child labor, war, and delinquency – while praising the beauty of nature and the importance of friendship. We see the world through their eyes.

The body of a two-year-old toddler is found at the bottom of a well at a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert. His mother is arrested the very same day, suspected of committing murder. During 21 days of detention and interrogation, police officers exploit her weaknesses in order to make her confess to the crime. The film is comprised of police archive materials and original reenactments techniques, thus recounting the horrific life story of a traditional Bedouin woman.

The story of the ten-year battle to achieve fair representation for women in the governance of Sierra Leone is passionately revealed to us by three women from diverse backgrounds. Bernadette Lahai, Salamatu Kamara and Barbara Bangura share their stories of the impediments women face within the world of politics in Sierra Leone. Em Cooper’s exquisite oil painted animation combined with live-action video transforms issues of gender and politics into a compelling and thought-provoking viewing experience.

317 is the number of civilians killed by the Nazi Germans of the 1st Mountain Division on August 16th, 1943 during their invasion in Kommeno village in Arta - Greece. The untold story of the survivors, witnesses who are still fighting for Justice and Compensation, collecting indifference from the governments of the two countries. A story full of violence and inhumanity, with well-kept secrets and backstage incidents, with questions searching until today to find an answer.

In April 2015, a ship carrying 800 refugees sank off the coast of Libya, marking another circle on the tragedy calendar of our times. The victims are nameless, faceless figures that slip into oblivion, bearing only numbers, as if objects on a shelf. Remains of clothes, soaked banknotes, worn-out photos, personal items, are all that is left of them, an array of macabre remnants of existence. A heartfelt and investigative documentary that casts a shocking glance at the lurid aspects of humanitarian work, lauding the noble quest of a few tireless researchers to discover the victims’ stories and names: a low-key hymn to the value of human life.

Rising seas will be one of the biggest challenges we face in the next few centuries. Island states will disappear, coastlines will shift. On the basis of scientists' predictions, billions of dollars are being invested in coastal protection measures. But not everything can be protected.

Garyfalia and Yannis emigrated in 1970 from their village in Drama (Northern Greece) to Germany, in search of a better life. They lived in Esslingen am Neckar and in Metzingen until 1977. What did they win? What did they lose? How long can someone carry the burden of his decisions? What’s the price of time gone by? A confession.

The documentary focuses on the daily life of the director’s father, an 85-year-old man. It addresses the difficulties of old age, loneliness, fear of death, and grief prompted by the loss of a lifelong partner, as we follow the protagonist experiencing the loss of his spouse, with whom he had shared a 57-year life journey. The film captures the strong feelings that prevail, as well as the initiatives taken by the elderly protagonist in his effort to overcome loneliness.

Abbas, iconic photographer member of the Magnum Agency, went on the scene of the great events that have shaken the world from the 70s to our days. Beyond being a witness of his time, it is fair to say that he was also its confidant. For the first time and through different chapters and thematics (violence, fanatism, chaos...), this movie portrays an observer of the world and captures the last words of one of the most important photographers of our time.

Unlike the case of humans, there is no law dictating to birds where to fly, when they choose to migrate: their freedom is not restricted by artificial (and very often temporary) borders or invented hierarchies. Through the use of miniature cameras mounted on trained eagles (a vantage point by definition), this aery documentary soars over areas of transit and surveillance, intertwining the birds’ migratory routes with the refugees’ desperate journey into the unknown. A vis-à-vis juxtaposition of human rule vs. nature’s law, which –in all its cruel simplicity– offers a sense of equality that cuts across dividing lines.

The film tells the story of Bulgarian Prof. Viden Tabalov from his small birthplace Stakevtsi in Bulgaria to NASA’s Flight Center as a member of the team behind Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the lunar surface.

In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, just outside the bustling metropolis, an 11-member family lives in total harmony with nature, following the cycle of seasons. When the area is transformed into a national park, they are forced to abandon their unconventional modus vivendi and adapt to the alienated modern world, where fishing is replaced by texting. As they strive to find a point of reference and remain united, they begin to question their place in society and dread the future. An empathetic glance at an unorthodox family that seeks acceptance and claims its own share of freedom.

A sedate pastime for retirees? No way! Bridge is a high-stakes whirl of brain against brain in which elite players process a million data points a minute and compete as fiercely as Olympic athletes. Aces & Knaves captures that drama by zooming in on the champions and cheaters who dominate the game. Yes, cheaters! Like every human endeavor where money and ego hang in the balance, bridge has long had its share of tricksters. The film follows the emotional story of the codebreakers, who outed the most recent batch of bad guys. And it also gets to the core of why millions of people around the globe are addicted to the game. Says bridge legend Zia Mahmood: "If I sat with you for 10 minutes at a bridge table, I would know more about you than your closest relatives do. Because I could see whether you're brave, strong or fearless. Whether you're honest or charming. It reveals everything."

Emma and Anaïs are best friends and yet everything in their life seems to oppose them, their social background but also their personality. From age 13 to 18, Adolescentes follows the two teenagers when radical transformations and first times punctuate daily life. Through their personal stories, the film offers a rare portrait of France and its recent history.

Artist and filmmaker Eric Baudelaire spent four years interacting with the pupils of a film class, at a secondary school in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis. Keeping himself on the sidelines, he gives way to the children to express their thoughts and dreams. Their remarks are intuitive, inquisitive, yet passionate and surprisingly mature, concerning rocky and complicated issues, ranging from racism, immigration, and identity, all the way to the possibilities of film as a medium. As time flows almost unnoticed, it is evident that these children have not only become the co-directors of this film but also the heroes of their own lives.

Johnny believes in the future of Africa. Living in Israel, he dreams of returning to Africa, having acquired modern fish farming techniques. But his wife, Thérèse, is determined to create the best possible future for their children, whatever the price may be. When their visas expire, tensions lead to an inevitable clash. Mayer’s directorial debut is a moving documentary portrait pieced out of ten years of intimate footage.

In the 1950s, a scientific elite with individuals chosen from all over the country and from abroad was assembled to develop the nuclear power of China in a remote area of the desert Gobi, northwest China ; After the Economic Reform and Opening of China in the 1980s, the government supported employees by importing the advanced technologies from abroad and established the largest factory of TiO2 (titanium dioxide) of China. In 2007, HYTD is listed. In 2009, the global financial crisis and the transformation of China’s economic system strike the company down and put the 1200 employees struggling on the edge of poverty. Live or die? A battle was waged between different parties: employees, manager, investors, share-holders... Through years of tracking, this documentary shows the true battle of this Chinese company within a hybrid communist-liberal economy. The ups and downs of this struggle is vividly narrated through the interviews from different angles with all the critical people in-volved.

A 30-year-old man, from a faraway village in the north of Iran, goes bankrupt. At the same time he finds out that he’s got a progressive lung cancer. He makes new decisions for continuing his life.