Directed by: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino
Italy, Greece, 2015, 96 min

Distinguished Italian poet Antonia Pozzi (1912–1938) was among those women who were at odds with the times in which they lived. Her poems record her inability to adapt to social norms and her desire to live fully, and in poetry she sought an escape from reality and from her own complex soul and emotional life. An exceptional debut from a talented Italian filmmaker whose short work was awarded at the festivals in Locarno and Sundance.

Directed by: Visar Morina
Germany, Kosovo, North Macedonia, France, 2015, 103 min

The story of ten-year-old Nori plays out in Kosovo, in Germany, and on the road between the two countries. His father Gezim dominates his entire world, however, one day he leaves for work in the “West” and Nori won’t be placated concerning his sudden disappearance. This feature debut from a talented Kosovan filmmaker is rendered with exceptional intensity and a flair for portraying the emotional complexities of the child’s situation.

Directed by: Diego Ongaro
USA, 2015, 91 min

Massachusetts logger Bob Tarasuk, a charismatic workhorse and hard-head with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, plays himself in this vérite-style drama – an unpretentiously intense character study of an individual surrounded by a landscape both majestic and inscrutable.

Directed by: Florin Şerban
Romania, Germany, France, 2015, 93 min

The story of this keenly anticipated film by acclaimed Romanian director Florin Șerban (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, Berlinale 2010) follows a talented 19-year-old boxer named Rafael, for whom a session in the ring is everything, and Cristina, an attractive, 30-something mother who finds herself at a critical moment in her life. Two characters with their own secrets, two journeys, two outlooks. An intense drama that penetrates to the core.

Directed by: Daniel Dencik
Denmark, 2015, 114 min

Young anti-colonial idealist Wulff leaves for Danish Guinea to set up a coffee plantation but not everything goes according to plan. This bold contribution to the historical film genre casts light on a dark chapter of European history, employing the music of Angelo Badalamenti to help shift the experience into a dreamlike trip that partakes in equal measure of lyric poetry and a horrifying nightmare.

Directed by: Dietrich Brüggemann
Germany, 2015, 103 min

Renowned German filmmaker Dietrich Brüggemann (Stations of the Cross) has come out with a radical satirical comedy where, in the carefree spirit of punk, he pitches into the neo-Nazis, the media, police, and the European Union. The acrid commentary on the state of contemporary German society fed to the viewer at an impressive tempo can easily be applied to the countries bordering the director’s homeland.

Directed by: Slávek Horák
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2015, 92 min

Everyone knows about the finality of human existence but the realization of life’s actual limits comes to each of us individually and often unexpectedly. Dedicated home care nurse Vlasta (Alena Mihulová) lives for her husband Láďa (Bolek Polívka), her daughter, and her patients. But then one day things change and Vlasta is forced to react. This mature debut portrays deadly serious issues with a gentle humor.

Directed by: Anca Damian
Romania, France, Poland, 2015, 95 min

The Magic Mountain investigates the adventures of mountain climber and photographer Adam J. Winkler, who fought in Afghanistan with the mujahedin against the Soviets in the 1980s. The director employs a highly original artistic technique involving animated collage of period materials.

Directed by: Marcin Koszałka
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2015, 90 min

This feature debut by a leading Polish documentarist and cameraman was inspired by actual mass murders committed in the 1960s. A precisely constructed psychological thriller, the film delves into an intricate story of the fascination with evil that hides in places we would never expect.

Directed by: Jan Prušinovský
Czech Republic, 2015, 111 min

This uncompromising drama tells the story of two brothers who answer to the nicknames Viper and Cobra, each dealing in his own way with the bleakness, lack of funds, and the alcohol-filled evenings repeated ad nauseam in their small Central Bohemian town. Brothers Matěj and Kryštof Hádek excel in one of the must-see domestic films of the year.

Directed by: Eva Neymann
Ukraine, 2015, 76 min

The acclaimed work by renowned Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem served as inspiration for the Ukrainian filmmaker, whose third picture offers a markedly stylized vision of the lost world of the Jewish shtetl at the beginning of the 20th century. Poetic scenes created using truly magical images are loosely connected via the motif of childhood love, while the film’s imaginative form is imbued with nostalgia.

Directed by: François Péloquin
Canada, 2015, 79 min

At 17 Jérémie dreams of a life different from the one that awaits him at the family sawmill in the small Canadian town where he lives. Jérémie is more interested in pimping his car, listening to hip hop, and slacking off with his friends. This impressionistic debut, built upon convincing performances, tells of a summer that completely changed a teenager’s life.

Directed by: Peter Brunner
Austria, 2015, 92 min

In the face of death, time seems to stop for those left behind. What can they do to start the clock ticking again? This inward-looking, artistically striking, and exceptionally strong drama from one of Austria’s greatest talents presents its protagonists in moments of sorrow and the occasional joy, but always as fragile, vulnerable people.