Directed by: Alexei Krasovskiy
Russia, 2016, 74 min

An unscrupulous debt collector who is a prominent member of the Moscow elite has just a few hours to refute an accusation that might cost him his job and his life. A giddy ride to moral depths from which there is no return – a bravura debut which owes its strength to the performance of its sole actor.

Directed by: Triin Ruumet
Estonia, 2016, 105 min

Allar, 27, and his friends spend their lives in their Estonian small town goofing off, getting drunk, and driving as if there’s no tomorrow. When one of their outings ends in an accident, Allar begins to reflect on his life. The quest to find meaning, however, is full of twists and turns… With the help of bold music and visuals, the debuting Estonian director takes the viewer on a dynamic ride through the wild nineties, while also following the struggles of a searching mind.

Directed by: Catrinel Dănăiaţă
Romania, 2016, 100 min

At first glance it seems that George has everything he wants in life: a beautiful girlfriend, an interesting job, and there are always enough friends around to go for drinks. Under the surface of this well-ordered world, however, lurks something self-destructive that has to be dealt with. And George is the only one who can find his way out of this crisis.

Directed by: Faton Bajraktari
Kosovo, North Macedonia, 2016, 90 min

Agron was long considered dead. His army buddies saw him die during the Kosovo conflict, and thus his return home is beyond surprising. Joy, however, soon shifts to a consideration of practical problems, and the man is forced by a variety of circumstances to remain dead – at least officially. His home thus becomes the backdrop for a portrayal of the myriad problems facing postwar society.

Directed by: Rusudan Glurjidze
Georgia, Russia, Spain, Croatia, 2016, 103 min

They managed to survive the war and, as winners, they are assigned houses that were swiftly abandoned by others. In their fresh environment filled with old memories and unfamiliar objects they’re about to start a new, contented life. But it soon becomes clear that the hardest battle is yet to be won. A quasi-autobiographical debut from an extraordinarily talented Georgian director.

Directed by: Žiga Virc
Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic, Qatar, 2016, 88 min

Tito, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Clinton in a narrative docu-fiction about Yugoslavia’s hitherto secret space program, which aimed to put American astronauts on the Moon and thereby win the Cold War. Can eyewitnesses unravel the web of lies, dirty political games, and conspiracy theories?

Directed by: Łukasz Grzegorzek
Poland, 2016, 89 min

This acerbic relationship comedy about a young married couple draws together the sad truths about the difficulties of intimate relationships that have lost their initial passion but have yet to submit to stereotypes. This Polish directing debut provides a sensitive generational perspective with a catchy soundtrack.

Directed by: Attila Till
Hungary, 2016, 105 min

Two disabled lads get together with an ex-fireman and form a gang of hired assassins. But, as is the way with life, the reality is a little more prosaic… Attila Till has come up with an original, action-packed comedy which deftly blends reality and fantasy and whose black humour places it right up there with the audience hit The Art of Negative Thinking. Film is also part of the section People Next Door.

Directed by: Jiří Sádek
Czech Republic, 2016, 90 min

Eliška moves back with her daughter Anetka to her husband’s native village. But something strange is going on and, as the temperature rises, Eliška becomes increasingly jittery. Fear is all-pervading and spectres move freely between dream and reality. The Noonday Witch is both an atmospheric horror film and a psychological drama, deftly toying with the viewer’s senses.

Directed by: Toomas Hussar
Estonia, 2016, 95 min

One evening, Gustav, a secret agent and hard-boiled loner, rescues a woman who turns out to be a decoy for Russian intelligence. The game of cat-and-mouse he decides to play gets considerably more complicated when he receives orders to succumb to her charms… An Estonian flick that impishly balances on the borderline between thriller and black comedy.

Directed by: Lina Lužytė
Lithuania, Romania, 2016, 88 min

A three-member family forms a fragile association of isolated individuals who desire love and understanding without knowing how to find it. And so together they spin a web of white lies that merely manage to pour salt into unhealed wounds. A writer-director debut for a Lithuanian helmer that investigates loneliness and the battle to escape it.

Directed by: Ayhan Salar, Erkan Tahhuşoğlu
Turkey, Germany, 2016, 83 min

A young woman waits for her husband to return from one of his regular business trips. However, he never shows up, and her joyful anticipation of seeing him develops into questioning concern and ultimately paralysing fear. The empty apartment becomes a labyrinth of memory and expectation, its silence broken only by the agonising sound of car engines, none of which announce her husband’s arrival…