Directed by: Zita Erffa
Germany, Mexico, 2018, 93 min

Why did the director’s brother enter a conservative Roman Catholic order, causing him to sever all ties with the outside world? The shooting of this fresh, self-reflexive documentary about an eroded sibling bond becomes the pretext for long-desired personal contact and a therapeutic aid to help her heal herself.

Directed by: Tomáš Bojar
Czech Republic, 2018, 75 min

A carefully composed observation of two newsrooms which, in March 2017, were avidly chasing after information about the Czech president’s decision whether or not to run for re-election. Two teams of reporters, one extraordinary event, and two takes on one “objective” piece of news.

Directed by: Audrius Stonys, Kristīne Briede
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, 2018, 80 min

Kristīne Briede and Audrius Stonys’s meditative documentary essay portrays the less-remembered generation of cinema poets of the Baltic New Wave. With finesse, they push beyond the barriers of the common historiographic investigation in order to achieve a consummate poetic treatment of the ontology of documentary creation.

Directed by: Alison McAlpine
Canada, Chile, 2017, 78 min

After every scorching day in the Chilean desert of Atacama night falls cold, and overhead a gateway opens to the enigmatic depths of the universe. Nowhere else does the night sky shine with so many stars; nowhere else does a fixed look upward evoke so many indescribable emotions. This powerful cinematic experience prompts an irresistible urge to lie in the grass and look up at the stars.

Directed by: Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke
Germany, Egypt, 2018, 86 min

It hasn’t been so very long since rich tourists from around the world came to stay in the luxury hotels of Sharm El Sheikh. But the Arab Spring and the confusion of the post revolutionary period quickly robbed the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula of its charm as a go-to summer resort. Saturated with elements of surreal fiction, the documentary takes us to a shimmering city of ghosts to visit its last inhabitants – resort employees who feverishly dream among the abandoned hotel suites.

Directed by: Jana Andert
Czech Republic, 2018, 72 min

A shock therapy of news coverage from the war front. Documentarist Jana Andert spent eight months with an elite Iraqi Army unit on the front lines of the battle for Mosul, occupied by Islamic State fighters from 2014 to June 2017. An unflinching report from a city in ruins, robbed of its soul by one of the worst catastrophes of modern times.

Directed by: Stéphane Manchematin, Serge Steyer
France, 2018, 91 min

Marc Namblard, whose profession combines his talents as a biologist and sound engineer, well knows that nature has overwhelming sedative effects, particularly in terms of its acoustic dimension. A discourse on the tranquillity of the forest that permeates the very heart of man, this documentary cultivates our ability to observe, and, if we half-close our eyes, the viewing experience will be all the greater.

Directed by: Yuqi Kang
Canada, Nepal, China, 2017, 92 min

An isolated Buddhist monastery in southern Nepal not only provides refuge for monks, but also for orphans up to the age of sixteen. Far removed from civilisation, the boys learn about strict discipline and order yet, like all children, they hanker after adventure. An observational documentary which captures both the routine of the passing days and the vagaries of boyhood.

Directed by: Vitaly Mansky
Latvia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, 2018, 102 min

On December 31, 1999 Vladimir Putin ascended to the president’s chair in Russia. In his latest picture renowned documentarist Vitaly Mansky draws on witness accounts of the events that happened in the years following that fateful day. He then rounds it out with his own fascinating perspective and with the longtime unique experience of a man whom only a movie camera separated from upper echelon politics.

Directed by: Cyril Aris
Lebanon, 2018, 74 min

Viviane and Antoine have lived together for 65 years, and while she still has her strength, he has long been bedridden. And so no one is able or has any desire to tell the weakened old man the distressing news that his beloved daughter has suddenly died. Indeed, the grief might cause his death… A heavy, lyrical portrait brightened by the warming rays of loved ones’ smiles.

Directed by: Guillaume Brac
France, 2018, 97 min

The summer season at a recreation center near Paris is in full swing, so there is no shortage of amusing situations at the crowded swimming pool. A glimpse into the mindset of the visitors and employees of the extensive park – original French inhabitants and immigrants who come here to relax because they lack the means for a more exotic vacation.

Directed by: Daniel Zimmermann
Switzerland, Austria, 2018, 100 min

Gentle birdsong filters through dense forest vegetation only to be drowned out by the sudden roar of chainsaws. Thus begins a documentary comprising a mere thirteen 360° panning shots, whose uncompromising formal concept places great demands on the patient viewer. But as soon as we align our breathing with the slow rhythm of the shots a surprising odyssey opens out before us of the paradoxical migration of wood from Austrian forests to a secret, far-off destination.