Directed by: Jonás Trueba
Spain, 2019, 129 min

In the hot summer months, when Madrileños leave their homes in droves to escape the insufferable heat, the centre of Madrid is left abandoned. That is, except for the tourists and a handful of undaunted locals – and those who can’t see the way forward, like Eva, a charming thirty-something. Told with appealing finesse, the story unfolds during the city’s August festivals, when a person’s inner turmoil can be soothed by fleeting encounters and unexpected adventures.

Directed by: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov
Bulgaria, Greece, 2019, 90 min

After losing his wife Ivanka, Vasil believes that she is using his phone to reach him from beyond the grave, so he enlists the services of a psychic to try to make contact with her. His son Pavel tries to bring him to his senses, but Vasil stubbornly insists on doing things his own way… This small-scale family drama, about the difficulties of connecting with those close to us, includes many of the carefully arranged absurd or comic situations typical for the Bulgarian filmmaking duo.

Directed by: Damjan Kozole
Slovenia, North Macedonia, Serbia, 2019, 105 min

Half-sisters who were never that close are forced by circumstance to share a flat in Ljubljana... The leading Slovene director returns to Karlovy Vary with a remarkably precise study of alienation and the inability to communicate, in a film characterised by polished dialogue, plenty of black humour and entirely natural performances.

Directed by: Kıvanç Sezer
Turkey, 2019, 94 min

Onur is sacked from his job as manager of a pharmaceutical company. He’s not too bothered about being unemployed, but the same cannot be said of his wife Bahar. Onur doesn’t listen to her and becomes indifferent not only to her anxieties but also to the world around him. He’d rather be surrounded by more zebras. A drama with dashes of absurd comedy about events that are no laughing matter: a personal crisis that impacts their marriage.

Directed by: Jan-Ole Gerster
Germany, 2019, 96 min

Lara has just turned sixty; it’s a very special day that will culminate in a career-defining piano concert given by her son. Viktor remains elusive, however, and his mother’s repeated attempts to get through to him come to nothing. German acting legend Corinna Harfouch stars in this precisely crafted psychological study by one of the most successful German filmmakers of his generation, Jan-Ole Gerster, who here takes up the thread of his critically acclaimed debut Oh Boy.

Directed by: Marko Škop
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2019, 93 min

A Slovak village is getting ready for Christmas. Forty-year-old Milan travels from Germany where he works to be home with his family. However, the serene and festive atmosphere is unsettled by the suspicion that his son, a member of a paramilitary youth organisation, might be involved in a harrowing event that stunned the local community. This compelling drama, about the strength and fragility of family ties, examines our sense of moral responsibility in a world where xenophobia takes precedence over compassion for those closest to us.

Directed by: Felipe Ríos
Chile, Argentina, 2019, 96 min

Michelsen, an elderly truck driver, sets out on his last trip driving freight to the southern tip of Chilean Patagonia. The long and arduous drive through the magnificent, luxuriant natural landscape, past lakes and extensive glaciers, ultimately becomes a recapitulation of his life when he unexpectedly happens upon his adult daughter, whom he hasn’t seen since her childhood.

Directed by: Hong Khaou
United Kingdom, 2019, 85 min

Kit can’t remember much of his native Vietnam. When he returns to the Land of the Golden Star for the first time in over thirty years, he takes in the local surroundings as any Western tourist would: everything seems remote and alien. A subtle film which records one man’s journey back to his roots as it evocatively mediates the (re)discovery of his identity.

Directed by: Zhai Yixiang
China, 2019, 107 min

A diaphanously hypnotic story conveyed more through contemplative silence than words, in which a pregnant 14-year-old makes a surprising revelation when asked to name the father of her child. The young Chinese director follows in the footsteps of the Sixth Generation filmmakers, taking fragments of impressions and moods to craft an unsettling image of the injured heroine, who remains proud and strong. Yet despite this – or perhaps for this reason – she finds herself mired in a deep chasm of alienation.

Directed by: Dwein Baltazar
Philippines, 2018, 92 min

It seems as if nothing can upset Sonya’s routine. No-one cares about the ageing funeral shop owner anymore, except when she provides discounts on flowers and coffins. One day a body belonging apparently to no-one finds its way to her shop, and Sonya develops a highly unusual relationship with it. An inscrutable, tender and bitterly comic film about the desire for companionship.

Directed by: Tim Mielants
Belgium, 2019, 97 min

Patrick is in charge of maintenance at a naturist campsite owned by his father. His workshop is as well-ordered as his life, but nothing lasts forever. The loss of Patrick’s favourite hammer has a profound effect on him and sets off a chain of events from which the pensive lad emerges as a new man. A tragicomedy about the importance of keeping an eye on your tools, about existential nudity, among other things, and about people for whom a trailer is their whole world.

Directed by: Martha Stephens
USA, 2019, 111 min

Bullied by her classmates, reclusive Iris finds small-town life pure torment; for self-assured Maggie, however, moving to the provinces provides an opportunity to stand out from the rest. A film excelling in finely wrought detail that takes us back to the 1960s, a time when society, bound by gender prejudice, detested the idea of individuality in women.