Directed by: Ivan Bakrač
Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, 2021, 101 min
Section: East of the West Competition

Five childhood friends from a small Montenegrin town have gradually moved away to different corners of the former Yugoslavia, yet they remain in contact, aware that their long-time friendship continues to play a fundamental role in their lives. In his inspired debut, director Ivan Bakrač delivers a spirited testimony of the young post-war generation, who still have the shadow of the past hanging over them.

Directed by: Nadav Lapid
France, Israel, Germany, 2021, 109 min
Section: Horizons

A renowned director is preparing to shoot a film about the celebrated Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi. But his work is suddenly interrupted by an invitation to a small town in the middle of the Arava desert, where they’re showing one of the filmmaker’s movies. The routine courtesy visit, however, develops into an angry confrontation and indictment of the hypocritical system. This controversial and formally radical film won the Jury Prize (ex aequo) at the recent festival in Cannes.

Directed by: Clio Barnard
United Kingdom, 2021, 95 min
Section: Horizons

Ali, a charismatic joker who keeps his sorrow carefully locked away, encounters Ava, a likeable woman bearing her heart on her sleeve and a trauma from her distant past. The sparks fly and a romance is born. An enchanting film full of irresistible humour that doesn’t try to paste over reality as it tells its story of love, the quest for reassurance, and the importance of Bob Dylan. The audience hit of this year’s festival in Cannes.

Directed by: Ninna Pálmadóttir
Iceland, Croatia, USA, 2020, 17 min
Section: Future Frames: Generation NEXT of European Cinema

A solitary farm is home to an equally solitary man named Gunnar. The endless silence that surrounds him is occasionally disturbed only by the barking of his canine companion, and by the presence of his granddaughter, who turns up one day… A tender story of unspoken fears, of powerful gestures that disguise weakness, and of mortality, a subject we all have to address at some point in our lives.

Directed by: Hadas Ben Aroya
Israel, 2021, 90 min
Section: Horizons

At a party Danny can't bring herself to tell Max that she is pregnant with his child since, in the meantime, he's got together with his new girlfriend, Avishag. Max tries to satisfy his new partner’s masochistic sexual fantasies, but their experimentation doesn't go as Avishag had imagined, and so she seeks refuge with the older Dror, for whom she dog-sits.

Directed by: Cristina Groșan
Romania, Czech Republic, 2020, 22 min
Section: Pragueshorts at KVIFF

At a theatre workshop for young people, a teenager embarks on a sexual relationship with a slightly older girl. But isn’t this all a bit of a mistake? The people around them react in various ways, yet no-one is indifferent to what’s going on. Voted Best Film in the National Competition at the 2021 Pragueshorts Film Festival.

Directed by: Simón Mesa Soto
Colombia, Sweden, Qatar, 2021, 95 min
Section: Horizons

In this tense social drama, the title character races against time after her son is drafted during an army raid on the streets. A single mother for whom her children are everything, Amparo finds herself at the mercy of a corrupt system as the search for bribe money tests her personal boundaries and the strength of social ties that are already wearing thin. Shown this year as part of Critics’ Week in Cannes.

Directed by: Stefano Deffenu
Italy, 2020, 60 min
Section: Horizons

In this film, Ananda doesn't denote the Hindu state of sublime delight, but instead refers to a tribe of eternally joyful children who have decided to live freely. The search for this elusive tribe forms the apparent axis of this skilfully edited video diary charting a journey through India. The filmmaker has chosen a personal perspective that allows him to rise above the stereotypical travelogue.

Directed by: Christos Nikou
Greece, Poland, Slovenia, 2020, 90 min
Section: Horizons

The world has been gripped by a pandemic which causes sudden amnesia. Aris becomes part of a special programme designed to help him build a new identity. This beguilingly melancholic debut from Christos Nikou opened last year’s Orrizonti in Venice, where it justifiably earned unanimous praise from the critics and won viewers’ hearts.

Directed by: Stefan Arsenijević
Serbia, France, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Lithuania, 2021, 92 min
Section: Crystal Globe Competition

Strahinja and his wife Ababuo left Ghana with a dream of a better life in Europe. Instead of reaching the western part of the continent, they were deported back to Serbia. Strahinja has started to build himself a career, while Ababuo is unable to fulfil her ambitions and she feels increasingly frustrated. When she disappears one day, Strahinja sets out to find her… A crystal clear, humanistic story about the need to find one’s place in the world. It’s also a tale of love, the most profound testimony of which might also be the most painful.

Directed by: Miro Remo
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2021, 85 min
Section: Crystal Globe Competition

Fifty-something former miner Jaroslav has always dreamt of a career as a race car driver. In a congenial and jovial manner, he represents not only the charms and struggles (especially economic) of southeastern Moravia, but also the ever more visible chasm between city and countryside. An uncommonly charismatic portrait of a man struggling with the traumas of the past who, with disarming directness, clings to the promise of good luck and a dignified life alongside a new partner.