Whispering Mountains
Jagath Manuwarna
Sri Lanka. 2022. 87 min

A virus is spreading across Sri Lanka, reportedly causing young people to commit suicide. The Disease Control Unit promises containment of this terrifying pandemic by any means necessary, citing supernatural forces that only ancient healing rituals can vanquish. As parents mourn the deaths and disappearances of their children, government henchmen prepare the bodies and the remaining living prisoners for a cleansing of disturbing proportions.

NETPAC award for Best Asian Feature Film at IFF of Rotterdam.

Little Tornadoes
Aaron Wilson
Australia. 2022. 90 min

A newly-single father struggles to weather the turbulence of change, while a new immigrant endeavours to find her place in a foreign land.

Set in 1971 rural Australia, Introverted Leo is a metalworker at his small town’s local plant. After his wife vanishes, leaving him to care for their two young children, he is bereft – barely able to cook a decent meal or keep the household running. So when a recently-arrived Italian colleague suggests that his sister, Maria, act as surrogate homemaker, Leo reluctantly accepts. But can one woman’s warm, nurturing presence fill the void left by another, and can Leo yield to the winds of change?

Shivamma
Jaishankar Aryar
India. 2022. 104 min

Shivamma (46), a mother of two and the wife of an ailing bedridden husband, works as a government school mid-day meal cook in a small village. She is the only active working member of her family.
Her entire family is in the process of finding a suitable groom for her daughter, though she has her own affair running alongside. Shivamma is introduced to a nutritional product and, looking at it miraculously bettering her husband condition, she tries to explore it further and learns about its network marketing scheme and its financial benefits. Getting highly inspired at a motivational event, she decides to take the risk of setting up her own nutritional club, putting everything at stake. But one unfortunate event derails all her attempts and also threatens her daughter’s wedding. Despite all the opposition and the blame from her own family, Shivamma’s determination stays unaltered.

Betulim
Maor Zagouri
Israel. 2022. 120 min

A coming-of-age story of a boy whose mother dies the year he discovers his own sexuality. A story of guilt and regret that a sensitive teenager carries through a journey to lose his virginity.
Set against the hypnotic desert landscapes, he is swept up in an erotic discovery and must bid goodbye to his childhood. An intimate journey, saturated with fear and lust, of one boy’s path to manhood.

Cold as Marble
Asif Rustamov
Azerbaijan. 2022. 88 min

On Either Sides of The Pond
Parth Saurabh
India. 2022. 105 min