Man and Woman
Vladimir Kott
Russia. 2024. 116 min

A poignant tales about men and women who cast their lots with each other for years or just for one hour or merely for five minutes. Those are stories which are overheard in the kitchen, on the train in the same compartment with a stranger, in a taxi or written in a notebook as memories because if the feelings are real and sincere, they last forever. There are moments of strange encounters and bitter partings which look somewhat familiar. People’s feelings are always unique. But their chemistry is clear to everyone who has fallen in love and parted at least once.

Money Exchange!
Lautaro García Candela
Argentine. 2022. 90 min

Pablo and Florencia work on Florida Street, the economic and tourist epicentre of Buenos Aires. Economic difficulties affect their life together. Pablo, in order to survive, begins to clandestinely smuggle dollars in the street. Taking advantage of the imminence of a currency crisis they will try to strike the blow that will take them out from the street once and for all.

A House in Jerusalem
Muayad Alayan
Palestine, UK. 2023. 104 min

Young Rebecca is forced to move with her father from the UK to Jerusalem, in the hopes that a new beginning can help her heal from her mother’s sudden death. Soon after settling into an old house in a neighbourhood known as the Valley of the Ghosts, a series of mysterious events begin and Rebecca is blamed. Diving deep into the mystery of the house and the mystical city of Jerusalem, Rebecca sets out on an enigmatic journey to discover what hides in the shadows of the house. Crafted by the talented duo Muayad and Rami Alayan, A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM is an eerily suspenseful and touching story told through the eyes of a young girl, exploring the strength of memory and the power of love.

Blaga´s Lessons
Stephan Komandarev
Bulgaria/Germany. 2023. 114 min

Seventy-year-old retired schoolteacher Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) has recently lost her beloved husband, a former police officer well-known in the austere, small northern Bulgarian town where she still lives. Determined to purchase a substantial gravesite and headstone for the deceased, the stern-minded, no-nonsense widow continues to work, giving Bulgarian language lessons to immigrants. However, Blaga’s already precarious world is overturned when one afternoon she falls prey to a frightening telephone scam. This is merely the beginning of a tautly conceived thriller that skillfully captures the feeling of a bleak post-Communist society beset by corruption—in both criminal and official capacities. Stephan Komandarev’s entirely gripping film rests on the ever-strengthening shoulders of veteran actress Skorcheva, whose remarkable journey from weather-beaten victimhood to aggressive resolve persuasively transforms the film into a provocative story of individual morality in a world gone wrong.

Voy! Voy! Voy!
Omar Hilal
Egypt. 2023. 109 min

VOY! VOY! VOY! tells the story of Hassan, a security guard living an impoverished life with his mother in Cairo, who dreams of starting a new life abroad. While plotting his journey to his new life, he stumbles on the sport of blind football and cunningly decides to pose as a visually impaired man to join a team – right before the World Cup Championship finals in Europe.
While disguised as a blind footballer, an attractive young journalist takes an interest in the team, hoping to tell the heartwarming story of Hassan and the team’s victory in Europe.
As Hassan’s despicable plan starts to crack, he and his friend’s go to unimaginable lengths to keep his place on the team and the dream of escaping to Europe alive.

Lost Girl
Ding Ding
China. 2024. 98 min

A young ballet dancer flees her home, finding refuge with San, a street orphan. An unexpected accident changes everything. Fueled by a desire to uncover the girl’s past, San embarks on a quest for vengeance, ultimately finding herself ensnared in a perilous predicament.

Limbo
Ivan Sen
Australia. 2023. 104 min

Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the detective gains a new insight into the unsolved case from the victim’s fractured family, the surviving witnesses and the reclusive brother of the chief suspect. A poignant, intimate journey into the complexities of loss and the impact of the justice system on Aboriginal families in Australia.

Melody
Behrouz Sebt Rasoul
Iran/Tajikistan. 2023. 85 min

Melody teaches music at a centre for cancerous children. The thirty children are having a party at the end of autumn and ask Melody to compose a piece using the sounds of thirty different birds. She goes to her home village to record the birdsong and is helped by the mute caretaker of the family home, Mango. When they find just 20 birds, Mango makes Melody understand that only the old village singer knows where the other birds are, but bird hunters have forced him out of the village. Melody sets out to find both him and the missing birds.

Tamso
Stephen Alexander
India. 2023. 90 min

Prodigal daughter returns home for a family wedding only to discover they are hiding the fact that one of their members is possessed by a demon, and unless he is kept fed he spews a gas that causes one to hallucinate. As things begin to take a turn for the worse people find their thoughts trapped in the bad old days.

Stigma
Chaminda Ilukwela
Sri Lanka. 2023. 96 min

The movie opens up with an accidental death of a 30 years old youth. At the autopsy, investigators find his identity card which belongs to ‘Revatha the Buddhist monk’. It stirs the hornet’s nest in the neighborhood where Revatha used to live, as at the time of his death, he had disrobed. Therefore, parishioners of his temple object to bringing his body to the temple and holding a monk’s funeral.
Then the movie begins to reveal the backstory till his death.