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.