Czech Republic
Director: Zdenek Jirasky

Garnering four top Czech Lions (the Czech Oscars®) Flowerbuds presents an incisive snapshot of family life in a small Czech town. Jarda works as a train signal operator but also nurses a petty gambling addiction. His wife, Kamila dreams of her lost youth while their teenage children are without work, money or illusions about life. Over the course of a long winter, a series of small tragedies unfold and collide, bringing the family to the brink.

Czech with subtitles, 91 min

Israel
Director: Joseph Cedar

Footnote is the tale of a great rivalry between a father and son. Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. Meanwhile his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition.

Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son, Uriel, is thrilled to see his father’s achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father’s. Will he sabotage his father’s glory?

Part of: A Conversation With Joseph Cedar

Hebrew with subtitles, 107 min

UK
Director: Chris Foggin

Judy Dench is as charming as ever in this short comedic look at the mature generation dating in our modern, social networking-obsessed world.

Part of: Shorts 4: Not OK, Cupid!

English, 12 min

China
Director: Zhang Yang

A sense of vitality and excitement fills the lives of a nursing home’s inhabitants when they decide to compete in a television variety show competition. Although members of this newly-energized group are battling the effects of various illnesses or familial estrangement and neglect, they all come together in common enthusiasm to realize their dream, no matter who or what stands in their way in this heart-warming, rousing film.

Mandarin with subtitles, 105 min