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International Competition

Masterful, stylish, and bold, these powerful cinematic statements represent the best in modern filmmaking from around the globe.


In-Person
A lone man stands overlooking a windswept grassy landscape, and a river.

About Dry Grasses Kuru Otlar Üstüne

Nuri Bilge Ceylan  |   Turkey, France, Germany
Turkish  
Drama

The harsh beauty of Turkish provincial life is highlighted in this intense character study of a teacher under investigation for inappropriate behavior.

In-Person
A woman wearing a white dress, cradles a baby in a diaper in a neighborhood surrounded by trees.

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

Raven Jackson  |   United States
English  
Coming of Age, Family Affairs, Women Centered

This lyrical, decades-spanning exploration of a woman’s life in Mississippi is a haunting, beautiful ode to the people and places that shape us.

In-Person
A woman stares out a dirty window, the paint on the exterior is old and cracked.

Black Box

Aslı Özge  |   Germany, Belgium
Andi, Arabic, English, French, German, Russian, Turkish  
Architecture, Drama, Social Commentary, Thriller

A Berlin apartment building is placed under lockdown, igniting social, cultural, and familial tensions in this intoxicating potboiler.

In-Person
A group of colorfully dressed young people celebtate together.

La Chimera

Alice Rohrwacher  |   Italy, France, Switzerland
Italian  
Art, Crime, Drama

A group of misfits scour the Tuscan countryside for artifacts, until an invaluable find makes them question their role in plundering history.

In-Person
Five people watch an older man speak, while another man slumps over a desk in defeat.

The Delinquents Los delincuentes

Rodrigo Moreno  |   Argentina, Luxembourg, Brazil, Chile
Spanish  
Comedy, Crime, Drama, Social Commentary

Morán works a dead-end job at a bank. Fed up, he dreams up a scheme to break free: walk into the vault and steal enough cash for a comfortable retirement.

In-Person
A woman in a sequin dress takes a selfie in a public bathroom. Another woman pokes her head in to look.

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World Nu Aștepta Prea Mult De La Sfârșitul Lumii

Radu Jude  |   Romania, Luxembourg, France, Croatia
Romanian  
Comedy, Political, Social Commentary

A production assistant attempts to cast actors for a workplace safety video in this wry, absurdist satire of capitalism in the digital age.

In-Person
A young girl wearing a blue puffer coat and yellow gloves, looks straight ahead as she blocks her face from the sun.

Evil Does Not Exist Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi  |   Japan
Japanese  
Drama, Environmental, Social Commentary, Thriller

In this captivating eco-thriller, life in the tranquil village of Harasawa is threatened when a Tokyo company announces plans for a glamping site for urbanites.

In-Person
In a classroom, a crowd of onlookers watches a teenage boy read from a piece of paper.

Explanation for Everything Magyarázat mindenre

Gábor Reisz  |   Hungary, Slovakia
Hungarian  
Coming of Age, Drama, Social Commentary

Abel, a lovesick highschool student, is distracted. His life is turned upside down when his failed graduation history exam turns into a national scandal.

In-Person
In a lightly attended screening in the movie theater, a man glances at the woman seated next to him.

Fallen Leaves

Aki Kaurismäki  |   Finland, Germany
Finnish  
Drama, Romance

Two strangers meet by chance in a karaoke bar. Despite an instant spark, a series of everyday obstacles threatens to derail their joint destiny.

In-Person
Three people look out at a snowy, mountainous landscape.

A Happy Day

Hisham Zaman  |   Norway
Norwegian  
Comedy, Coming of Age, Political

Endearingly deadpan, this wholly original tale finds three teenage friends plotting their escape from a frozen, hopeless place — until one falls in love.

In-Person
A young woman with blue eyes, wrapped in an embrace, looks over a woman's shoulder.

Holly

Fien Troch  |   Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France
Flemish  
Coming of Age, Drama, Women Centered

Holly’s uncanny premonition makes her the focal point of a community in need of healing, but is the teenaged outsider the answer to their prayers?

In-Person
A man watches in front of him as a light shines from the projector beside him.

Only the River Flows He Bian De Cuo Wu

Wei Shujun  |   China
Mandarin  
Drama, Mystery, Noir, Thriller

A body washes up in a river in rural China. A hasty arrest is made, but the mystery lingers in the police chief’s mind. What kind of darkness is truly at play here?

In-Person
Two young women and a girl lay in the middle of a grassy field laughing and smiling with each other.

Paradise is Burning Paradiset Brinner

Mika Gustafson  |   Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Finland
Swedish  
Coming of Age, Drama, Family Affairs, Women Centered

The anarchic freedom of three sisters, left alone by an absent mother, is threatened by social services, confronting them with the realities of growing up.

In-Person
A young girl looks off to the side with a sad expression on her face as candles are lit in front of her.

Tótem

Lila Avilés  |   Mexico, Denmark, France
Spanish  
Coming of Age, Drama, Family Affairs, Women Centered

Over the course of a day preparing a birthday party for her ailing father, young Sol watches her family’s bonds erode as they honor life and loss.

In-Person
Black and white image of men at table, cigarette smoke curling around them. An older man stands behind the table, watching.

The Universal Theory Die Theorie Von Allem

Timm Kröger  |   Germany, Austria, Switzerland
French, German, Swiss-German  
Environmental, Historical, Noir, Thriller

1962. A PhD student investigates a dark secret in the Swiss Alps after a scientist goes missing and bizarre cloud formations appear in the sky.

International Competition Sponsor

Jacolyn and John Bucksbaum Family Foundation