Synopsis

Sensual, arresting, and graceful, The Blue Caftan tells the story of Halim, a master tailor, who spends his days in the back of his shop making beautiful, hand-embroidered caftans. Dedicated to keeping a dying tradition alive, he labors over every stitch to meet his own high standards of perfection, while his wife Mina deals with the customers and the store’s day-to-day business. Their quiet life of routine is thrown off-kilter when Halim reluctantly takes on the earnest if inexperienced Youssef as an apprentice to keep up with orders. The two work together intimately and begin to form a tentative bond that extends beyond that of student and mentor, ever fearful that their mutual attraction will be found out. Director Maryam Touzani captures each tender touch and subtle glance in this visually breathtaking, intensely sympathetic reflection on adoration, love, and longing.

Winner

58th Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo: Best Director. Learn more…

Synopsis

Under the dark cover of a stormy night, young mother So-young hesitantly places an infant in a “baby box,” a safe and anonymous place to leave children whose parents are unable or unwilling to care for them. But adoption is big business, and so is baby trafficking.

Saddled with substantial debt, laundry shop owner Sang-hyun enlists the help of Dong-soo, who works in the baby box facility, to abduct the newborn. When a regretful So-young returns the next day to reclaim her child, she realizes what they are up to. Instead of going to the police, she joins the men, and the three set out, with baby in tow, to find the perfect (and well-paying) parents. Meanwhile, the police are onto their racket, as two female detectives tail close behind. Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows, The Shoplifters) returns to the Festival with this ever-perceptive, unassuming inquiry into the nature of a “found family”—an unusual odyssey that brims with heartbreak, empathy, and ultimately hope.