Synopsis

Early 1700s. Venice. The Ospedale della Pietà orphanage has a storied reputation for the distinguished musical education of its residents. The young women’s ensemble performances attract the attention of audiences, patrons, and even suitors, who become enchanted by their talent, believing their training will make them more virtuous wives. Cecilia, a virtuoso violinist, has been promised to a decorated army official upon his return from the battlefield. It is with the arrival of a new musical director—the ambitious composer Antonion Vivaldi—that she is awakened to the power of her musical gift and its possibilities for joy and emancipation.

Celebrated opera and stage director Damiano Michieletto crafts a stunning cinematic work with this story of Vivaldi, underappreciated in his time, through the lens of a young muse, who herself is transformed by music as she finds the inspiration to rewrite her own destiny. Sumptuous costumes and production design are further elevated by an inspired score bringing vibrancy and immediacy to a stirring centuries-old tale.

Synopsis

Palestine 1936: Rising numbers of Jewish immigrants are arriving to escape persecution in Europe just as Palestinian villages are uniting in the largest and longest uprising against Britain’s 30-year colonial rule. The region is reaching a breaking point, spiraling toward an inevitable collision that will be a decisive turning point for the British Empire and the future of the land.

Within this tumultuous setting, Palestine 36 follows several characters caught up in the conflict. Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest, while young Afra tries to navigate the seismic changes with the aid of her grandmother. Meanwhile, a dissatisfied port worker finds the pressures of earning a living drawing him into the rebel movement. In this powerful and suspenseful work of historical fiction, starring such notable actors as Hiam Abbass and Jeremy Irons, renowned filmmaker Annemarie Jacir (Wajib, When I Saw You, and Like Twenty Impossibles, a winner at the Festival in 2023) uses a wide cinematic canvas to offer context, humanity, and complexity to a story that is still tragically unfolding.

Synopsis

Budapest, 1957. In the aftermath of a quelled uprising against the ruling Communist party, a young Jewish boy named Andor and his mother are struggling to make ends meet. Both work at a local general store, living in fear of the regime’s violent reprisals against friends and coworkers involved in the failed revolution. When a menacing, brutish man appears in town, claiming to be Andor’s father, the boy is plunged into personal crisis as he’s forced to come to grips with a new and unwelcome family history.

Director László Nemes (Son of Saul) sets this tender, heartbreaking coming-of-age tale amid a violent historical backdrop, balancing the intimate and internal against the grand sweep of history. The struggles of Andor and his family mirror the tumultuous reckoning of the post-WWII world, as Orphan bears witness to the tyrannies of the period through the eyes of a child.

Screening in 35mm.

Synopsis

Driven to document the war in Gaza, filmmaker and Festival alum Sepideh Farsi (2014’s Red Rose) tries to enter the region. Blocked at the border, Farsi strikes up a relationship via cellphone with a bright-eyed young Palestinian photographer and poet named Fatma Hassona, who is holed up in her bombed-out neighborhood. Through a series of intimate video conversations, by turns lighthearted and heartbreaking, Sepideh and Fatma grow closer despite the layers of screens between them, even as the conditions around Fatma become increasingly dire.

Mirroring in its construction the distance between Gaza and the rest of the world, this cleverly conceived Cannes Film Festival stunner also subtly explores potent contrasts between the two women: the Iranian filmmaker’s world travels and her long life in exile vs. Fatma’s isolation, entrapment, and dreams of escape. As weeks turn to months, the film chronicles their deepening relationship, becoming a compassionate portrait of a life under siege that celebrates the remarkable fortitude of the Palestinian people.

Synopsis

In 1987 suburban Tokyo, sensitive eleven-year-old Fuki is faced with her father’s terminal illness without much in the way of emotional support from her overwhelmed mother. Left to her own devices, she retreats into her own imagination, developing an interest in telepathy and a penchant for phoning into a dating agency. Seeking out adventures, she begins to navigate the difficult terrain of early adolescence, all the while trying to process the tremendous loss looming on the horizon.

Reaching back to a formative chapter from her own life, Festival alum Chie Hayakawa (Plan 75) fashions an impressionistic sketch of a girl adrift. The irrepressible presence of gifted newcomer Yui Suzuki animates every frame—she delivers a mesmerizing performance of richness and complexity beyond her years, transforming Renoir into a moving, episodic character study filled with illuminating insights and beautiful imagery.