Synopsis

After 15 years together, Ale and Alex decide it’s time to peacefully part ways. Inspired by Ale’s father’s philosophy that separations, not unions, should be celebrated, they decide to throw a party to commemorate their breakup. When they start to tell close friends and family about their plan, they are met with worry and skepticism at the seemingly absurd idea. The two continue to insist that this is a happy affair, but as the preparations advance and the party nears, they too begin to question if their breakup is sound enough to celebrate. Is this idea something that could only ever happen in the movies? Festival alum Jonás Trueba (The August Virgin) crafts a playfully woven narrative in this earnest and utterly charming look at the trials of modern love.

Synopsis

Transplanted from his African homeland to drug lord Pablo Escobar’s infamous Colombian compound, Pepe the hippo reflects on his tumultuous life in this bold, inventive cinematic essay. When Escobar abandons his plan for a private zoo, Pepe escapes to a nearby river, where his hulking presence unsettles the nearby fishing communities. The first and last hippopotamus ever killed in the Americas, he is feared and hunted. Through Pepe’s story, director Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias crafts a rich, layered narrative about displacement, dislocation, and the ecological consequences of human hubris. Pepe himself narrates a cacophony of events, from riverside beauty pageants to sentimental cartoons to historical inquiries. And his guttural, ghostly laugh is a constant presence in the film’s soundscape. Unpredictable and playful, Pepe is an unforgettable, immersive cinematic experience.

Synopsis

Pierre (Vincent Lindon, La Haine, Titane), a devoted father in his fifties, is raising his two sons alone in a “rust belt” city in northern France. While the brothers couldn’t be more different — athletic Fus spends his time on football and cage fighting, while Louis’s nose is buried in his books — the three form a tight-knit family. But as Louis immerses himself in his studies, Fus’s behavior becomes increasingly furtive and distant. When it becomes clear that Fus has been seduced by a local far-right group, an explosive rift develops between him and his union-leader father.

A sense of intimacy and urgency propels this timely family drama from writer-director sister duo Delphine and Muriel Coulin, as The Quiet Son grapples with questions of how to accept and find common ground with loved ones we no longer recognize. What can be forgiven, and what line is too far to cross? The always masterful Lindon stands out as a conflicted father who’s torn between love and hate and hope and despair.

Synopsis

Anchored by a pair of winning lead performances, this unexpected romance tenderly examines human connection. Mahin, 70, lives alone in Tehran after her husband dies and her daughter moves to Europe. She spends her days in solitary routine, cooking and tending to her backyard garden. Out to tea one afternoon, she catches the eye of an eligible senior bachelor. Inspired to break from her everyday drudgery, she seizes the opportunity to revitalize her love life. What follows is an unpredictable, eventful chronicle of a single unforgettable evening. Bursting with life, this unconventional, at times surreal delight weaves together social critique and light comedy as it reflects on what it means to live as a woman under restrictive social and political circumstances.

Synopsis

Jérémie returns to his sleepy hometown of Saint-Martial in the south of France to attend the funeral of his former boss, the village baker. Afterwards, he decides to stay for a few days with Martine, the baker’s widow. His continued presence in town unsettles the locals, and a threatening neighbor starts to question Jérémie’s intentions. When a mysterious disappearance disturbs the community, a cloud of suspicion begins to form.

Packed with suspense and intrigue, director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake, 2013, Staying Vertical, 2016) returns to the Festival with this misty masterwork. Cloaked in an aura of uncertainty, the film’s tense, winding plot expertly suggests hidden meanings and secret motivations. Featuring a stunning earth-toned visual palette and an unforgettable cast of characters (including a priest with suspicious intentions), Misericordia is an incisive, twist-filled mystery.