Synopsis

Faruk, a widower in his nineties, is fighting to save his Istanbul condo building, which is slated for total reconstruction amidst an earthquake crisis in Turkey. Stubborn and resistant to change, he clashes with contractors and the building’s board. Meanwhile, Faruk’s documentarian daughter, who’s making a film about her father, is pressuring him for power of attorney so that she can take control of the situation — and, ultimately, the apartment. These pressures quietly build as the demolition date encroaches. Is Faruk’s way of life slipping away?

Director Aslı Özge blends fiction and reality as she trains her camera on a fictionalized version of her father, lending an intimate touch to this tender exploration of family, aging, and modernization in the 21st century.

Synopsis

From Oscar-nominated director Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence) comes a poignant and deeply human musical about a family that survived the end of the world. Twenty-five years after environmental collapse left the Earth uninhabitable, Mother (Tilda Swinton), Father (Michael Shannon) and Son (George McKay) are confined to their palatial bunker, where they struggle to maintain hope and a sense of normalcy by clinging to the rituals of daily life — until the arrival of a stranger, Girl, upends their happy routine.

As tensions rise, their seemingly idyllic existence starts to crumble, with long-repressed feelings of remorse and resentment threatening to destroy the family’s delicate balance. But their reckoning with difficult truths also points to a different way forward, one based on acceptance, love, and a capacity for change. An urgent and unforgettable cautionary tale.

Synopsis

For Hamid, the past is never far behind. A former literature professor from Aleppo now working undercover in Europe, the Syrian exile spends his days trying to track down the  guard responsible for torturing him — and countless other political prisoners — at the infamous Sednaya prison. In weekly phone calls with his mom, who’s now living in a refugee camp in Beirut, Hamid tries to pretend like everything is fine. But a promising new lead has emerged at a university in Strasbourg, and every cell in Hamid’s body is screaming that this is the man. Will he be able to keep his cool long enough to get proof?

Director Jonatham Millet displays a remarkable command of tone in Ghost Trail, which engages with recent history in a tastefully controlled manner while still giving audiences the tension they crave. Star Adam Bessa is magnetic as the haunted Hamid, and his scenes with Tawfeek Barhom — who co-stars as suspected war criminal Harfaz — crackle with suspense. But the most skillful and subtle shift here is from the excitement of a political thriller to something much sadder, as Ghost Trail mourns the losses that have brought Hamid to this point in his life.

Synopsis

Defamed actress Elisabeth (Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World) is abruptly called into a parent-teacher meeting at school. There, she is presented with scathing allegations about the behavior of her six-year-old son Armand. A tangled web of accusations between parents and faculty ensues, but who can say with certainty what really happened? As it becomes increasingly clear that much more is at stake, Elisabeth struggles to uncover the truth, and she is drawn into a chaotic fight for redemption where desire, madness, and obsession prevail.

Writer-director Halfdan Ullmann-Tøndel’s striking debut feature shrewdly unfurls with a keen observation of the quirks, pettiness, and rivalries inherent in human nature. Surrealist moments are dotted throughout, alternately providing flashpoints of comedy and consternation in this tension-filled, angst-fueled drama.

Synopsis

In this bracing psychological thriller, the unassuming Karsten finds his life spiraling out of control. After hosting a small but wild party, a mysterious woman is found dead at his apartment. As the last person to see her alive, Karsten is met with immediate suspicion. He insists there was no foul play, but even his closest friends begin to doubt his innocence.