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

Nestled in the heart of a university campus in Germany, a majestic gingko tree stands tall. Bearing silent witness to the school’s history and the lives of the people that have passed through its halls, the stately plant serves as a kind of nexus that connects three characters across time: in 1908, the college’s first female student observes hidden patterns in plant life through photography; in 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by observing and cataloging the behavior of a geranium; in 2020, a neuroscientist (Tony Leung) in Covid lockdown begins a series of unexpected botanical experiments. Could the trees be watching us?

Seamlessly toggling between time periods, Silent Friend is a century-spanning exploration of humanity’s fascination with nature’s greatest mysteries. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast and a winsome sense of wonder, the film is a thoughtful meditation on longing, belonging, and what it means to be human.

Synopsis

When the love of Dora’s life marries a different woman, she turns bitter heartache into sweet confections, opening a bakery that features pastries named for famous Hollywood break-ups. When the shop is threatened with closure, she’s offered a lifeline: a competition with a cash prize for family-run businesses. She has the business, now all she needs is the family.

Synopsis

Headstrong teen mother Maja has lost custody of her toddler. Abandoned as a child herself, she’s determined to avoid her mother’s mistakes and earn back the right to care for her child. When a social program offers small business loans, she jumps at the chance for redemption. Anchored by a raw, natural performance, this moving coming-of-age tale is a testament to the power of second chances.

Synopsis

Tamás is heartbroken. After his girlfriend dumps him in Paris, he faces an inglorious return to hometown Budapest. As he begrudgingly attempts to get his life back on track, his wanderings across the city of his youth and time spent in his childhood home send him on a self-reflective trip down memory lane into his tortuous past. Dreamy surrealism couples with wry wit in this unexpected romantic comedy that ponders the nature of lost love.