Synopsis

Life is what happens when you stop living for others and start living for yourself. This poignant tragicomic journey of courage follows Mona from early childhood, when she is inculcated to be a quiet, obedient presence in the world. She blossoms into a talented young artist, but years of repressing her feelings have impaired her emotionally, binding her to unhealthy relationships at work and at home. Still, there is a fierce, independent spirit that lies inside her, waiting to be liberated. Assured direction coaxes flawless, seamlessly connected performances from actresses Tanya Zabarylo and Olivia Landuyt in the title role as a young woman and young girl respectively.

Synopsis

Silver Audience Award for Best European Feature, Fantasia International Film Festival

Femke is over it! The constant critique, the gaslighting for speaking her truth, the trolls’ anonymous, sexist insults. A columnist for a revered publication in The Netherlands, the divorced, city-dwelling single mother faces a daily barrage of negativity on social media. Sure, she shouldn’t read the comments, but who doesn’t read the comments?! Meanwhile, her teenage daughter is waging a fiendishly clever campaign for free speech against her high school principal. After enduring another disgusting round of ridicule for a recent piece, Femke snaps. A satisfying, bloody, and hilarious revenge tale that dares to confront bullies in the most delightfully dark ways.

“This is a sophisticated take on over-the-top material, arch but not quite Serial Mom-style campy.”
–AV Club

Synopsis

From bodily fluids to walking nightmares, grave peril abounds in this program of audacious late-night fare. Triumphs of mood and tone, these films give voice to persistent feelings of dread and unease. Featuring works by Santiago Menghini, Ariel Zengotita, Jennifer Lumbroso, Parker Finn, Jasper De Bruin, and Ariane Boukerche.

A man in the throes of Regret (Canada) must survive the night when the physical manifestation of his inner demons begins to stalk him. A reclusive college student is driven insane after picking a booger he can’t Flick (U.S.) away. After an accident in the French countryside, a woman feverishly escapes to the woods in order to survive. She becomes The Doe (France). In Laura Hasn’t Slept (U.S.), an insomniac solicits the help of her therapist in a desperate attempt to escape her nightmares. Nightingale (The Netherlands) ponders a hospital’s eerie hallways as a nurse makes her rounds on the night shift. In They Salivate (France), a couple’s kiss becomes an unforgettable, hypnotic study of human relationships.

Synopsis

Surreal visions, distant memories, and fantastic underworlds teem with life in this program of animated films from around the world. A wide variety of styles gives voice to the depth and wonder of memory, character and landscape. Featuring works by Yngwie Boley, J.J. Epping, Diana van Houten, Frédéric Schuld, Alberto Vázquez, Josephine Lohoar Self, Weija Ma, Alexandra Ramires, and Renee Zhan.

Pilar (The Netherlands/Belgium) is a stunning hand-painted animation about a woman fascinated with the wilderness beyond the walls of her post-apocalyptic village. A British chimney sweeper describes his exploitive everyday routine forcing children to become workers in the beautifully hand-drawn The Chimney Swift (Germany). Homeless Home (Spain) employs expressive, detailed animation to depict characters adrift and alone in a dark fantasy world. Michael, a gay mouse in his twenties, sees an old jacket and begins to sorrowfully reminisce in the stop-motion The Fabric of You (UK). Step into the River (China) is a sumptuously-drawn fable about the consequences of China’s onechild policy. In Tie (Portugal/France), two characters search for missing pieces of themselves in a gloomy, surreal landscape. A wild blend of animation styles and techniques depict a young woman afraid of losing everything in the cosmic ode, O Black Hole! (UK)