Synopsis

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house next to the camp. The two play host to all manner of guests, tend to a lavish garden, and take in the surrounding natural beauty, all the while the horrors of the Holocaust rage just beyond their garden wall. As the war nears its end, Hedwig refuses to abandon her “idyllic” homelife, while her husband works to further distinguish himself among the Nazi rank-and-file, both existing in a state of moral squalor and permanent denial.

Scathing, incisive, and unforgettable, The Zone of Interest is a masterpiece of the medium. Crafted with exacting precision by visionary director Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin), the film poses timely questions and uncovers uncomfortable truths about the banality of evil and humanity’s capacity for willful ignorance.

Synopsis

Dita lives in a large household with her girlfriend, her girlfriend’s daughters, and a group of other queer misfits in the North Macedonian capital. When circumstances force Dita to become the caretaker of the two troublemaking daughters, the reluctant adults of the house must figure out a way to keep this unlikely family safe from a society that is not ready to accept them.

Explosive clashes between the strong-willed, the fiercely independent, and the culturally at odds form a vibrating orchestral narrative that tests the household’s alliances and bonds. Goran Stolevski (You Won’t Be Alone) returns to the Festival with a chaotic and remarkably tender portrait of a found family and the powerful ties that bind those pushed to the margins of society.

Synopsis

In the heart of battle-ravaged Ukraine, a minivan picks up civilians, each with their own unique story, as they journey away from their homes to safer points unknown. Filmed almost entirely inside his vehicle, Polish aid worker-turned-filmmaker Maciek Hamela eschews depictions of carnage in order to capture the psychological costs and tragic consequences of the Russian invasion. Squashed in Hamela’s backseat, a family sheds tears over abandoning their cow. A young man speaks stoically about being tortured by Russian soldiers. Five-year-old Sanya has stopped speaking. As Hamela’s taxi navigates checkpoints, minefields, and Russian attacks, In the Rearview displays faces — young and old, devastated and resilient — offering a moving and sublime reflection of humanity in the midst of war.

Synopsis

Urgent, clear-eyed, and helmed with incredible conviction, Green Border finds master filmmaker Agnieszka Holland training her camera on a real-life geopolitical crisis. Set on the border of Poland and Belarus, the film offers a glimpse into the lives of refugees fleeing to the European Union and the humanitarian activists working to help them reach safety.

When a family of Syrian asylum seekers is left stranded in the forest, a group of Belarusian border guards shepherds them into Poland. When they encounter the Polish military, they’re forced back over into Belarus. Julia, a psychologist who lives alone near the border, witnesses this cyclical, inhumane back-and-forth and joins up with a group of activists working to rectify the situation.