Celtic Utopia Útóipe Cheilteach
Synopsis
“The winners write the history; the losers write the songs,” so says Branwen, one of a new wave of Irish musicians featured in this loose and likeable tapestry of Ireland’s contemporary folk music scene. Funny, talented, and politically outspoken, these rebel artists are redefining Ireland’s traditional folk music, acknowledging the country’s colonial past and its painful legacy, while looking toward a better future—if not a utopia, at least an improvement on what came before.
Unfolding like a musical jam session, we meet and listen to a wide array of musicians—young, old, white, Black, guitarists, and rappers—offering up alternative folk songs that evoke the past, yet, as one cheeky bandmate says, are played “to scare priests and politicians.” The film also contrasts their present with evocative archival footage of Ireland’s recent history depicting its deeply conservative roots. With a form as irreverent as its subjects, Celtic Utopia is a wry and raw celebration of Irish culture, language, and yes, its fighting spirit.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Elin Lilleman Eriksson
- Dennis Harvey, Lars Lovén
- Dominika Daubenbüchel
- Tuva Björk, Jamie Goldrick
- The Mary Wallopers, Negro Impacto, The Deadlians, Jinx Lennon, Poor Creature, Branwen, Lankum, Naoise Mac Cathmhaoil, Rising Damp, Young Spencer, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Róis, Post Punk Podge, Susan Hughes, Tadhg Mulligan, Alfie Mulligan, Múlú, Niamh Moriarty, Cathail O'Mhaoil, Summer Newman, Eimear Níc Ionnrachtaigh, Eoghan Ó Garmaile
- MDEMC, Sveriges Television (SVT)
Sponsors
Program Partner
Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
With support from
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Child of Dust Dziecko z pyłu
Synopsis
This heartfelt and intimate documentary follows the extraordinary, emotional journey of Sang, a 55-year-old Vietnamese man who always dreamed of meeting his father, an American soldier. Among the thousands of “Amerasian” children born during the Vietnam War derogatorily known as “children of dust,” Sang has wrestled with his divided identity for the entirety of his life. But when he takes part in a genetic program to identify his birth father, he finally gets a chance to be reunited with his long-lost parent in hopes of becoming whole.
Sensitive and deeply moving, Child of Dust follows Sang as he confronts his troubles at home and his long-held personal wounds before venturing to the United States to meet a family he’s never known. Attuned to the complexities of both Sang and his American relations, the film charts their complicated reunion and the surprising paths they take upon encountering one another. It’s a profoundly humanist portrait of the painful legacy of the Vietnam War, five decades on.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Weronika Mliczewska, Bao Nguyen, Chi-Minh De Leo, Michal Sikora, Andrzej Łucjanek, Antonio Russo Merenda
- Weronika Mliczewska
- Marcin Sucharski PSM, Mateusz Romaszkan
- Mikael Lypinski
- Sang Ngo Tranh, Nelson Torres
- Joaquin Garcia
- Ya Man Studio SP, Fixa Film, Clubhouse Films, Ginestra Film, Lonely Production
- https://www.yamanstudio.com/services
Sponsors
Program Partner
Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
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The Love That Remains Ástin sem eftir er
Synopsis
A tender rumination on the tenuous bonds of family, the changing Icelandic landscape, and the passage of time itself, The Love That Remains chronicles a year in the life of a family of five as the parents navigate their separation. Anna, an artist who works with natural materials to create large canvases, is frustrated with her professional life and hoping to land an exhibition. Her husband, Magnus, is often away working on a fishing trawler, and his extended absences put a strain on the family. As the love between Anna and Magnus fades, the couple and their three children are forced to redefine their relationships to one another.
Infusing the narrative with surreal flourishes, a dreamy piano score, stunning landscape photography, and a winning performance from Panda the dog, director Hlynur Pálmason (2022’s Godland) offers a meditative, tragicomic portrait of a family in crisis.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Anton Máni Svansson, Katrin Pors
- Saga Garðarsdóttir, Sverrir Guðnason, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Grímur Hlynsson, Þorgils Hlynsson, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Anders Mossling
- STILL VIVID, Snowglobe
Sponsors
Program Patron
John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
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Shorts 1: After Dark
Synopsis
Unfulfilled dreams, dark obsessions, and illicit desires take center stage in this program that transports viewers into the bold and blood-curdling world of genre film. From ventriloquist dummies to unrequited love, these shorts expose our darkest fears… and create new ones.
Blue Violet is a camcorder video compilation for Violet’s birthday that captures just how far Blue will go to prove her devotion to her beloved. While driving home alone on a deserted West Bank road, a Palestinian woman’s flat tire forces her to accept the help of a stranger with unknown intentions in Coyotes. Dummy! takes place in an alternate universe populated by ventriloquist dummies, where a human woman dreams of following in her domineering mother’s footsteps as a cabaret singer. In Earworm, an office worker seeks medical attention after being driven to madness by the notorious earworm “Cotton Eye Joe.” Between a tough-as-nails instructor, apathetic classmates more interested in partying than practicing medicine, and a lack of cadavers to help him hone his skills, Wolfe feels he has no choice but to take his dream of becoming an anesthesiologist into his own hands in Pinpoint. Following her partner’s death, a pregnant woman with a mysterious wound along her spine is visited by an old lover who wants to help her heal in Hotel Acropole.
Screenings & Events
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Earworm Öronmask
Synopsis
Ulph has been plagued by an earworm for weeks, fixating on the chorus of “Cotton Eye Joe” and bursting into song at the most inappropriate of times. When he finally seeks medical attention for his strange affliction, he feels a glimmer of hope, but can he be cured before the song plunges him into madness?
This film screens as part of Shorts Program 1: After Dark.
Film Credits
- Mathias Fjällström, Ola Rutz
- Patrik Eklund
- Patrik Eklund
- Simon Rudholm
- Adam Lundgren, Maria Sid, Mikael Almqvist, Kodjo Akolor
- Patrik Eklund
- SVT, Salmonfox, Filmpool Nord, Film | Västerbotten, Swedish Film Institute
- https://www.premium-films.com/catalogue/earworm
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