Synopsis

Two old friends reunite for a quietly revelatory overnight camping trip in this breakout feature from Kelly Reichardt, a microbudget study of companionship and vanishing ideals that introduced many viewers to one of contemporary American cinema’s most fiercely independent artists. As expectant father Mark (Daniel London) and nomadic Kurt (Will Oldham) travel by car and foot into the woods in search of some secluded hot springs, their fumbling attempts to reconnect keep butting up against the limits of their friendship and the reality of how much their paths have diverged since their shared youth.

Adapted from a short story by Jonathan Raymond and accompanied by an atmospheric Yo La Tengo score, Old Joy is a contemplative, wryly observed triumph whose modest scale belies the richness of its insight.

Screening in 35mm.

Synopsis

Palestine 1936: Rising numbers of Jewish immigrants are arriving to escape persecution in Europe just as Palestinian villages are uniting in the largest and longest uprising against Britain’s 30-year colonial rule. The region is reaching a breaking point, spiraling toward an inevitable collision that will be a decisive turning point for the British Empire and the future of the land.

Within this tumultuous setting, Palestine 36 follows several characters caught up in the conflict. Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest, while young Afra tries to navigate the seismic changes with the aid of her grandmother. Meanwhile, a dissatisfied port worker finds the pressures of earning a living drawing him into the rebel movement. In this powerful and suspenseful work of historical fiction, starring such notable actors as Hiam Abbass and Jeremy Irons, renowned filmmaker Annemarie Jacir (Wajib, When I Saw You, and Like Twenty Impossibles, a winner at the Festival in 2023) uses a wide cinematic canvas to offer context, humanity, and complexity to a story that is still tragically unfolding.

Synopsis

In the heart of suburban Melbourne, a quiet Nigerian shoe salesman named Azubuike leads a humble life, selling soles while attempting to stay connected with his sister and their close-knit Igbo Christian congregation. Experiencing a recent waning of faith, fueled by an unexpected financial setback, Azubuike begins to interrogate not only his spiritual identity but also his purpose in life. At the same time, he must attempt to forge closer ties with his distant yet perceptive adolescent son Obinna, who has just begun living with him full time.

As father and son navigate the uneasy terrain between tradition and transformation, they find themselves confronting their perceptions of each other. Bolstered by the grace offered by their communities, they start to move toward common ground. A meditation on inheritance and dislocation, Pasa Faho unfolds as a heartwarming tale of reconnection, resilience, and the quiet beauty of starting again.

Synopsis

At an all-boys water polo camp, anxious twelve-year-old Ben tries to find his niche amid the social hierarchy. The pecking order quickly becomes clear: At the top, the charismatic camp veteran Jake; at the bottom, Eli, an awkward misfit shunned by the others for being allegedly afflicted with a contagious “plague,” marked by red blotches that could be acne, or… something else. As Ben navigates between his desire for acceptance and sympathy for Eli, he is forced to confront his own complicity in the malevolence of adolescence, and whether it is better to be cruel or cast out.

Skillfully blurring the lines between reality and horror, The Plague is a tense and suspenseful coming-of-age thriller. The setting is also pitch-perfect: Few things evoke more terror than a teenage boys’ locker room. With breakout performances from young actors Everett Blunck and Kayo Martin, and a strong supporting turn from Joel Edgerton as a camp director ill-equipped to tamp down the rising mayhem, this stylish and unnerving film brilliantly exposes the sickness of social pressure.

Synopsis

Driven to document the war in Gaza, filmmaker and Festival alum Sepideh Farsi (2014’s Red Rose) tries to enter the region. Blocked at the border, Farsi strikes up a relationship via cellphone with a bright-eyed young Palestinian photographer and poet named Fatma Hassouna, who is holed up in her bombed-out neighborhood. Through a series of intimate video conversations, by turns lighthearted and heartbreaking, Sepideh and Fatma grow closer despite the layers of screens between them, even as the conditions around Fatma become increasingly dire.

Mirroring in its construction the distance between Gaza and the rest of the world, this cleverly conceived Cannes Film Festival stunner also subtly explores potent contrasts between the two women: the Iranian filmmaker’s world travels and her long life in exile vs. Fatma’s isolation, entrapment, and dreams of escape. As weeks turn to months, the film chronicles their deepening relationship, becoming a compassionate portrait of a life under siege that celebrates the remarkable fortitude of the Palestinian people.