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

A Berlin courtyard becomes an unwitting battleground as a xenophobic property owner, the threat of gentrification, and simmering political unrest converge in Azli Özge’s volatile drama Black Box. When an apartment building is put under lockdown by police after an undisclosed event, tensions within the tight-knit community escalate on multiple fronts. Frustrations boil over and conflicts collide as residents unite to take legal action against their landlord, an unemployed mother faces a critical job interview, and the discovery of a corpse in an abandoned unit forces the residents to confront their personal politics and prejudices.

Özge’s deft direction creates a unique crucible where the boundaries of power, fear, and community are tested, raising unsettling questions about the rights and autonomy of those who call this courtyard home. Their preconceived biases deepen the divisions, unearthing long-buried conflicts as residents reveal their true natures, driven by personal agendas in a complex web of capitalism and power.