Films to Look out for at IFFI this year
With more than 300 films being screened at the 44th International Film Festival in various categories choosing what to watch from among them can be bit of a Russian roulette, especially considering that the list of films is not available well in advance.Yours truly has seen some of them while others are based on reviews and achievements at festivals worldwide. Films in the competition section or Masterstrokes, more often than not, are safe bet. Here are 20 films to look forward to at IFFI this year.
What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love (Indonesia)
Dir: Mouly Surya
This film was nominated for the Grand Jury
prize at Sundance and it won an award at Rotterdam.
The story is about blind and deaf people in love.
In Hiding (Poland)
Dir: Jan Kidawa-Blonksi
Jan Kidawa-Blonksi’s films were a revelation
when his retrospective was held at IFFI a few years back. In Hiding set during
WWII is about the relationship between two woman, is in the competition
section. It stars Magdalena Boczarska who won the Best Actress at IFFI in 2010
for Little Rose.
So Much Water (Uruguay)
Dir: By Ana Guevara, Leticia Jorge
It has won a couple of awards at festivals
(Miami, San Sebastian) and even though the story of a divorced father spending
time a holiday with his son and daughter may sound familiar, the film
apparently stands out.
The Great Beauty (Italy)
Dir: Paolo Sorrentino
In simple words, do not miss this film.
You might just be watching next years Oscar winner but even though it is too
early to make predictions,The Great Beauty is surely in the crème de la crème
of
the films at the festival.
the films at the festival.
The Act of Killing (Denmark-Indonesia)
Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer
This documentary is an absolute must watch in which former Indonesian death squads reenact what they did. Their atrocities
went unchecked and this chilling docu-feature will leave you shaken and
stirred.
Apur
Panchali (Bengali)
Dir:
Kaushik Ganguly
The film is a biopic on Subir Banerjee, the
child actor who played Apu in Satyajit Ray’s classic Pather Panchali and never
faced the camera since then.
Mother I Love You (Latvia)Dir: Janis Nords
Winner of Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus
International Jury at Berlin and Jury award at
Los Angeles,
this is a story of a teenage boy drawn into crime but doesn’t let his mother
know of his misdeeds. It is Latvia’s
entry at the Oscars this year.
A Touch of Sin (China)
Dir: Zhangke Jia
Nominated for Palme d’Or and winner of the Best
Screenplay at Cannes,
it has four stories about random acts of violence. Even though it has got mixed
reviews, it should be worth a dekko.
Short Term 12 (USA)
Dir: Deston Cretton
A film loved by critics and audiences alike,
Short Term 12 is gem of an independent film to come from U.S.A.
The film is set in a foster care home and has a stellar performance by
Brie Larson.
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Dir: Rithy Panh
Few years back, there was Waltz With
Bashir an animation film that told the story of a conflict, The Missing Picture
is about the Khymer Rouge in Cambodia.
It is their entry at the Oscars and it also a winner in the Un Certain Regard
at Cannes this
year.
Dual (Slovenia)
Dir: Nejc Gazvoda
Dual (Slovenia) Dir: Nejc Gazvoda
This is a story of two young women who meet at
the airport, they become friends but one of them has a secret. The director’s
previous film A Trip was Slovenia’s
entry at the Oscars in 2011
Love is All You Need (Denmark)
Dir: Susanne Bier
The film she made before this one won an Oscar
for the Best Foreign Film. Love is All You Need is a light film that has
romance with Pierce Brosnan in the lead. This one is meant for those who like
crowd pleaser.
Circles (Serbia)
Dir: Srdan Golubovic
Another film not to be missed, it has won
several awards including the Special Jury Prize at Sundance. The consequences
of a tragic incident that occurred 12 years earlier are confronted in this film
which is Serbia’s
entry at the Oscars.
Blue is the Warmest Color (France)
Dir: Abdellatif Kechiche
For the first time ever at Cannes, two actresses were awarded the prize;
the film won the coveted Palme d’Or. It’s a story of a young girl discovering
herself when she meets another young woman. Love, lust, longing, heartbreak–
it is all there in this 3-hour film.
Dir:
Anthony Chen
Winner of the Golden Camera at Cannes, Ilo Ilo is about
the friendship between a maid and a boy, while the mother feels jealous of
them. The film is Singapore’s
entry at the Oscars.
Fandry (Marathi)
Dir: Nagraj Manjule
Manjule already has a National Award for his
short film Pistulya and with his first feature he has shown that he is here to
stay. The story of a young boy in love, it also deals with the caste system. While
it moves at a decent pace, the ending will knock your socks off.
Stray Dogs (Taiwan)
Dir: Ming-liang Tsai
Winner of the Grand Special Jury prize at Venice the film is about a father and his children who
wander about in Taipei
till they meet a stranger.
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Dir: Nana Ekvtimishvili
Their official entry at the Oscars, the film has
won awards at several festivals around the world. It is about two teenage girls
who fight to survive post the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Past (Iran)
Dir: Ashgar Farhadi
The Past may not be as good as A Separation but
it is still ahead of many others and is eminently worth a watch. Bérénice
Bejo’s acting is truly outstanding.
Harmony Lessons (Kazakhstan)
Dir: Emir Baigazin
The debut feature of the director has won
several accolades, it’s a story set in a village in Kazakhstan.
Laxmikant Shetgaonkar's Baga Beach (His previous film Paltodcho Munis won an award at the Toronto fest), Jafar Panahi's Closed Curtain (not his best but film but neverthless) and Like Father, Like Son (won a jury prize at Cannes) and The German Doctor (about an Argentine family who lived with Josef Mengele without knowing who he was, Argentina's entry at the Oscars), these films are also expected to deliver the goods.
(Published in The Navhind Times)
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