The Balcony Movie
Can anyone be a movie hero? Can the world be locked in one film frame? Director Paweł Łoziński is watching people from his balcony as they are passing by, he accosts them, asks questions, talks about how they deal with life. Every story is unique, and life always surpasses imagination. Maybe it’s enough to stop for a moment to get a deeper insight?
"quietly revelatory....a cumulative portrait of the struggles and moods of the times while exemplifying the humanist curiosity and formalist rigor of the unseen director behind the camera." - Museum of the Moving Image
Neirud
Neirud died shrouded in mystery, leaving behind no trace of her past. Confronting family secrets, the filmmaker pieces together the life of her enigmatic aunt, who toured Brazil as a wrestler in an underground all-female circus troupe throughout the 60s and 80s. As she investigates Neirud's controversial ring persona, Gorilla Woman, the filmmaker uncovers a taboo-breaking love story, revealing the surprising nature of Neirud's role in her own family.
"Buried secrets bubble to the surface in Brazilian film-maker Fernanda Faya’s tender and searching documentary...rich with an edgy visual texture that echoes the thorniness of Neirud’s identity, one that eschews simplistic societal binaries" - Guardian
Terra in Vista
What's left when you have the courage, or the imprudence, to give up a life all mapped out, punctuated by the passing of time? Sisko, Armelle, Cécilia and Gibbo use precarious work in intensive agriculture as a way of surviving in the ruins of capitalism, and anxiety as the driving force behind their search for a new way of being in the world, a land in sight.
"Contemplative doc with striking cinematography follows a tightknit community who move seasonally from farm to farm across Europe" - Guardian
Living Together
There was once a place in Vienna where people could study and learn how to live together. Under the auspices of the City of Vienna, modules were developed in an EU-funded joint project to make it easier for refugees – but also newcomers in general – to find their way around the city. Everyday life was to be self-determined with the help of refugees in the capacity of experts. The EU funding has meanwhile run out. What remains is a documentary by Thomas Fürhapter, who, with Judith Benedikt and Klemens Koscher with their steady camera, plows through the diverse course program, listens to the people working out possible solutions, and above all, looks at faces with real devotion.
"With a simple but powerful cinematic language - one setting, multiple classrooms, immersive portraits, and a participatory approach to discussing difficult and uncomfortable topics - the film proposes an inclusive method to enable cultural inclusion." - DOK.fest Munich, *Winner* Best German Doc.
Private Footage
In 2018, Brazilian artist and filmmaker Janaina Nagata stumbles upon a 16mm footage acquired online. The unassuming footage captures scenes from a white family's trip to South Africa during the 1960s. The seemingly innocent images lead to an insatiable investigation. Through a meticulous desktop sequence, Nagata examines the footage, dissecting the clues and signs embedded within this private and anonymous archive. Juxtaposing the analog material with digital resources, the film uncovers hidden narratives of Apartheid and South Africa's troubled past.
"After purchasing a seemingly innocuous home movie from South Africa online, the filmmaker begins peeling back its layers to uncover a strange and violent history of Apartheid in this riveting desktop thriller. Seeing Nagata’s mind at work as she isolates and expands details frame-by-frame is a masterclass in active viewing." - Prismatic Ground