Bad Reputation
Karina makes her living as a sex worker on the road and she is an outspoken activist. Now at the age of 45, and with her itinerant life, she begins to imagine life working in another field and she starts the way to organize her col- leagues for their labor rights. Both challenges are difficult for a woman with a bad reputation.
"More than a portrait of one woman, this is a beautiful celebration of a whole community, one that dares to fight for a better future against overwhelming odds." - Guardian
*not available Argentina, Uruguay
Out of Sight
On top of the Bürglkopf mountain in Tyrol, far off the beaten track at an altitude of 1,300 meters, a refugee centre accommodates asylum seekers. Under the auspices of providing return counselling, but above all under the pressure of indefinite isolation, the aim is to convince them to leave Austria. The idyllic Alpine landscape becomes the stage for a bizarre encounter between refugees, villagers, and tourists, as the nearest mountains in Kitzbühel are primarily used for winter sports. While state-of-the-art gondolas carry vacationers from around the world to the peaks, the residents of the Bürglkopf must endure a three-hour walk to get from the camp to the valley. The film provides an insight into European border policies, which culminate in return centres and deportation camps.
To rob these men of their time, the only valuable currency they can call their own, is to deny them any kind of future at all" - Guardian
Valentina and the MUOSters
Niscemi, Sicily. A landscape shaped by intensive farming, wildfires, and MUOS: imposing military antennae that disfigure the territory. At almost 30 years old, Valentina still lives with her parents. When her father’s health deteriorates, she is forced to take her fate into her own hands. A delicate tale of emancipation rooted in a ravaged yet beloved land.
"a deeply relatable coming-of-age story and an invitation into another world" - True/False
Fragments of Ice
Personal, political and social developments unfold in Fragments of Ice, edited together from fifteen VHS tapes covering the period 1986 to 1994: video diaries shot by the director’s father, a champion figure-skater, on his foreign tours with the Ukrainian Ensemble Ballet on Ice, as well as in his own home. As we follow director Maria Stoianova growing up, we witness the parallel collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s journey towards regaining its independence, then its transition to a market economy. Expectations reflected in the glamourous footage of the West, shot by Stoianova’s father on his tours, contrast starkly with the home video footage of peeling walls, collapsed ceilings and cockroaches back at the family flat.
"Stoianova...nudges at the fluidity of history and memory. We may freeze parts of it for a moment but we can never truly know where we lie on its continuum or when the past will assert itself, because, in the end, we can only live as resiliently as we’re able in the present moment" - Screendaily
A Place in the Sun
Set on Gran Canaria, 'A Place in the Sun' unfolds a tale of human escapism. Pastel hotels and blue pools are the setting for an international cast of holidaymakers, expats and migrants. Beautiful tableaux unite multiple worlds in a humorous and melancholic portrait of a quest for a happier life.
"In a stylish, visual imagery, we witness life’s twists and turns between sandcastles, parties and overcrowded swimming pools, while escapism and creeping melancholy slowly reveal themselves behind the festive surface" - CPH:DOX
*not available Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden