51st International Film Festival Rotterdam 2022
Official Selection
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72 titles
- DirectorPaz EncinaStarsAnel PicaneraiCuria Chiquejno EtacoroDucubaide ChiquenoiEami's homeland is invaded by settlers. Embodying Asojá, the bird-god-woman, she falls into trance in which she walks slowly and stunned through her beloved forest as she prepares to leave it forever.
- DirectorMaria IgnatenkoStarsGeorgiy BergalKlavdiya KorshunovaAndrey KrivenokAchrome is an anti-war parable about a man and his vulnerability in the face of history. Maris, the film's protagonist, is the village idiot, brought up by his older brother. Following his brother, Maris leaves their peaceful village and joins the military. It is as if he enters a different world, the world of war. There he meets Leah, a young woman sentenced to death. Through her eyes, Maris is able to see himself. For Leah, and for all who will see his name in the archives in the future, Maris will remain a murderer, no matter whether he killed or not. All his features will be erased, all save one - his guilt. But surely, there must be a way to separate oneself from the archive? To get yourself back?
- DirectorMartine SymsStarsDiamond StingilyErin LelandCammisa BuerhausThis coming-of-age comedy tracks one very long day for Palace Bryant, a newly minted MFA grad whose final 24 hours in art school become a real trip.
- DirectorClio BarnardStarsAdeel AkhtarClaire RushbrookMacy ShackletonAli and Ava, both lonely for different reasons, meet and sparks fly. Over a lunar month a deep connection begins to grow, despite the legacy of Ava's past relationship, and Ali's emotional turmoil at the breakdown of his marriage.
- DirectorBassel GhandourStarsEmad AzmiBaraka RahmaniMonzer ReyahnahA crime caper set in the labyrinthine alleys of East Amman where a blackmailing voyeur sets off a series of unintended events, causing the lives of residents to collide and spiral into chaos.
- DirectorJakrawal NilthamrongStarsNopachai ChaiyanamSorabodee ChangsiriPaopoom ChiwarakOne level a deeply felt story of a woman, and on another, that of a country's tragic past and its exploited people.
- DirectorTea LindeburgStarsFlora Ofelia Hofmann LindahlIda Cæcilie RasmussenPalma Lindeburg LethOn a farm in the late 1800s, an intense wait begins when a mother goes into a complicated labour and 14-year-old Lise must prepare herself for a night that could change her life forever.
- DirectorChui Mui TanStarsChui Mui TanPete TeoBront PalaraeDivorced and exhausted, retired actress Moon Lee is offered the chance of a comeback as the lead of a do-your-own stunts martial arts film.
- DirectorYanakayaStarsShinya TomitaYui FukudaWataru UenoyamaA fictitious 1980s Japan. Soji, a soldier on furlough, returns to his country. He receives a request from Haya, who was sent from the World Bank, to help her on a mission to investigate the actual circumstances of a narcotic called "Golden Monkey" which is running rampant through Japanese society.
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsJack LowdenThom AshleyOrlando JoplingLegendary 20th century English war poet Siegfried Sassoon embarks on a life-long quest for personal salvation through his experiences with family, war, his writing, and destructive relationships. True salvation can only come from within.
- DirectorTze Woon ChanExploring the state of depression among the current citizens on Hong Kong as China consolidates its power over the metropolis.
- DirectorFrancesco MontagnerJabir, Usama and Useir are three young Bosnian brothers, born into a family of shepherds. They grew up in the shadow of their father, Ibrahim, a strict, radical Islamist preacher. When Ibrahim gets sentenced to two years in prison, for war participation and terrorism, the three brothers are suddenly left on their own.
- DirectorChristos MassalasStarsElsa LekakouFoivos PapadopoulosStathis ApostolouA story about dancers and thieves in modern-day Athens.
- DirectorRicky D'AmbroseStarsMonica BarbaroBrian d'Arcy JamesGeraldine SingerAn only child's meditative, impressionistic account of an American family's rise and fall over two decades.
- DirectorShlomi ElkabetzStarsRonit ElkabetzShlomi ElkabetzMiriam ElkabetzShlomi Elkabetz shares a love letter to his sister, the late actress and director Ronit Elkabetz.
- DirectorJacques DoillonStarsRoxane BarazzuolAntoine CholetNora HamzawiClaire and Kevin both attend a French village school. They are in the same class, CE2, for children aged eight and nine. Claire is the target of constant bullying by Kevin and his friends, and this is even starting to get violent. It seems very difficult to do anything about it. Reporting it to the teacher or parents often backfires. When her mother finally takes action, it becomes clear that Kevin is facing a complicated, unsafe situation at home. Against all expectations, a friendship arises between the two children, and their two families come to understand one another better.
- DirectorNathalie Álvarez MesénStarsWendy Chinchilla ArayaAna Julia Porras EspinozaDaniel Castañeda RincónIn a remote village in Costa Rica, Clara, a withdrawn 40-year-old woman, experiences a sexual and mystical awakening as she begins a journey to free herself from the repressive religious and social conventions which have dominated her life.
- DirectorKing HuStarsPolly Ling-Feng Shang-KuanChun ShihYing BaiWhen the children of an executed General are pursued in 1457 China, some heroic martial arts swordsmen intervene.
- DirectorRahat MahajanStarsRitvik TyagiAhalya ShettyRaj ZutshiA contemporary tale of reincarnation about two lovers meeting in the present day after several centuries of longing, yet still trapped in their destiny of a perpetual cycle of love and death.
- DirectorBrett Michael InnesStarsSivuyile NgesiCarla ClassenNatasha SutherlandA third-generation family gym finds itself in a David and Goliath type battle when a fitness conglomerate opens its flag-ship branch across the road from them.
- DirectorMarguerite de HillerinFélix Dutilloy-LiégeoisStarsGrégory GadeboisJoão ArraisMaria João PinhoIn the middle of the 16th century, near to Lisbon, an adopted young man called Bela tries to find his place in a family that is free but trapped in a world where each shadow allows defects to shine through. Here, everything leads to disaster.
- DirectorGurvinder SinghStarsS.S. DhimanVeera GillSamuel JohnModan returns home after 15 years in prison for a murder committed to avenge his father's humiliation. Altered familial equations force him to rebuild his life with his frail mother and a new wife who's already a mother to a son. In spite of his honest attempts to forget the insults of the past, suppressed anger manifests itself in renewed violence.
- DirectorClara LawStarsJeff LaiAriel NgDickens KoA filmmaker and a piano student, who first meet in Australia, try to make sense of a past imbued with mystery in Macau and an uncertain future in Hong Kong.
- DirectorSamuel M. DelgadoHelena GirónStarsXoán ReicesDavid PantaleónValentín Estévez1492. Among the crew captained by Christopher Columbus, travel three men who should have been dead by now. They have managed to avoid their sad fate by participating in this uncertain journey. When reaching the Canary Islands they flee, taking one of the ship's sails with them. Meanwhile, in the "Old World", a woman tries to save her dying sister by bringing her to a healer. Both of these journeys attempt to laugh at death. Both journeys are at the mercy of History.
- DirectorJoe D'AmatoStarsGeorge EastmanRosemarie LindtAnnie Carol EdelA woman plots to take revenge on the man that abused her sister.
- DirectorEduard GrecnerStarsAnton OcelkaVera KresadlováFrantisek VeleckýThe story of two friends, the astronomer Tur and the sculptor Andrei. It shows their different reactions to the question of life today: what can one man do to save humanity from destruction, to free the world from the constant threat of nuclear war.
- DirectorMorgane Dziurla-PetitStarsMarie-Christine CarlierMorgane Dziurla-PetitBernard PetitA young film director, returns to her family village after a terrorist alert was triggered. As she films her family members in their power dynamics, she comes to understand that they are more connected to this event than she originally thought. Through the making of a short documentary, she becomes closer to her dad Patrick and her cousin Faustine who share the same dream: leaving the village.
- DirectorLado KvataniyaStarsNiko TavadzeEvgeniy TkachukDaniil SpivakovskiyThe thriller is inspired by the case of an infamous Soviet-era serial killer who eluded police for a decade.
- DirectorBruno DumontStarsLéa SeydouxBlanche GardinBenjamin BiolayA celebrity journalist, juggling her busy career and personal life, has her life over-turned by a freak car accident.
- DirectorGabriele MainettiStarsClaudio SantamariaAurora GiovinazzoPietro CastellittoRome, 1943: Matilde, Cencio, Fulvio and Mario are the main attractions of the "Mezza Piotta Circus" run by Israel, meanwhile someone starts looking for the four freaks with a plan that could change the fate of the whole world.
- DirectorGessica GeneusStarsNehemie BastienGaëlle Bien-AiméDjanaina FrancoisFreda lives with her family in a popular neighborhood in Haiti. They survive with their little street food shop. The precariousness and violence of their daily life push them to do everything they can to escape their situation.
- DirectorAmanda KramerStarsCricket ArrisonM. DieselReshma GajjarSissy St. Claire graces the small screen for her first ever television special, an evening full of music and laughter, glamour and entertainment. But Sissy's live event quickly begins to curdle into a psychedelic nightmare.
- DirectorKiro RussoStarsMax Bautista UchasaraJulio César TiconaIsrael HurtadoA symphony of the city in the heights, the illness of a worker, the nightmare and his redemption.
- DirectorPanah PanahiStarsPantea PanahihaMohammad Hassan MadjooniRayan SarlakFollows a chaotic, tender family that is on a road trip across a rugged landscape and fussing over the sick dog and getting on each others' nerves. Only the mysterious older brother is quiet.
- DirectorMathieu AmalricStarsVicky KriepsArieh WorthalterAnne-Sophie Bowen-ChatetA woman one day simply walks out on her family. Or does she?
- DirectorAnders EmblemStarsAmalie Ibsen JensenMaria AgwumaroLars Halvor AndreassenWhen uncovering a story about injustice at work, young journalist Asta sees her personal life in a new light.
- DirectorMzonke MaloneyNolitha MkulisiJulie NxadiStarsLeon ClingmanAdrian GalleySibulele GcilitshanaA Christian convert is preparing for his rebirth as a man of god - unaware that his teenage daughter, who hasn't heard from him in three months, has declared him dead on social media. A school girl sees her private life made public when she invites a classmate, who is an online influencer, to her home. A divorced man with financial troubles so much wants to show his young daughter he can be a good father, that he fails to see the precarious position he is manoeuvring himself into. And a poet and commentator risks losing herself and those she loves in her desire to use her fame to achieve social change. In four short films, young South African makers reflect on the seductive, and at times treacherous, illusory reality of the internet. Using humour, suspense and social criticism, this collective production sketches a society dominated by idealised projections of the dreamt self.
- DirectorDunstan BruceSophie RobinsonStarsDunstan BruceDunstan Bruce is 59 and he's struggling with the fact that the world seems to be going to hell in a handcart. He is angry and frustrated. How does a middle-aged, retired radical, who feels invisible get back up again?
- DirectorClara KuperbergJulia KuperbergStarsAlly AckerJulie GrossmanIda LupinoAmaIn the 1950s and 1960s, Ida Lupino was the only woman in Hollywood with a serious career as a director: first in cinema and mainly for her own production company The Filmmakers Inc., and then in television, contributing episodes to some of the most celebrated series of the era. A staunch Democrat and Catholic, Lupino's cinema often tackled subjects considered risky if not outright taboo in her day, ranging from rape and bigamy to the way people suffering from polio were ostracised. Too humble for the vanity fair that is Hollywood, independent producer-writer-director Lupino remained historically a fringe figure in film - when she should have been venerated as one of the most complete and politically responsible filmmakers of all time. With their Ida Lupino: Gentlemen and Miss Lupino, Clara and Julia Kuperberg now offer a concise look at her career, themes, obsessions and achievements, bringing a long-overdue appreciation of this loneliest of path-breakers.
- DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsBenoît PoelvoordeMélanie DouteyAlba Gaïa BellugiThe lives of a wealthy publisher and her novelist husband are changed by the arrival of a mysterious young woman at their country mansion.
- DirectorManlio GomarascaMassimiliano ZaninStarsLamberto BavaTinto BrassManlio CersosimoWho was Joe D'amato- Aristide Massaccesi under his civil status? A genius of horror in the USA, a master of eroticism in France, the king of porn in Italy. A man with a thousand pseudonyms capable of making over 200 films while simultaneously holding the roles of producer, director, author, director of photography and even camera operator. An artisan of cinema as he liked to call himself, capable of working on all film genres. From spaghetti western to post-atomic, decamerotic to glossy eroticism, and blockbuster porn to bloody horror. Guided by the aesthetics of extremes and supported by an undeniable technical ability, Joe D'Amato pushed himself, and the viewer, beyond all limits following with dedication three rigid principles that have become his stylistic code: Amaze, Shock, Scandalize.
- DirectorOleksiy RadynskiStarsFlorian YurievFlorian Yuriev wasn't a filmmaker as such, even if moving images and the interaction of lights and sounds did play a major part in his art - which one could describe as the most expanded of cinema. Yuriev was a painter who developed a whole theory of color and musicality. He was an architect whose most famous creation was also used as a movie hall, and was designed to host what he called Light Theatre performances. And as a true man of the 20th century, he did, of course, shoot films - yet without ever feeling the need to finish them.
- DirectorAlessandro MelazziniStarsABBADaniele BaldelliRose BurtonThis audiovisual work is the narration of what the musical genre Italo-Disco represented in the 80s.
- DirectorAnca DamianStarsAlexander BalanescuLucian IonescuCristina JuncuThe film is a surreal comedy based on a reinterpretation of Robinson Crusoe, speaking of current affairs through visual poetry and symbolism. The film is a colorful, poetic and funny musical fable.
- DirectorT.J. ParsellStarsBonnie BakerCidny BullensDianne DavidsonThis documentary explores a group of gay women songwriters who have successfully navigated the male dominated country music genre and have written number 1 hits for some of country music's greatest stars.
- DirectorDashan KongStarsHaoyu YangLiya AiQiming JiangTang Zhijun, an editor of a science fiction magazine, tries to find signs of alien civilization.
- DirectorJae-eun LeeJisun LimStarsJua KimSeoyoung YoonJongmin Lim20-year-old Jeonghee doesn't go to college and works part-time. She goes to meet Minyoung, her old high school roommate, for the first time in a while and wants to play with her as before. However, Minyoung, a college student, is busy sending correction emails for her credits and feels uncomfortable by Jeonghee's visit.
- DirectorMario MartoneStarsToni ServilloMaria NazionaleCristiana Dell'AnnaThe biography of Neapolitan comic theater legend Eduardo Scarpetta.
- DirectorEdgar PêraStarsMiguel BorgesAna BustorffKeith DavisA self-reflexive film, the result of a decade of investigation in the stereoscopic format, the closing chapter of the PhD film-dissertation O Espectador Espantado.
- DirectorMabrouk El MechriStarsSabrina OuazaniRamzy BediaEye HaidaraConvinced that a divorce would separate her from her little girl, Zohra cannot bring herself to leave her husband despite his violent behavior. She suffers his blows in silence. But all that changes when she meets Chang Sue.
- DirectorJudit ElekStarsManyi KissÉva AlmásiLászló BathóMerry hell breaks lose when half of Budapest invades the apartment of a lonely, old fashioned elderly lady who has decided to move.
- DirectorAmanda KramerStarsAriela BarerAnnalise BassoRyan SimpkinsEight teenage girls become trapped in an endless birthday party after a massive earthquake. The girls' sanity and psyches dissolve as they run out of food and water.
- DirectorAlberto De MicheleStarsAlberto De MichelePasquale, an old crook who lost his fortune to gambling, organizes his last big heist and reunites The Wolves, a gang of North-Italian fairground operators who moonlight as thieves. The robbery of a money truck - transporting 12 million euros in cash - could be a good pension for everybody, and secure the legacy of their old-school craftsmanship.
- DirectorRiho KudoStarsShuri SuwaShion SasakiJun FubukiNaomi, a student dropout, only believes in things he can touch. However, when he really wants to touch someone, he recoils. As is the case when he befriends Maki, a happy-go-lucky young man who lives with Midori, a blind woman who dreamily expounds about places she has never been. When Midori becomes seriously ill, Maki and Naomi send her tapes from an imaginary trip around the world. Their relationship becomes more intimate whilst recording, but they only dare engage in rough, painful horseplay.
- DirectorWayne WangSpencer NakasakoStarsWan Kin ChengJohn ChanKwan-Min ChengA man is hired by a group of people he believes to be gangsters to escort a briefcase from America to Hong Kong. When he arrives, however, his contact is nowhere to be found.
- DirectorJon AlpertStarsDelirisFreddyRobertA relentless ride through the streets and prisons of Newark, New Jersey's largest city, and desperate fight to survive the deadliest enemy ever to attack America.
- DirectorAnn HuiStarsSichun MaFeihong YuEddie PengThe film tells the story of a young girl who travels from Shanghai to Hong Kong in pursuit of education, but ends up working for her aunt seducing rich and powerful men.
- DirectorClaude SchmitzStarsLucie DebayHélène BressiantJudith WilliquetAt her grandmother's house, with her daughter, Lucie dreams of being an actress.
- DirectorMahesh NarayananStarsFahadh FaasilNimisha SajayanVinay ForrtA past ridden with crime, death and pain is recounted to Freddy, a juvenile criminal, who has been assigned to eliminate his estranged uncle Sulaiman, an aging patriarch, while behind bars.
- DirectorAnita Rocha da SilveiraStarsMari OliveiraLara TremourouxJoana MedeirosIn order to resist temptation, Mariana and her girlfriends try their best to control everything and everyone around them. However, the day will come when the urge to scream will be stronger than it ever has been.
- DirectorSam de JongStarsRoeland FernhoutHadewych MinisGijs NaberWhen a successful game show host is robbed of her new video camera, she exaggerates the crime to get the most out of her insurance. Her lie ignites a chain reaction that will forever tie her destiny with that of her young assailant.
- DirectorAdrián SilvestreStarsRaphaëlle PérezAlberto DíazMarc RiberaA young trans woman in Barcelona deals with her transition, dating and daily life.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTôma IkutaPaolo Andrea Di PietroKen'ichi EndôTrilogy about a cop who goes undercover and becomes a fully-fledged Yakuza.
- DirectorRachel LangStarsLouis GarrelCamille CottinIna Marija BartaitéNika, a woman in her early twenties, leaves Ukraine to follow her boyfriend Vlad, a young soldier based in a military camp in Corsica. While there, she meets Céline, the wife of Commander Maxime.
- DirectorAna Lily AmirpourStarsKate HudsonJeon Jong-seoCraig RobinsonA girl with unusual powers escapes from a mental asylum and tries to make it on her own in New Orleans.
- DirectorPierre HébertStarsTeita IwabuchiA poetic and animated meditation based on the impressions left by two trips to Japan, in 2003 and 2018. A formal construction based on a stylistic and technical approach that connects dance, calligraphy, and scratching on film.
- DirectorQiu JiongjiongStarsYifan CaiXiao'ou MaYi SichengAn experimental documentary epic, Mr. Zhang Believes recounts 30 years of China's 20th-century history through the story of Mr. Zhang Xianchi and the interacting forms of theatrical fiction and autobiography.
- DirectorQiu JiongjiongThe Chinese documentary movement continues to evolve, reaching new levels of awareness of issues complicating its mission to objectively capture the reality of its society. Among these issues is that of performance in its subjects; this is especially critical given that an increasing number of documentaries are personal portraits that delve into subjective experiences. Perhaps the most memorable instance of the past year is Qiu Jiongjiong's stark black-and-white series of interviews with transsexual cabaret singer Madame Bi Langda. Madame Bi's recollections of past experiences explicitly touch on how she performs her way through life, whether interacting with friends, lovers or her audience. More than a document of the increasingly complicated gender identity politics in China, it's also a poignant testimony of a life dedicated to articulating the aesthetics of living.
- DirectorQiu JiongjiongStarsTao GuNan GuanQiao HuThe leading clown role in a renowned theatre troupe passes on, and is welcomed into the Underworld. As he relives his vivid memories one last time before entering the afterlife, 50 years of art, struggle and love play out against the background of 20th century China’s tumultuous history.
- DirectorAnisia UzeymanSaul WilliamsStarsCheryl IshejaElvis NgaboDiogène NtarindwaAn intersex African hacker, a coltan miner and the virtual marvel born as a result of their union.
- DirectorTatiana HuezoStarsGuillermo VillegasMayra BatallaTeresa SánchezLife in a town at war seen through the eyes of three young girls on the path to adolescence.
- DirectorDongnan ChenAfter hiding in the mountains for a century, a Miao Christian choir is discovered by an official and becomes a national sensation. Two young Miaos must reconcile their faith, identity and love with the real world of China.