Films that have been winning critical acclaim at other festivals this year.
Jealousy and Just A Sigh
Bastards (Les Salauds)
(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Claire Denis; Writer: Jean-Pol Fargeau, Claire Denis; Stars: Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni, Julie Bataille, Michel Subor, Lola Créton, Alex Descas,
Grégoire Colin, Florence Loiret Caille)
A vengeful man sets out to find out about the businessman who caused his family's ruin.
The Berlin File
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2013; Director: Ryoo Seung-wan; Stars: Ha Jung-woo, Han Suk-kyu, Gianna Jun, Ryoo Seung-bum)
As a North Korean spy suspects he has been set up, a South Korean spy uncovers a conspiracy.
Big Bad Wolves
(Country: Israel; Year: 2013; Director: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado; Writer: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado; Stars: Lior Ashkenazi, Tzahi Grad, Rotem Keinan, Doval'e Glickman)
Two vigilantes kidnap a suspected child-killer.
Black Diamonds
(Country: Spain, Portugal; Year: 2013; Director: Miguel Alcantud; Writer: Miguel Alcantud)
A documentary about impoverished African children who dream of changing thei luck by becoming football stars.
A Castle In Italy (Un Château En Italie)
(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; Writer: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Noémie Lvovsky, Noémie Lvovsky, Agnès de Sacy; Stars: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Louis Garrel, Filippo Timi, Marisa Borini, Xavier Beauvois, Céline Sallette, Andre Wilms, Marie Riviere, Gerard Falce, Pippo Delbono, Silvio Orlando, Omar Sharif)
A family are forced to sell their Italian home.
Bastards and Honey
Child's Pose (Pozitia Copilului)
(Country: Romania; Year: 2013; Director: Calin Peter Netzer; Writer: Razvan Radulescu, Calin Peter Netzer; Stars: Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Florin Zamfirescu)
An upper class woman loses all sight of morality as she strives to save her son from a prison sentence for knocking down an killing a child.
Class Enemy (Razredni sovraznik)
(Country: Slovenia; Year: 2013; Director: Rok Bicek; Writer: Rok Bicek, Nejc Gazvoda, Janez Lapajne; Stars: Igor Samobor, Natasa Barbara Grancer, Tjaa Zeleznik, Masa Derganc, Voranc Boh, Dasa Cupevski)
A teacher finds his class start to turn on him after tragedy strikes the school.
The Congress (Le congrès)
(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Ari Folman; Writer: Ari Folman, Stanislaw Lem; Stars: Robin Wright, Paul Giamatti, Harvey Keitel, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Frances Fisher, Danny Huston, Sami Gayle, Michael Landes, Michael Stahl-David, Don McManus, Christopher B. Duncan, Cooper Thornton, Ed Corbin, Kevin Thompson, Matthew Wolf)
An ageing actress gets more than she bargains for when she accepts one last job.
The Enemy Within (O Ehthros Mou)
(Country: Greece; Year: 2013; Director: Yorgos Tsemperopoulos; Writer: Giannis Tsiros; Stars: Manolis Mavromatakis, Maria Zorba, Giorgos Gallos, Antonis Karistinos, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Ariadni Kavalierou, Ilias Moulas, Vesela Kazakova, Tudor Chirila)
A hapless hero is forced to confront his intellectual stance after his home is invaded.
The Future (Il Futuro)
(Country: Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain ; Year: 2013; Director: Alicia Scherson; Writer: Alicia Scherson; Stars: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta)
The elder of two siblings who have lost their parents, enters the mansion of a retired Mr Universe looking for a future.
Child's Pose and The Past
The Geographer Drank His Globe Away (Geograf globus propil)
(Country: Russia; Year: 2013; Director: Aleksandr Veledinskiy; Writer: Rauf Kubayev, Valeriy Todorovskiy, Aleksandr Veledinskiy, based on the novel by Aleksei Ivanov; Stars: Anfisa Chernykh, Ilya Ilinyh, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Eugenia Khirivskaya, Evgeniya Kregzhde, Maksim Lagashkin, Mikhail Leontiev, Elena Lyadova, Andrei Prytkov, Aleksandr Robak, Anna Sinyakina, Agrippina Steklova, Anna Ukolova, Victor Uzun, Anastasiya Zolotko)
Tragicomic tale of a hapless schoolteacher.
Honey (Miele)
(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2013; Director: Valeria Golino; Writer: Valeria Golino, based on the book by Angela Del Fabbro.; Stars: Jasmine Trinca, Carlo Cecchi, Libero De Rienzo)
A woman devoted to promoting euthanasia encounters a man with an invisible malaise.
In Bloom
(Country: Georgia, Germany, France; Year: 2013; Director: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß; Stars: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria)
Two young women come of age in the troubled time following Georgian independence.
Jealousy (la jalousie)
(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Philippe Garrel; Writer: Marc Cholodenko, Caroline Deruas-Garrel, Philippe Garrel, Arlette Langmann; Stars: Louis Garrel, Anna Mouglalis, Emanuela Ponzano, Arthur Igual)
Autobiographical cinema from director Philippe Garrel, in which his son Louis and Anna Mouglalis star as actors and lovers trying to reconcile their professional and personal lives.
Just A Sigh
(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Jérôme Bonnell; Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Emmanuelle Devos, Judith Rémy, Roland David, Sébastien Pouderoux, Jean-Charles Clichet, Eddie Chignara)
An actress meets a stranger on a train and conceives of a different life.
My Dog Killer and Big Bad Wolves
Love Eternal (L'éternel retour)
(Year: 1943; Director: Jean Delannoy; Writer: Jean Cocteau; Stars: Madeleine Sologne, Jean Marais, Jean Murat, Junie Astor, Roland Toutain, Jane Marken, Jean d'Yd, Piéral, Alexandre Rignault, Yvonne de Bray, Robert Sidonac, Sandra Venturini)
An intensely moving film about love, jealousy and malice, captivating in its lyrical charm, yet haunting in its assessment of the worst in human nature.
Love Is The Perfect Crime (L'amour est un crime parfait)
(Year: 2013; Director: Arnaud Larrieu, Jean-Marie Larrieu; Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Maïwenn, Karin Viard)
A professor forms a realtionship with one of his student's mothers after her daughter disappears
Marina
(Country: Belgium; Year: 2013; Director: Stijn Coninx; Writer: Rik D'Hiet; Stars: Matteo Simoni, Cristiaan Campagna, Luigi Lo Cascio, Donatella Finocchiaro, Evelien Bosmans, Warre Borgmans, Marte Bosmans, Jelle Florizoone, Vincent Grass, Federica Marinò, Maité Redal, Chris van den Durpel)
Drama about a young immigrant coming to terms with his new life in Belgium
Michael Kohlhaas
(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Arnaud des Pallières; Writer: Christelle Berthevas, Arnaud des Pallières, Heinrich von Kleist; Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Mélusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Denis Lavant, Roxane Duran, Paul Bartel, David Bennent, Swann Arlaud, Sergi López, Amira Casar, Jacques Nolot, Christian Chaussex, Nicolas Capelle)
A horse dealer leads an uprising in 16th century France.
My Dog Killer (Môj Pes Killer)
(Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic; Year: 2013; Director: Mira Fornay; Writer: Mira Fornay; Stars: Adam Mihál, Marián Kuruc, Libor Filo, Irena Bendová)
A troubled teenager with violent friends discovers a secret about his absent mother than makes him contemplate a cruel act.
The Berlin File and National Security
My Sweet Pepper Land
(Country: France, Germany, Iraq; Year: 2013; Director: Hiner Saleem; Writer: Hiner Saleem, Antoine Lacomblez; Stars: Korkmaz Arslan, Golshifteh Farahani, Suat Usta)
A Kurdish war hero turned police chief runs into trouble in his posting in the lawless borderlands.
National Security (Namyeong-dong 1985)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2012; Director: Chung Ji-young; Writer: Chung Sang-Hyup, Lee Dae-il, Kim Geun-tae, Kang Min-hee; Stars: Park Won-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Myung Kye-nam)
A pro-democracy activist faces off against his torturers, determined not to reveal his secrets.
Nobody's Daughter Haewon (Nugu-ui Ttal-do Anin Haewon)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2013; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Writer: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Jeong Eun-Chae, Lee Sun-kyun, Ye Ji-won, Yoo Joon-sang)
With her mother about to emigrate and her affair gone stale, Haewon faces a challenging future.
The Notebook (A nagy füzet)
(Country: Germany, France, Hungary, Austria; Year: 2013; Director: János Szász; Writer: Tom Abrams, Agota Kristof, András Szekér, János Szász; Stars: András Gyémánt, László Gyémánt, Gyöngyvér Bognár, Piroska Molnár, András Réthelyi, Ulrich Thomsen, Orsolya Tóth, János Derzsi, Péter Andorai, Miklós Székely B., Krisztián Kovács, Ákos Köszegi, Ulrich Matthes, Gyula Kovács, Diána Kiss)
Twins try to cope after they are left with their alcoholic gran in wartime Hungary.
October November (Oktober November)
(Country: Austria; Year: 2013; Director: Götz Spielmann; Writer: Götz Spielmann; Stars: Sebastian Koch, Andreas Ressl, Peter Simonischek, Ursula Strauss, Nora von Waldstätten, Johannes Zeiler)
A woman returns to the town that her sister has never left, sparking conflict.
A Castle In Italy and Class Enemy
Omar
(Year: 2013; Director: Hany Abu-Assad; Stars: Waleed Zuaiter, Adam Bakri, Samer Bisharat, Eyad Hourani, Leem Lubany)
Three childhood friends and a young woman find their relaonships destroyed by the pressures of the Palestinian struggle.
On The Job
(Country: Phillipines; Year: 2013; Director: Erik Matti; Writer: Erik Matti; Stars: Joel Torre, Gerald Anderson, Piolo Pascual)
A hitman thriller.
Parviz
(Country: Iran; Year: 2012; Writer: Majid Barzegar)
Parviz is a man in his fifties who has lived his entire life in his father's home and has never held a job. His quiet routine suddenly comes apart the day his father decides to remarry and tells him to move out.
The Passion of Michelangelo (La pasión de Michelangelo)
(Country: Chile, France, Argentina; Year: 2013; Director: Esteban Larraín; Stars: Sebastián Ayala, Claudia Celedón, Patricio Contreras, Roberto Farías, Catalina Saavedra, Alejandro Sieveking)
Political drama set during the Pinochet years.
The Past (Le Passé)
(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Asghar Farhadi; Writer: Asghar Farhadi; Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Sabrina Ouazani)
A couple meeting to finalise their divorce find themselves in difficult emotional terrain.
Nobody's Daughter Haewon and The Priest's Children
The Patience Stone (Syngué Sabour)
(Country: France, Afghanistan, Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Atiq Rahimi; Writer: Atiq Rahimi, Jean-Claude Carrière; Stars: Golshifteh Farahani, Hamidreza Javdan, Massi Mrowat)
An Afghan woman tending to her comatose husband gradually finds the means to confound the patriarchal society around her and assert her own voice.
A Place In Heaven (Makom Be Gan Eden)
(Country: Israel; Year: 2013; Director: Joseph Madmony)
A much decorated general once made a crucial mistake: with typical arrogance he exchanged his place in heaven for a plate of food. The central theme – a father-son relationship – is played out over the course of four decades of turbulent history in the State of Israel.
The Priest's Children (Svećenikova Djeca)
(Country: Croatia, Serbia; Year: 2012; Director: Vinko Brešan; Writer: Mate Matisic ; Stars: Kresimir Mikic, Niksa Butijer, Marija Skaricic)
A young priest is appalled at the very low birthrate in his new community. When the confession of a local tobacconist reveals the reason why, he opts for a rather unusual method for rectifying the situation.
Rosie
(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2013; Director: Marcel Gisler; Writer: Marcel Gisler, Rudolf Nadler; Stars: Sibylle Brunner, Judith Hofmann, Louis Krähenbühl, Fabian Krüger, Sebastian Ledesma, Anna-Katharina Müller)
A writer and his sister face tricky choices as their mother's health declines.
Violette
(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Martin Provost; Writer: Martin Provost; Stars: Emmanuelle Devos, Sandrine Kiberlain, Olivier Gourmet, Frans Boyer, Audrey Quoturi)
Biopic about feminist icon Violette Leduc.
October November and The Future
Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)
(Country: Afghanistan; Year: 2013; Director: Barmak Akram; Writer: Barmak Akram; Stars: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar)
A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice.
We Are So Young ( Somos Tão Jovens)
(Country: Brazil; Year: 2013; Director: Antonio Carlos da Fontoura; Writer: Victor Atherino, Marcos Bernstein; Stars: Thiago Mendonça, Laila Zaid, Bruno Torres, Daniel Passi, Sandra Corveloni, Marcos Breda, Bianca Comparato, Conrado Godoy, Nicolau Villa-Lobos, Sérgio Dalcin, Olívia Torres, Ibsen Perucci, Nathália Limaverde, André de Carvalho, Kotoe Karasawa)
During the last years of Brazil’s dictatorship, teenage Renato achieves his dream of becoming a rock star, forming Brazil’s first punk rock band.
When I Saw You (Lamma Shoftak)
(Country: Palestinian Territories, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Greece; Year: 2012; Director: Annemarie Jacir; Stars: Mahmoud Asfa, Saleh Bakri, Ruba Blal, Firas Taybeh, Ali Elayan)
A boy from a refugee camp goes in search of his father and makes friends with PLO fighters.
Wounded (La Herida)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Fernando Franco; Writer: Fernando Franco, Enric Rufas; Stars: Andrés Gertrúdix, Marian Álvarez, Manolo Solo, Luis Callejo, Ramón Barea, Rosana Pastor, Ramón Agirre, Nagore Aramburu)
Though good at her job, Ana has problems relating in her personal life. She doesn't know it, but she suffers from a condition known by psychiatrists as Borderline Personality Disorder. The situation pushes her to outbreaks of self-destructive behaviour, alcohol abuse and self-harm. Ana is incapable of getting what she wants most: to be happy.
Youth
(Country: Israel, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Tom Shoval; Stars: Eitan Cunio, David Cunio, Moshe Ivgy, Gita Amely, Shirili Deshe)
Two men trying to be good sons and save their families from ruin become violent kidnappers.