IFFR 2018

João Miller Guerra

Filipa Reis

A chance meeting sets 25-year-old Portuguese Djon África on the track of his roots in Cape Verde. He hopes to finally find his father, an adventurer whom he doesn't know. But things never go as planned in life – and particularly in this playful search for Djon’s identity.

Bright Future

Hivos Tiger Competition

Djon África

Baek Seungbin

As often happens in Korean films, we meet a fretful filmmaker who has ground to a halt with an ambitious film project: what would you wish for on the last day before the end of the world? Followed by a trilogy of mysterious surprises, black humour and sympathy for lonely outsiders.

I Have a Date with Spring

Shireen Seno

Sensitive, sparkling film that captures the confusing and magical moments alike in the life of a child who, while preferring to be by herself, deep down also longs to be heard. The events of 1987 in the Philippines play a role in the background, but shy Yael is more concerned with her absent father, her uncle who is a rock star and a pen with special powers.

Nervous Translation

Nicolas Pesce

Afraid that he will stab his baby to death, Reed decides to drive out this compulsion by murdering a call girl. She has her own neuroses and is quickly pulling the strings, in an unpredictable SM duel with surrealistic horror and a dash of irony. The demons from Reed’s childhood also play a role in this stylised psychothriller with cult potential.

Piercing

Metahaven

Rob Schröder

How to be together in the age of social media? We have become obsessed with our own image and must find a new, more personal way of relating to others. This rich essay argues that the chains of social media must be cast off, but the perpetual question remains: Who is looking out for you?

Possessed

Muayad Alayan

By having an affair, Jewish Sarah and Palestinian Saleem risk much more than just their marriages. Their relationship attracts attention from the security services on both sides of the Israeli 'wall', who are convinced there’s more to it than mutual attraction.

The Reports on Sarah and Saleem

Marina Meliande

Rio de Janeiro, 2016: the city simmers in anticipation of the Olympic Games. Lawyer Ana (32) defends the interests of residents of homes to be replaced by stadiums, roads and luxury hotels. Is the heat affecting her perception or is the struggle becoming visible on her skin? Beautiful, intriguing, stifling debut.

Sultry

Cai Chengjie

Is there any hope in Erhao’s unfortunate life following the death of her third husband, when fellow villagers in rural China accuse her of having supernatural powers? Daring black-and-white drama with an unusual fatalistic/comedic worldview which also displays a neorealistic empathy for the victims of power and other unavoidable misery.

IFFR 2025
30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025