British Agent
80'
USA
IFFR 2019
Lubitsch's classic, co-written by Billy Wilder, is one of the first American movies to predict the Cold War and, under the cover of a satirical, light romance, to depict Stalin's Soviet Union as rigid and grey – in this instance comparing it with the free and sunny Parisian society of the pre-war era.
The film opens during the aftermath of the Russian revolution. A trio of Russian delegates are sent to sell the Imperial Jewels for ready cash (which may sound strange to contemporary ears, but was in fact standard practice). Count Leon d'Algout (Melvyn Douglas) is enlisted to retrieve the jewellery before it is sold. The Soviet Union then sends comrade 'Ninotchka' Yakushova (Greta Garbo), a special envoy whose goal is to go through with the jewellery sale and bring back the three men. "Garbo Laughs!" declared the ads at the time.
IFFR 2019
Programme IFFR 2019
Spying as a way of filming, and the camera as an espionage tool. From more control to more confusion. Classics to contemporary highlights.
Read more about this programme80'
USA
IFFR 2019
Three stories of espionage in the Middle East, with images shot on a trip to Cairo in 2016, another to Tehran in 2008 and never-seen-before footage from Sana'a, Yemen. A love story and a suspense tale, mixed in with a dash of comedy and paranoia.
25'
Argentina
IFFR 2019
Impressive docudrama set in Korea about interrogation techniques used on prisoners. Was not allowed to be screened for 45 years.
64'
United Kingdom
IFFR 2019