A special edition of Bright Future in which each programmer presents a fresh feature debut from the cutting edge of filmmaking.Still: Phoenix

IFFR 2021

Wang Qiong

A searing portrait of Jin, filmed by her sister. Abandoned as a baby, Jin, now a young woman, faces multi-generational family trauma.

An intimate, deeply felt portrait of Jin and her family filmed by her sister. Jin is an incredibly strong young Chinese woman who is determined to survive her family’s decision to abandon her as a baby because of her gender. Jin confronts her family’s traumatic history while she brings up her own son.

Regular Programme

Bright Future

All About My Sisters

Joke Olthaar

The sensation of being overwhelmed by nature shot in aesthetic black and white. With an undercurrent of spiritual connectedness.

Nowhere is man as insignificant as in wild mountain regions. The three climbers ascending to a peak in Slovenia are just dots; the mountain constantly fills the frame in highly aesthetic black and white. A spiritual oneness with nature is made palpable, thanks also to the minimalist soundscape.

BERG

Émilie Serri

Poetic film essay on Syria – a country that for many now only exists in memories, or dreams.

Filmmaker Émilie Serri’s father is from Syria, but he doesn’t talk much about his home country. Serri’s desire to build a connection to this war-ravaged country results in an exceptional, poetic documentary in which she links the reminiscences of refugees to her family history.

Damascus Dreams

Qi Rui

Upset by an anonymous note, a 12-year-old girl from a mountain village and her friends decide to visit her father in Shenzhen.

Many adults, including 12-year-old Zhang Jiaxing’s parents, have left their remote mountain village in southern China for the metropolis Shenzhen. An anonymous note from a classmate kicks off a series of dramatic events in this heart-rending, unsentimental, meticulously observed feature debut.

The Day Is Over

Jessica Beshir

Between repression and labouring on the khat plantations, Ethiopians dream of a better life. Rich impressions in poetic black and white.

The leaves of the stimulant khat plant have become Ethiopia’s biggest agricultural crop. Against the backdrop of this industry, an enchanting, layered impression of Ethiopian life unfolds, shot in poetic black and white. About an old myth, repression and the young, who dream of a better life elsewhere.

Faya Dayi

Thais Fujinaga

A forty-year-old mother has to watch her expectations crumble in this subtle, superbly acted Brazilian drama.

In a Brazilian coastal town, Paula strives to build a swimming pool in her humble beach house. While Paula has to deal with financial issues, her young teenage son gradually drifts away from her. This resourceful debut subtly raises bigger questions of materialism, male-female relations and motherhood.

A felicidade das coisas

Samuele Sestieri

Mysterious, poetic drama in which a woman washes ashore. She becomes acquainted with the previous inhabitants through their phone.

After washing ashore on the beach, a mysterious woman moves into the ruins of a house in a deserted town. There, on an old phone, she finds a young Italian couple’s photos and videos. This poetic, fairy-tale-like drama explores the value of love and closeness.

Lumina

Pooja Shetty

Neil Pagedar

Detectives hunt a murderous robot in this six-part science-fiction comedy that takes some serious swipes at the dangers of artificial intelligence.

In near-future India, robots are an integral part of everyday life. So it comes as a huge shock when a robot turns out to be a murderer. This six-part science-fiction comedy combines lots of jokes and wordplay with over-the-top design, but also raises serious questions about artificial intelligence.

OK Computer

Bram Droulers

Freewheeling film celebrating both sexual and stylistic fluidity. Phoenix literally changes colour as the characters circle one another.

A medical student who rents out a room is visited by a young woman he was romantically involved with. But he shows little interest – mainly because he’s in love with Harry. In Phoenix, fluidity is the norm, both in terms of sexual orientation and film style.

Phoenix

Fern Silva

Hawaii as the intersection of ancient Polynesian culture, nature, colonialism, religion and astronomy. Full of immense images.

Against lava flow and starry skies, Fern Silva explores a vast canvas in this free-associating film on Hawaii: from the island’s indigenous culture to extra-terrestrial worlds, Christian preachers and ancient Polynesian navigation by the stars; from documentary to fiction and poetry.

Rock Bottom Riser

Noushin Meraji

Ultimately compassionate Iranian drama about an incompetent man in his forties living with his mother, who suddenly dies.

Farid is a naïve forty-something who has done just about nothing in life. He vegetates, living with his mother. When she dies, he suddenly feels extremely lonely and is confronted by his own incompetence. A by turns funny, irritating and moving portrait of a helpless man.

The Son

Chong Keat Aun

In a Malaysian village, a fishmonger suffers from a mysterious illness. Is it black magic? Did he upset a god?

A Malaysian fishmonger falls ill after he upset a local god, or so he believes. His wife initially dismisses it as superstition, but undergoes an exceptional spiritual awakening whilst searching for her husband’s cure. Atmospheric, mysterious drama based on the filmmaker’s childhood memories.

The Story of Southern Islet

Leri Matehha

Distinctively styled film about a lonely young athlete with an all-controlling mother. An exceptional German debut.

A young athlete will do anything to get into a high-jumping team. At the same time, he tries to break away from his all-controlling mother. The unpleasantness is almost palpable in this beautifully stylised film that creates an alienating universe all of its own.

Thomas der Hochspringer

Kier-La Janisse

Kier-La Janisse helps us understand our current cultural malaise through this essay on an enigmatic aspect of horror cinema.

Folk horror is a comparatively new concept in genre-cinema discussions, although the films it’s anchored in have been venerated for decades. Why do we now feel so threatened by folklore, rural settings and ancient cultures? Janisse offers many answers that go far beyond film culture.

IFFR 2025
30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025