Agate mousse
Photography, sex, reproduction and the power of minerals merge into one in this aesthetic alleviation of fear of the finite.
68'
Lebanon
IFFR 2021
Starting with a poor farmer, this story ends in revolt. Olivorio (‘Liborio’) Mateo disappears without trace during a hurricane in the year 1908 in the south of the Dominican Republic. His family and fellow villagers think he is dead, but he suddenly reappears, returned from heaven on a mission. From then on, his prophecies and healing powers expand his group of followers, and he retreats with them into the mountains to start a commune in freedom.
In seven scenes, Liborio manifests the spirit of this messianic figure and the people who are inspired by his lessons to this day. This sensory tale of the origins of a community that combines spirituality and the struggle for self-determination consists of multiple, interwoven perspectives. Immediately after its foundation, the community aroused the authorities’ suspicions and, after the 1916 American invasion, tensions developed into an armed struggle.
Filmmaker Nino Martínez Sosa’s feature film debut unearths an underexplored part of Dominican culture and identity from collective memory. He visited villages where ‘Liborism’ is kept alive in ritual, prayer and song, thereby connecting this dramatised history to the present.
IFFR 2021
Programme IFFR 2021
IFFR’s trademark competition celebrates the innovative and adventurous spirit of up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world.
Still: Friends and Strangers
Read more about this programmePhotography, sex, reproduction and the power of minerals merge into one in this aesthetic alleviation of fear of the finite.
68'
Lebanon
IFFR 2021
A young model returns to the Georgian countryside, where a confrontation with her past offers hope for the future.
118'
Georgia
IFFR 2021
Chinese road movie with Western elements in crisp black-and-white about a woman, a lobster and a great sorrow.
111'
China
IFFR 2021