A selection of feature-length debuts, characterised by original subject matter and an individual style, representing the cutting edge of contemporary filmmaking.

IFFR 2022

Tea Lindeburg

The future seems bright for 19th-century teen Lise. Until, one night, her dreams are shattered. Danish coming-of-age film shot on 16mm.

Sensitive Danish drama about a decisive day in the life of Lise (14), a late 19th-century country girl who is the first in the family slated to go to school. However, her mother’s complications during childbirth jeopardise Lise’s dream future.

Regular Programme

Bright Future

As in Heaven

Ricky D’Ambrose

Impressionistic drama about the fates of an American family, as seen by an only child born in the 1980s.

In his sophomore film, Ricky D’Ambrose charts the rise and fall of a middle-class family at a historical moment marked by diminished expectations, as seen through the eyes of a young boy.

The Cathedral

Gessica Généus

To run or to stay? In student Freda's Port-au-Prince, protests and violence escalate. A female perspective on Haitian society.

Student Freda lives in a poor neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, where protests and violence are flaring up. She faces a dilemma: to leave, or believe in the future and stay. Lively impression of relations in Haiti from a female perspective, both politically engaged and personally poignant.

Freda

Alberto De Michele

Ditch your romantic preconceptions about the Italian mafia. We infiltrate the underworld, where Pasquale is plotting his final heist.

Elderly criminal Pasquale reunites with The Wolves, as he organises one last robbery. After this, he plans to retire for good. De Michele's debut film is an unusual, candid look behind the scenes of the Italian underworld.

IFFR 2025
30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

Bright Future

In 'Bright Future'

As in Heaven

The Cathedral

Freda

The Last Ride of the Wolves