A los libros y a las mujeres canto
The civilising role of women and literature is at the forefront of this affectionate documentary about four women and their libraries.
72'
Spain
IFFR 2023
In her debut feature, Angela Wanjiku Wamai tells the story of a man at odds with his environment and at war with his inner demons. After being released from prison, Geoffrey is sent to the Kenyan village where he was raised. Formerly an English teacher, he is now forced to redirect his life in a community that he left behind, doing manual jobs that are alien to him. Justin Mirichii offers a moving performance of this tortured man trapped between the victim’s vulnerability and the perpetrator’s guilt.
Selected for Bright Future, Shimoni is an affecting meditation on the enduring consequences of unspoken trauma. The director relies on a balanced visual exposition and on the symbolic charge of some crucial details, in order to build a slow-burn narrative that is not devoid of mystery – while subtly addressing issues regarding gender roles, religion, tradition and modernity, community and isolation, and the lack of appropriate support systems for the alienated individual.
Shimoni addresses the profound, inescapable pain of open wounds that, unable to find expression and recognition, are condemned to be distorted and recreated. Restraint becomes the director’s best ally and an ethical decision in tune with the problems raised by the film.
– Cristina Álvarez López
IFFR 2023
Programme IFFR 2023
A selection of feature-length debuts, characterised by original subject matter and an individual style, representing the cutting edge of contemporary filmmaking.
Read more about this programmeThe civilising role of women and literature is at the forefront of this affectionate documentary about four women and their libraries.
72'
Spain
IFFR 2023
A witty, well-observed portrait of middle-class India’s aspirations and the attendant pressures on its children.
94'
India
IFFR 2023
A deadpan dramedy about four millennials in Istanbul beset by money and social troubles.
88'
Turkey
IFFR 2023