Synopsis: In Albania’s post-communist landscape, a lonely mother, Mira, and her troubled teenage son, Toni, struggle through an outbreak of civil violence that tears their East European nation apart.

✰ Thessaloniki Film Festival Nominee
✰ Sofia International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Hellenic Film Academy Awards Nominee
✰ Goa International Film Festival of India Nominee

Synopsis: A woman hospitalized for pain discovers she’s pregnant. After a medical emergency, she faces criminal charges. With support from her attorney and women’s rights advocates, she fights for justice in a landmark case that could change lives.

✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A filmmaker’s nostalgic journey through Armenian cinema, reflecting on her late father’s acting career and her own artistic path, blending personal memories with a celebration of the country’s cinematic heritage.

Armenia’s other finalists:
“After Dreaming” by Christine Haroutounian
“There Was, There Was Not” by Emily Mkrtichian

Synopsis: A young Mongolian couple’s lives are uprooted when climate change forces them to leave their rural home for the city, where they must adapt to an unfamiliar way of life.

✰ London Film Festival Nominee
✰ Sydney Film Festival Nominee
✰ Toronto International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Marrakech International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zurich Film Festival Nominee
✰ Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) Nominee
✰ Docville Nominee

Synopsis: Matthias masters impersonating roles for hire: cultured boyfriend, perfect son, sparring partner. Professionally adept at pretending daily, his true challenge lies in being himself.

✰ Stockholm Film Festival Winner
✰ Venice Film Festival Winner
✰ New Faces Awards, Germany Winner
✰ Independent Film Festival of Boston Winner
✰ Austrian Film Award, AT Winner
✰ Les Arcs European Film Festival Winner
✰ Chicago International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Hong Kong International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Nashville Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Chronicle of the life and charitable activities of the prominent Azeri millionaire and philanthropist Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.

Synopsis: Dipa is fierce, funny, forthright, a divorcee “menace” in a rural town in ’90s Bangladesh who defies social stigma and the burden of family honour to live on her own terms.

✰ Mumbai Film Festival Winner

Argentina’s other finalists:
“Moyna” by Monjurul Islam Megh
“Priyo Maloti” by Shankha Dasgupta
“Saba” by Maksud Hossain
“A Tale of Two Sisters” by Akram Khan

Synopsis: Five young mothers living in a shelter strive for a better future for themselves and kids amidst challenging upbringings.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: A real-life events around Dechen Roder

✰ Bhutan National Film Festival Winner
✰ Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Winner
✰ Vesoul Asian Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: After 25 years in exile, Ana returns to Bolivia after her aunt Lu’s death, intending to sell the family home. The journey, initially painful, becomes a transformative discovery as Ana unearths hidden truths about her family and identity. Facing the ghosts of the last military dictatorship, Ana must reconcile with her painful past to finally reunite with herself and her home.

Synopsis: After World War II, in the devastated, rural Bosnia and Herzegovina, entrepreneur Emerik Blum created a large and successful company “Energoinvest” that operated worldwide with billions of dollars in profit. Taking advantage of the specific position of Yugoslavia, which did not belong to either the Eastern or Western political blocs, the company – relying on socialism and capitalism – operated according to a unique business model based on worker participation in management and profit. Emerik Blum turned a small studio into a business giant by operating according to a self-management model in which all employed workers decide on all matters concerning their company. This film shows us the successful application of this, the most democratic model of management, which is still unknown to the general public.

Synopsis: In 1977, a technology expert flees from a mysterious past and returns to his hometown of Recife in search of peace. He soon realizes that the city is far from being the refuge he seeks.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Actor & Directing)
✰ Festival de Cine de Lima PUCP Winner
✰ Jerusalem Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Sydney Film Festival Nominee
✰ CineFest – Miskolc International Film Festival Nominee

Brazil’s other finalists:
“Baby” by Marcelo Caetano
“The Beach at the End of the World” by Petrus Cariry
“The Best Mother in the World” by Anna Muylaert
“The Blue Trail” by Gabriel Mascaro
“Carnival Is Over” by Fernando Coimbra
“Homem com H” by Esmir Filho
“Malu” by Pedro Freire
“Manas” by Marianna Brennand
“Milton Bituca Nascimento” by Flávia Moraes
“Portrait of a Certain Orient” by Marcelo Gomes
“Same Old West” by Érico Rassi
“The Son of a Thousand Men” by Daniel Rezende
“Vitória” by Andrucha Waddington & Breno Silveira
“White House” by Luciano Vidigal
“A Wolf Among the Swans” by Marcos Schechtman & Helena Varvaki

Synopsis: A father’s love for his gifted daughter puts him at odds with the prejudiced townsfolk in this visually stunning tale with supernatural elements.

Synopsis: Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.

✰ Sundance Film Festival Winner
✰ Regina International Film Festival & Awards (RIFFA) Winner
✰ Reims Polar Festival du Film Policier Winner
✰ Hong Kong International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Istanbul Film Festival Nominee
✰ Jerusalem Film Festival Nominee
✰ Tarkovsky Film festival – Zerkalo Nominee
✰ Guanajuato International Film Festival Nominee
✰ MOOOV Film Festival Nominee
✰ SXSW London Nominee

Synopsis: As an unknown disease begins to spread in a small mining town in the Chilean desert, gay men are accused of transmitting it through their eyes. Twelve-year-old Lidia, the only girl in the community, sets out in search of the truth.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Un Certain Regard)
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Winner
✰ Festival de Cine de Lima PUCP Winner
✰ Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) Winner
✰ Melbourne International Film Festival Nominee

Chile’s other finalists:
“Bitter Gold” by Juan Francisco Olea
“Designation of Origin” by Tomás Alzamora
“The Hyperboreans by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña
“The Wave” by Sebastián Lelio
“A Yard of Jackals” by Diego Figueroa

Synopsis: During the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, postman A Chang posed as a photo developer, helping Japanese forces while secretly sheltering Chinese refugees. He later risked his life evacuating them and revealing evidence of the atrocities.

✰ Changchun Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: An aging poet finds purpose mentoring Yurlady, a talented teen, though exposing her to the poetry scene might be unwise. His own poetic pursuits led nowhere, leaving him a stereotypical obscure writer.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Un Certain Regard Jury Prize)
✰ Munich Film Festival Winner
✰ Festival de Cine de Lima PUCP Winner
✰ Melbourne International Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A young man’s public abuse allegations against Mauricio Víquez Lizano led to landmark 20-year sentence, changing Costa Rica’s statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases.

Synopsis: Citizens of Rijeka, which Italians call Fiume, retell, reconstruct, and reinterpret the bizarre story about the 16-month occupation of their city in 1919 by the Italian poet, a dandy and preacher of war Gabriele D’Annunzio.

✰ Pula Film Festival Winner
✰ International Film Festival Rotterdam Winner
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Czech photographer seeks freedom after 1968 Prague Spring suppression. Undertakes long journey to break from repressive regime’s constraints.

✰ Czech Lions Winner
✰ NewFest: New York’s LGBT Film Festival Winner
✰ Online Film Critics Society Awards Winner
✰ Viennale Winner
✰ Camden International Film Festival Winner
✰ Festival du nouveau cinéma Winner
✰ Torino Film Festival Winner
✰ Global Cinema Film Festival of Boston (GCFF) Winner
✰ Berlin International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A Russian teacher secretly documents his small town school’s transformation into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda and militarization.

✰ Ann Arbor Film Festival Winner
✰ Sundance Film Festival Winner
✰ Prague One World Film Festival Winner
✰ The Hague Movies that Matter Festival Winner
✰ DocsBarcelona, ES Winner
✰ Biografilm Festival Winner
✰ Millennium Docs Against Gravity Winner
✰ ZagrebDox Winner
✰ Docville Winner
✰ Göteborg Film Festival Nominee
✰ Calgary International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Cinema for Peace Awards Nominee
✰ DocAviv Film Festival Nominee

Denmark’s other finalists:
“Beginnings” by Jeanette Nordahl
“The Last Viking” by Anders Thomas Jensen

Synopsis: A voice that claims to be from a hippopotamus. A voice that doesn’t understand the perception of time. Pepe, the first and last hippo killed in the Americas, tells his story with the overwhelming orality of these towns.

✰ Berlin International Film Festival Winner
✰ Hong Kong International Film Festival Winner
✰ International Cinephile Society Awards Winner
✰ Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Bangkok World Film Festival Nominee
✰ Reykjavik International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Festival du nouveau cinéma Nominee
✰ New Horizons International Film Festival, Poland Nominee
✰ IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival Nominee
✰ Film Comment Magazine, USA Nominee

Dominican Republic’s other finalists:
“Bionico’s Bachata” by Yoel Morales
“Olivia & the Clouds” by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat
“The Silence of Marcos Tremmer” by Miguel García de la Calera
“Sueños Dorados” by Mariano Pichardo
“Sugar Island” by Johanné Gómez Terrero
“El Tiburón” by Félix Germán

Synopsis: Follow a mythological Andean creature which is said to take the form of a child and then turns into a monster that feeds on the blood of young women.

Synopsis: Eight-year-old maid Toha goes to great lengths to ensure that her best friend Nelly, the daughter of her wealthy employer, has a successful birthday party in this poignant debut feature exploring classism in modern-day Cairo.

✰ Tribeca Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: Sebastian’s workday is shaken up by an unexpected friendship. A film that follows youth as they figure out life in their twenties, dealing with uncertainties and searching for purpose.

Synopsis: Two middle-aged sisters in a Finnish village promise to brew beer for a wedding but drink their entire batch. In a hilarious race against time, they struggle with hangovers while trying to make more beer and save their reputations.

✰ Rome Film Fest Nominee
✰ Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A small mishap triggers a chain reaction of ever-growing problems.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Palme d’Or)
✰ Sydney Film Festival Winner
✰ Locarno Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Hen Sandro’s father decides to devote his existence to God and leaves for a monastery, the teenage introvert finds himself deprived of the fundamental certainties of life. Abandoned by his father and his mother, who is working abroad, the young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery, opening up both to a new friendship with the radical Lasha, who has ties with an ultra-right organisation, and also to the chance to explore his own sexuality. George Sikharulidze’s perceptive feature debut considers how fine the line is between the observer and the observed, and asks where contemporary post-Soviet Georgian society is heading as it hovers on the border between religious conservatism and nationalisation on the one hand, and the desire for independence and modernisation on the other.

✰ Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Winner
✰ Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival Winner
✰ Palic Film Festival Winner
✰ Asia Pacific Screen Awards Winner
✰ Batumi International ArtHouse Film Festival Winner
✰ Giffoni Film Festival Nominee
✰ Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival Nominee
✰ Shanghai International Film Festival Nominee
✰ International Film Festival of India Nominee
✰ CinEast Nominee

Synopsis: A remote German farm harbors generations of secrets. Four women, separated by decades but united by trauma, uncover the truth behind its weathered walls.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Jury Prize)
✰ Jerusalem Film Festival Nominee
✰ Melbourne International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Munich Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Radiant psychologist Katerina has to confront her worst suspicions as she accompanies Yannis, an early once-respected doctor, to identify the victim of a tragic car accident at an off-season seaside resort.

✰ Cork International Film Festival Winner
✰ Hong Kong International Film Festival Winner
✰ Thessaloniki Film Festival Winner
✰ Sarajevo Film Festival Winner
✰ Hellenic Film Academy Awards Winner
✰ Bulgarian Film Academy Awards Winner
✰ Berlin International Film Festival Nominee
✰ New Horizons International Film Festival, Poland Nominee
✰ La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Two strong Greenlandic women are united by a shared traumatic past and a chaotic present – one behind bars, the other behind a cool facade. A moving journey for justice, freedom and a second chance at life. Ruth from Greenland has spent almost half her life in prison – the last 12 years in indefinite detention, trapped in a legal limbo between Greenland and Denmark. But one day she meets Nina who is visiting the prison as part of a film project. The meeting is the start of a deep friendship between the two women across the walls. Despite their vastly different life situations, they discover that they share more than they first thought. Slowly, they realize that they can help each other break free from the trauma of the past and the shackles of prison. ‘Walls – Akinni Inuk’ is a moving and important story about love, human empathy, hope and the struggle for a second chance. Told from a Greenland where the US and Danish politicians don’t steal the spotlight and where words like independence and freedom have a completely different ring to them.

✰ CPH:DOX Winner
✰ Nordic Council Nominee

Synopsis: Doc and Zoe are two hapless kidnappers tasked with what appears to be a simple abduction for hire, only to find out that it’s anything but and end up in the middle of a political conspiracy.

✰ Fantasia Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: A debt-ridden wedding planner inadvertently becomes a successful funeral planner, but he must convince a traditional Taoist priest of his legitimacy to continue operating in the field.

✰ Asia-Pacific Film Festival Winner
✰ Udine Far East Film Festival Winner
✰ Hong Kong Film Awards Winner
✰ Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Winner
✰ Shanghai International Film Festival Winner
✰ Changchun Film Festival Winner
✰ Asian Film Awards Winner
✰ Shanghai Film Critics Awards Winner
✰ Macau International Movie Festival Winner
✰ Hong Kong Directors Guild Awards Winner
✰ Writers Guild of China Film Association Winner
✰ Hong Kong Screenwriters’ Guild Awards Winner
✰ Allywood Film Critics Association Awards Winner
✰ Golden Screenwriters’ Night Winner
✰ Youth Film Manual Annual Award Winner
✰ Sichuan TV Festival Nominee
✰ China Video Award Nominee

Synopsis: A young boy after the Hungarian uprising of 1956, raised by his mother with the tale of an idealized dead father, is confronted with a brutish man who claims to be his real father.

✰ Venice Film Festival Nominee
✰ CineFest – Miskolc International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Captures a year in the life of a family as the parents navigate their separation. Through intimate vignettes and strange occurrences, the film explores the complexities of family, love, and the impact of shared memories.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Palm Dog)
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Sydney Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Two friends from a North Indian village pursue police jobs seeking dignity, but their friendship strains as desperation grows in their quest.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Nominee
✰ Toronto International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Warsaw International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zurich Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: What would happen if your partner came from the future and wanted to change your life for the better, but you feel like your life is fine?

✰ Cannes Film Festival Nominee
✰ Toronto International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Warsaw International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zurich Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A van with seven passengers crosses the Lut Desert when an unexpected event forces them to make a difficult decision. With no help available, they uncover a startling discovery that deepens their crisis.

✰ Shanghai International Film Festival Winner
✰ Iran Cinema Celebration Winner
✰ Torino Underground Cinefest Winner
✰ Iran’s Film Critics and Writers Association Winner
✰ Iranian Film Festival Zurich Winner
✰ Hof International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Salento International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Girona Film Festival Nominee
✰ The Pigeon International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: In 1990s Iraq, 9-year-old Lamia must bake the President’s birthday cake. She scrambles to find ingredients for this compulsory task while facing potential punishment if she fails.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival
✰ CineFest – Miskolc International Film Festival

Synopsis: At a decaying Soviet-era health resort near Odesa, visitors seek wellness through unconventional treatments, from mud baths to electric therapy, while pursuing personal connections during a quiet summer season.

✰ Krakow Film Festival Winner
✰ CPH:DOX Nominee
✰ Visions du Réel International Film Festival Nyon Nominee

Synopsis: Khaled (12), a Palestinian boy, is on his way to visit the sea for the first time in his life, but at the checkpoint, the Israeli authorities deny his entry. Determined, Khaled sneaks into Israel and embarks on a dangerous journey to the sea. Meanwhile, Ribhi, his father, is trying to trace his whereabouts, putting himself at risk of being arrested and losing his job.

Israel’s other finalists:
“Dead Language” by Oded Binnun & Mihal Brezis
“Nandauri” by Eti Tsicko
“Oxygen” by Netalie Braun
“Yes!” by Nadav Lapid

Synopsis: The life of a young man who joined an extremist group is poisoned when his abusive father comes back home after a decade-long absence.

✰ David di Donatello Awards Winner
✰ Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Winner
✰ Venice Film Festival Winner
✰ Golden Ciak Awards Winner

Synopsis: In post-war Japan’s economic boom, gangster family-born Kikuo Tachibana finds himself adopted by a kabuki actor. Despite life’s challenges, he develops into a gifted performer.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Nominee (Director’s Fortnight Audience Award)

Synopsis: After a Palestinian teen gets swept up into a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the family story of hope, courage and relentless struggle that led to this fateful moment.

✰ Sundance Film Festival World Premiere
✰ San Francisco International Film Festival Winner
✰ Sydney Film Festival Winner
✰ Shanghai International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Black Red Yellow” is a feature film about three intertwined destinies, centered on a love between two ordinary villagers – a love that endures and uplifts. The film explores moral responsibility within the family and the need to cherish and respect one another. At its heart is Turdugul, a weaver whose carpets reflect the lives of those they are made for. In her hands, carpets become mirrors of their owners’ fates: one black, one red, one yellow. These colors symbolize human nature – black as calm and grounded, red as fiery and intense, yellow as nostalgic and melancholic. Though Turdugul is the village’s only weaver, each carpet is unique, shaped by the soul it represents. Through her craft, the film reveals the depth of everyday life, the emotional power of tradition, and how personality and destiny are woven into every thread. —Festival Scope

✰ Shanghai International Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: Rotoscoped animation depicts a 17th century witch trial in Livonia that uncovers a werewolf within a devout community.

Synopsis: Over 30 years, Nino and Yasmina’s intense bond faces a choice between love and survival as they consider starting a family in war-torn Lebanon.

✰ Venice Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: It follows Rimants who is more interested in playing rugby, listening to music and dealing on the black market than studying for school, but when he falls in love with Monika, his faith in love and the future is tested.

✰ Lithuanian Film Awards Winner

Synopsis: When Emma has to leave her picture-perfect life for a women’s shelter, her unlikely friendship with a ragtag group of women pushes them all into a fight to take back their power.

✰ Warsaw International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Madagascar, nowadays. Kwame, 20, struggles to make a living in the clandestine sapphire mines. An unexpected event takes him back to his hometown. As he reunites with his mother and old friends, he finds himself confronted with the rampant corruption plaguing his country. He will have to choose between easy money and loyalty, between individualism and political awakening.

✰ Berlin International Film Festival Winner
✰ Online Film Critics Society Awards Winner
✰ Guanajuato International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Lai Sum works at a baby hatch, where she intervenes to support a pregnant underage girl contemplating abortion. Their lives become entangled in a perilous struggle against patriarchal and theocratic forces that threaten their safety.

✰ Silk Road International Film Festival China Winner
✰ Tokyo International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Hainan International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Asian Film Festival Rome Nominee

Synopsis: Socorro, obsessed with finding her brother’s killer from 1968’s Tlatelolco massacre, receives a clue and risks everything, straining family ties, to avenge his death by locating the former soldier.

✰ Ariel Awards, Mexico Winner
✰ Cognac Festival du Film Policier Winner
✰ Guadalajara International Film Festival Winner
✰ Toulouse Latin America Film Festival Winner
✰ Huelva Latin American Film Festival Winner
✰ Virginia Film Festival Winner
✰ Feratum Film Festival Winner
✰ São Paulo International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Trieste Festival of Latin-American Cinema Nominee
✰ Festival Internacional de Cine de Cali Nominee

Synopsis: After 14 years in prison, Myagmar’s only companions are the stray dogs he adopts. Hired as a hearse driver, he meets two people who will reshape his life: a young Buddhist monk and Saruul, the beautiful daughter of a blind coffin maker.

✰ Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Winner
✰ Osaka Asian Film Festival Nominee
✰ Asian Pop-up Cinema Nominee

Synopsis: A hunted child will find refuge in the house of the enemy. The host faces a terrible choice: save the child’s life or risk losing his own family.

✰ Jaipur International Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: An aging Spanish woman in Tangier resists her daughter’s decision to sell her home. Determined to stay, she does everything she can to keep her home and reclaim the belongings of a lifetime. Along the way, she rediscovers love and desire.

✰ Venice Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: Based on the real-life story of Anjila Tumbapo Subba, the captain and goalkeeper of the Nepali national women’s football team.

Synopsis: When reed cutter Johan discovers the lifeless body of a girl on his land, he is overcome by an ambiguous sense of guilt. While taking care of his granddaughter, he sets out on a quest to track down evil.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Nominee

Netherland’s other finalists:
“Alpha.” by Jan-Willem van Ewijk
“Fabula” by Michiel ten Horn
“Live for Me” by Mark de Cloe
“Our Girls” by Mike van Diem
“The Propagandist” by Luuk Bouwman
“The System” by Joris Postema
“Three Days of Fish” by Peter Hoogendoorn

Synopsis: A farmer’s bond with a white stork intertwines with North Macedonian folklore.

✰ Venice Film Festival Winner
✰ Chicago International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: An intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Grand Prize)
✰ Munich Film Festival Winner
✰ Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) Winner
✰ Locarno Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ CineFest – Miskolc International Film Festival Nominee

*Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” (2021) also starring Renate Reinsve was nominated for two Oscars

Synopsis: In 1936, as Palestinian villages revolt against British colonial rule, Yusuf navigates between Jerusalem and his rural home, amidst escalating unrest and a pivotal moment for the British Empire.

Synopsis: A pregnant immigrant connects with a wealthy woman suffering from dementia in Panama City, intertwining their lives.

✰ Biarritz International Festival of Latin American Cinema Winner
✰ San Francisco International Film Festival Winner
✰ Costa Rica International Film Festival Winner
✰ Festival de Cine de Lima PUCP Winner
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Göteborg Film Festival Nominee
✰ Rome Film Fest Nominee

Synopsis: 120 hours of archive footage: this is what remains of 35 years of Stroessner’s dictatorship in Paraguay. Based on this corpus of rare images found all over the world, the film reconstructs the history of one of the longest-lasting dictatorships of the 20th century, the effects of which are still felt today.

✰ Berlin International Film Festival Winner
✰ Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema Winner
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival Nominee
✰ Camden International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival Nominee
✰ It’s All True – International Documentary Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: In an alternate present society where the state frees parents from the burden of raising children, a rule enforcer learns a shocking truth that sparks her rebellion.

✰ RiverRun International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A portrayal of Ferdinand Magellan and Beatriz Barbosa’s 1517 marriage in Seville, focusing on their brief time together before his departure on the Spanish crown’s expedition.

✰ Munich Film Festival Nominee

Philippines’ other finalists:
“Food Delivery” by Baby Ruth Villarama
“Green Bones” by Zig Dulay
“Hello, Love, Again” by Cathy Garcia-Sampana
“Sunshine” by Antoinette Jadaone
“Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” by Petersen Vargas
“Song of the Fireflies” by King Palisoc

Synopsis: It narrates the life of the writer Franz Kafka, from his birth to his death.

✰ Polish Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Plantation physician Afonso assigned to treat enslaved servants with fatal homesickness, Banzo, on an African island. Despite medical efforts, he struggles to heal their spirits on isolated hill, confronting existential challenge.

✰ Coimbra Caminhos do Cinema Português Winner
✰ IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival Winner
✰ Prémios AIP Cinema Awards Winner
✰ Camerimage Nominee
✰ Golden Globes, Portugal Nominee
✰ Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Nominee
✰ OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival Nominee

Portugal’s other finalists:
“Dreaming of Lions” by Paolo Marinou-Blanco
“The Englishman’s Papers” by Sérgio Graciano
“Hanami” by Denise Fernandes
“The Survivors” by José Barahona

Synopsis: Natalia and Ginel leave their small Romanian Danube village to work abroad in a big Flemish city. One evening, when she is assaulted after meeting a local, Natalia asks Ita, a friend from home turned into a crook, to help her.

✰ Shanghai International Film Festival Winner
✰ Tokyo International Film Festival Winner
✰ Warsaw International Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: A drama centered on the bond formed between different generations of Saudi women during a journey across the desert to Mecca. When the eldest granddaughter disappears, the grandmother travels to the north in search of the missing teenager.

✰ Venice Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: Vid, a father grappling with the encroaching threat of a multicorporate iron ore mine near his home, discovers resilience and hope through his young son’s imaginative perspective, blending optimism, fairy tales, and mysticism into their grim reality.

✰ Cyprus Film Days International Festival Winner
✰ Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Nominee

Argentina’s other finalists:
“Pearlescent Fog” by Milorad Milinković

Synopsis: A man obsessively searches for his missing daughter after receiving disturbing videos exposing his secrets, leading to a chilling confrontation with the voyeur.

✰ Golden Horse Film Festival Winner
✰ Taipei Film Festival Winner
✰ Valladolid International Film Festival Winner
✰ Haifa International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Singapore International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Venice Film Festival Nominee
✰ Asian Film Awards Winner
✰ Tokyo FILMeX Nominee
✰ Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominee
✰ Asian Pop-up Cinema Nominee

Synopsis: A successful man’s perfect life shatters when his baby disappears from daycare. His wife’s frantic call reveals a devastating truth about a memory lapse known as Forgotten Baby Syndrome, joining countless similar tragedies.

✰ Venice Film Festival Nominee
✰ Warsaw International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zurich Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: 16-year-old Lucia joins Catholic school choir, befriends senior Ana-Maria. During choir retreat at convent, Lucia’s attraction to a restoration worker creates tension with Ana-Maria and challenges her faith.

✰ Berlin International Film Festival Winner
✰ Jerusalem Film Festival Winner
✰ Pula Film Festival Winner
✰ Tribeca Film Festival Winner
✰ Nashville Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: At a barbecue, Ryan’s five-year-old son briefly goes missing. Ryan’s violent reaction to this scare sets off a chain of events and unearths secrets from the past. A journey of self-discovery and forgiveness begins.

✰ Berlin International Film Festival Winner

Synopsis: After being unemployed for several years, a man devises a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.

✰ Venice Film Festival Nominee

South Korea’s other finalists:
“About Family” by Yang Woo-suk
“Dark Nuns” by Kwon Hyeok-jae
“Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” by Kim Dong-chul
“Harbin by Woo Min-ho
“Hi-Five” by Kang Hyeong-cheol
“The Killers” by Kim Jong-kwan, Lee Myung-se, Jang Hang-jun & Roh Deok
“Love in the Big City” by E.oni
“Mimang” by Kim Tae-yang
“My Daughter Is a Zombie” by Pil Kam-sung
“A Normal Family” by Hur Jin-ho
“The Old Woman with the Knife” by Min Kyu-dong
“Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy” by Kim Byung-woo
“Secret: Untold Melody” by Seo Yoo-min
“Somebody” by Kim Yeo-jeong and Lee Jeong-chan
“Spring Night” by Mi-ja Kang
“The Ugly” by Yeon Sang-ho
“When This Summer Is Over” by Byungki Jang
“Yadang: The Snitch” by Hwang Byeong-guk

Synopsis: A father, accompanied by his son, goes looking for his missing daughter in North Africa.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner
✰ Munich Film Festival Nominee

Spain’s other finalists:
“Afternoons of Solitude” by Albert Serra
“Away” by Gerard Oms
“Barren Land” by Albert Pintó
“Black Butterflies” by David Baute
“The Captive” by Alejandro Amenábar
“Deaf” by Eva Libertad *shortlisted
“The Delights of the Garden” by Fernando Colomo
“Dolores Ibárruri. Pasionaria” by Amparo Climent
“Enemies” by David Valero
“The Exiles” by Belén Funes
“A Free Man” by Laura Hojman
“The Good Handwriting” by Celia Rico Clavellino
“Maspalomas” by Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi
“My Friend Eva” by Cesc Gay
“The Portuguese House” by Avelina Prat
“The Remnants of You” by Gala Gracia
“Romería” by Carla Simón *shortlisted
“She Walks in Darkness” by Agustín Díaz Yanes
“Sleepless City” by Guillermo Galoe
“The Talent” by Polo Menárguez
“Los Tigres” by Alberto Rodríguez
“The Treasure of Barracuda” by Adrià García

Synopsis: Egypt’s most adored actor, George Fahmy, falls into disgrace with the authorities overnight. On the verge of losing everything, George is forced to accept an offer he can’t refuse.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Nominee (Palme d’Or)

Synopsis: Floria, a dedicated nurse, tirelessly serves in an understaffed hospital ward. However, today her shift becomes a tense and urgent race against the clock.

✰ German Camera Award Winner

*Leonie Benesch starred in Germany’s Oscar-nominated “The Teacher’s Lounge” (2023)

Synopsis: A single mother and her two daughters relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, each navigating the challenges of adapting to their new environment while striving to maintain family unity.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner

*Sean Baker produced (the two worked on “Take Out” (2004) together)

Synopsis: Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A 6-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her.

✰ London Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Sebastián International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Venice Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: After going bankrupt, Eyüp leaves Izmir to work at a tomato field. Unpaid wages frustrate Eyüp, leading to a confrontation with his foreman Hemme. He decides to kill him but is unwittingly diverted in town, cooling his anger.

✰ Ankara International Film Festival Winner
✰ Uruguay International Film Festival Winner
✰ Venice Film Festival Winner
✰ Las Palmas Film Festival Winner
✰ Turkish Film Critics Association (SIYAD) Award Winner
✰ Duhok International Film Festival Winner
✰ Adana Film Festival Winner
✰ Eurasia International Film Festival Winner
✰ Marrakech International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A young craftsman defies his father’s wishes to abandon their ancestral trade, seeking to transform the humble barkcloth into a symbol of cultural pride and a brighter future.

✰ Uganda Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A Ukrainian platoon’s mission: traverse a heavily fortified mile of forest to liberate a strategic village from Russian forces. A journalist accompanies them, witnessing the ravages of war and the growing uncertainty about its conclusion.

✰ Sundance Film Festival Winner
✰ CPH:DOX Winner
✰ Docudays UA Int. Doc. Human Rights Film Festival Winner
✰ DocAviv Film Festival Winner
✰ It’s All True – International Documentary Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Two young brothers explore Lagos with their estranged father during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, witnessing both the city’s magnitude and their father’s daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Golden Camera Special Mention)
✰ Sydney Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Deeply affected by Elena’s death, Adela travels in time to a recent autumn, where her friend awaits her ready to binge on detective novels next to the crackling fireplace. A tale about timeless sorority.

✰ Goya Awards Winner
✰ Tribeca Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: This is a biographical film about the Venezuelan singer-songwriter Alí Primera. It narrates the historical events that led him to be known as the “people’s singer” and leader of the largest movement of Venezuelan artists committed to the cause of the dispossessed. It is the story of his loves, his pains, and the songs that he accompanied with his unyielding behavior from his childhood in the desert areas of western Venezuela until his tragic end.

✰ Nashik International Film Festival Winner
✰ FINDECOIN – Independent Int’l Short & Feature Film Festival Winner
✰ Festival Int’l del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana Winner
✰ Latino & Native American Film Festival (LANAFF) Winner
✰ LASA Film Festival Nominee
✰ Ahmedabad International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Cuong, a conservatory student who gives up an overseas scholarship to join the army. He fights alongside his squadmates – Ta, Binh, Tu, Hai, and Sen from different regions who, despite their contrasting personalities, share a common ideal of peace.

Synopsis: Soriya goes back to Cambodia in a quest to find herself after her mother’s death, there she finds a family she has never known and an old building full of dark secrets.

✰ Cambodia Town Film Festival Winner
✰ International Film Festival Rotterdam Nominee

Synopsis: Single mother Alina tries to enroll her son, Serik, in an elite military academy, but he is bullied by his classmates because of his girlish appearance, and the principal deems him unfit for the school.

✰ Tokyo International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Asian Film Awards Nominee

Synopsis: Romila, Anand, and guide Papa Buka journey through Papua New Guinea’s remote villages, documenting WWII veterans’ vivid memories of fighting against Japan, facing unexpected challenges along their quest.

*1st ever submission from Papua New Guinea

Synopsis: After 30 years working at the city hall in his small town, a man struggles with grief and depression as the anniversary of his wife’s death nears. He finds solace reconnecting with his estranged son.

✰ Berlin International Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: A film armorer’s concerns about a real gun, an aspiring actress demanding an audition, and Sara’s post-crash revelation of a conspiracy lead these strangers’ paths to cross.

✰ Chicago International Film Festival Nominee
✰ London Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: After dying from a respiratory disease, a mother’s spirit possesses a vacuum cleaner to protect her husband when he begins showing the same symptoms.

✰ Cannes Film Festival Winner (Critics’ Week Grand Prix)
✰ Melbourne International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival Nominee

Synopsis: Ciao Ciao unravels the story of two couples brought together for a seemingly harmless reunion dinner. But as the evening unfolds, polite smiles and social graces crumble, giving way to raw, unfiltered chaos.