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New Directors/New Films · 2020

New Directors/New Films 2020

Full line-up

Short programmes will run in addition to the features below.

Programme

26 films · 9 reviews

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Anne At 13,000 ft

Review preview for Anne At 13,000 ft

It takes real craft to hold something like this together for 75 minutes - not to mention tremendous effort on Campbell's part.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Even in her job at a children’s day care centre, Anne prefers fun to actual work and often alienates those around her with her erratic behaviour.

(Country: Canada, US; Year: 2019; Director: Kazik Radwanski; Writer: Kazik Radwanski, Deragh Campbell; Stars: Deragh Campbell, Matt Johnson, Dorothea Paas, Lawrene Denkers)

Full review See: Interview with Kazik Radwanski and Deragh Campbell about Anne At 13,000 Ft

New York premiere

Atlantis

Review preview for Atlantis

A film full of despair and tortured masculinity.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
In a near-future war-torn Ukraine a man with PTSD takes a volunteer job exhuming the dead.

(Country: Ukraine; Year: 2019; Director: Valentyn Vasyanovych; Writer: Valentyn Vasyanovych; Stars: Andriy Rymaruk, Liudmyla Bileka, Vasyl Antoniak)

Full review

US premiere

Boys State

Review preview for Boys State

Perhaps Boys State's greatest achievement is that it finds a way to make all these boys relatable.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss)

Full review

New York premiere

The Cloud In Her Room

An autobiographically tinged portrait of , a young woman drifting through her days and nights after returning to her hometown to celebrate the New Year with her parents, and unable to let go of her past.

(Country: China, Hong Kong; Year: 2020; Director: Xinyuan Zheng Lu; Writer: Xinyuan Zheng Lu)

US premiere

Collective (Colectiv)

Review preview for Collective

Although he is dealing specifically with one instance in Romania, it's easy to see evidence of greater global malaise reflected here.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Documentary considering the aftermath of a nightclub fire that exposed deep corruption in the Romanian healthcare system.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2019; Director: Alexander Nanau; Writer: Alexander Nanau, Antoaneta Opris)

Full review

Days Of Cannabalism

Documentary meets genre cinema in this Western from today’s Lesotho, where modern pioneers of capitalism clash with local traditions, and aspiring Chinese merchants compete for supremacy with traditional Basotho cattle breeders.

(Country: France, Netherlands, South Africa; Year: 2020; Director: Teboho Edkins; Writer: Teboho Edkins)

North American premiere

The Dove And The Wolf

Two factory workers share a tender, loving relationship, though as their story unfolds it grows ever clearer that something from long ago is obstructing their happiness.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2019; Director: Carlos Lenin; Writer: Jorge Guerrero Zotano, Carlos Lenin; Stars: Paloma Petra, Armando Hernandez, Mónica Del Carmen, Pablo Mendoza, Lucero Cardoza, Gabriela Velarde)

US premiere

Dwelling In The Funchun Mountains (Chun jiang shui nuan)

At her 70th birthday celebration, the mother of the Gu family suffers from a stroke, which precipitates her decline into dementia. Who will take care of her?

(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Gu Xiaogang)

New York premiere

The Fever

A father and daughter navigate their way through encroaching obstacles, including casual racism, reports of a wild animal on the loose, and a mysterious malaria-like illness

(Country: Brazil, France, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Maya Da-Rin; Writer: Pedro Cesarino, Maya Da-Rin, Miguel Seabra Lopes; Stars: Regis Myrupu, Rosa Peixoto, Suzy Lopes, Lourinelson Vladmir, Regis Myrupu, Rosa Peixoto, Suzy Lopes, Lourinelson Vladmir)

New York premiere

Giraffe

Review preview for Giraffe

Remnants of bygone ways of life are beautifully shot in Giraffe.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
A Danish summer: A tunnel is being built to connect Denmark and Germany. An ethnologist comes to the island of Lolland to study its inhabitants and record their traditions and objects.

(Country: Germany, Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Anna Sofie Hartmann; Writer: Anna Sofie Hartmann; Stars: Lisa Loven Kongsli, Jakub Gierszal, Maren Eggert, Christoph Bach, Daniel Hoevels, Hans Christian Bentsen, Janusz Chojnacki, Natalia Ciepiel, Juni Dahr, Janne Ellehammer, Juliane Elting, Mariusz Zorro Feldmann, Bjarne Hansen, Bjarne Hansen, Gina Henkel, Yaowalak May Hlonghkam)

Full review

New York premiere

Identifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares)

Magdalena makes a journey to find her son, gone missing on his way to the Mexican border with the US. Her odyssey takes her to meet Miguel, a man recently deported from the US. They travel together, Magdalena looking for her son, and Miguel hoping to see his mother again.

(Country: Mexico, Spain; Year: 2020; Director: Fernanda Valadez; Writer: Fernanda Valadez, Astrid Rondero; Stars: Mercedes Hernández, David Illescas, Juan Jesús Varela, Ana Laura Rodríguez, Laura Elena Ibarra, Xicoténcatl Ulloa)

New York premiere

Kala Azar

A couple, who work for a crematorium service for pets, find their relationship begins to fracture.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2020; Director: Janis Rafa; Writer: Janis Rafa; Stars: Penelope Tsilika, Dimitris Lalos, Maria Aliferi, Lenika Arfani, Martin Benge, Errika Bigiou, Adrian Frieling, Pavlos Kourtidis, Nikos Pantelidis, Tasos Rafailidis, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, Michele Valley, Penelope Tsilika, Dimitris Lalos, Maria Aliferi)

North American premiere

The Killing Of Two Lovers

Review preview for The Killing Of Two Lovers

David is stubborn in ways that still retain sympathy, even from Nikki, thanks in no small part to Crawford's portrayal, which has a naturalistic looseness that springs taut just at the right moments.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
David desperately tries to keep his family of six together during a separation from his wife. They both agree to see other people but David struggles to grapple with his wife’s new relationship.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Robert Machoian; Writer: Robert Machoian; Stars: Clayne Crawford, Sepideh Moafi, Chris Coy, Barbara Whinnery, Avery Pizzuto, Ezra Graham, Arri Graham, Jonah Graham, Bruce Graham)

Full review See: Interview with Clayne Crawford about producing and starring in The Killing Of Two Lovers

New York premiere

Los Conductos

Pinky is on the run. Ghosts are chasing him through an empty, apocalyptic city.

(Country: France, Colombia, Brazil; Year: 2020; Director: Camilo Restrepo; Writer: Camilo Restrepo; Stars: Fernando Úsaga Higuíta, Luis Felipe Lozano, Fernando Úsaga Higuíta, Luis Felipe Lozano)

North American premiere

The Metamorphosis Of Birds (A metamorfose dos pássaros)

Review preview for The Metamorphosis Of Birds

For a short time, this cinematic jewel lets us travel back to when the migration of birds was a mystery to man.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Beatriz and Henrique fall in love and get married. He goes to sea while she raises their inquisitive children. The director brings her family's story to the screen.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2020; Director: Catarina Vasconcelos; Writer: Catarina Vasconcelos; Stars: Manuel Rosa, João Móra, Ana Vasconcelos, Henrique Vasconcelos, Inês Campos, Catarina Vasconcelos, José Manuel Mendes, João Pedro Mamede, Cláudia Varejão, Luísa Ministro, José Maria Rosa, João Vasconcelos, Nuno Vasconcelos)

Full review

New York premiere

The Mole Agent

Review preview for The Mole Agent

Alberdi keeps the tone light and profound simultaneously.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
When a family becomes concerned about their mother’s well-being in a retirement home, private investigator Romulo hires Sergio, an 83-year-old man who becomes a new resident – and a mole inside the home, who struggles to balance his assignment with becoming increasingly involved in the lives of several residents.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2020; Director: Maite Alberdi; Stars: Sergio Chamy, Rómulo Aitken, Rubira Olivares, Marta Olivares, Berta Ureta, Zoila Gonzalez, Petronila Abarca)

Full review

New York premiere

Nafi's Father

A personal conflict between brothers escalates into a political, religious, and moral crisis.

(Country: Senegal; Year: 2019; Director: Mamadou Dia; Writer: Mamadou Dia; Stars: Saikou Lo, Alassane Sy, Penda Daly Sy, Aicha Talla, Saikou Lo, Alassane Sy, Penda Daly Sy, Aicha Talla)

North American premiere

Nasir

Nasir is a Muslim family man struggling to make ends meet for his wife and their mentally challenged nephew who lives with them.

(Country: India, Netherlands, Singapore; Year: 2020; Director: Arun Karthick; Writer: Arun Karthick; Stars: Valavane Koumarane, Jensan Diwakar, Sudha Ranganathan, Valavane Koumarane, Jensan Diwakar, Sudha Ranganathan)

North American premiere

Red Moon Tide

A journey into a phantom world, set on Spain’s Galician coast, where Rubio, a diver who retrieved bodies from shipwrecks, has gone missing.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2020; Director: Lois Patiño; Writer: Lois Patiño)

North American premiere

Servants (Sluzobnici)

Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s. The Communist regime threatens to subjugate the Catholic Church. Will young seminarians Michal and Juraj remain true to their ideals?

(Country: Slovakia, Romania, Czech Republic, Ireland; Year: 2020; Director: Ivan Ostrochovský; Writer: Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Marek Lescák, Ivan Ostrochovský; Stars: Vlad Ivanov, Martin Sulík, Samuel Skyva, Milan Mikulcík, Zvonko Lakcevic, Vladimír Zboron, Tomas Turek, Vladimír Strnisko, Vladimír Obsil, Samuel Polakovic, Vlad Ivanov, Martin Sulík, Samuel Skyva, Milan Mikulcík, Zvonko Lakcevic)

US premiere

The Shepherdess And The Seven Songs (Laila aur satt geet)

Story of love and temptation set against the backdrop of the Kashmir conflict.

(Country: India; Year: 2020; Director: Pushpendra Singh; Stars: Navjot Randhawa, Shahnawaz Bhat, Ranjit Khajuria, Sadakkit Bijran, Mohammed Yassen, Navjot Randhawa, Shahnawaz Bhat, Ranjit Khajuria, Sadakkit Bijran, Mohammed Yassen)

North American premiere

Surge

A man goes on a bold and reckless journey of self-liberation through London. After he robs a bank he releases a wilder version of himself, ultimately experiencing what it feels like to be alive.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Aneil Karia; Writer: Rupert Jones, Rita Kalnejais; Stars: Ben Whishaw, Jasmine Jobson, Ryan McKen, Laurence Spellman, Muna Otaru, Ray Calleja, Paul Blackwell, Abdul Hakim Joy, Jack Pierce, Ranjit Singh Shubh, Yohanna Ephrem, Bradley Taylor, Modupe Adeyeye, Laraine Dix, Haqi Ali)

New York premiere

The Trouble With Being Born

Ten-year-old Elli is an android. She loves the man she calls “Daddy” and is the vessel for his memories, which mean nothing to her, but everything to him.

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2020; Director: Sandra Wollner; Writer: Sandra Wollner; Stars: Jana McKinnon, Ingrid Burkhard, Susanne Gschwendtner, Dominik Warta, Lena Watson, Jana McKinnon, Ingrid Burkhard, Susanne Gschwendtner, Dominik Warta, Lena Watson)

US premiere

Twelve Thousand (Douze Milles)

When Frank loses his means of employment, he fears that he will also lose Maroussia. He vows to go in search of work and not return until he can match the 12,000 Euros of annual income that she earns from child minding.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Nadège Trebal; Writer: Nadège Trebal; Stars: Arieh Worthalter, Nadège Trebal, Liv Henneguier)

North American premiere

Two Of Us

Review preview for Two Of Us

Two of Us jolts the senses - you can smell when the hot pan stays on the stove too long and want to interfere.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
Two retired women, who have been in a secret relationship for decades, find their relationship turned upside down when the truth begins to come out.

(Country: France, Luxembourg, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Filippo Meneghetti; Writer: Filippo Meneghetti, Malysone Bovorasmy, Florence Vignon; Stars: Barbara Sukowa, Martine Chevallier, Léa Drucker, Jérôme Varanfrain, Muriel Bénazéraf, Augustin Reynes)

Full review See: Filippo Meneghetti in conversation on Two Of Us (Deux)

New York premiere

Window Boy Would Also Like To Have A Submarine

A group of rural farmers in a Filipino village come to believe a shack that has mysteriously appeared in a valley clearing contains evil properties; at the same time, a young janitor working on a bougie cruise ship discovers a portal.

(Country: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Netherlands, Philippines; Year: 2020; Director: Alex Piperno; Writer: Alex Piperno; Stars: Daniel Quiroga, Inés Bortagaray, Noli Tobol, Daniel Quiroga, Inés Bortagaray, Noli Tobol)

North American premiere