Sebastian, a man in his thirties, works a series of temporary jobs and he embraces love at every opportunity. He transforms, through a series of short encounters, as the world flirts with possible apocalypse.
(Country: Argentina; Year: 2021; Director: Ana Katz; Writer: Gonzalo Delgado, Ana Katz; Stars: Daniel Katz, Julieta Zylberberg, Valeria Lois, Mirella Pascual, Carlos Portaluppi)
With jump cuts, fancy fades, and towels featuring cartoon owls and penguins, Amalia Ulman draws from her work as an artist and includes it seamlessly into the world of cinema.
Amid the devastation of post-crisis Spain, mother and daughter bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction.
A mother toils to save money to build a road in a Himalayan village to take her wheelchair-using son for physiotherapy, but her husband, who believes that an expensive religious ritual is the remedy, steals her savings.
Writer/director Basholli directs with a deceptively simple handheld aesthetic, emphasising the bleak reality of the setting.
Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo. She sets up her own small business to provide for her kids, but as she fights against a patriarchal society that does not support her, she faces a crucial decision: to wait for his return, or to continue to persevere.
This is a clear-eyed view of the choices Jesmark and those like him are facing, showing just how complex the situation is, cutting beyond work to community and culture.
A struggling Maltese fisherman faces tough choices about the future.
(Country: Malta; Year: 2021; Director: Alex Camilleri; Writer: Alex Camilleri; Stars: Michaela Farrugia, Jesmark Scicluna, Michaela Farrugia, Jesmark Scicluna)
Poonpiriya shakes the past and the present gently together, sometimes with a dash of nostalgia and, at others, with a splash of regret.
Boss is a consummate ladies' man, a free spirit and a bar owner in NYC. One day, he gets a surprise call from Aood, an estranged friend who has returned home to Thailand. Dying of cancer, Aood enlists Boss' help to complete a bucket list – but both are hiding something.
(Country: China, Hong Kong, Thailand; Year: 2021; Director: Nattawut Poonpiriya; Writer: Puangsoi Aksornsawang, Nottapon Boonprakob, Nattawut Poonpiriya; Stars: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Thanapob Leeratanakajorn, Ice Natara, Violette Wautier, Ploi Horwang, Siraphan Wattanajinda, Georges Hilaire, Tracy Fisher, Yayaying Rhatha Phongam, Luqman A. Agiya, Alberto Fabbretti, Lissa Carandang-Sweeney, Henardo Rodriguez, Daniel Hirsh, Lazaros Theodorakopoulos)
One aspect that really lands as a parallel with the current pandemic is the uncertainty of it all.
A mysterious and deadly pink cloud appears across the globe, forcing everyone to stay home. Strangers at the outset, Giovana and Yago try to invent themselves as a couple as years of shared lockdown pass. While Yago is living in his own utopia, Giovana feels trapped deep inside.
(Country: Brazil; Year: 2021; Director: Iuli Gerbase; Writer: Iuli Gerbase; Stars: Renata de Lélis, Eduardo Mendonça, Kaya Rodrigues, Helena Becker, Girley Paes, Renata de Lélis, Eduardo Mendonça, Kaya Rodrigues, Helena Becker, Girley Paes)
On the last day of 1999, 20-year-old Sebastian locks himself in a TV studio. He has two hostages, a gun, and an important message for the world. The story of the attack explores a rebel's extreme measures and last resort.
(Country: Poland; Year: 2021; Director: Jakub Piatek; Writer: Lukasz Czapski, Jakub Piatek; Stars: Bartosz Bielenia, Jan Hrynkiewicz, Magdalena Poplawska, Malgorzata Hajewska, Cezary Kosinski, Dobromir Dymecki, Pola Blasik, Juliusz Chrzastowski, Michal Kaleta, Andrzej Klak, Adam Nawojczyk, Monika Frajczyk,)
