Tuesday 10 December 2024
12:22 PM |

Cup of Divination Unveils Fajr 2018 Lineup

Cup of Divination Unveils Fajr 2018 Lineup

The 2018 Fajr International Film Festival has announced the names of films playing in its Cup of Divination (Festival of Festivals) section.

According to the Secretariat of the annual event, 11 movies from Argentina, Spain, Austria, Lithuania, France, Poland, Romania, Belgium, Bosnia, and South Korea are screening. Three Iranian movies will also screen in this section, whose names will be announced later.

The lineup:

A sort of Family

Director: Diego Lerman

Writer: Diego Lerman, María Meira

DOP: Wojciech Staron

Editor: Alejandro Brodersohn

Music: Caio Mariano

Sound: Benjamin Laurent, Tomas Alem, Bernardo Uzeda

Cast: Bárbara Lennie, Daniel Aráoz, Claudio Tolcachir, Yanina Ávila, Paula Cohen

Producer: Nicolás Avruj, Diego Lerman

Production Co: El Campo Cine, 27 Films Production, Bellota Films, Bossa Nova Films, Instituto Nacional de Ciney Artes Audiovisuales, Productora MG, Red Rental, Snowglobe Films, Staron Film, Televisión Federal

Language: Spanish

Country, Year, Runtime: Argentina, Brazil, Poland, France | 2017 | 95 min

Synopsis:

Malena is a middle-class doctor in Buenos Aires. One afternoon she receives a call from Dr. Costas, telling her she must leave immediately for the north of the country: the baby she was expecting is about to be born. Suddenly and almost without a thought, Malena decides to set out on an uncertain voyage, packed with crossroads at which she has to deal with all sorts of legal and moral obstacles to the extent that she constantly asks herself to what limits she is prepared to go to get the thing she wants most.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina / Chicago International Film Festival, Best Feature Film / CPH PIX / Philadelphia Film Festival / San Sebastián International Film Festival, Jury Prize for Best Screenplay / Miami Film Festival

About Director:

Diego Lerman debuted in 2002 with feature film Tan de Repente (Suddenly, 2002), Silver Leopard winner at the Locarno Festival, among other awards. Next came Mientrastanto (Meanwhile, 2006), a participant in the Official Selection at the Venice Festival. In 2007, he directed the documentary Servicio Sprestados, presented in Locarno. His two other films, La Mirada Invisible (The Invisible Eye, 2010) and Refugiado (2014), were screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Festival. He also directed the TV series La Casa (2015).

Giant (Original Title: Handia)

Director: Jon Garano, Aitor Arregi

Writer: Andoni De Carlos, José Mari Goenaga, Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño

DOP: Javier Agirre Erauso

Editor: Laurent Dufreche, Raúl López

Music: Pascal Gaigne

Sound: Iñaki Díez

Cast: Joseba Usabiaga, Eneko Sagardoy, Iñigo Aranburu, Ramón Agirre, Aia Kruse

Producer: Xabier Berzosa, Iñaki Gómez, Iñigo Obeso

Production Co: Irusoin, Kowalski Films, Moriarti Produkzioak, EITB, TVE

Language: Basque

Country, Year, Runtime: Spain | 2017 | 116 min

Synopsis:

After the First Carlist War, Martín heads back to his family’s farmhouse, where he finds out his little brother Joaquín is much taller than usual. Martín becomes convinced that people will be willing to see the “Tallest Man on Earth”, so they travel around Europe, and the wealth and the level of fame they achieve changes the family forever.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: 65th San Sebastián International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize / 2018: V Premios Feroz, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Film Poster / 32nd Goya Awards won Best New Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Supervision, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyles, Best Special Effects

About Director:

Writer-director Jon Garaño was born in 1974 in San Sebastián, Spain. He is known for For 80 Days (2010), Flowers (2014), and Giant (2017).

Writer-director Aitor Arregi is known for Giant (2017), Lucio (2007), and Flowers (2014).

Life Guidance

Director: Ruth Mader

Writer: Martin Leidenfrost, Ruth Mader

DOP: Christine A. Maier

Editor: Niki Mossböck

Music: Manfred Plessi

Sound: Heinz Ebner

Cast: Fritz Karl, Katharina Lorenz, Florian Teichtmeister

Producer: Gabriele Kranzelbinder

Production Co: KGP Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production

Language: German

Country, Year, Runtime: Austria | 2017 | 101 min

Synopsis:

The film is set in the near future, in a world that has perfected capitalism. Society is sustained by a class of top achievers. These cheerfully motivated people populate a bright, friendly, transparent and efficient middle-class world. Meanwhile, so-called minimum recipients live under sedation in Fortresses of Sleep. The great majority of top achievers view themselves as happy and self-fulfilled. An outsourced agency has been established for the rest: Life Guidance is charged with turning these individuals into optimal people as well.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Chicago International Film Festival

About Director:

Ruth Mader (born in 1974) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. She has directed six films between 1992 and 2003. Her film Struggle was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Her other films include Endstation Obdachlos (1992), Gatsch (1993), Kilometer 1235 (1994), Gfrasta (1999), Null Defizit (2001), and Struggle (2003).

Miracle (Original Title: Stebuklas)

Director & Writer: Egle Vertelyte

DOP: Emil Christov

Editor: Milenia Fiedler

Music: Krzysztof A. Janczak

Sound: Wojtek Mielimska, Giedrius Aleknavicius

Cast: Vyto Ruginis, Egle Mikulionyte, Daniel Olbrychski, Andrius Bialobzeskis

Producer: Lukas Trimonis, Pavlina Jeleva, Radoslawa Bardes, Magdalena Zimecka

Production Co: In Script Geopoly Orka

Language: Lithuanian

Country, Year, Runtime: Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland | 2017 | 92 min

Synopsis:

The lives of the owners of a nationalized pig farm in a small village are turned upside-down when a handsome American arrives, pledging to save the struggling enterprise. But as Irena, the owner, begins to fall for his charms, she realizes that his intentions may not be entirely innocent.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Toronto Film Festival

About Director:

Egle Vertelyte was born in Šiauliai, Lithuania. She studied history at Vilnius University, filmmaking at the European Film College, and screenwriting at the National Film and Television School, in England. She is the writer of the shorts Robomax and Romantic Delusions of the Bird, and director of the documentary Ub Lama. Miracle is her debut feature.

Oblivion Verses

Director: Alireza Khatami

Writer: Alireza Khatami, Dominique Welinski, René Ballesteros

DOP: Antoine Heberlé

Editor: Florent Mangeot

Music: Matt Robin, Fred Bellaiche, Jacques Denis

Sound: Miroslav Babic

Cast: Juan Margallo, Tomas Del Estal, Manuel Moron, Itziar Aizpuru, Amparo Noguera, Gonzalo Robles

Producer: Frédéric Bellaïche, Vincent Wang,

Production Co:  House on Fire

Language: Spanish

Country, Year, Runtime: France, Chile, Germany, Netherlands | 2017 | 92 min

Synopsis:

The elderly caretaker of a remote morgue possesses an impeccable memory for everything but names. He passes his days showing corpses to those searching for their lost ones and tending to his beloved plants. When protest in a nearby city breaks out and the militia covertly raids the morgue to hide civilian casualties, he discovers the body of an unknown young woman. Evoking memories of personal loss, he embarks on a magical odyssey to give her a proper burial with the help of a mystic undertaker gravedigger who collects stories of the dead, an old woman searching for her long-lost daughter, and a hearse driver tormented by his past.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Venice Film Festival: Best Screenplay, Best Debut, Best Film (Interfilm Award), Best Screenplay (Venice Horizons Award) / Sao Paulo International Film Festival / Nantes Three Continents Festival, Young Audience Award (Director) / Mumbai Film Festival / Chicago International Film Festival / 2018: Festival Premiers Plans D’Angers / Rotterdam International Film Festival

About Director:

Alireza Khatami is a writer, director, producer based in the United States and France. He was selected in the 24th session of Cinefondation Residency of the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. He is also an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Talent Lab of the Toronto International Film Festival. Born in Iran, he studied Creative Multimedia in Malaysia and gained a Master of Fine Arts degree in film production from the US.

Once Upon a Time in November

Writer & Director: Andrzej Jakimowski

DOP: Adam Bajerski

Editor: Cezary Grzesiuk

Music: Tomasz Gassowski

Sound: Sebastian Branski, Jacek Hamela

Cast: Agata Kulesza, Grzegorz Palkowski, Edward Hogg

Producer: Andrzej Jakimowski, KasiaKucia, Masgorzata Jurczak, Radostaw Drabik, Marcin Kryjom, Adam Bajerski, Cezary Grzesiuk

Production Co: Adam Production, Blue Dream Film, Canal+ Polska, D35, Film and Music Entertainment, Gigant Films, PolskiInstytut Sztuki Filmowej

Language: Polish

Country, Year, Runtime: Poland | 2017 | 92 min

Synopsis:

The film tells the story of a mother and son who lose their flat in Warsaw after being evicted in 2013. The story is played out against the backdrop of actual events, including a large-scale nationalist march and riot.

Festivals / Awards:

2018: Cleveland International Film Festival, Nominee George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Film Competition

About Director:

Andrzej Jakimowski (born in Warsaw) is a Polish film director, writer and producer, best known for Squint Your Eyes (Zmruzoczy) and Tricks (Sztuczki).

Pororoca

Writer & Director: Constantin Popescu

DOP: Liviu Marghidan

Editor: Corina Stavila

Sound: Mihai Bogos

Cast: Bogdan Dumitrache, Iulia Lumânare, Constantin Dogioiu, Stefan Raus, Adela Marghidan

Producer: Liviu Marghidan, Lissandra Haulica

Production Co: Scharf Advertising, Irreverence Films

Language: Romanian

Country, Year, Runtime: Romania, France | 2017 | 152 min

Synopsis:

Cristina and Tudor Ionescu are a happy family couple with two children, Maria and Ilie. They are in their thirties and live in an apartment in a small town. He works for a phone company and she is an accountant. One Sunday morning when Tudor takes the kids to the park, Maria disappears, which changes their lives forever.

Festivals / Awards:

2018: Göteborg Film Festival / 2017: San Sebastián International Film Festival, Seashell for Best Actor, Nominee for Best Film / Zurich Film Festival

About Director:

Writer-director Constantin Popescu was in 1973 in Bucharest, Romania. He is known for Portrait of the Fighter as a Young Man (2010), Tales from the Golden Age (2009), and Principles of Life (2010).

Resurrection

Writer & Director: Kristof Hoornaert

DOP: Rimvydas Leipus

Editor: David Verdurme

Music: Wim Coryn, Steve Willaert

Sound: Yanna Soentjens

Cast: Johan Leysen, Gilles De Schryver, Kris Cuppens

Producer: Mariano Vanhoof, Geoffrey Enthoven

Production Co: Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Fobic Films

Language: Dutch

Country, Year, Runtime: Belgium | 2017 | 110 min

Premiere Status: National Premiere

Synopsis:

An old man who isolated himself from civilization receives an unexpected visitor.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival / Capri, Hollywood: Capri Breakout Director Award / 2018: Rotterdam International Film Festival

About Director:

Writer-director Kristof Hoornaert studied Audiovisual Arts in Ghent and Brussels. His first short film Kaïn premiered in the official competition of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, where it got nominated for the Golden Bear. He also edited the short film Nuclear Waste by Ukrainian filmmaker Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, which premiered in the official competition of the 65th Locarno International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Leopard. In 2013 he wrote, directed and produced his second short film The Fall – a 17-minute no-budget short film that was shot in one day. The film won several awards and got selected in more than 40 film festivals worldwide. Empire, his third short film, premiered in the world competition of the 39th Montreal World Film Festival and got selected for the 59th BFI London Film Festival. His first feature film Resurrection premiered in the First Features Competition of the 21st Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Never Leave Me

Writer & Director: Aida Begic

DOP: Erol Zubcevic

Editor: Redzinald Simek

Music: Igor Camo

Sound: Igor Camo

Cast: Carol Abboud, Motaz Faez Basha, Isa Demlakhi, Feyyaz Duman, Nisreen Faour, Ossama Mahmud Himeli

Producer: Aida Begic, Adis Djapo, Muhammed Emin El-Huseyni

Production Co: Cineplanet

Language: Arabic, Turkish

Country, Year, Runtime: Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2017 | 96 min

Synopsis:

This is a story about pain, search for meaning in life and friendship. Syrian boys – Isa, Ahmed and Muataz – live as refugees in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa. In their search for a better life, they find happiness and love in themselves.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Antalya Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival

About Director:

Writer-director Aida Begic was born in 1976 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is known for Snow (2008), Children of Sarajevo (2012), and Prvosmrtnoiskustvo (2001).

Excavator

Director: Lee Ju-Hyoung

Writer: Kim Ki-Duk

DOP: Choi Seong-chel

Editor: Choi Hee-young

Music: Son Yeol-Mae

Sound: Lee Junho

Cast: Um Tae-Woong, Kim Kyung-ik, Shim Jung-wan

Producer: Kim Ki-Duk, Kim Dong-Hoo

Production Co: Kim Ki-duk Film

Language: Korean

Country, Year, Runtime: South Korea | 2017 | 110 min

Synopsis:

Kim Gang-Il is a paratrooper sent to Gwangju to suppress the Gwangju Democratization Movement in May, 1980. After his release from the military, Kim Gang-Il works as forklift driver. After an incident, he finds an uncomfortable truth hidden for 20 years.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Official Selection, Best Director / 2018: KOSMORAMA Trondheim International Film Festival, New Directors / Bengaluru International Film Festival, Asian Cinema Competition

About Director:

Lee Ju-hyoung made the short animation Tapis Roulant in 2009, which was invited to screen at the Japanese Film Fest and Indie Anifest. His next work was the mid-length We’ve Never Seen a Night Which Has Finished by Reaching a Day, which in 2010 screened at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. He moved onto his first feature film in 2013. Written, edited and executive produced by the enfant terrible of indie Korean cinema, Red Family had its debut at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where it earned the distinction of receiving the Audience Awards. A comedy-drama about a group of North Korean spies posing as a family in the South. Red Family also screened in the Göteborg and Torino Film Festivals.

Beyond Words (Original Title: Miedzyslowami)

Writer & Director: Urszula Antoniak

DOP: Lennert Hillege

Editor: Natalia Alonso Casale, Milenia Fiedler

Sound: Jan Schermer

Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Andrzej Chyra, Christian Loeber, Justyna Wasilewska

Producer: Lukasz Dzieciol, Floor Onrust

Language:  German, Polish, English

Country, Year, Runtime: Poland, Netherlands, France| 2017 | 85 min

Premiere Status: National Premiere

Synopsis:

Nothing in Michael, a young and successful Berlin lawyer, gives away his Polish roots. The sudden appearance of his father, who was long presumed dead, plunges Michael into an identity crisis. After his father leaves, Michael can’t return to his former life as a German.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Cameraimage, Polish Films Competition, Poland / Les Arcs European Film Festival, France / Polish Film Festival, Poland, Best Cinematography, Best Sound / Toronto International Film Festival, Contemporary World Cinema Section, Canada

About Director:

After her studies at the Polish and Dutch Film Academy, Urszula Antoniak wrote and directed her debut film Nothing Personal (2009) which won six awards in Locarno and was nominated for 2 European Film Academy Awards. Her second feature Code Blue (2011) premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight. Her third feature Nude Area was released in 2014. In that same year Life According to Nino, a children film for which she wrote the screenplay, won Best International Feature at Cinekid. Beyond Words is Antoniak’s fourth feature film.

For all Festival goers who are already planning their visit, check screening time and other information at www.fajriff.com, or email us at infor@fajriff.com. Presided over by Iranian film writer and director Reza Mirkarimi, the 36th edition of Fajr International Film Festival will be held in Tehran on April 19-27.

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