April 12 – 20, 2024

 

Glocal Images

BLOCK 12

Kyriakos Tofarides
94′ / 2013
Cyprus, Greece

English satellites who conduct research from space discover large oil deposits in the area of the Old Mines in Cyprus. A big part of the area belongs to Costantas Rezitis (he has bought half of it from his Turkish Cypriot colleague Ahmet Beyoglu) who has retired there with his wife Ellou. The outbreak of a big economic crisis leads the two sons of the family to bankruptcy forcing them to move their families to the house. This whole situation is made worse when the Cyprus government keeps asking to buy the house, and Costantas’ stubbornly refuses. Moreover two English agents and Hasan Beyoglu (son of Ahmet) camp outside the house. The house is in a state of internal and external siege.

Boy Eating the Bird’s Food

Ektoras Lygizos
80′ / 2012
Greece

Following his will to survive while retaining his dignity and keeping his canary alive, the whole time fighting his hunger, 23-year-old Yorgos wanders the streets of Athens. The camera will follow him closely, sensing his power, his despair, his pride, and his essence, but without attempting to explain his actions, his motives or his situation. Besides, there’s no need to. Through its pared down, ascetic style, the film reveals the deepest facets of the hero’s existence, and, along with it, a painfully accurate picture of modern-day Greece, in a heart-rending yet inspiring film, that cannot help but strike a chord in us all.

Night of Silence

Reis Çelik
92′ / 2012
Turkey

The groom is 60 years old, has spent many years in prison and so for him it seems a little late to be marrying. In fact, this wedding is being held to stop the blood feud between two big clans. The bride, whose face is hidden by a red veil, waits for the groom, keeping her fears well hidden. The noises fade as the door is closed. The bride and the groom are alone in the room now. The groom gives his presents to the bride, who is sitting down and whose legs are too short to reach the floor. He reveals her face. The face under the veil is the face of a 14-yearold girl. The groom is obliged to consummate the marriage with his wife under the pressure of centuries-old traditions. The bride tries to assuage her fears with her subtle wit. The night they spend together is like a chess game. What will the morning bring for the two newlyweds?

La Pirogue

Moussa Tourré
87′ / 2012
France, Senegal

Baye Laye is the captain of a fishing pirogue. Like many of his Senegalese compatriots, he sometimes dreams of new horizons, where he can earn a better living for his family. When he is offered to lead one of the many pirogues that head towards Europe via the Canary Island, he reluctantly accepts the job, knowing very well the dangers that lie ahead. Leading a group of 30 men who don’t all speak the same language, some of whom have never seen the sea, Baye Laye will confront many perils in order to reach the distant coasts of Europe.

The Queen

Mohammad Ali Bashe Ahangar
104′ / 2012
Iran

Final months of the imposed war in Abadan, a war-ridden city in the southwest of Iran. Solitude and loneliness of those who are still in war… In the silence, you would be able to study their manners… The manners of Siavash, Seifollah, Amjad, Issa and Moussa who defend the city like the mythical figures…

The Passion of Michelangelo

Esteban Larraín
97′ / 2012
Chile

In 1983, as Chilean demonstrations against Pinochet’s military regime gathered strength, the government seized upon the strange story of 14-year-old street teen Miguel Angel as a means of diverting attention from the public’s growing discontent. In Peñablanca, not far from Valparaíso, the charismatic Angel swore he could see the Virgin Mary at the top of a local hill and, with the government doing all it could to promote this “miracle”, hundreds of thousands of people made the pilgrimage to the “holy” spot. Soon Angel had attained rock-star status — with all the perks the term implies — until, inevitably, he falls back to reality…

Shameless

Filip Marczewski
80′ / 2012
Poland

Eighteen-year-old Tadzik arrives at the home of his elder half-sister Anka for vacation. It soon comes to light that the feelings the young man entertains for his sister overreach socially accepted norms. Anka herself is somewhat emotionally unstable, floundering as she is in a less than joyous relationship with the leader of a local neo-Nazi group. Then, a 17-year-old Gypsy Irmina appears. She is dreaming about a breakaway and believes Tadzik can help her…

La Demora

Rodrigo Plá
84′ / 2012
Uruguay, Mexico

Bearing the hallmarks of the best humanist dramas—sensitivity, compassion and a gritty social realism—Rodrigo Plá’s moving study of a single-mother and the aging, dangerously forgetful father, whose presence in her cramped home is driving her to desperate measures, is surprisingly gripping while packing a devastating emotional punch. Carlos Vallarino and Roxana Blanco are unforgettable as father and daughter.

Shine of Day

Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
90′ / 2012
Austria

Philipp Hochmair is a young, successful actor with engagements at big theatres in Vienna and Hamburg. His life is marked by learning new texts by heart, rehearsals, and performances, thus gradually losing contact with the reality of everyday life. Only when he meets wandering Walter, with whom he establishes an ambiguous friendship, and also faces his neighbour Victor’s destiny, he remembers that life is not just a stage.