European Cinema Selection

Ahram Online , Wednesday 18 Nov 2015

European Selection

45 YEARS

Country: United Kingdom
Year: 2015
Director: Andrew Haigh
Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Geraldine James, Tom Courtenay
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 93 min
Language: English
Subtitles: Arabic

In the week leading up to their 45th wedding anniversary, a couple receives an unexpected letter telling some truth about the husband’s past.  By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there might not be a marriage left to celebrate. 45 Years dwells on how an apparently happy union can be tormented by an echo from the past, with a decades-long bond threatened by insecurities and irrational jealousy.

Silver Bear for Best Actor and Best Actress – Berlinale 2015
The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film, Best Performance in a British Feature Film – Edinburgh IFF 2015

Far From The Madding Crowd
Still from Far From The Madding Crowd (Photo: Zawya)

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

Country: United Kingdom, USA
Year: 2015
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen
Genre: Drama, Romance
Running Time: 119 min
Language: Arabic, English

In 1870 Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor. This adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel is a timeless story of choices and passions, exploring the nature of relationships and love.

Nominated for Golden Tulip Award (International Competition) – Istanbul IFF 2015

I
Still from I'm Dead But I Have Friends (Photo: Zawya)

I’M DEAD BUT I HAVE FRIENDS / JE SUIS MORT MAIS J’AI DES AMIS

Country Belgium, France
Year: 2015
Director: Guillaume and Stéphane Malandrin
Strarring: Bouli Lanners, Wim Wilaert, Lyes Salem
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 96 min
Language: French
Subtitles: English

On the eve of their departure for their first California concert tour, three ageing rock musicians must face the death of their lead singer. But because friendship is stronger than anything, they decide to maintain their concert dates. Their journey will take an unexpected turn when they meet the lover of their now deceased friend, who happens to be an army pilot with a moustache!

Nominated for Golden Tulip Award (International Competition) – Istanbul IFF 2015

Life in a Fishbowl
Still from Life in a Fishbowl (Photo: Zawya)

LIFE IN A FISHBOWL / VONARSTRÆTI

Country: Iceland
Year: 2014
Director: Baldvin Zophoniasson
Starring: Hera Hilmar, Thorsteinn Bachmann, Thor Kristjansson
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 130 min
Language: Icelandic, English
Subtitles: English

Reykjavik. After a tragedy, writer Móri drinks himself into oblivion on a twenty-year binge. Eik, a young single mom moonlights as a prostitute to make ends meet. Young father and good husband, Sölvi, is recruited into the snake pit of the Icelandic international banking. Soon fate will make them meet.

NDR Film Prize – Nordic Film Days Lübeck 2014
Best Debut Film of the Nordic Baltic Region – Tallinn Black Nights FF 2014
Best Film, Best Director, Screenplay Editing, Cinematography, Leading Actor & Actress– Edda Awards 2015

The Lobster
Fragment from The Lobster's poster (Photo: Zawya)

THE LOBSTER

Country: Greece, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Ireland, France
Year: 2015
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 118 min
Language: English, French
Subtitles: English

A love story set in the near future where single people, according to the laws of The City, are arrested and taken to The Hotel. There, they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days. But if they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choice and sent off into The Woods. A desperate man escapes from The Hotel to The Woods where The Loners live, and falls in love although it is against their rules.

Jury Prize, Special Mention Queer Palm and In Competition – Cannes IFF 2015
ARTE International Prize for Best CineMart Project – Rotterdam IFF 2013

Magical Girl
Still from Magical Girl (Photo: Zawya)

MAGICAL GIRL / LA NIÑA DE FUEGO

Country: Spain, France
Year: 2014
Director: Carlos Vermut
Starring: Bárbara Lennie, José Sacristán, Luis Bermejo
Genre: Crime, Drama
Running Time: 127 min
Language: Spanish
Subtitles: English

Alicia, a sick child, is dreaming of wearing the dress of her favorite Japanese series, Magical Girl Yukiko. Luis, her father, will try to do everything to achieve it, but his fate intersects with Barbara, an attractive woman with mental disorders, and Damian, a teacher retired from everything but his troubled past. All three are trapped in a world of blackmails, where instincts and reason struggle in a tragic battle, changing their lives forever.

Gold Shell for Best Film, Silver Shell for Best Director – San Sebastian IFF 2014
Presented in the Discovery Selection – Toronto IFF 2014
Best Leading Actress – Goya Awards 2015

The Magic Mountain
Still from The Magic Mountain (Photo: Zawya)

THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN / LA MONTAGNE MAGIQUE

Country: Romania, France, Poland
Year: 2015
Director: Anca Damian
Genre: Documentary, Animation
Running Time: 85 min
Language: French
Subtitles: English

Adam Jacek Winkler was a Polish refugee in France who had fought in Afghanistan alongside Commander Massoud. Sometimes living outside the law, this independent and courageous adventurer was also an artist and mountaineer. To pay tribute to him, Anca Damian employs a highly original artistic technique involving animated collage of period materials.

Special Mention – Karlovy Vary IFF 2015

The Measure of A Man
Still from The Measure of A Man (Photo: Zawya)

THE MEASURE OF A MAN / LA LOI DU MARCHE

Country: France
Year: 2015
Director: Stéphane Brizé
Starring: Vincent Lindon, Karine de Mirbeck, Matthieu Schaller
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 93 min
Language: French
Subtitles: English

After losing his job as a machinist, Thierry struggles to fend for his family. In his 50s, he doesn’t have the technical skills to compete in the modern job market and find himself forced to retain his compassion and integrity at the bottom of the heap. A series of real-time humiliations for an ordinary working man leading him to compromise his integrity in the name of making ends meet.

Best Actor, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Special Mention, In Competition – Cannes IFF 2015
Audience Award – Brussels European FF 2015

My Mother
Still from My Mother (Photo: Zawya)

MY MOTHER / MIA MADRE

Country: Italy, France
Year: 2015
Director: Nanni Moretti
Starring: Margherita Buy, John Turturro, Nanni Moretti, Giulia Lazzarini
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 106 min
Language: Italian
Subtitles: Arabic, English

Margherita is a director shooting a film with the famous American actor, Barry Huggins, who is quite the headache on set. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together, despite her mother’s illness and her daughter’s adolescence.

Official Competition, Ecumenical Jury Prize – Cannes IFF 2015
Special Presentation – Toronto IFF 2015
Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress – David di Donatello Awards 2015

Rams
Still from Rams (Photo: Zawya)

RAMS / HRÚTAR

Country: Iceland, Denmark
Year: 2015
Director: Grimur Hakonarson
Starring: Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theodór Júlíusson, Charlotte Bøving
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 93 min
Language: Icelandic
Subtitles: English

In a secluded valley in Iceland, two brothers live side by side, tending to their sheep. Although they share the land and a way of life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. As a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi’s sheep, the brothers will need to come together to save the special breed passed down for generations, and themselves, from extinction.

Un Certain Regard Prize – Cannes IFF 2015
Presented in the Contemporary World Cinema Selection – Toronto IFF 2015
Icelandic Submission – Academy Awards 2015

Tale of Tales
Still from Tale of Tales (Photo: Zawya)

TALE OF TALES / IL RACCONTO DEI RACONTI

Country: Italy, France, United Kingdom
Year: 2015
Director: Matteo Garonne
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Salma Hayek, Toby Jones
Genre: Fantastic
Running Time: 133 min
Language: English
Subtitles: Arabic

Once upon a time there were three neighboring kingdoms, each with a magnificent castle, ruled by kings, queens, princes and princesses. One king was a libertine, another one was captured by a strange animal and one of the queens was trying everything to have a child. Sorcerers and fairies, fearsome monsters, ogres and old washerwomen, acrobats and courtesans are the protagonists of this adaptation of the famous tales of Giambattista Basile.

In competition – Cannes IFF 2015

Victoria
Still from Victoria (Photo:Zawya)

VICTORIA

Country: Germany
Year: 2015
Director: Sebastian Schipper
Starring: Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Running Time: 140 min
Language: German, English
Subtitles: English

Victoria, a young Spanish woman, dances through the Berlin scene with abandon, when she meets four mates who ask her to join them as they hit the town. Shot in a single take, what began as a game suddenly becomes deadly serious when their wild night of partying turns into a bank robbery.

Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution (Camera), Nominated for Golden Bear – Berin IFF 2015
Best Feature Film (Gold), Best Director, Best Leading Actress, Best Leading Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Score – German Film Awards 2015

Who Am I - No System is Safe
Still from Who Am I - No System is Safe (Photo: Zawya)

WHO AM I – NO SYSTEM IS SAFE / WHO AM I – KEIN SYSTEM IST SICHER

Country: Germany
Year: 2014
Director: Baran bo Odar
Starring: Tom Schilling, Elyas M’Barek, Wotan Wike Möhring
Genre: Thriller
Running Time: 105 min
Language: German
Subtitles: Arabic, English

The outsider Benjamin and the charismatic Max share one mutual interest, hacking. Together with Max‘s friends, they form the subversive hacker group CLAY, provoking with hilarious hacks and connecting with a whole generation. For the first time in his life, Benjamin feels like he belongs. But when CLAY is suddenly investigated by German Secret Service and Europol, he must face the consequences of his actions.

Premiered in the Contemporary World Cinema Selection – Toronto IFF 2014
Presented in the New Perspective Selection – Edinburgh IFF 2015
Presented in the World Cinema Now Program – Palm Springs IFF 2015

45 Years
Still from 45 Years. (Photo: Zawya)

All data is provided by the Panorama of the European Film

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