Ten feature documentaries are competing in the main contest of the 22nd edition of the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts, taking place at the Suez Canal city between 16 and 22 June.
The best film will be decided by a jury that combines internationally acclaimed filmmakers and critics Dejan Petrović, Hala Khalil, Nogoum Al-Ganem and Rodrigo Brum.
In other contests, 14 short documentaries, 16 short fiction films and 15 short animation films are competing, as well as students' films.
All 10 films competing in the Ismailia Int'l Film Festival's Feature Documentary competition are as follows:
Bait Etnein Talata (A Home of One's Own)
Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt/ Arabic/ 79 min/ 2019
Synopsis: At a time of upheaval, Ruba leaves Beirut to visit her mother who was exiled during the civil war and revisit her own fragmented war-torn memory as a child, in search of a home.
Director: Ruba Atiyeh
Screenplay: Ruba Atiyeh
Cinematography: Farah Kassem
Editing: Sandra Fatté
Production: Ruba Atiyeh, Ebrahim Desokey
Pavyzdingas (Exemplary Behavior)
Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Italy/ Lithuanian, French/ 85 Min/ 2019
Synopsis: Having experienced the loss of his murdered brother, director Audrius Mickevičius goes to the Lukiškės prison to examine the paradox of “exemplary behaviour”. Mickevičius meets Rimas and Rolandas, who are sentenced to life, but driven by the hope of change.
Director: Audrius Mickevičius, Nerijus Milerius
Screenpaly: Audrius Mickevičius, Georgi Tenev
Cinematography: Valdas Jarutis, Audrius Kemežys
Editing: Ema Konstantinova
Production: Era Film, Agitprop, Casablanca Film Production, Stefilm
Mapa de Sueños Latinoamericanos (Map of Latin American Dreams)
Argentina, Mexico, Norway/ 92 min/ 2020
Synopsis: Between 1992 and 2013, Argentine artist Martín Weber photographs several people in Latin America, asking them to write a dream with chalk on a small blackboard. Decades later, he wonders if any of those wishes had been fulfilled.
Director: Martín Weber
Screenplay: Martín Weber
Cinematography: Emilianio Villanueva, Alejandro Arballo, Rodrigo Sandoval
Editing: Valeria Racioppi SAE, Martín Weber
Production: Martín Weber, Paula Zyngierman, Yadhira Mata, Julian Banos
One More Jump
Italy, Switzerland, Lebanon/ Arab, English, Italian/ 83 min/ 2019
Synopsis: The pain and frustration of young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are shown through the prism of a parkour team.
Director: Emanuele Gerosa
Screenpaly: Emanuele Gerosa
Cinematography: Matteo Delbò
Editing: Nicolò Tettamanti
Production: GraffitDoc, Amka Films Production, Oneworld DocuMakers, ITAR Productions
Rotjochies (Punks)
Netherlands/ Dutch/ 90 Min/ 2019
Synopsis: Their parents are at their wits’ end, so a temporary supervision order is the last hope for a group of teenagers in Punks. Now, on a remote farm in France, they’re going to have to get their lives back on track, with the help of a counselor.
Director: Maasja Ooms
Screenplay: Maasja Ooms
Cinematography: Maasja Ooms
Editing: Sander Vosy
Production: Cerutti Film
Själö (Island of Souls)
Finland/ Swedish, Finnish/ 78 min/ 2020
Synopsis: Själö is an island that has a disturbing and strange past. It is a place that will be haunted by its past until we accept that the ghosts are and will always be there to challenge us to see and sense something hidden.
Director: Lotta Petronella
Screenplay: Lotta Petronella, Seppo Parkkinen
Cinematography: Kerttu Hakkarainen
Editing: Matti Näränen, Lotta Petronella
Production: Ilona Tolmunen
Qafas El-Sokkar (Sugar Cage)
Syria, Lebanon & Egypt/ Arabic/ 60 min/ 2019
Synopsis: Zeina uses her camera to examine the intimate life of her parents over the course of eight years of war in Syria, observing scenes of isolation, fear and stagnancy, all the while the relationship is held together with love.
Director: Zeina Alqahwaji
Screenplay: Zeina Alqahwaji
Cinematography: Zeina Alqahwaji
Editing: Raya Yamsha
Production: Ali Hamoud & Zeina Alqahwaji
Mesék a zárkából (Tales From The Prison Cell)
Hungary, UK, Croatia/ Hungarian/ 83 min/ 2020
Synopsis: Three imprisoned fathers write fairy tales that are turned into short films featuring their own family members. This creative attempt to reconnect and heal is bittersweet, with an uncertain outcome.
Director: Abel Visky
Screenplay: Abel Visky
Cinematography: István Kürti, Zágon Nagy
Editing: László Hargittai, Anna Vághy
Production: Proton Cinema
Al-Qessa Al-Khamesa (The Fifth Story)
Iraq/ Arabic, Kurdish/ 90 min/ 2020
Synopsis: Narrated by Ahmed, the director, The Fifth Story is a long emotional journey spanning for four decades of wars and conflicts in Iraq.
Director: Ahmed Abd
Screenplay: Ahmed Abd, Louai Haffar
Cinematography: Saef Alden
Editing: Raya Yamisha, Mohamad Ali
Production: Louai Haffar
When Persimmons Grew
Azerbaijan, Austria/ Azerbaijani/ 119 min/ 2019
Synopsis: A mother waits for her son in a home where the sands of time fall to the rhythm of rural Azerbaijani sounds. When he arrives, their conversations circle around existential questions and news from afar that is both troubling and cryptic.
Director: Hilal Baydarov
Screenplay: Hilal Baydarov
Cinematography: Hilal Baydarov
Editing: Hilal Baydarov
Production: Ucqar Film & Subobscura Films
All info and film synopsis are provided by the Culture Ministry's National Cinema Council that organises the festival
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