Albania / France / Greece / Romania
Director: Robert Budina

A powerful drama about cultural conflict and the strength of familial bonds, Agon explores the relationship between Albanian brothers who must deal with prejudice treatment and bigotry in a new country. Saimir is well-established and thriving with a stable job and a fiancé in Greece, while Vini, newly emigrated, is involved with dangerous criminals. Family is incredibly important to both brothers, but their differences open a rift between them that they must confront.

Albanian, Greek with subtitles, 110 min

Denmark
Director: Katrine Wiedemann

Harsh and bitter, apartment caretaker Per despises everyone and everything around him until he comes across a mysterious naked girl in an empty apartment. She doesn’t know how to talk, walk, or even eat - she just smiles broadly. Per soon discovers that she has miraculous sexual powers. Perhaps just as startling, he finds himself caring deeply for this beautiful cypher in a perverse, unexpected fairy tale about love, possession, and generosity.

Danish with subtitles, 87 min

Peru
Director: Adrian Saba

In the midst of a mysterious epidemic that has decimated Lima’s population and shows no signs of abating, Eusebio - a forensic cleaner whose job is to remove corpses and sterilize the apartments of the dead - discovers an eight-year-old boy hiding in an uninhabited house. A grizzled loner who’s never been able to relate to people, Eusebio suddenly finds that he must care for the boy as civilization crumbles around them in this quietly compelling dystopian drama.

Spanish with subtitles, 95 min

Serbia
Director: Maja Milos

A brutally honest, unflinching portrait of the intensely sexualized cell-phone generation, Clip follows the beautiful teenage Jasna as she and her friends attempt to use their bodies to gain attention and affection from their mostly indifferent, violent male counterparts. Featuring remarkably open and assured performances from its young cast, director Maja Miloš’ feature debut announces the arrival of a major cinematic talent.

Serbian with subtitles, 102 min

Hungary
Director: Peter Bergendy

In late 1950’s Hungary, Andras supervises a network of civilians spying on their neighbors and coworkers. But little does he know that the government is monitoring him as well. His superiors have chosen Christmas Eve to implement “the exam”, an obscure procedure designed to challenge an agent’s loyalty without his or her knowledge. Nothing can be taken for granted in this world of intense secrecy and perpetual surveillance.

Hungarian with subtitles, 89 min

Czech Republic
Director: Zdenek Jirasky

Garnering four top Czech Lions (the Czech Oscars®) Flowerbuds presents an incisive snapshot of family life in a small Czech town. Jarda works as a train signal operator but also nurses a petty gambling addiction. His wife, Kamila dreams of her lost youth while their teenage children are without work, money or illusions about life. Over the course of a long winter, a series of small tragedies unfold and collide, bringing the family to the brink.

Czech with subtitles, 91 min

Marshall Islands / USA
Director: Andrew Williamson

In the stark volcanic landscape of a remote Hawaiian community, Marshallese patriarch Jacob struggles to provide for his large family. When diagnosed with cancer, he eschews treatment in favor of earning as much as possible for his children and grandchildren. As his illness worsens, Jacob turns a small video camera on himself and begins to tell his own story and the tragic history of the Marshallese people in this hauntingly beautiful affirmation of family.

Marshallese with subtitles, 87 min

Iran
Director: Adel Yaraghi

Featuring a brilliant performance from A Separation star Leila Hatami, Meeting Leila follows a young woman who demands that her chain-smoking fiancé quits smoking before their marriage. This poses a problem for this advertising agency idea man for whom smoking is an integral part of his creative process in this gently comic, insightful look at the compromises and negotiations required in any relationship.

Farsi with subtitles, 88 min

Israel / Palestine / USA
Director: Michael Mayer

Nimer, a Palestinian student, dreams of a better life abroad. One fateful night he meets Roy, an Israeli lawyer. As their relationship deepens into love, Nimer is confronted with the harsh realities of a Palestinian society that refuses to accept him for his sexual identity, and an Israeli society that rejects him for his nationality. Nimer soon must choose between love and the life he thought he wanted.

Hebrew and Arabic with subtitles, 96 min

Colombia
Director: Juan Andres Arango Garcia

Tomás, an Afro-Colombian teenager driven from his home by war, settles with his brothers in the section of Bogota known (ironically) as “La Playa.” Working as a barber’s apprentice, Tomás is just beginning to find a place for himself when his younger brother Jairo disappears. Tomás must make a risk-filled journey in search of Jairo, a rite of passage that forces him to find, and earn, his own identity in this impressive, wonderfully energetic debut film.

Spanish with subtitles, 90 min

Poland
Director: Filip Marczewski

In an incendiary story of love, desire, and betrayal between siblings, the rebellious young Tadek returns to sister Anka’s home in search of solace and affection. Bound together by a painful shared family history, brother and sister must find a way to break free in order to survive. This formidable debut fearlessly yet tenderly explores one of society’s last taboos.

Polish with subtitles, 80 min