Paradise is Burning Paradiset Brinner
Synopsis
In a working-class Swedish neighborhood, 16-year-old Laura cares for her two younger sisters, left on their own by an absent mother. For the trio and their friends, summer is wild, indulgent, and anarchic, full of ritual and mischief. But when social services schedules a meeting with their mother — who is nowhere to be found — Laura must find someone to step in or the girls risk being separated in foster care. Keeping the impending threat a secret from her sisters creates a palpable tension and conflict, sending each of them on an individual journey of discovery and connection. As the meeting with social services draws nearer, the boundaries of the girls’ radical freedom are tested by the harsh realities of growing up.
Echoing the chaotic freedom of films like The Florida Project, Mika Gustafson’s striking fiction debut is as bold as it is tender, a refreshingly forthright coming-of-age story and an intimate portrait of sisterhood.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Nima Yousefi, Marco Valerio Fusco, Micaela Fusco, Maria Stevnbak Westergren, Venla Hellstedt, Jenni Jauri
- Mika Gustafson, Alex Öhrstrand
- Anders Skov
- Sine Vadstrup Brooker
- Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, Safira Mossberg, Ida Engvoll, Mitja Siren
- Giorgio Giampà
- Hobab, Intramovies, Toolbox Films, Tuffi Films
- https://www.intramovies.com/production/paradise-is-burning/
Sponsors
International Competition Program Sponsor
John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
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Perfect Days
Synopsis
Living a life of solitary, quiet contentment, a middle-aged public toilet cleaner (Kôji Yakusho) spends his days working, reading, listening to cassette tapes, and tending to his indoor garden. The satisfying rhythms of his life are interrupted when his niece, fleeing her family, arrives for an unexpected visit. The two begin to bond, relishing their ability to share in the beauty of the everyday.
Featuring a stellar soundtrack and a warm, grounded performance from Yakusho, Perfect Days is at once a love letter to the city of Tokyo, an open-hearted character study, and an irresistible, charm-filled exaltation of the profound pleasures of a simple life.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Koji Yanai, Wim Wenders, Takuma Takasaki
- Wim Wenders, Takuma Takasaki
- Toni Froschhammer
- Franz Lustig
- Kôji Yakusho, Min Tanaka, Tokio Emoto, Aoi Yamada, Sayuri Ishikawa, Arisa Nakano, Yumi Aso, Tomokazu Miura
- Patrick Watson
- Kôji Yakusho
- MASTER MIND LTD, Spoon Inc., Wenders Images GbR
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Synopsis
In an act of desperation, impulsive black sheep Alejandro (Dario Yazbek Bernal) flees his home in Mexico. On the run from his unforgiving father, Alejandro ends up in New York City. There, he meets Jack, a pet store worker whose own, similarly wealthy family life is fracturing after his father (Willem Dafoe) betrayed his mother (Emmanuelle Seigner). Together, the two young men enter a whirlwind romance, sending them into a dead-end world of passion, drugs, and depravity.
With Pet Shop Days, first-time feature director Olmo Schnabel, son of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, has crafted a gritty throwback to American independent cinema. (No wonder Martin Scorsese signed on as an executive producer.) Imbued with raw emotion and propulsive pacing, and led by an explosive performance by Yazbek Bernal (Gael’s half-brother) as the wild and wounded Alejandro, Pet Shop Days is a riveting portrait of lost young men in search of connection.
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Film Credits
- Galen Core, Alex Coco, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Gabriele Moratti, Marie Savare de Laitre
- Jack Irv, Olmo Schnabel, Galen Core
- Sophie Corra
- Hunter Zimny
- Jack Irv, Darío Yazbek Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Peter Sarsgaard, Maribel Verdú, Jordi Mollà, Camille Rowe, Emmanuelle Seigner, Louis Cancelmi
- Eli Keszler
- Giovanni Corrado, Raffaella Viscardi, Moreno Zani, Malcom Pagani, Renato Ragosta, Livio Strazzera, Theo Niarchos, Aimone Ripa Di Meana, PJ Van Sandwijk, Peter Brant Jr., Michel Franco, Reka Posta, Jeremy O. Harris, Martin Scorsese
- TWIN, MeMo Films, Storyteller Productions, Tenderstories, 3 Marys Entertainment, ELA Films
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Concrete Utopia
Synopsis
A massive earthquake has reduced Seoul to a battered post-apocalyptic snarl of twisted metal and collapsed rubble — except for one building, the Hwang Gung Apartments, the last vestige of civilization as far as the eye can see. Together with the rest of the building’s tenants, young couple Min-seong (Parasite’s Park Seo-jun) and Myeong-hwa (Park Bo-young) must work together to restore order and plan for their survival, which turn out to be just the beginning of their troubles.
South Korea’s official submission for next year’s Oscars and a box-office smash in its home country, Concrete Utopia is a rollicking disaster epic that deftly mixes intimate psychological tensions with action-packed set pieces. Not unlike other recent South Korean hits, it’s a skillful combination of violence, thrills, and acerbic social commentary about authority, community, and the fine line that exists between heroes and villains, civility and savagery.
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Film Credits
- Byun Seung-min
- Lee Shin-jin, Um Tae-hwa
- Han Mee-yeon
- Cho Hyoung-rae
- Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, Park Bo-young
- Kim Hae-won
- Choi Byung-Hwan
- Cimax Studio
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Departing Seniors
Synopsis
Mexican-American and queer, high school student Javier doesn’t exactly fit in with the popular kids. But he might be the only one who can save them. After an act of bullying sends Javier to the hospital, he begins experiencing visions that foresee glimpses of shocking murders at his school right before they happen. Now, in between navigating the social hierarchies and prejudices of clique culture, Javier (Primo’s Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) and his best friend Bianca (Candyman’s Ireon Roach) must try to unmask a serial killer before he strikes again.
Departing Seniors puts a fresh spin on teen slasher movies like Scream and Freaky, updating them by putting its queer protagonist and characters of color front and center. It’s a horror-comedy with a sarcastic, whip-smart edge and appealingly complex characters, shot right here in Chicago and ready to scare you silly.
Director Spotlight
Director SpotlightWe chatted with Departing Seniors director Clare Cooney about filming during COVID, refreshing the teen slasher genre, what it’s like to screen her film at the Music Box Theatre, and more.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Dashawna Wright, Jose Nateras, Clare Cooney, Kelly Parker
- Jose Nateras
- Isabella McCarthy
- Jason Chiu
- Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Yani Gellman, Ireon Roach
- Denisse Ojeda
- Greg Newman, Nicola Goelzhaeuser, Giles Edwards
- Choppe Productions, Queensbury Pictures
- https://darkskyfilms.com/
Sponsors
Comedy Program Sponsor
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