Synopsis

Faruk, a widower in his nineties, is fighting to save his Istanbul condo building, which is slated for total reconstruction amidst an earthquake crisis in Turkey. Stubborn and resistant to change, he clashes with contractors and the building’s board. Meanwhile, Faruk’s documentarian daughter, who’s making a film about her father, is pressuring him for power of attorney so that she can take control of the situation — and, ultimately, the apartment. These pressures quietly build as the demolition date encroaches. Is Faruk’s way of life slipping away?

Director Aslı Özge blends fiction and reality as she trains her camera on a fictionalized version of her father, lending an intimate touch to this tender exploration of family, aging, and modernization in the 21st century.

Synopsis

A wondrous journey through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle that doubles as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.

Synopsis

Up-and-coming Irish writer Edward is just starting to taste success: Seemingly out of the blue, his novel is becoming popular with young readers in the U.S. But he struggles to balance increasing press commitments and organizing a book tour with caring for his beloved mother, who recently suffered a stroke. Edward feels torn between his love and care for his mother and his desire to embark on this new and exciting phase of his life as a writer. When his three closest friends, also itching for some excitement in their lives, decide to run off to a Spanish Pride celebration weekend, they leave their own aging mothers with Edward. With four stubborn individuals to look after and increasing pressure from his upcoming book tour, Edward must find a way to reconcile all four mothers and follow his passion in this delightful and heartfelt dramedy.

Synopsis

They’ve been defanged — literally — by pop culture. But in Irish folklore, fairies (also known as the sidhe, or, in this film, simply “them”) are a real and serious threat. For the followup to her 2018 feature debut The Devil’s Doorway, writer-director Aislinn Clarke dives deep into the sinister side of these supernatural creatures for a terrifying folk-horror film that’s steeped in ancient legend and presented with a deep sense of pride in Irish language and tradition.

Siubhán— known to her friends as “Shoo” — is a home care nurse struggling with mixed emotions after her estranged mother dies by suicide. Pieg is her elderly client, who lives so far out in the country that the only directions to her cottage are to “turn at the fairy tree.” Pieg’s home is covered in wards and charms, and she insists that Shoo adopt her superstitious ways as well. As it turns out, there’s a reason for that: Many years ago, Pieg made a promise to the sidhe, and they’ve returned to collect.

Synopsis

For Hamid, the past is never far behind. A former literature professor from Aleppo now working undercover in Europe, the Syrian exile spends his days trying to track down the  guard responsible for torturing him — and countless other political prisoners — at the infamous Sednaya prison. In weekly phone calls with his mom, who’s now living in a refugee camp in Beirut, Hamid tries to pretend like everything is fine. But a promising new lead has emerged at a university in Strasbourg, and every cell in Hamid’s body is screaming that this is the man. Will he be able to keep his cool long enough to get proof?

Director Jonatham Millet displays a remarkable command of tone in Ghost Trail, which engages with recent history in a tastefully controlled manner while still giving audiences the tension they crave. Star Adam Bessa is magnetic as the haunted Hamid, and his scenes with Tawfeek Barhom — who co-stars as suspected war criminal Harfaz — crackle with suspense. But the most skillful and subtle shift here is from the excitement of a political thriller to something much sadder, as Ghost Trail mourns the losses that have brought Hamid to this point in his life.