Synopsis

In this wondrous and warm-hearted portrait, director Sari Braithwaite (ChicagoIFF winner [Censored]) follows a very unique Australian family. Middle-aged and deeply in love, thoughtful and witty couple “Buddha” Barnes and Janet Sharrock live in a dusty working-class Melbourne suburb, still caring for their five adult kids from separate marriages. Adding to the complexities of a mixed family is the fact that they are all neurodivergent, living with a range of conditions from autism to depression to extreme dyslexia.

Sharing their deepest thoughts, fears, and dreams, we get to know each of the family members as they confront their vulnerabilities. And of course life, in all of its joys, misfortunes, and traumas, gets in the way. Blending the mundane with the universal through intimate verité footage and poetic shots of starry nighttime skies, Because We Have Each Other is a tender chronicle of the most normal, extraordinary lives.

Synopsis

Pulled pork, ribs, and liverwurst sandwiches — these are a few of the Southern delicacies filmmaker Eric D. Seals grew up eating alongside his father, Donnie Seals, Sr. But after facing death and undergoing the first of three quadruple bypass operations, the elder Seals decided to completely overhaul his life. Bike Vessel chronicles Donnie’s new chapter after becoming an avid cyclist, and follows the two men as they set out on an epic bike ride from St. Louis to Chicago.

Filled with flat tires, GPS snafus, and fast-food detours, the documentary is both a funny document of a father-son road trip and a powerful social statement. Through Eric and Donnie’s relationship, it takes a hard look at health disparities in the Black community and the systemic racism plaguing the well-being of Black men in America.

Synopsis

A Berlin courtyard becomes an unwitting battleground as a xenophobic property owner, the threat of gentrification, and simmering political unrest converge in Azli Özge’s volatile drama Black Box. When an apartment building is put under lockdown by police after an undisclosed event, tensions within the tight-knit community escalate on multiple fronts. Frustrations boil over and conflicts collide as residents unite to take legal action against their landlord, an unemployed mother faces a critical job interview, and the discovery of a corpse in an abandoned unit forces the residents to confront their personal politics and prejudices.

Özge’s deft direction creates a unique crucible where the boundaries of power, fear, and community are tested, raising unsettling questions about the rights and autonomy of those who call this courtyard home. Their preconceived biases deepen the divisions, unearthing long-buried conflicts as residents reveal their true natures, driven by personal agendas in a complex web of capitalism and power.

Synopsis

Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner (Little Joe) returns to the director’s chair with a provocative thriller out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Crimson Peak) stars as Ms. Novak, a nutrition teacher at an elite prep school whose dogma of “conscious eating” quickly devolves into cult-like conformity for a group of seven teens. By the time their parents realize how extreme this so-called “Club Zero” has become, it may be too late to break Ms. Novak’s spell over her students.

A mannered, impeccably constructed combination of dry satire and gross-out body horror, Club Zero takes aim at Instagram “wellness” culture and social conformity. A typically controversial statement from an iconoclastic director, it’s bound to be the one of the most talked-about films at this year’s Festival.

Synopsis

The heartfelt story follows two 10-year-olds, Malik and Eric, as they revel in the freedoms of boyhood and the joys of friendship. The projects are their playground, and every stairway, roof, and stretch of blacktop is just another place for adventure. But when violence comes to their neighborhood, their safe haven is fractured, and Malik’s mother Dolores (Jurnee Smollett) must decide whether to stay or move away.