Synopsis

Rio de Janeiro, early 1970s. The Paivas family lives under the tightening grip of Brazil’s military dictatorship. Rubens is a former politician, and his wife Eunice (Fernanda Montenegro) is devoted to their five children. They live an enchanted life by the beach surrounded by friends and family, and their humor and affection appear to be their only forms of resistance to the increasing oppression that surrounds them — until the day a violent and arbitrary act changes their lives forever.

In his first fiction film since 2012’s On the Road, the acclaimed director of Central Station and The Motorcycle Diaries delivers another powerful political and human drama about his home country, lead by a stunning performance from Central Station star Fernanda Montenegro as the matriarch who must reinvent herself to carve out a new destiny for her family. A gripping tale of Brazil’s dark history, I’m Still Here marks a forceful and masterfully crafted return for the Brazilian auteur.

Synopsis

Iconoclastic French filmmaker Leos Carax (Holy Motors, ChicagoIFF 2012 Gold Hugo winner) reflects on his work and life in this personal cinematic essay. Nodding to the late style of New Wave master Jean-Luc Godard, whose voice can be heard on the soundtrack, the film assembles footage from Carax’s work and situates it within the broader history of cinema. Originally commissioned for an exhibition hosted by Paris’s Pompidou Center, the museum asked the auteur to respond to a simple question: “Where are you at, Leos Carax?”

No subject is off limits, no idea too small or large. The result is a dazzling, playful masterpiece of freely associative montage that includes everything from nostalgic film clips to heartbreaking voicemail recordings to ecstatic spectacles of dancing puppets. Essential viewing for fans and newcomers alike. Just be sure to stay for the post-credits sequence.

Synopsis

During the hot Corsican summer of 1995, teenager Lesia is whisked away from the beach to a secret villa. Initially nonplussed, she’s excited when she realizes the reason for this sudden departure: she’s going to spend time with her father. Wanted by the authorities for his ties to violent, criminal acts, he’s hiding out in a compound. And although she’s not allowed to make phone calls to the outside world, Lesia is thrilled for some quality time with her outlaw dad. But when war erupts in the underworld, the two are forced to face one another as their familial bond is brought to its breaking point. The idyllic, sun-baked island serves as the backdrop for this explosive drama mixed with a heart-pounding coming-of-age thriller, anchored by a tour-de-force performance from newcomer Ghivanna Benedetti and directed with assurance and precision by Julien Colonna.

Synopsis

Late one night, while Chris (Nnamdi Asomugha), his wife (Aja Naomi King), and their two daughters are sleeping upstairs in their home, Chris hears an intruder. Unsettled and scared, he warily investigates, and finds himself face-to-face with a stranger in his kitchen. Chris reacts impulsively to protect his family, and his response sets in motion a night that will have far-reaching consequences.

This stunning, compact thriller — which also marks star Asomugha’s directorial debut — takes place over the course of a few hours. A frantic family takes quick action. Throngs of police arrive to investigate the scene. And a bullish white detective (The Fighter’s Melissa Leo) sets the family in her sights, willing to do whatever it takes to quickly resolve the case. As tensions escalate between the family and police, The Knife sharply explores the ways in which a Black family experiences a tenuous relationship with security, justice, and the American dream.

Synopsis

Tensions are already running high as the day begins in a bustling Times Square kitchen — money is missing from the till, and suspicions have fallen on line cook Pedro (Raúl Briones). A zealous dreamer with a knack for making trouble, Pedro is on thin ice. His tumultuous affair with Julia (Rooney Mara), a waitress battling her own demons, is no secret. But today, their interpersonal chaos begins to seep into the relentless pace of the kitchen as its workers grind to feed the hungry maws of the dining room’s tourists. As Pedro spirals out of control, he threatens to take the whole kitchen down with him.

Alonso Ruizpalacios (A Cop Movie, 2021) returns to the Festival with a stylistically dazzling, darkly poignant tribute to the often invisible immigrants whose unrelenting work in kitchens feeds this country’s voracious appetite. La Cocina is a daring, tragic ode to the folly of the American Dream.