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.

Synopsis

Karoline, a pregnant factory worker living in post-WW1 Copenhagen, is struggling to make ends meet. Fearing her unborn child will be doomed to a life of poverty and hardship, she searches for a solution. By chance (or is it fate?) she meets Dagmar, a friendly woman who runs an illegal adoption agency hidden behind the facade of a candy store. Seeing a way out, Karoline accepts a job as a wet nurse. But she slowly begins to realize that things are not what they seem. Director Magnus von Horn, helmer of the Gold Hugo-winning Sweat, returns to the Festival with this expressive, nightmarish, Gothic fairytale. Sublime black and white photography, long shadows, and grimy streets conjure a striking, if grim, vision of early 20th century Copenhagen that hides dark secrets and unsettling truths.

Synopsis

Young Wei is a blossoming scientist continuing the controversial, yet innovative research on skin grafting begun by her late father. Shunned by her family in China because of a hereditary facial disfigurement, she gets a scholarship to study in New Zealand, where she stays with her kind but absent aunt and mean-girl cousin Angela. Wei proves herself a brilliant student who catches the attention of a down-on-his-luck professor, but is still mercilessly bullied by Angela and her popular friends. Then she reaches her breaking point. What ensues is a gut-wrenching dive into visceral body horror, where vengeance and scientific hubris collide to lead Wei on a violent quest to possess the power of beauty and popularity at any cost. Grafted is a deliciously disgusting ride that pushes the societal obsession with normative beauty to horrific extremes.