Synopsis

Defamed actress Elisabeth (Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World) is abruptly called into a parent-teacher meeting at school. There, she is presented with scathing allegations about the behavior of her six-year-old son Armand. A tangled web of accusations between parents and faculty ensues, but who can say with certainty what really happened? As it becomes increasingly clear that much more is at stake, Elisabeth struggles to uncover the truth, and she is drawn into a chaotic fight for redemption where desire, madness, and obsession prevail.

Writer-director Halfdan Ullmann-Tøndel’s striking debut feature shrewdly unfurls with a keen observation of the quirks, pettiness, and rivalries inherent in human nature. Surrealist moments are dotted throughout, alternately providing flashpoints of comedy and consternation in this tension-filled, angst-fueled drama.

Synopsis

Sicily, 1900. Modesta is born into a life of poverty, but, rebellious by nature, she believes that she is destined for a better life. Moving from her childhood home deep in the mountains to an imposing convent for wealthy young women and eventually to a decadent aristocratic estate, she rises up in the world. Using her wit, assertiveness, and guile, she emerges as a fearless and emancipated bisexual character, willing to stand up to all systems of domination.

Through sumptuous photography, beautifully crafted costumes, and impressive direction, The Art of Joy assiduously builds Modesta’s world – interior and exterior – absorbing us wholly into her perspective and life experience. Director Valeria Golino creates a stunningly relevant adaptation of Goliarda Sapienza’s subversive novel, which was deemed too outrageous to be published when it was completed in the 1970s.

Two-part film with intermission and Q&A

Synopsis

“Baby” is 18-year-old Wellington’s new persona since he began an exhilarating new life in sex work. After being released from a juvenile detention center to learn that his family has left him behind, he drifts through the streets of São Paulo until catching the eye of Ronaldo. The older man takes Baby under his wing and into his home, teaching him how to be an escort and welcoming him into his queer found family.

The relationship that emerges between Baby and Ronaldo is malleable and complex. Part lovers, part father/son, part boss/employee, it oscillates between caring and volatile. Baby, intoxicated by the freedom and empowerment he finds in sex work, forges out on his own, only to discover the true value of his newfound community. Tender and honest, Baby explores the complexities of queer joy with openness and hope.

Synopsis

The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire is an evocative exploration of a remarkable woman whose influence remains largely unacknowledged. Filmed on lush 16mm, the movie immerses viewers in the atmospheric Caribbean landscape, where a film crew gathers to delve into the life and work of Suzanne Césaire — writer, educator, feminist, and co-founder of the Négritude movement. The narrative unfolds through a blend of imagined reenactments and archival inspirations, capturing Aime Césaire’s political engagements and interactions with surrealist André Breton. This approach dissolves conventional timelines, mixing the real and the fictive to create a layered portrait of a woman who defies easy categorization. Director Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich steers away from a straightforward biography, instead crafting a contemplative piece that probes into the enduring mystery of Césaire’s artistic contributions and the challenges of managing motherhood with a career.

Synopsis

Born in South Korea, but adopted by Dutch parents and raised in the Netherlands, Mieke lives happily as a queer woman with her partner in the city of Utrecht. But when her guilt-ridden birth parents reach out to her after years of separation, Mieke’s life is upended. She  must come to grips with who she is, and also who she might have been — made all the more complex by the entrenched homophobia that still exists in South Korean society.

Filmmaker Jota Mun — themself a Korean adoptee — traces Mieke’s story, recounting the events leading up to her reunion and observing her ongoing internal conflicts about her birth parents and where she belongs. Equally affecting is the film’s sympathetic focus on Mieke’s vulnerable mother Okgyun, who desperately seeks forgiveness for giving her daughter up for adoption. Beautifully conceived and profoundly multilayered, Between Goodbyes is a heartbreaking and uplifting story of family, identity, and acceptance.