The Return of the Projectionist Le Retour du projectionniste
Synopsis
In this real-life tale set in a remote village in Azerbaijan’s Talysh mountains, elderly TV repairman Samid dusts off his old Soviet film projector with dreams of bringing movies on the big screen back to his rural community. When he meets Ayaz, a tech-savvy young man who creates short animated movies on his cell phone, the two join forces to realize Samid’s vision. But first, he must get a new projector bulb all the way from Lithuania and overcome skepticism among some of the town’s more conservative citizens.
Impeccably photographed and suffused with its protagonists’ love of cinema, The Return of the Projectionist unfolds with the sublime simplicity of the Iranian New Wave and the charm of Cinema Paradiso. Against the backdrop of Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Samid and Ayaz’s goals may seem trivial, but their everyday struggles — between tradition and modernity, past and future — resonate deeply.
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Media
Film Credits
- François-Pierre Clavel, Alexandre Perrier, Lino Rettinger
- Orkhan Aghazadeh
- Nicole Schmeier
- Daniel Guliyev
- Kidam, Lichtblick films
Sponsors
Documentary Program Partner
Documentary Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
With Support From
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The Brink of Dreams
Nada Riyadh & Ayman El AmirEgypt, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
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Synopsis
Seville, summer 1984. Seven-year-old Rita lives in a humble working-class neighborhood with her parents and little brother. Through the sensorial experience of the textures of everyday life, Rita experiences the world around her: the oppressive heat, the tense air in the apartment, her father’s anger, a crash from the next room, her mother’s hushed phone calls in the kitchen, the strange purple marks around her mother’s eye. As Rita begins to sense the rising danger at home, she retreats farther into her imagination — until she is forced to awaken from her innocence.
Legendary Spanish actress Paz Vega (Sex and Lucía) lends a powerful performance as Rita’s mother, and also emerges as a director to watch through her delicate and poignant portrayal of the young girl’s interiority. Rita is a deeply personal and moving exploration of domestic violence as experienced through the eyes of a child.
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Film Credits
- Marta Velasco, Gonzalo Bendala
- Paz Vega
- Ana Álvarez Ossorio
- Eva Díaz
- Paz Vega, Roberto Álamo, Sofía Allepuz, Alejandro Escamilla
- Pablo Cervantes
- Marta Velasco
- Áralan Films
- https://filmaxinternationalsales.com/film/rita
Sponsors
New Directors Program Patron
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation
With Support From
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The Room Next Door
Synopsis
In celebrated Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, Julianne Moore stars as Ingrid, a best-selling writer who reconnects after many years with her close childhood friend Martha — a war journalist played by Tilda Swinton. As the two reunite and rekindle their relationship, Martha makes a request of Ingrid that will test their newly reforged bond.
Like his acclaimed films Parallel Mothers, Talk to Her, and Volver — to name a few —The Room Next Door is a beautifully crafted drama that continues Almodóvar’s perceptive, emotional exploration of women’s inner lives. Featuring luminous performances by Moore and Swinton and his signature saturated color palette, Almodóvar’s latest masterwork is an exquisite and heartbreaking story of life, death, and friendship.
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Film Credits
- Agustín Almodóvar
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Teresa Font
- Eduard Grau
- Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola
- Alberto Iglesias
- Esther García
- El Deseo
- https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/theroomnextdoor
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The Rule of Jenny Pen
Synopsis
Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush), an elderly judge, moves into a retirement home after a near-fatal stroke leaves him partially paralyzed. There, Mortensen clashes with another resident, the slightly off-kilter Dave Crealy (John Lithgow), who secretly terrorizes the residents with a sadistic, doll-based game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen.” Although it’s supposed to be used for dementia therapy, in Crealy’s hand the puppet is an instrument of torture. As Crealy’s actions escalate, Mortensen must struggle against his own aging body and mind to put an end to Crealy’s reign of terror.
In one of the most unexpected performances of the year, Oscar-nominated actor John Lithgow (also in this year’s Conclave) delivers a marvelously menacing performance as the perverse Crealy, while Oscar-winner Rush (Shine) is a formidable match. Full of creepily twisted and originally unsetting set pieces, The Rule of Jenny Pen doesn’t just tap into the universal fear of death, but also the perils of getting old.
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Film Credits
- Catherine Fitzgerald, Orlando Stewart
- Eli Kent, James Ashcroft
- Gretchen Peterson
- Matt Henley
- John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush, George Henare
- John Gibson
- Blueskin Films
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Santosh
Synopsis
As the result of an obscure government rule, the newly widowed Santosh has no choice but to take up her husband’s former post as a police officer in order to keep his pension. Then a lower-caste girl is found dead in rural Northern India, and Santosh finds herself at the center of an investigation under the tutelage of no-nonsense feminist inspector Sharma. As the intrigue deepens, Santosh must navigate a complicated web of corruption, misogyny, and murder.
A star turn from Shahana Goswami in the title role leads audiences through the twists and turns of Santosh’s exhilarating plot, making for an unforgettable, finely crafted study of power and those who wield it.
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Film Credits
- Mike Goodridge, James Bowsher, Balthazar De Ganay, Alan McAlex
- Sandhya Suri
- Maxime Pozzi-Garcia
- Lennert Hillege
- Shahana Goswami, Sunita Rajwar
- Luisa Gerstein
- Good Chaos, Razor Film Produktion, Haut et Court, BBC Film
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