Allen Sunshine

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Film synopsis

Allen Sunshine tells the story of a former music mogul who retreats to an isolated lakeside home to grieve his famous wife’s suicide. He copes by composing ambient-electronic music and nurturing an unexpected friendship with two young boys whom he meets on the lake fishing. Throughout the course of his stages of grief, Allen encounters characters that remind him of what he’s lost and forgotten and what he hopes to gain and reconcile. 

Director’s filmography

Allen Sunshine is Harley’s first feature film, which he shot when he was 22. At 17, Harley was selected as one of 55 filmmakers from around the world to work under the guidance of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog at the EICTV in Cuba. He graduated from NYU in 2021 in the Global Liberal Studies Program with a minor in Creative Writing, Italian and Film Producing. During the program, he lived in Florence, Italy. His short films have been screened at many film festivals around the world. His latest short film Where It’s Beautiful When It Rains premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival. He has also directed and produced music videos for Universal Music Group. ​

Producer’s filmography

Chantal began her career in the entertainment industry as an actress and singer when she became a member of a multi-million-selling duet. She was a Juno nominated artist and achieved critical acclaim for her PBS TV show, which she wrote, starred in and produced, entitled Chantal Live at the Pyramids. Chantal went on to produce her first feature film entitled Hit By Lightning starring Jon Cryer. Chantal has been a creative collaborator and producer for all of her son Harley Chamandy’s films, such as Harley’s award-winning short films The Final Act of Joey Jumbler and Where It’s Beautiful When It Rains. Most recently, she was the producer of Harley’s first feature film Allen Sunshine, and the two plan to collaborate together in the future on both their respective projects.​

Author’s statement

The film first began with an image of a man living alone on a lake with his dog and making electronic music. I was thinking about big vintage synthesizers by a lake. Then, I began to think about celebrity and fame, which has increasingly come to be regarded as an end in itself. The themes of isolation, natural beauty, celebrity, alienation and grief eventually came together in the figure of Allen, who enjoys the trappings of wealth and fame but also contends with the fact that his wife was driven to commit suicide. Allen finds solace in his friendship with two ten-year-old boys, who open his eyes to the simple things that make life worth living. ​

Contact / Presenters

Mother and Son Films
34 Gramercy Park E, New York, United States of America
Email: [email protected]

Chasseurs Films
396 Rue de Chardonnay, J1L 0J3, Sherbrooke, Canada
Email: [email protected]

Harley Chamandy | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 917 502 43 97

Chantal Chamandy | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 514 892 91 07

Era
Era

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Film synopsis

Kosovo, 1990: After a series of unfortunate events, Era and her family are forced to move from Pristina to the village where her grandmother lives. She will need to leave behind her friends, her boyfriend, her life as she knows it and at the same time to comply with the village's rules. As she tries to adapt to the new reality, the dynamics in her life change, redefining her relationship with her parents, her youth, and her future. Things change when she meets Fatos, whose job is to help people escape the country illegally. For Era, he seems like a way out, – but is he? What she really wants is to fight for her own voice. ​

Director’s filmography

Parta Kelmendi was born in Pristina. She studied Film Directing at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Pristina. Since 2000, she has worked for Company 21, a TV network in Kosovo, as a director and producer on TV shows, documentaries, music festivals and short films. Parta's short documentary Birth Does Not Ask When won the Jury Award for Best Albanian Film at the Tirana International Film Festival in 2007. Her short films Selfie (2016) and Girl (2015) screened at the DEA Film Festival in Albania. Era is her debut feature film.​

Producer’s filmography

Aferdita Saracini Kelmendi is General Manager of RTV21, a media company based in Pristina, Kosovo, which includes a radio station, television channels, websites, YouTube channels, and an IPTV platform in Kosovo and North Macedonia. During her life long career, Aferdita has produced many tv &TV and music shows, documentaries, and short films. She is an award - winning journalist and entrepreneur.​

Marija Dimitrova entered the film industry in 2013. In 2016, she established her own company List Production and produced Dina Duma’s debut feature Sisterhood, which won the Special Jury Prize at Karlovy Vary in 2021. She is currently working on her second feature film, Goran Stolevski’s Housekeeping for Beginners, and has new projects by Igor Ivanov Izi and Lidija Mojsovska in development. 

Author’s statement

Era is a powerful coming-of-age story about the resilience and hope that we all need in our lives. My aim with this film was to create a compelling and emotional film that resonates with audiences. Despite the specific setting of Kosovo in the 1990s, Era's journey is one that people of all cultures and backgrounds can relate to. It is a film that is both personal and universal. I created Era to explore the powerful journey of transformation we all go through in life. In a world that is so often filled with uncertainty, by showing how one individual can overcome significant hardship, Era offers a message of hope and positivity that is much needed in this day and age. It's a story about finding one's strength, standing up for one's voice, and discovering the things in life that truly matter in life.​

Contact / Presenters

RTV21 & Nam Creative
Pristina, Kosovo
Email: [email protected]

List Production
Skopje, North Macedonia
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +38 970 36 23 32

Parta Kelmendi | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +38 344 155 921

Marija Dimitrova | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +39 070 362 332

Family Therapy
Družinska terapija

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Film synopsis

When a young stranger enters a seemingly perfect family, the idyllic bubble they had been living in bursts and the chaos of the outside world infiltrates their lives, revealing their flaws, deepest fears, and dreams.​

Director’s filmography

Sonja’s History of Love received an award at the Crystal Globe Competition, Karlovy Vary IFF 2018. Her accolades include representation at Slamdance as one of the four globally selected directors, at Cineuropa as one of eight European female directors to watch, and selection into the Eurimages Gold Album. Both of her acclaimed films, The Tree and History of Love, served as official Oscar entries (2016, 2020). She glides successfully between drama, comedy (short Paradise, 2019) and TV series (Trigrad, nominated for the Heart of Sarajevo in seven categories at Sarajevo FF 2023). With her third feature Family Therapy, she combines comedy with her distinctive artistic vision, creating a unique cinematic experience.​

Producer’s filmography

Rok co-founded the film production company Monoo in 2005. Over the years, he has produced feature films, co-productions and shorts. He is also an EAVE Producers Academy alumnus and received an EAVE Award at WEMW Trieste Co-production Forum in 2016. In 2018, he was selected to the European Film Promotion programme – Producers on the Move at Cannes Film Festival. He also took part in the Midpoint programme for screenwriting and film dramaturgy (FAMU). As a producer, he is deeply involved in every project through all its stages, from script development to distribution. His films are highly critically acclaimed and have garnered important international and national awards. The feature films he has produced or co-produced (The Son, History of Love, The Tree) were Oscar candidates in their respective countries.​

Author’s statement

When our family car caught fire during my childhood, a passing car, gleaming and flawless, carrying a seemingly perfect family didn't stop to help. This memory sparked Family Therapy, a film that revolves around a family residing in a glass house, exuding an air of detached superiority. Serving as a satirical backdrop, this setup sets the stage for chaos, unravelling their dysfunctional relationships: Olivia’s smothering overprotectiveness towards Agata, Aleksander's escapism fuelled by dreams of family space travel, and the secret hidden beneath Agata's wig. Through the family's story, we also delve into contemporary social issues in the tone of a dark comedy-drama.​

Contact / Presenters

Monoo
Kvedrova cesta 36, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Email: [email protected]

Sonja Prosenc | Director

Rok Sečen | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +386 41 86 57 51

The Garden of Earthly Delights
The Garden of Earthly Delights

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Film synopsis

In the stormy slums of bustling Manila, eleven-year-old street urchin, Ginto, dreams of escaping his scavenger life to become a gangster while grappling with his blossoming sexuality. Meanwhile, Dutch tourist Michael's world crumbles when he discovers he's been deceived by his online Filipino girlfriend, leading him to the underbelly of the city’s red light district, where desire meets sinister demand. As their paths converge, Western wealth and postcolonial poverty collide, creating a brutal and cinematically stunning venture into the garden of earthly delights.​

Director’s filmography

Morgan Knibbe gained international acclaim with his short film Shipwreck (Silver Leopard winner) and his feature-length documentary debut Those Who Feel the Fire Burning.
​Both films received more than 30 international awards, including three Dutch Academy awards, and EFA and IDFA main-competition nominations.
Knibbe made the short documentary The Atomic Soldiers, featuring some of the last surviving American atomic veterans who – after more than four decades of forced silence – share their unfathomable experiences with nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s. The documentary was also published by The New York Times and The Atlantic.
His fiction feature debut, The Garden of Earthly Delights, is currently in post-production.

Producer’s filmography

With Amsterdam-based BALDR Film (est. 2011), producer Frank Hoeve focuses on developing and (co-)producing challenging, director-driven films with a distinctive personal signature. Not risk-averse, he keeps urgent content and artistry at the core of his work.
​His credits include Those Who Feel the Fire Burning by Morgan Knibbe (2014, IDFA, two Dutch Academy Awards), Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story by Stephane Kaas (2017, International Emmy Award) and Mitraby Kaweh Modiri (2021, IFFR).
BALDR Film’s latest (co-)productions have been released at major festivals; Sick, Sick, Sick by Alice Furtado (2019, Cannes Directors Fortnight), Window Boy Would also Like to Have a Submarine by Alex Piperno (2020, Berlinale) and Along the Way by Mijke de Jong (2022, Opening Film IFFR).

Author’s statement

This film exposes postcolonial inequalities that persist globally, confronting audiences with realities that are often conveniently ignored. Privilege lies in looking away. Using the power of cinema, we strive to expose exploitation and marginalization, inspire collective action and contribute to a more equitable and inclusive society while holding the utmost respect for the people we portray. This film was a collective endeavor between West and East, embracing diverse perspectives and amplifying authentic narratives to deconstruct harmful stereotypes. At its core, respect is the guiding principle that we aim to instill not only in ourselves, but also in the hearts of our audiences.​

Contact / Presenters

BALDR Film
Da Costakade 176H, 1053 XE, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Email: [email protected]

Frank Hoeve | Producer
Email: [email protected]

I Don't Love You Anymore
Už tě nemám rád

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Film synopsis

Marek (13) films socially themed videos, making him an outsider among his classmates. At home, his mother's new acquaintance disrupts their idyllic relationship. In the most sensitive phase of his life, he crosses paths with Tereza (12). Despite their social differences, they develop a liking for each other. Teenage games spiral out of control with a simulated kidnapping, culminating in a running-away from home. They board a train heading for the farthest destination. After a series of spontaneous adventures, they get lost in a labyrinth of endless freedom. The attraction of desperation turns into the taste of loneliness and fear of the unknown, and emotional outbursts begin to drown in the loss of illusions.

Director’s filmography

Born in 1969, Zdeněk Jiráský graduated with a MA degree in script writing from FAMU. After completing his film studies, he directed several successful documentaries, and his first feature Flower Buds received four Czech Academy Awards including Best Feature and Best Director. He also won a Silver Hugo at Chicago IFF, a Flash Forward Award at Pusan IFF and a FEDEORA Award at Karlovy Vary IFF.

Producer’s filmography

Born in 1965, Jordi Niubó is a Czech - Spanish filmmaker with a MA degree in directing from FAMU. In 2005, after 15 years of directing documentary films, TV commercials and music videos, Jordi co-founded an i/o post film production and postproduction company that soon became an important coproduction partner of Czech and foreign filmmakers. Jordi has worked as a Czech producer representing i/o post on various international projects, such as Silent Land, A. Woszczyńska (Poland), Piargy, I. Trajkov (Slovakia), Mikado, E. Pârvu (Romania), Oroslan, M. Ivanišin (Slovenia), Punk is Now, J. Šlauka (Slovakia), A Very Ordinary Citizen, M. Barzegar (Iran), Honey Night, I. Trajkov (Macedonia), In Silence, Z. Jiráský (Slovakia) or Third Half, D. Mitrevski (Macedonia), and also on i/o post´s first feature release Like in a Movie by T. Svoboda.

Author’s statement

The concept of the story of two children on a journey was rooted in the tradition of realism. Our method aimed for maximum creative freedom. I was intrigued by a certain impenetrability of the teenage world, the desire for free thinking and independence. We often improvised, considering the naturalness of the adolescent actors. The focus was primarily on authenticity and truthfulness; I didn't want to moralize.

Contact / Presenters

i/o post
Dienzenhoferovy sady 1, 15000, Praha 5, Czech Republic
Email: [email protected]

Jordi Niubó | Producer
Email: [email protected]

Pasárgada

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Film synopsis

During her secret mission in the middle of the tropical forest, Irene (50), a lonely ornithologist, feels the effects that the full exuberance of this place provokes in her body and mind. When the true purpose of her mission is revealed, it brings to the surface the ambiguity between her desires and her duty in the face of the illegal trafficking of wild birds that threatens this paradise. She starts to question her new sanctuary, which may also be her own abyss.​

Director’s filmography

Dira Paes is one of the most awarded actresses in Brazilian cinema. She began her career in the super production The Emerald Forest (clôture film at Cannes 1985), and worked on remarkable Brazilian productions, including Divine Love (Sundance 2019 and Panorama at Berlinale 2019), Bog of Beasts (Tiger Award at IFFR 2007), The Dead Girl's Feast (Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2008), and Two Sons Of Francisco, one of Brazil's highest-grossing films. Dira has acted in 38 feature films, 7 series, and 16 soap operas. Pasárgada marks Dira's debut as director.

Producer’s filmography

Eliane Ferreira is the founder of the Brazilian production company Muiraquitã Filmes. She has produced and co-produced over 15 films, including titles such as Homing by Helvécio Marins Jr., which featured in the Forum section at Berlinale and Best Film at Jeonju IFF in 2019; Cinema Morocco by Ricardo Calil, winner of the Golden Dove in the Next Masters Competition at Dok Leipzig IFF 2018; I Owe You a Letter About Brazil by Carol Benjamin, Honourable Mention at IDFA 2019; Fabricating Tom Zé, Best Documentary by Popular Jury at Rio IFF and São Paulo IFF in 2006; and Fish Dreams by Kirill Mikhanovsky, winner of the Prix Jeune at Critics Week at Cannes Film Festival 2006.​

Author’s statement

As an actress, I always wanted to live the experience of filmmaking in all its creation, starting from an original idea. During the pandemic, after escaping to a farm in the middle of the tropical forest, I had this immersion where I defined Irene: an ornithologist rediscovering her tropicality and trying to face her dilemmas. This character interested me not only as an actress, but, above all, as a director. Having been born in the Amazon, two other layers emerged strongly within me while writing the script: the alarming scale of wild animals international trafficking, and nature, which is also a character and the ruler of Irene’s inner journey and destiny.

Contact / Presenters

Muiraquitã Filmes
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Email: [email protected]

Ímã Filmes
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Email: [email protected]

Dira Paes | Director, Producer
Email: [email protected]

Eliane Ferreira | Producer
Email: [email protected]

Pablo Baião | Producer, Cinematographer
Email: [email protected]

Raw Material
Nyersanyag

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Film synopsis

A young film director Tamás is invited to a village to lead a summer art workshop for kids. He quickly discovers that the village is overrun with corruption and exploitation. He starts an investigation into the abusive mayor and exposes him by shooting a documentary, but his good intentions threaten everyone involved. The mayor finds out about Tamás' new mission, the locals turn against each other, and what began as an easy-going summer adventure results in disaster. Martin Boross’ feature debut is a critical reflection on the filmmakers’ responsibility and harmful activism in an all-too-familiar microcosm of oppression. ​

Director’s filmography

Martin Boross (born 1988) is a theatre director, writer, performer and emerging film director. He is the artistic director of STEREO AKT, a Budapest-based contemporary theatre collective, and earned his degree in Dramaturgy in 2013 at Budapest’s University of Theatre and Film Arts. Since 2011, he has directed 20 theatre shows, including on-stage and site-specific pieces, and his work has been presented by theatres in 36 cities in 11 countries. His post-dramatic works are often interdisciplinary, immersive and political, often inspired by or making use of documentary material. In 2016, he received the Junior Prima award, the most prestigious recognition artists under 30 can receive in Hungary.

Producer’s filmography

Gábor Osváth is a Budapest-based Hungarian producer who has produced seven feature films, several documentaries and numerous award-winning animated short films. His most recent films include Christmas Flame (the highest grossing Hungarian film of the past four years), 27 (Cannes Palme d'Or for short film, 2023), the Czech-Slovak-Hungarian stop-motion feature film Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light, and the Polish-Hungarian feature film Budapest Diaries, which is now in post-production.​

Author’s statement

The idea for the story came out of my experience in filming a documentary, which centred on a group of teenagers in a Roma-majority Hungarian village. During filming, we came across the ethical questions that we must face when making works with and about marginalized groups: Who has authorship? When should we intervene? What happens to our carefully built relationships after a project ends? I began playing with the idea of activism-gone-wrong and a story in which the artists lie to themselves about the effect and importance of their work and think they can solve a community’s problems better than the community itself. Raw Material is a social drama with a mixed cast of professional and non-professional actors.

Contact / Presenters

Filmfabriq
Fadrusz utca 26/b, 1114, Budapest, Hungary
Email: [email protected]

Martin Boross | Director
Email: [email protected]

Gábor Osváth | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +36 306 677 613

The Woman Who Cries
A Mulher que chora

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Film synopsis

Miguel, a seven-year-old boy, lives with three generations of estranged women in an old house. Among them is his mother who, adrift with the trauma of her divorce, distances herself from the boy. Miguel takes refuge in Carmen, an enigmatic Venezuelan immigrant who works as a maid for his Brazilian family. Carmen becomes an ambiguous mother figure to the boy and develops an intimate and unusual bond with him by triggering his inner world and introducing him to a universe in which the real and the imaginary intertwine.​​

Director’s filmography

Venezuelan director and screenwriter George Walker Torres graduated in film directing from the FEMIS film school and in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. As well as his short fiction films, his two feature documentaries won awards at major festivals like Biarritz, Amiens, Havana, Hong Kong, Munich and Cartagena. Currently based in Brazil, he has recently worked as a screenwriter for the feature film Marighella, directed by Wagner Moura and recently premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and the feature film Rio Do Desejo, directed by Sérgio Machado and premiered at Tallin Black Nights Festival.​

Producer’s filmography

Producer of Private Desert (Audience Award at the Giornate degli Autori Venice), Rust (Sundance, Best Film Festival in Gramado), To My Beloved (7 Festival Awards in Brasilia, Silver Zenith in Montreal, San Sebastian), Jesus Kid (3 prizes in Gramado), Circular (Rio Festival), Us by Us (UN Prize at Dok Leipzig), Arid Zone (Special Mention at Dok Leizpig), Remains of a Man (Helena Ignez Prize at Mostra de Tiradentes), Quadrangle (Cannes), The Parking Lot (Best Short Film Festival in Rio), The Factory (Oscar shortlist, Special Mention Clermont Ferrand), and others. Founder and Artistic Director of Olhar de Cinema – Curitiba International Film Festival.​

Author’s statement

When I was growing up in Caracas, I was very close to a maid who worked at my house. Then, my mother fired her and I never saw her again. I remember how painful it was to see her disappear forever. This is the starting point of our movie. A personal and bitter-sweet childhood tale rooted in the feeling of humiliation and loneliness in the context of contemporary Latin-America. Our young hero takes refuge from his emotional turmoil in his nanny from Venezuela. The ambiguous bond he creates with her triggers in him the evocative power of childhood, where the real and imaginary collide. A film about what builds us as human beings, how we deal with our past scars, not trying to eradicate them, but trying to live with them.​

Contact / Presenters

Grafo Audiovisual
Desembargador Motta St. 3655, 80.430-152, Curitiba, Brazil
Email: [email protected]

George Walker Torres | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +55 11 989505060

Antonio Gonçalves | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +55 41 992464474