Future Frames: Ten New Filmmakers To Follow

Fleeting encounters, a mutual attraction that requires no words. Two lonely people who meet in an unusual place. Leila works as a croupier at a hotel casino in a predominantly male environment; Camil books himself a room in the same hotel… A fragment of the life of a woman whose singular appearance prompts a myriad of questions; Leila, however, guards her privacy assiduously.

Fudo is a drug addict, but after his best friend overdoses he is determined to stay clean. He’s confident that, this time, it’ll definitely work out. With no money and no dignity, he begins the first day of his new life. An optimistically realistic film which reminds us that junkies deserve hope too.

The language of God can’t be learned if you can’t speak it already. Nor can it be recorded or reproduced. Despite this warning, Mithras, a sound engineer, heads out to a sacred reserve to spend a week trying to do just that. Armed with technical equipment, he disturbs a world of endless silence, a world permeated with mysticism and ritual. The seven days spent together with the community at the reserve, however, change not only Mithras but also those who speak the divine language.

Daniel is an officer in a police special operations unit which has been given the task of clearing out a house full of immigrants. He, himself, is a descendant of African newcomers and the situation is made worse by the fact that his brother and mother live in the house as well. The time has come for him to decide whether to remain loyal to the establishment or to his own roots.

Marica’s husband has problems again and, for her, it’s the last straw that prevents her from returning home from work, but it’s also what allows her to finally be on her own. To have the time to reflect upon the life she doesn’t have and possibly can’t ever have. A fragile film about a moment that can change everything in the life of a middle-aged woman.

Fading memories and tough responsibilities that require a clear head, since following one’s heart isn’t enough. These are problems that weigh down upon Amir, a recently widowed man. A perceptive film about the parallels between childhood and parenthood, and about a past we have to accept so we can fully appreciate the present.

“You’re not local anymore,” Marcin is told when he returns to his hometown after spending three years in America. The truth behind this remark becomes very clear to the young man the day after he gets back. Within twenty-four hours he loses everything he’s been looking forward to and has hitherto believed in.

States of depression or mild insanity shouldn’t immediately be viewed as something negative. Talented director Michal Ďuriš portrays a family whose members have known each other for so long that it’s difficult to differentiate between love and cabin fever. Everyone will experience a crisis at some point in their lives, but it’s important to talk about it. Even if it means potential dialogue will be replaced with sticky notes.

One baking hot day a group of youngsters take off for the river. To pass the time they amuse themselves with the story of a man whose pet snake tried to swallow him whole; it seems that, in sharing this tale, they unwittingly set the tone of this lazy, carefree day. The stifling heat and the sensuality of the pervasive natural surroundings awaken feelings that would otherwise have remained well and truly hidden.

Gay saunas have their specific rules, which might be summed up as “what happens in the sauna, stays in the sauna”. And that’s what married couple Ivar and Pål are hoping as they set off with the aim of adding some zest to the partner stereotype. A film about love and about the kind of excesses one should only treat oneself to once in a while.