Directed by: Ferit Karahan
Turkey, Romania, 2021, 85 min

When Memo, a pupil at an isolated Kurdish boarding school, falls sick, his friend Yusuf quickly tries to find help. But instead of understanding from the teachers, he runs up against bureaucracy and an unwillingness to get involved. After the school is struck by a blizzard and the patient’s state worsens, the atmosphere among the teachers and pupils thickens and the finger-pointing starts…

Directed by: Nadine Labaki
Lebanon, France, USA, 2018, 126 min

Twelve-year-old Zain, who is sent to a juvenile prison for a violent crime, decides to sue his parents for having given him life. Shot from a child’s perspective, Nadine Labaki’s film takes an uncompromising look at the poorest stratum of Lebanese society, where a child’s outlook for a better future is rarely encouraging.

Directed by: Sébastien Lifshitz
France, 2020, 85 min

Ever since she was very little, 7-year-old Sasha has always felt like a girl inside, even though she was born in a boy’s body. She is growing up in a loving family, however, the outside world systematically questions her identity… In his documentary Sébastien Lifshitz submits a compelling commentary on the issue of gender identity while, at the same time, portraying with great tenderness the girl’s vibrant inner world, her family environment and her struggle to gain acceptance and understanding from the people around her.

Directed by: Hirokazu Koreeda
Japan, 2018, 121 min

Osamu lives with his family in makeshift accommodation on the edge of town and “earns” extra money by engaging in theft. After one of his heists, he takes the neglected young girl Yuri under his wing, but this sets in motion an unexpected sequence of events that reveal a long hidden family secret. A multi-layered drama that artfully redefines the concept of family and places responsibility for others above social norms.

Directed by: Carla Simón
Spain, 2017, 97 min

After the sudden death of her parents, six-year-old Frida moves from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona to live with her aunt and uncle in rural Catalonia, where time moves more slowly, as does the local way of life. Confronted with a strange environment, new family members, and with feelings that are unfamiliar to her, the little girl deals with these as she sees fit, and running away often appears to present the simplest solution.