So Long My Son traces the lives of two families over three decades of social, political and human upheaval in China. Following the loss of a child in a tragic accident, their paths separate. Destinies ebb and flow, and fortunes are transformed under the impact of a country’s changing face. Yet even as their lives diverge, a common search for truth and reconciliation around the tragedy remains.
2020
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Residue
Residue chronicles aspiring filmmaker Jay (Obinna Nwachukwu), who returns to his native Washington, DC to find his old neighborhood is gentrified beyond recognition. Dealing with alienation from his friends, troubled by the disappearance of a loved one and unsure of his place in this new community, Jay confronts issues of identity, isolation and loss on a tumultuous personal journey.
Sorry We Missed You
Ricky, Abby and their two children live in Newcastle. They are a strong family who care for each other. Ricky has skipped from one laboring job to another while Abby, who loves her work, cares for old people. Despite working longer and harder they realize they will never have independence or their own home. It’s now or never; the app revolution offers Ricky a golden opportunity. He and Abby make a bet. She sells her car so Ricky can buy a shiny new van and become a freelance driver, with his own business at last.
The Orphanage
In the late 1980s, fifteen year-old Qodrat lives in the streets of Kabul and sold cinema tickets on the black market. He is a big Bollywood fan and he daydreams himself into some of his favorite movie scenes. One day, the police brings him to a Soviet orphanage. But in Kabul the political situation is changing. Qodrat and all the children want to defend their home.
Ibrahim Handal
Ibrahim Handal is a Palestinian filmmaker and cinematographer from Bethlehem. In 2019 he obtained his BFA in Cinematography at Dar Al-Kalima University. Handal directed several narrative and experimental short films and worked as director of photography for several short films including the Cannes Cinefondation 2019 winner Ambience by Wissam Al Jafari. He has also worked on several feature film productions in Palestine within the camera and lighting departments. Handal’s first feature film is currently in development.
Shorts Program 2
In Collaboration with Clermont- Ferrand
International Short Film Festival
The Present
International Competition / Audience Award
Mohammad Rasoulof
Born in Shiraz, Iran in 1972, he began directing documentaries and short films while studying sociology. After his second film, Iron Island, opportunities for him to make and screen his work grew increasingly restricted. All seven of his feature films have fallen victim to the censor in Iran. In 2010, he was arrested on set while working alongside Jafar Panahi and sentenced to a year in prison. He has won numerous international awards for his work including several prizes in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
A Tale of Three Sisters
A Tale of Three Sisters tells the story of three sisters from a poor village in Central Anatolia. The girls were adopted by affluent families as foster children (in Turkish ‘besleme’) in the hope of improving their lives. However, all three are forced to return to the village due to unforeseen circumstances. When Reyhan returns home pregnant, her father Şevket hastily marries her off to the poor village shepherd Veysel, who is being treated with contempt not only in the village, but also in Şevket’s home.
Asif Kapadia
Asif Kapadia is an Oscar and BAFTA winning director who works across both film and television. His fourth feature ‘SENNA’, the story of the Brazilian motor racing legend Ayrton Senna, was nominated for three Bafta awards, winning Best Documentary and Best Editing.