Mohammad Rasoulof

THERE IS NO EVIL

2020 / Germany, Iran and Czech Republic / 151 min / Persian and German with French or English subtitles

Heshmat, an exemplary husband and father, gets up very early every day. Where does he go? Pouya cannot imagine killing another man, yet he is told he must do so. Javad doesn’t know that proposing to his beloved won’t be the only surprise on her birthday. Bahram is a physician but is unable to practice medicine. He has decided to explain to his visiting niece the reason for his life as an outcast. The four stories that comprise Sheytan vojud nadarad (There Is No Evil) offer variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty, asking to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats. Mohammad Rasoulof only creates a loose narrative link between these stories, and yet they are all tragically and inexorably connected. In the context of structural oppression, choice seems to be limited to either resisting or surviving. But with each abruptly interrupted story, we are urged to consider how men and women can assert their freedom even in such situations.

Golden Bear – International Berlin Film Festival 2020

Gianfraco Rosi

NOTTURNO

2020 / Italy / 100 min / Arabic and Kurdish with English subtitles

In this film – shot over a three-year period along the borders between Syria, Iraq, Kurdistan and Lebanon – Gianfranco Rosi gives voice to a human drama that transcends geographical divisions and calendar time, illuminating with encounters and images the daily life that lies behind the continuous tragedy of civil wars, brutal dictatorships, foreign invasions and interference and finally the murderous apocalypse of ISIS. All around, and within the consciousness of all, signs of violence and destruction: but in the foreground is the humanity that reawakens every day from a nocturne that seems infinite.

ARCA CinemaGiovani Award – Best Italian film
Venice Film Festival 2020

François Jacob

SOUS UN MÊME SOLEIL

2020 / (Québec) Canada / 97 min / Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian, English with French subtitles

A poignant documentary directed by François Jacob on a territory torn between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the region of Nagorny Karabakh.

Despite the 1994 ceasefire, there is still no real peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which continue to fight fiercely over the mountainous Nagorny Karabakh region. More than 25 years after the war, nationalistic passions seem as strong as ever. The litany of resentment and accusations continue to be met with denial in an ongoing dialogue of the deaf. With the restraint that comes with our foreigner’s gaze, Under the Same Sun offers an attentive ear, in search of understanding in these young countries with old wounds.

Presented in collaboration with the RIDM

Official selection RIDM 2020 and Hot Docs 2020

Oscar Ruiz Navia

FAIT VIVIR

2019 / Colombie, Canada / Spanish with English and French subtitles / 76 min

Portrait of the GKO orchestra under the eyes of Manuk, a five-year-old.

“Dancing, singing and partying was once forbidden in a lost tropical town” This is how the show MAKONDO begins. Makondo was created by GKO Orchestra, an original company of musicians, dancers, actors and circus artistes based in Montreal and coming from many different places around the world.  FAIT VIVIR tells us the myth of this, out of the ordinary band, through the eyes of Manuk, a five-year-old boy. His imaginative and poetic perspective interlaces documentary material of the band touring through various villages and cities of Colombia, with the staging of the show. The fantasy of the narrator also allows us to know closely the daily life of the creators and the dream that feeds this adventurous project that propels movement and freedom.

Biarritz Latin American Film Festival 2019

Michèle Stephenson

STATELESS

2020 / Canada / 96 min / Haitian Creole and Spanish with French or English subtitles

In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013: the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows the grassroots campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris, as she challenges electoral corruption and fights to protect the right to citizenship for all people.

Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri

EYIMOFE (THIS IS MY DESIRE)

2020 / Nigeria / 116 min / English with English subtitles

A triumph at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, the revelatory debut feature from codirectors (and twin brothers) Arie and Chuko Esiri is a heartrending and hopeful portrait of everyday human endurance in Lagos, Nigeria. Shot on richly textured 16 mm film and infused with the spirit of neorealism, Eyimofe traces the journeys of two distantly connected strangers—Mofe (Jude Akuwudike), an electrician dealing with the fallout of a family tragedy, and Rosa (Temi Ami-Williams), a hairdresser supporting her pregnant teenage sister—as they each pursue their dream of starting a new life in Europe while bumping up against the harsh economic realities of a world in which every interaction is a transaction. From these intimate stories emerges a vivid snapshot of life in contemporary Lagos, whose social fabric is captured in all its vibrancy and complexity.

Matteo Garrone

PINOCCHIO

2019 / Italy, France, United-Kingdom / 125 min / Italian with French or English subtitles

Geppetto, an old woodcarver, receives a piece of wood perfect for his next project: a puppet. But something magical happens – the cheeky puppet begins to talk, and can walk, run and eat like any young boy. Geppetto calls him Pinocchio, and brings him up as his son. But Pinocchio finds it hard to be good. Easily led astray, he tumbles from one misadventure to another as he is tricked, kidnapped and chased by bandits through a fantastical world full of imaginative creatures – from the belly of a giant fish, to the land of toys and the field of miracles. His loyal friend, the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair, tries to make him see that his dream – to be a real boy – can never come true until Pinocchio finally changes his ways.

Paul Tana

CAFFÈ ITALIA, MONTRÉAL

1985 / Québec / 81 min / French and Italian with French subtitles

Avoiding the pitfalls of nostalgia, Paul Tana paints an endearing and nuanced portrait of the Italians of Montreal that mixes archival footage, fiction, personal testimonies and excerpts of a stage play. From the first waves of immigration of the early 20th century to the concert of young rock musician Aldo Nova, the film highlights with touches of humour the contradictions of Quebecois Italians; deeply torn between their attachment to their homeland and their need to be wholly accepted by quebecois society.

Cristi Puiu

Malmkrog

2020 / Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia / 201 min / French and Romanian with English subtitles

Among the guests who come to the mansion of aristocratic landowner Nikolai over Christmas are a politician, a young countess, and a general with his wife. They dine and discuss topics such as progress and morality. As the debate becomes more heated, cultural differences become increasingly apparent. (MUBI)