How do you know you're ready for life? Rebellious teenagers kick off this new PÖFF week and suddenly see themselves as adults. Next to them, new mothers who do not recognize themselves in their new role take brave but uncertain steps forward in life.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of role models, mothers whose hearts are not afraid of anything, who are ready to do anything to protect their families.
Despite the overlapping themes, Monday's film selection is very diverse and surprises with both a richness of genres, as well as its unique dramatic techniques. Equally interesting is the diversity of settings to the stories here, stretching from the Los Angeles porn industry to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Check out the day 4 schedule here.
Nov. 15, 5:15 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
19-year-old Bella Cherry leaves a small Swedish town and moves to Los Angeles to become the next big porn star. Strong and confident, but also naive, Bella believes she can turn a corrupt system to her advantage. "Pleasure" is a hedonistic, documentary-style drama that explores the raw and shameless operations of the porn industry from a woman's perspective. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Esmaspäev, 15.nov kell 18:30, Coca-Cola Plaza
With director Lena Stahl
When Marlene's son Jason gets into a serious skateboard accident, it becomes a turning point in the woman's life. The boy still feels invincible, but the severity of Jason's injuries suggests that help can only be found at one private Swiss clinic. In a film tracing the mother and son's journey, it is keenly perceptible how the main characters experience both closeness and distance from each other, striving for freedom and overcoming the past.
Nov. 15, Monday at 6:30 p.m., Apollo Kino Solaris
In what was the opening film of the last Venice Film Festival, old master Pedro Almodovar creates a moving drama about the relationship between two new mothers. Middle-aged photographer Janis accidentally falls pregnant during a casual affair. At the maternity hospital, she repeatedly meets a traumatized teenager, Ana, for whom pregnancy is a terrible ordeal. The film was nominated for both the Golden Lion and the Queer Lion in Venice. The film is one of the Oscar favorites for best film of the year.
Nov. 15, 6:15 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
In Focus: Hungary
Juli works as a skilled worker in a brick factory, where the manager falls in love with her, and so a passionate love affair begins. The girl wants a sincere and open relationship, but hides the fact that she is raising a child born out of wedlock. This is the first feature film in film history to show a real birth. In Hungary, it became a huge scandal, which led to great success and many awards in the international film world, including at Cannes and the Berlinale.
Nov. 15, Monday at 8:45 p.m., Kino Artis
Abu-Assad, one of Palestine's most renowned filmmakers, is a two-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner. The real-life story that screened at Toronto, where our heroines fight for their freedom, is full of tension and surprising contradictions. The protagonist of the film, a young mother Reem, falls victim to the owner's blackmail when visiting a hair salon and is forced to start cooperating with the secret service of the occupying power.
Monday, Nov. 15 at 9:15 p.m., Apollo Kino Solaris
The life of Andy, a chef at a top London restaurant, has been in decline for some time. But in one hectic evening, everything that shouldn't happen happens. Food hygiene inspector Lovejoy and Andy's former boss and star chef Alastair pay a surprise visit. The tense situation escalates quickly and the kitchen gets hotter and hotter.