We start the week by introducing a few of PÖFF's most unique characters: films that juggle biting satire, mind-bending thought experiments and absurdist escapism.
The biggest blows are distributed to the rigid systems of society, the silencer of originality, the dampeners of creativity. The result is a cinematic stab to the heart. Fortunately, these hearts are all so large that they can resist the indifference of the whole world.
Official Competition
Nov. 12, Friday at 9 p.m., Apollo Kino Solaris
With thinly veiled egomania and enjoyably absurd behind-the-scenes scenes, this icy satire takes an ironic look at the world of film. An 80-year-old pharmaceutical magnate buys the rights to a Nobel Prize-winning novel and entrusts it to filmmaker Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz). Lola chooses two different actors for the lead roles: theater legend Iván Torres (Oscar Martínez) and heartbreaker Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas).
Things Worth Weeping For
Nov. 13, Saturday at 3 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
Maja is moving out of her student apartment when her evening takes a sudden and surprising turn: she stumbles upon an old relative who is undoubtedly dead. None of the family members can help Maja. Only her childhood friend Sara is there. Maja tries her best to get rid of her, but Sara seems intent on sharing every one of her latest success stories. Hours pass and two women are still sitting with the body. The situation becomes absurd.
Wild Men
Nov. 16, Tuesday at 7 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
"Wild Men" is a black comedy full of absurd situations and vividly written characters. For men, it offers the joy of recognition and, for women, it’s a usefully, educational aid. Martin, a father of two, is a middle-aged husband struggling with a mid-life-crisis. To escape this anxious situation, he heads to the mountains of Norway, to the primeval hills, where he hunts for food and dresses like his ancestors did thousands of years ago.
Herd Immunity
Nov. 19, Friday at 9 p.m., iSense hall at Coca-Cola Plaza
World premiere. With Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Olga Khlasheva, Ablaikhan Ashimov, Sanam Revayeva & Daniyar Alshinov
Only a few directors in the world can make three different films in one year. The tireless Kazakh workaholic Ädilhan Jerzhanov is one of them. His loyal actor favourites reunite in one of the wittiest and most enjoyable comedies of the Official Selection program: a real satire, charged with improvised dances, weapons and masks, in a pandemic quarantine that has reached even the distant village of Karatas, awash with rampant corruption and lawlessness.
A Kaddish for Bernie Maddoff
Nov. 21, Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
International premiere. With Alicia J. Rose and Alicia Jo Rabins
The film tells the true story of Bernie Madoff and the system that allowed him to operate for decades until the financial crash unexpectedly hit. Our central musician and poet has an unshakable obsession: to understand a man who collapsed the global economy and, at the same time, looked exactly like a normal Jewish dad. There is no boring moment in this wild combination of musical memories and narrative fantasy.
My Parents' Divorce
Wednesday, Nov. 24, at 9:15 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
International premiere. With Romy Trajman and Marielle Sadeh
Romy was a teenager when her parents divorced. She has not met his father since. She was raised by her mother, with whom she has a very close relationship: not only personal, but also professionally creative. As an adult young woman, she is troubled by the question of why her parents divorced. Together with her friend Anaïs, she goes to her father in Brussels, but the answers are not easy to hear.
Big Night
Nov. 25, Thursday at 8:30 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
World premiere. With Josabeth Alonso
The film follows one long evening and night in the life of Dharna: a law-abiding and peace-loving beautician. When he finds out that he is on a list of alleged drug addicts, he must race against time to save his own life. Dharna's journey through hell is orchestrated through determined directorial work, resulting in a comedy farce that sharply criticizes a society with bafflingly twisted values.
The Best of Salieri
Nov. 25, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Coca-Cola Plaza
The director, who here considers himself Mozart, has been waiting for a big breakthrough for years while working the festival circuit with his films. Unless something changes, justice must be found through force and his genius shown to the world. Taking a bath, the great revelation of the director strikes - a manifesto sees the light of day, to open the eyes of the world. In a frenzy of greatness, the director begins a crusade against this monstrous enemy, the system (read: political correctness).