The first Saturday of PÖFF invites you to be enchanted by cinematography. Films created by outstanding maestros are waiting for you in the cinema halls. They will charm you with originality, courage and stories that make you concentrate. Some of them are acutely delicate documentary overviews about being alive. Others' imagination has flown beyond the limits of possibility to discover all that life could be.
The director Taika Waititi, who won audience’s hearts with "Jojo Rabbit", undertakes together with the actor Michael Fassbender the true story of the American-Samoa football team. In 2002 they lost the World Cup qualifying match to Australia by 31-0. Yorgos Lanthimos, the director of the films "The Lobster" and "The Favourite", together with actors Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo once again creates an incredibly extraordinary world. The main character Bella Baxter steps out of her father's shadow to find herself.
„All of Us Strangers” examines family relationships with actor Paul Mescal. Son discovers that his parents, who died 30 years ago, have lived on as they did the day they left. The pain of losing a parent is also spread on the cinema screen in Eeva Mägi’s documentary "Who am I Smiling for?", where 12-year-old Oliver has to say goodbye to his mother, who is fighting with cancer. While "El Paraíso" is about son Julio, who at forty is still captivated by his mother's suffocating love and has not been able to create any other serious relationships.
See PÖFF’s entire Saturday program here!
Director: Eeva Mägi, Country: Estonia
4. nov, Saturday at 17:15; Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
Baltic premiere with filmmakers
Mari, a young woman facing last stage cancer, is fighting fiercely over the custody rights of her children. In the middle of all this, her 12-years-old son Oliver is trying, against all odds, to stay cheerful and brave. In her sensitive and wise way Mari is preparing Oliver for her demise, giving him guidance for life and consolation, promising to be in touch even after her death. A documentary by Eeva Mägi tells a story about the strength of motherly love and fight for her children literally to her last breath.
Director: Andrew Haigh, Countries: USA, United Kingdom
4. nov, Saturday at 18.45; Kino Sõprus
A luxuriantly sad and skin-tinglingly sensual gay romance is propelled by a killer combination of 80s queer pop and a pair of devastating performances from Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal. The main character Adam starts to revisit his childhood home where, mysteriously, he finds his parents still alive and the same age they were at the time of their deaths, more than thirty years before.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos, Countries: USA, Ireland, United Kingdom
4. nov, Saturday at 17:45; Apollo Kino Solaris
Anyone who has followed Yorgos Lanthimos since his early low-budget Greek features can only marvel over the route that has led to the wildly exotic realms of his recent work. The film features a dazzling performance by Emma Stone – if anything, outdoing her revelatory turn in “The Favourite”. Based on the 1992 novel by Alisdair Gray, the film is the story of Bella artificially brought back from the dead with the addition of a new brain and is an outré feminist fable that – despite its mock-Victorian setting – is a film for our times.
Director: Taika Waititi, Countries: USA, United Kingdom
4. nov, Saturday at 21; Apollo Kino Solaris
“Next Goal Wins” follows the infamously terrible American Samoa soccer team, known for a brutal 2001 FIFA match they lost 31-0. With the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around in this humorous and heartfelt underdog story.
Director: Anna Buryachkova, Countries: Ukraine, Netherlands
4. nov, Saturday at 19; Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
After transferring from a downtown high school, Tonia joins a new gang of tough youngsters, trying to find protection and a place to truly belong. They spend their time together, having fun and getting into trouble. Soon Tonia finds herself tangled up in an alluring secret love triangle. Set in the late 1990s Kyiv, this is a story of the young and rebellious amidst the ruins of the Soviet regime. Of those who had to grow up faster due to circumstances but got lost in the adult world. A story that we must constantly remember, because some things only exist in the moment, while others last forever.
Director: Enrico Maria Artale, Country: Italy
4. nov, Saturday at 20.15; Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
Through salsa and merengue dance nights, shared memories, and limited earnings working for a local drug dealer, Julio Cesar and his mother struggle to maintain their love-filled but oppressive lifestyle. The arrival of Ines, an attractive young Colombian drug mule, threatens to unsettle their tenuous stability.
Winner of the Best Actress, Screenplay and Young Cinema Awards at Venice Orizzonti 2023.
Director: Vincent Perez, Country: France
4. nov, Saturday at 21.30; Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
Paris 1887. At that time, the duel is the only way to defend one’s honour. Clément Lacaze, a charismatic master of arms, gets caught in a spiral of destructive violence. He meets Marie-Rose Astié, an early-day feminist, and decides to teach her the complex art of duelling. They will face provocations and join forces to defend their respective honour. A historical adventure film by actor and director Vincent Perez premiered at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival.