Love is a dangerous place. Sometimes it’s soft and bright, other times it’s painful and wild, and sometimes it is both at once. This year’s PÖFF’s love films prove that there is no logic or rules when it comes to matters of the heart. The films aren’t only about relationships but also depict the fragility of people, which makes us reach out to each other time after time again, even when the mind asks for the contrary.
These stories take the viewer under the shadows of meet-cutes, silent glances and words left unsaid. There opens an honest view of how difficult it is to keep love and how humane it is to lose it at times without notice. In those films, there are quite a bit of characters who are looking for new beginnings and in addition, those who won’t let go of what’s crumbling apart.
Dead Language tells a story of how one coincidence can change a life. Sand in Your Hair brings to the screen a last chance at love. Therapy and Renovation depict relationships that need honesty more than promises. Vache Folle and Lo-Fi seek redemption through memories, whereas Emergency Exit reminds us that sometimes love is only an unexpected stop on the journey of life.
8th of November, Saturday at 15.30 at Artis cinema
Dir: M.Brezis, O. Binnun (Israel, Czech Republic, Poland)
An unfortunate mistake at an airport takes Aya on an unexpected journey with an unfamiliar man. Throughout this short car ride, her rock-solid marriage’s darker side begins to surface, and forbidden feelings arise. The directors, Mihail Brezis and Oded Binnun, have created a full-length feature film based on their Oscar-nominated short film that explores yearning and the fragility of closeness.
8th of November, Saturday at 19.30 at Apollo Kino Plaza
The world premiere with filmmakers
Dir: M. Verbiejus (Lithuania)
Sand in Your Hair is a touching story about love found later in life. Two people, exhausted by life's experiences but still young at heart, escape society's expectations to find true freedom and love once again. Former ballerina Malvina and artist Kipras, who has had a stroke, begin a journey filled with strawberries, champagne and dreams that they thus far haven’t dared to wish for.
13th of November, Thursday at 20.15 at Apollo Kino Plaza
The world premiere with filmmakers
Dir: L. Miñarro (Spain)
Emergency Exit takes strangers from diverse backgrounds on a mysterious trip that’s not easy to come back from. This surreal and visually captivating journey intertwines life and death, sleep and reality, turning every encounter into something meaningful. Lluís Miñarro pays homage to the timeless magic of cinematography, creating a strange yet poetic world.
15th of November, Saturday at 19.00 at Apollo Kino Plaza
Dir: P. Westerberg (Estonia and Finland)
Therapy takes Finnish film stars to a Northern Estonian manor, where a married couple, both couples therapists, try to save their careers and their relationship. At the beautiful Purekkari Cape, couples participate in various sessions over five days. It results in a witty and heartfelt comedy that showcases that sometimes, those who fix marriages for a living have the most difficulty doing it themselves.
17th of November, Monday at 20.00 at Apollo Kino Plaza
The world premiere with filmmakers
Dir: H. Di. Garcia L. Bentivoglio (France and Switzerland)
In the wild and untamed French mountains lives refugee Cédric Poncet. The former soldier is torn from war and abandoned by the system that shaped him. His daughter and ex-wife now live with her new hostile partner and have alienated Cédric as well. Vache Folle is an emotional film about a man who is at war with himself and the world that has forgotten him.
17th of November, Monday at 17.30 at Apollo Kino Plaza
The world premiere with filmmakers
Dir: A. Durbaş (Turkey)
Lo-Fi is a poetic, visually hypnotising story of a man who, as he moves away, tries to let go of his home and of love. Emre goes through light and darkness, remembering the fragmented moments of his relationships that are dear to him yet painful. Alican Durbaş combines nostalgia and a light show in this film. The result is an intimate and beautiful meditation on love and memory.
20th of November, Thursday at 17.30 at Apollo Kino Plaza
Estonian premiere with filmmakers
Dir: Gabriele Urbonaite (Lithuania, Latvia and Belgium)
Renovation is a sharp and sensitive take on a love story that gets tested in the midst of daily life and internal doubts. Ilona and Matas are preparing for marriage when an Ukrainian worker, Oleg, steps into her life. Oleg wakes up feelings and questions in Ilona that she has avoided for a long time. The crumbling apartment and never-ending renovation become the symbols of her relationship.