14-year-old Zeina and her family are the last to have stayed in their besieged hometown of Damascus in Syria. When a missile rips a giant hole in their home, an unimaginable world of possibility opens up for Zeina. As the violence outside escalates, the family is pressured to evacuate, but Mutaz, her father, is adamant that they stay, refusing to flee to the uncertain life of a refugee. Zeina and her mother must make the choice whether to stay or leave.
In a world hit by a wave of mutations that are gradually transforming some humans into animals, François does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, he embarks with Emile, their 16-year-old son, on a quest that will change their lives forever.
This documentary follows Roman Polanski in the city where he grew up as a child, alongside his lifelong friend, the photographer Ryszard Horowitz, a Holocaust survivor whom we met in the Jewish ghetto of Kraków during the Second World War. Together, they wander around the streets and confront their memories…
USSR, 1938. At the height of the Great Terror, Stalin purges his own ranks. Aware that it is his turn to be condemned, Captain Volkonogov escapes. As he flees, he is struck by a vision: to save his soul, he must confront the families of his victims and receive their forgiveness.
Four Daughters – Kaouther BEN HANIA – 22:30 (France)
Points of view 2023
Cinéma La Comète
With the director Kaouther Ben Hania and the producer Nadim Cheikhoura in person.
Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. To fill in their absence, the filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses and invents a unique cinema experience that will lift the veil on Olfa and her daughters’ life stories. An intimate journey of hope, rebellion, violence, transmission and sisterhood that will question the very foundations of our societies.
Alsace in the late summer of 1918. Luise, a young farmer, lives alone on an isolated farm near the French border. One morning, in her house, she discovers Hélène, a French woman pursued by Hermann, a German soldier. Being injured, Hermann is forced to stay on the farm for a while, even though this makes him a deserter. Luise decides to give them both shelter. While the two women get closer to each other, Hermann feels increasingly excluded and tries to stand in their way.
Syrian refugee Ahmed hopes to find love with Mehdia, an Ethiopian cleaner. But in Beirut that seems impossible… Will these refugee lovers find a way to be free as Ahmed, a survivor of the war in Syria, seems afflicted by a mysterious illness that turns his body little by little into metal?
1980. Southern Iran. The people of Abadan have been fighting an Iraqi siege. Amongst them is the 14-year-old Omid, who chose to stay in the city with his grandfather, waiting for his elder brother to return from the frontline. But how can you resist in a war without taking up arms? Then Omid finds an abandoned ship in Abadan’s harbor. Is this the answer to saving the people he loves?
From Where They Stood – Christophe COGNET – 15:40 (France)
Points of view 2023Shared recollections #11
Lycée Bayen
With director Christophe Cognet in person.
A handful of prisoners in WWII camps risked their lives to take clandestine photographs and document the hell the Nazis were hiding from the world. In the vestiges of the camps, director Christophe Cognet retraces the footsteps of these courageous men and women in a quest to unearth the circumstances and the stories behind their photographs, composing as such an archeology of images as acts of defiance.
This unique cinematic experience dives deep into an artist’s work and reveals his life path, inspiration, and creative process. It explores his fascination with myth and history. Past and present are interwoven to diffuse the line between film and painting, allowing the audience to be completely immersed in the remarkable world of one of the greatest contemporary artists, Anselm Kiefer. Wim Wenders shot this unique portrait over the course of two years in stunning 3D.
They Shot the Piano Player – Fernando TRUEBA – Javier MARISCAL – 20:40 (Spain)
Points of view 2023Rock'n' War/Art'n'War #7
Cinéma La Comète
PREMIERE
A New York music journalist sets out to find the truth behind the tragic disappearance of young Brazilian piano virtuoso Tenorio Jr. Celebrating the world-renowned Latin music movement Bossa Nova, They Shot The Piano Player captures a fleeting period of creative freedom at a turning point in Latin American history in the 1960s and 1970s, just before the continent was engulfed by totalitarian regimes.
The Survival of Kindness – Rolf DE HEER – 15:40 (Australia)
Points of view 2023
Cinéma La Comète
With the presence of the director Rolf De Heer.
PREMIERE
In a cage on a trailer in the middle of the desert, BlackWoman is abandoned. But BlackWoman seems not ready to pass...she escapes, and walks through pestilence and persecution, from desert to canyon to mountain to city, on a quest that leads to a city, recapture and tragedy.
