"Festivals are filmmakers' allies. They help us discover the truth of our work as filmmakers. It's a kind of game that shines a light on hidden gems,” told Enyedi Ildikó, a former LEFFEST juror, to Variety. It is in order to shed light on these “hidden treasures” that the festival continues to give space to recent productions and emerging directors, those who will mark the cinema of the future and whom it is urgent to discover, offering, through the Discoveries section, a selection of different works, guaranteeing options for all tastes.
Lola Arias and Greg Kwedar show prison from another perspective. Reas (Lola Arias) combines the documentary with the musical, in which former inmates re-enact their lives, interweaving fiction with their life in prison, driven by their own memories, or by the imagination of a new future. A film about a women's prison that promises not to be stigmatized - an inter-artistic collective work marked by the multiplicity of identities. Sing Sing (Greg Kwedar), a drama based on a Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, brings together former prisoners who were part of the group with professional actors to follow the story of Divine G, imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, whose emotional burden is lightened by his dedication to the prison's theater group. A story about the regenerative and cathartic power of art in an environment where individual freedom and emotional expression are restricted.
Family and social relations are one of the central themes in these choices - Brief History of a Family (Jianjie Lin) portrays the unrest that erupts when a new member infiltrates a Chinese family in the aftermath of the one-child policy. The director shows how each family has a unique entity and often mirrors what it isn't; it stages what it would like to be; Cu Li Never Cries (Phạm Ngọc Lân) explores the relationship between Nguyen and her niece, who is about to get married due to an unexpected pregnancy. Her aunt disapproves of the marriage and the baby, for fear that her niece will make the same mistakes as her. This is a contemplative and poetic character study that fuses the lived present with the complex echoes of Vietnamese history, in a register that is both realistic and fantastical; Girls Will Be Girls (Shuchi Talati) is a dramatic coming-of-age that portrays Mira's story, and the discovery and exploration of her sexuality. Mira meets Sri, with whom she falls in love, but this enthusiasm and attraction complicates her relationship with her mother, who has never been able to experience the same freedom.
L'Histoire de Souleymane (Boris Lojkine) and Les Fantômes (Jonathan Millet) address the challenges and traumas faced by immigrants and refugees in Europe, reflecting their struggles. In Lojkine's film, we follow Souleymane, a Guinean immigrant in France, who seeks asylum while facing the brutality of urban life, bureaucracy and conflicts with the police. Millet's work features Hamid, a Syrian refugee who pursues his former torturer, exploring pain and the search for justice. These films turn the protagonists into tragic heroes by showing the complexity of migration and the struggle for a dignified life.
In this order, One Of Those Days When Hemme Dies (Murat Fıratoğlu) shows how laughter coexists with the struggle for survival. Eyüp, who works hard harvesting tomatoes under the scorching sun, has a life marked by contradictions that reflect the tensions of Turkish society. The moments of humor in the film are combined with a deeper reflection on the inequalities of society, proving that, even in challenging contexts, laughter can be a form of resistance and resilience. Kneecap (Rich Peppiatt, Irish Oscar nominee), which combines the profane and the political with irreverent humor, parodies the biographical film. The Irish band of the same name is portrayed in an amusing and authentic way. Riotous humor permeates the group's interactions, highlighting criticisms of British authority, making the film a celebration of Irish culture and an engaging experience.
At the heart of Super Happy Forever (Kohei Igarashi) is a profound reflection on how our past happiness echoes in the present. The love story between Sano and Nagié is a melancholy journey that invites us to explore nostalgia and the fragility of human relationships. As we return to the seaside hotel where happiness once flourished, we are confronted with the reality of mourning and the inevitability of change. Bobby Darin's song “Beyond the Sea” serves as a sonic backdrop that intensifies this exploration of nostalgia.
These ten films are competing for the TAP Revelation Award.