Artistic Experiments - In Search of New Forms of Expression is a non-competitive section dedicated to showcasing films that stand out for their uniqueness and innovative approach. This selection highlights works that push the boundaries of traditional storytelling, offering fresh and thought-provoking perspectives through bold artistic choices. Each film in this category reflects a commitment to exploring new forms of expression, making it a vibrant platform for experimental cinema.
ABSOLUTE SIMILARITIES
Absolute Similarities is an feature film telling the story of architect Antonina, who obsessively strives to design the perfect bridge. This utopian dream has its source in the relationship between the main character and her twin sister – actress Melania. The process of Antonina creating an innovative bridge design has an intense impact on sisterly bonds. The twinship described is a balancing act between a state of euphoria and love and a state of powerlessness and hatred.
Director: Izabella Gustowska
Cinematographer: Zuzanna Kernbach
Production: Centrum Kultury ZAMEK
Country and year: Poland, 2024
ANIMALIA PARADOXA
A tale of metamorphosis of a post-apocalyptic being. Navigating a labyrinth populated by fantastical creatures, an amphibious humanoid searches for water amid the ruins of a fallen world. In this eclectic fantasy of discarded dreams, echoes of an imaginary sea guide this creature towards a new dawn.
Director: Niles Atallah
Cinematographer: Matías Illanes
Production: Globo Rojo Films
Country and year: Chile, 2024
BOLÉRO
Paris, the Roaring Twenties. Choregrapher Ida Rubinstein chooses Maurice Ravel to compose the music for her next ballet. She wants something bold, something sensual. Well known and established, Ravel finds himself incapable of writing anything. Reliving his memories, facing his old loves and failures, the composer will give birth to his greatest success ever: the Boléro.
Director: Anne Fontaine
Cinematographer: Christophe Beaucarne
Production: Ciné@, Cinéfrance Studios, F Comme Film
Country and year: France, Belgium, 2024
THE HYPERBOREANS
Actress and psychologist Antonia Giesen decides to film a script revealed by a voice within the mind of one of her patients. Seeking collaboration with the filmmaking duo Cristóbal León & Joaquin Cociña, they craft a crossroads of theatre, science fiction, animation and fabulated biopic, populated by parallel worlds and haunted by the shadow of a Chilean Nazi writer as a demonic figure.
Original title: Los hiperbóreos
Directors: Joaquín Cociña, Cristóbal León
Cinematographer: Natalia Medina
Production: Globo Rojo Films, León & Cociña Films
Country and year: Chile, 2024
MANIFESTO
The 13-channel film Manifesto pays homage to the moving tradition and literary beauty of artist manifestos, ultimately questioning the role of the artist in society today. It draws on the writings of Futurists, Dadaists, Fluxus artists, Suprematists, Situationists, Dogma 95 and other artist groups. Performing this ‘manifesto of manifestos’, while inhabiting thirteen different personas – among them a school teacher, a puppeteer, a newsreader, a factory worker and a homeless man – Cate Blanchett imbues new dramatic life into both famous and lesser known words in unexpected contexts.
Director: Julian Rosefeldt
Cinematographer: Christoph Krauss
Production: The Match Factory
Country and year: Germany, 2015
UBU
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Ubu, instigated by his wife, murders King Wenceslau and takes the throne of Poland. Intoxicated by power, this grotesque and cowardly character conducts his reign in an absurd and cruel way, leading his kingdom to ruin. Ubu is a film adaptation of the 19th century Alfred Jarry’s play, a tragicomedy that discloses a parallel with the contemporary world.
Director: Paulo Abreu
Cinematographer: Jorge Quintela
Production: Uma Pedra no Sapato
Country and year: Portugal, 2023