We announce the line-up of the Special Screenings section of this year's EnergaCAMERIMAGE.
AMRUM
Director: Fatih Akin
Cinematographer: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Produced by: Bombero International
Country and year: Germany, 2025
Amrum Island, spring 1945. In the final days of the war, 12-year-old Nanning braves the treacherous sea to hunt seals, fishes at night and works on a nearby farm to help his mother feed the family. Despite the hardship, life on the beautiful, windswept island almost feels like paradise. But when peace finally comes, it reveals a deeper threat: the enemy is far closer than he ever imagined.
BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER
Director: Edward Berger
Cinematographer: James Friend
Produced by: Good Chaos, Nine Hours, Stigma Films
Country and year: Germany, UK, 2025
When his past and debts begin to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler lying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.
FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Cinematographers: Frederick Elmes, Yorick Le Saux
Produced by: Animal Kingdom Films, badjetlag, CG Cinéma, Hail Mary Pictures
Country and year: USA, Italy, France, Ireland, Germany, 2025
The three stories all concern the relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parent (or parents), and each other. Each of the three chapters takes place in the present, each in a different country. Father is set in the north-east US, Mother in Dublin, Ireland, and Sister Brother in Paris, France. Jim Jarmusch’s film is a series of quiet, observational and non-judgemental character studies, a comedy interwoven with threads of melancholy.
FRANKENSTEIN
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cinematographer: Dan Laustsen
Produced by: Bluegrass Films, Demilo Films, Double Dare You
Country and year: Mexico, USA, 2025
Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant yet egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. A retelling of the classic novel about what it means to be human, to crave love and to seek understanding.
LEGEND OF THE HAPPY WORKER
Director: Duwayne Dunham
Cinematographer: Duwayne Dunham
Produced by: Arts3, Vineyard Film Productions
Country and year: USA, 2025
Legend of the Happy Worker is a fable for a world gone berserk – a human comedy in which a reluctant hero is thrust into a position of control, leading to his fall from grace and ultimately to his redemption. It is a unique tale of faith, courage, the triumph of good over evil and the need to know ‘Why?’ Finally, it is one of the last films in David Lynch’s career, with him serving as an executive producer.
THE LOST BUS
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cinematographer: Pål Ulvik Rokseth
Produced by: Apple Original Films, Blumhouse Productions, Comet Pictures
Country and year: USA, 2025
The Lost Bus follows the true story of a down-on-his-luck school-bus driver and a courageous teacher in Northern California who battle together against all odds to save 22 children from one of America’s deadliest and most destructive wildfires. Sparked by a faulty electrical transmission line and strong winds, the 2018 Camp Fire spread with terrifying speed. As thousands of firefighters risked their lives to contain the blaze, more than 150,000 acres were scorched and over 52,000 people were forced to evacuate.
MOI QUI T’AIMAIS
Director: Diane Kurys
Cinematographer: Philippe Rousselot
Produced by: New Light Films
Country and year: France, 2025
Based on a true story, the film traces the tumultuous romance of two cinema stars at the height of their fame: Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. Soulmates bound by an unshakeable love, they are forever haunted by Montand’s passionate affair with Marilyn Monroe. Immersed in the charm of old Paris – with its smoky cafés, bohemian nights and timeless romance – the film captures the spirit of a lost era, where love, betrayal and passion unfold as if in a classic French film.
MULAN
Director: Niki Caro
Cinematographer: Mandy Walker
Produced by: China Film Group Corporation, Good Fear Content, Jason T. Reed Productions, Walt Disney Pictures
Country and year: USA, China, 2020
To defend the country against invaders from the north, the Emperor of China issues a decree requiring one man from each family to join the Imperial Army. Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of a distinguished warrior, secretly decides to take her ailing father’s place. Disguised as a man, Hua faces challenges at every step, each demanding that she summon her inner strength and realise her full potential.
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cinematographer: Michael Bauman
Produced by: Ghoulardi Film Company, Warner Bros.
Country and year: USA, China, 2025
Washed-up revolutionary Bob lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When a nemesis resurfaces after sixteen years and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, with father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Director: Joachim Trier
Cinematographer: Kasper Tuxen
Produced by: BBC Film, Eye Eye Production, Komplizen Film, Lumen Production, Mer Film
Country and year: Norway, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France, 2025
After years of absence from Nora and Agnes’s lives, their father, Gustav, reappears unexpectedly. He does not return alone, however, but with a Hollywood star who wants to learn their family’s story.
SONG SUNG BLUE
Director: Craig Brewer
Cinematographer: Amy Vincent
Produced by: Davis Entertainment, Focus Features
Country and year: USA, 2025
When two middle-aged divorcees meet at a gig where they’re both performing, they begin to fall in love, connecting over their passion for music and the hardships they’ve faced. Their lives soon intertwine as they start a band celebrating the work of Neil Diamond, the renowned American musician. Much like Diamond’s Song Sung Blue, their story is both triumphant and sombre, one that will make you smile and cry at once.
SORRY, BABY
Director: Eva Victor
Cinematographer: Mia Cioffi Henry
Produced by: Big Beach, High Frequency Entertainment, PASTEL, Tango Entertainment
Country and year: USA, Spain, France, 2025
Sensitive and quick-witted, Agnes is a young literature lecturer trying to regain her emotional balance after a shocking betrayal by someone close to her. She finds support in her friend Lydie and her shy neighbour Gavin. Sorry, Baby is a surprisingly funny story about how to keep going when the ground falls away beneath your feet, and how to come to terms with the trauma of painful memories.
THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE
Director: Mona Fastvold
Cinematographer: William Rexer
Produced by: Intake Films, Kaplan Morrison, Proton Cinema
Country and year: USA, UK, 2025
A speculative retelling of the extraordinary story of Ann Lee, founder of the religious sect known as the Shakers. Amanda Seyfried stars as the Shakers’ irrepressible leader, who espoused gender and social equality while believing herself to be the female incarnation of Christ. The Testament of Ann Lee thrillingly imagines the ecstasy and agony of Ann Lee and her followers’ conviction and commitment to her own vision of utopia.
TRAIN DREAMS
Director: Clint Bentley
Cinematographer: Adolpho Veloso
Produced by: Black Bear, Kamala Films
Country and year: USA, 2025
Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved novella, Train Dreams is a moving portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railway worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly changing America of the early twentieth century.