email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

FEST ESPINHO 2022

FEST – New Directors New Films Festival comes of age

by 

- From 20-27 June, the coastal city of Espinho will host this ever-youthful gathering that pins its hopes on emerging talents, much like it has done for the last 17 editions

FEST – New Directors New Films Festival comes of age
Lullaby by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa

A celebration of new trends in world cinema: this is how FEST - New Directors New Films Festival defines itself. The international gathering is all set to unspool in the Portuguese city of Espinho and will turn 18 this year. This edition, which marks the event’s coming of age, will take place from 20-27 June, will place a particular emphasis on the film industries of Ukraine and Tunisia, will organise an industry sidebar (details of which will be published shortly) and will spend one week screening short films and features of all shapes and sizes, ranging from animation to documentary, not to mention experimental works.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

The starting pistol will be fired by a film that has garnered a great deal of acclaim in its native Spain, Lullaby [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
film profile
]
, the feature debut by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, which triumphed at the 25th Málaga Film Festival after initially being unveiled at the Berlinale. On the other hand, proceedings will be brought to a close by Sundown [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Mexico/France/Sweden), a film bristling with tension, directed by Michel Franco, and toplined by French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and British thesp Tim Roth.

The Golden Lynx competition homes in on first or second features helmed by innovative filmmakers active on the international film scene. These ten works will reflect the rude state of health that modern cinema finds itself in, as demonstrated by Utama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alejandro Loayza
film profile
]
by Alejandro Loayza, a co-production involving Bolivia, Uruguay and France that is leaving audiences in awe wherever it is shown; A Piece of Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Koch
film profile
]
, a drama by Swiss director Michael Koch; the claustrophobic Immaculate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Monica Stan, George Chiper-…
film profile
]
by Romanian duo Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark; the Sundance hit Gentle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Csuja and Anna Nemes
film profile
]
(Hungary/Germany) by the directorial made up of László Csuja and Anna Nemes, centring on the world of professional body building; the Swedish “coming-of-old-age” flick Calendar Girls [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen, also applauded at Sundance; the teen-focused documentary Alis [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Colombia/Chile/Romania) by Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás Van Hemelryck, which won awards at Berlin; the hard-hitting Canadian flick The Noise of Engines by Philippe Grégoire; the magical realism of To Kill the Beast (Argentina/Brazil/Chile) by Agustina San Martín; the Jordanian comedy Daughters of Abdul-Rahman by Zaid Abu Hamdan; and the Vietnamese doc Children of the Mist by Ha Le Diem.

Another of FEST 2022’s competitive sections is the one that sees hopefuls vying for the Silver Lynx. Split into ten sessions, it will screen short films from all over the world – titles in which there is certainly no lack of provocation or risk-taking. The same thing will happen with the six programmes of short films that make up the competitive NEXXT 2022 section, featuring the cream of the crop made at the most prestigious and forward-thinking film schools on the planet. Plus, in the National Grand Prix section, audiences will get a glimpse of the imminent future of Portuguese cinema, with shorts helmed by names to keep a close eye on, such as Hugo Sousa, Débora Gonçalves and Guilherme Daniel, among others.

Rounding things off, among the gathering’s jam-packed programme, we should highlight the space dedicated to the Odesa Film Festival, which found itself unable to take place in Ukraine this year, but which will extend its reach all the way to Espinho with a selection of national titles that have won plaudits at its most recent editions: Homeward [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Nariman Aliev (a film that was chosen by its country to compete for the Oscars in 2020), Blindfold by Taras Dron, Stop-Zemlia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kateryna Gornostai
film profile
]
by Kateryna Gornostai, Atlantis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valentyn Vasyanovych
film profile
]
by Valentyn Vasianovych and My Thoughts Are Silent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Antonio Lukich, as well as five shorts.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy