Iran’s 2018 Fajr Int'l Film Festival unveils Cup of Divination lineup

The 2018 Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF) has announced the names of films playing in its Cup of Divination (Festival of Festivals) section.

According to the Secretariat of the annual event, 11 movies from Argentina, Spain, Austria, Lithuania, France, Poland, Romania, Belgium, Bosnia, and South Korea are scheduled to go on screen. Three Iranian movies will also be screened in this section, whose names will be announced later.

The lineup of movies to take part in this section of the 2018 Fajr International Film Festival are as follows:

1-“A sort of Family” directed by Diego Lerman

Synopsis:

Malena is a middle-class doctor in Buenos Aires. One afternoon she receives a call from Dr. Costas, telling her she must leave immediately for the north of the country: the baby she was expecting is about to be born. Suddenly and almost without a thought, Malena decides to set out on an uncertain voyage, packed with crossroads at which she has to deal with all sorts of legal and moral obstacles to the extent that she constantly asks herself to what limits she is prepared to go to get the thing she wants most.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina / Chicago International Film Festival, Best Feature Film / CPH PIX / Philadelphia Film Festival / San Sebastián International Film Festival, Jury Prize for Best Screenplay / Miami Film Festival

2-“Giant (Original Title: Handia)” directed by Jon Garano and Aitor Arregi

Synopsis:

After the First Carlist War, Martín heads back to his family’s farmhouse, where he finds out his little brother Joaquín is much taller than usual. Martín becomes convinced that people will be willing to see the “Tallest Man on Earth”, so they travel around Europe, and the wealth and the level of fame they achieve changes the family forever.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: 65th San Sebastián International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize / 2018: V Premios Feroz, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Film Poster / 32nd Goya Awards won Best New Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Supervision, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyles, Best Special Effects

3-“Life Guidance” directed by Ruth Mader

Synopsis:

The film is set in the near future, in a world that has perfected capitalism. Society is sustained by a class of top achievers. These cheerfully motivated people populate a bright, friendly, transparent and efficient middle-class world. Meanwhile, so-called minimum recipients live under sedation in Fortresses of Sleep. The great majority of top achievers view themselves as happy and self-fulfilled. An outsourced agency has been established for the rest: Life Guidance is charged with turning these individuals into optimal people as well.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Chicago International Film Festival

4”Miracle (Original Title: Stebuklas)” directed by Egle Vertelyte

Synopsis:

The lives of the owners of a nationalized pig farm in a small village are turned upside-down when a handsome American arrives, pledging to save the struggling enterprise. But as Irena, the owner, begins to fall for his charms, she realizes that his intentions may not be entirely innocent.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Toronto Film Festival

5-“Oblivion Verses” directed by Alireza Khatami

Synopsis:

The elderly caretaker of a remote morgue possesses an impeccable memory for everything but names. He passes his days showing corpses to those searching for their lost ones and tending to his beloved plants. When protest in a nearby city breaks out and the militia covertly raids the morgue to hide civilian casualties, he discovers the body of an unknown young woman. Evoking memories of personal loss, he embarks on a magical odyssey to give her a proper burial with the help of a mystic undertaker gravedigger who collects stories of the dead, an old woman searching for her long-lost daughter, and a hearse driver tormented by his past.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Venice Film Festival: Best Screenplay, Best Debut, Best Film (Interfilm Award), Best Screenplay (Venice Horizons Award) / Sao Paulo International Film Festival / Nantes Three Continents Festival, Young Audience Award (Director) / Mumbai Film Festival / Chicago International Film Festival / 2018: Festival Premiers Plans D’Angers / Rotterdam International Film Festival

6-“Once Upon a Time in November” directed by Andrzej Jakimowski

Synopsis:

The film tells the story of a mother and son who lose their flat in Warsaw after being evicted in 2013. The story is played out against the backdrop of actual events, including a large-scale nationalist march and riot.

Festivals / Awards:

2018: Cleveland International Film Festival, Nominee George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Film Competition

7-“Pororoca” directed by Constantin Popescu

Synopsis:

Cristina and Tudor Ionescu are a happy family couple with two children, Maria and Ilie. They are in their thirties and live in an apartment in a small town. He works for a phone company and she is an accountant. One Sunday morning when Tudor takes the kids to the park, Maria disappears, which changes their lives forever.

Festivals / Awards:

2018: Göteborg Film Festival / 2017: San Sebastián International Film Festival, Seashell for Best Actor, Nominee for Best Film / Zurich Film Festival

8-“Resurrection” directed by Kristof Hoornaert

Synopsis:

An old man who isolated himself from civilization receives an unexpected visitor.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival / Capri, Hollywood: Capri Breakout Director Award / 2018: Rotterdam International Film Festival

9-“Never Leave Me” directed by Aida Begic

Synopsis:

This is a story about pain, search for meaning in life and friendship. Syrian boys – Isa, Ahmed and Muataz – live as refugees in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa. In their search for a better life, they find happiness and love in themselves.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Antalya Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival

10-“Excavator” directed by Lee Ju-Hyoung

Synopsis:

Kim Gang-Il is a paratrooper sent to Gwangju to suppress the Gwangju Democratization Movement in May, 1980. After his release from the military, Kim Gang-Il works as forklift driver. After an incident, he finds an uncomfortable truth hidden for 20 years.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Official Selection, Best Director / 2018: KOSMORAMA Trondheim International Film Festival, New Directors / Bengaluru International Film Festival, Asian Cinema Competition

11-“Beyond Words (Original Title: Miedzyslowami)” directed by Urszula Antoniak

Synopsis:

Nothing in Michael, a young and successful Berlin lawyer, gives away his Polish roots. The sudden appearance of his father, who was long presumed dead, plunges Michael into an identity crisis. After his father leaves, Michael can’t return to his former life as a German.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Cameraimage, Polish Films Competition, Poland / Les Arcs European Film Festival, France / Polish Film Festival, Poland, Best Cinematography, Best Sound / Toronto International Film Festival, Contemporary World Cinema Section, Canada

Presided over by Iranian film writer and director Reza Mirkarimi, the 36th edition of Fajr International Film Festival will be held in the capital city of Tehran on April 19-27.

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