Programmer and movie theater PASAKA programm manager Giedrė Vyšniauskaitė

Hola Frida! (dir. Karine Vézina, André Kadi)

ONE FILM OLDER
This year’s festival features enchanting animated tales inspired by the life stories of real icons. One such tale introduces us to a little daredevil girl named Frida. A true force of nature – joyful, playful, and brimming with energy. When a relentless illness strikes, she finds solace and inspiration in a world of color, imagination, and creation. You will probably guess that this is the story of the legendary painter Frida Kahlo. The film transports us to the artist’s childhood in a sun-drenched, vibrantly pulsing Mexico. This animation is a celebration of life, creation, and the ability to embrace life’s most profound challenges.

Romeria (dir. Carla Simón)

MASTERS
This marks Carla Simón’s third feature following Summer 1993 and Alcarràs, and her second to draw from a deeply personal family history – at just six years old, the director lost her parents to AIDS. For the filmmaker, the intimate letters that her mother wrote to friends became a window into the life of the ‘80s generation – defined by love, liberation, and hedonistic parties, but also by tragedies and addiction. This is a film about memory, exploring how the recollections of a family shape one’s own identity, and how that identity must be sculpted from the stories and memories of others. When these stories diverge, one must turn to creativity to assemble their own unique narrative.

Reedland (dir. Sven Bresser)

COMPETITION
This film is a stunning directorial debut from Sven Bresser – a pure cinematic pleasure that demands to be experienced on the big screen. The sound, the imagery, and the nuanced performance by non-professional lead (and professional reed cutter) Gerrit Knobbe lure the viewer into a labyrinthine reedland where one yearns to get lost. It is a film that will resonate with admirers of Bergman, Michael Haneke, and Thomas Vinterberg, as well as those with an affinity for Nordic noir. The film seamlessly weaves the everyday with existential inquiries, local issues with global ones, and the tenderness of human nature with a pervasive sense of underlying darkness.

Kokuho (dir. Sang-il Lee)

PANORAMA
This film is a treat for those who appreciate high-caliber drama, theater, and Japanese culture – essentially, it is for everyone. It is no coincidence that the film became a true phenomenon in Japan; it not only revitalized interest in kabuki theater but achieved unprecedented success as the most-watched feature of all time. This is an epic tale of friendship, rivalry, and devotion to art, capturing the spellbinding beauty of kabuki alongside the grueling rehearsals, moral compromises, and the cost of pursuing perfection that remain behind the scenes.

A useful ghost (dir. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke)

CRITICS’ CHOICE
Nobody likes ghosts, unless, of course, they become useful – or even indispensable. Such is the fate of Nat, a young woman who passes away from a mysterious respiratory illness. Her love for her husband and their child transcends the veil between life and death – Nat returns in the form of a vacuum cleaner. While the film embraces a delightful sense of the absurd, it is simultaneously a sensitive, poetic, and sharply critical narrative that integrates Thai folklore, mythology, national trauma, elements of fairy tales, romance, comedy, politics, and queer themes.

Werckmeister Harmonies (dir. Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
One could list the defining traits of Béla Tarr’s cinema, but even then, words would fall short. This master of cinema has constructed an entirely singular, unique world – philosophical, metaphysical, and overflowing with mystical poetry. Years ago, this film pierced my heart with its beautiful, boundless melancholy and its sorrowful grace, awakening emotions of grief, tenderness, heartache, and hope – reminding that a great work of art can unlock a well of emotion within you, the existence of which you never suspected.