Programmer Margot Amadei

2000 Meters to Andriivka (dir. Mstyslav Chernov)

Following his Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov returns with an urgent and vital work, filmed directly from the trenches with GoPros and portable cameras. He bears witness to the daily combat and waiting of soldiers, as they attempt to reclaim the city of Andriivka. It is a rare and important documenting work, and I believe it is important to honor the risks taken to make 2000 Meters to Andriivka by watching it.

SHORT COMPETITION: FOR THOSE IN LOVE

After watching hundreds of short films this year, this programme brings together the nuggets of gold I discovered while digging through the short film mine. These films are beautiful, tender and rough, bursting with creativity that will blow minds and open hearts. Two of them count among my favourite films of all time; one moved me to tears with a beauty that feels truly out of this world. Short films gave birth to cinema. Today, they are reinventing it. I warmly invite you to be part of it!

Human Resource (dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit)

PANORAMA
 I can’t wrap my head around Human Resource, and how it made me feel while watching it, but even more so the feelings and impressions it left me with. I still very frequently think about it, and feel partially destroyed, melancholic and somehow comforted. It is a film about us all, our times, our life rhythms, our relationship to work, to duty, to free time, to indifference, and to freedom. A beautifully relevant and relatable gem, one of my favourites that stays very close to my heart and soul.

COME WITH YOUR PET

The title of this programme speaks for itself: yes, you read that right – you can go to the movies with your cat! Or your dog, or your bunny! It will be a unique and wonderfully fun experience to share with fellow pet lovers, while watching four absolutely amazing short films in which animals are the stars. I now wish I had a pet to attend…

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (dir. Joachim Trier)

JOACHIM TRIER RETROSPECTIVE
Joachim Trier wrecks me, invites me to reflect, to relate, and to grow. The Worst Person in the World is the epitome of all that. Renate Reinsve shines so bright in it, portraying a woman trying to go from lost to a bit less lost. The movie is cut into 12 chapters, dissecting her life; chapter II and chapter V contain some of my all-time favorite scenes: the “it’s not really cheating” and the “frozen time” ones. I’ll watch it twice during the festival, it’s such a gift to have it back on screen.