Wednesday, 26.04.2023.
OFF Generation Features: Six titles confirmed in race for best feature film
The titles in the feature film competition program come from this year's Berlinale, Oscar-nominated films and some of the best films produced this year and the previous year.
This year's 15th Telemach Youth FIlm Festival (OFF) represents the largest number of feature-length films so far, and in connection with that, the largest number of feature-length films in the OFF Generation Features selection, competition program.
The confirmed titles so far are:
➤ The Lost Boys (Belgium/France) Dir. Zeno Garton
Joe is in a youth correctional facility and preparing to rejoin society, but he's not sure what life will be like outside the barbed wire. His desire for freedom is diminished when William comes and moves into the cell next to his. Together they embark on a journey of emotional and expressive emancipation, exploring camera obscurity photography, tattooing, dance and rap. As their passion grows, so does their longing and desperation.
➤ EO (Poland/Italy) Dir. Jerzy Skolimowski
EO, a gray donkey with a curious spirit and melancholy eyes, begins his life as a circus performer, but soon escapes through the Polish and Italian countryside. On his way to freedom, he meets a troubled young priest, a countess, a debauched soccer team, and confronts the cultural and environmental problems of contemporary society.
➤ Close (Belgium) Dir. Lukas Dhont
As summer draws to a close, inseparable 13-year-old best friends Leon and Remi decide to spend the rest of their vacation together. Their bond is so strong that it resembles an unbreakable bond of brotherhood, even beyond their own understanding. However, when their blissful friendship on the first day of school catches the attention of their classmates, hurtful comments put Léo and Rémi's close relationship in question. After that, nothing will be the same.
➤ When Everything Will Be Like It Was Before (Germany) Dir. Sonja Heiss
Growing up on the grounds of the largest psychiatric clinic in Schleswig-Holstein is a unique experience. For Joachim, the youngest son of director Meyerhoff, the patients are practically family, and they treat him much better than his two older brothers who often make him throw tantrums. While his mother (Laura Tonke) paints watercolors and dreams of Italian summer nights, longing for respite from the constant rain in northern Germany, his father quietly follows his own path, not discreetly enough. However, as Joakim slowly grows up, his world, not least through the loss of his first love, begins to crack.
➤ Elaha (Germany) Dir. Milena Aboyan
Elaha, 22, believes she must regain her supposed virginity before getting married. A surgeon can reconstruct her hymen, but she cannot afford such an operation. He wonders: why does she have to be a virgin and for whom?
➤ The Path (Germany) Dir. Tobias Wiemann
France 1940: Hunted by the Nazis, German critical journalist Ludwig and his 12-year-old son Rolf find themselves stranded in Marseilles. Their goal is to travel to New York, where Rolf's mother has been waiting for them for too long. The guessing game "Good or bad? - Dissident or collaborator?" it soon turns deadly serious when they have to face inspectors and officials in Nazi-controlled Europe more than ever.
The films will be shown as part of the Open Air Cinema Poli Open Air Gimnazijska and Vils Summer Screen powered by the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo.
Before the screening of the films, the film crews will be introduced to the audience, and on Poland Day, guests and the audience will be able to talk to the directors and actresses as part of the OFF Talks program.
This year's members of the jury who will decide on the best feature film of the festival, the OFF Genration Features selection, are Anila Gajević, casting agent, Danilo Marunović, Montenegrin director and Edib Ahmetašević, a well-known BiH. Videographer with a Zagreb address.
The titles in the feature film competition program come from this year's Berlinale, Oscar-nominated films and some of the best films produced this year and the previous year.
This year's 15th Telemach Youth Film Festival in Sarajevo will be held from July 18 to 22 and will host over 150 international guests, several teen acting stars, and the Festival expects over 15,000 visitors.
During the months of May and June, all festival programs and selections will be presented.