The following collection showcases seven exceptional new features from nine cutting-edge women filmmakers. Hailing from Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, The Netherlands, Estonia and Kosovo, the line-up includes both emerging directors and breakthrough talents, notably Amanda Kernell, whose debut film Sami Blood (NZIFF17) was both a New Zealand and international film festival favourite.
Presented by EFP (European Film Promotion) in association with Sydney Film Festival.
Dramatising the turbulence and ambiguity of custody battles with emotional precision and complexity, Charter focuses on a mother’s impulsive decision to abscond with her estranged children to a holiday resort, and the consequences of her actions.
This surprisingly touching romantic odyssey documents charismatic Jola, a stylish sexagenarian embracing newly won love and liberation after an abusive, decades-long marriage.
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A heavyweight drama elevated by two outstanding performers, Lars Eidinger (The Clouds of Sils Maria) joins Nina Hoss (celebrated star of Barbara and Phoenix) as inseparable twins fighting serious illness with their undying passion for the theatre.
In Kosovo, the pressure on a mother to conceive, from both her conservative family and superstitious village community, builds with intensity in this nightmarish, emotionally charged drama tackling themes of war, trauma and oppressive gender roles.
Nourishing and unexpectedly moving, director Marta Pulk’s documentary takes us to theatre-mad Estonia, where a young, inexperienced woman wins a job to watch and critique every theatre production in a calendar year.
A tough-as-nails boxing drama in the vein of Raging Bull, German filmmaker Barbara Ott’s Kids Run is a captivating portrait of precarity that pulls no punches.
Indonesia’s shifting colonial landscape is examined through startling archival footage and the remarkable story of one nanny who, while caring for a Dutch family, braved occupation and social upheaval to find her own independence.