31. Auteur film festival • Tuesday, November 25
14:00 TWO SEASONS, TWO STRANGERS / Tabi to Hibi
Japan, 2025, 89’
Director: Sho Miyake
Cast: Shim Eun Kyung, Yuumi Kawai, Mansaku Takada, Shiro Sano, Shinichi Tsutsumi…
In the summer, Nagisa, a woman from the city, and Natsuo, a young man visiting relatives, meet by the sea. Their blank stares mirror each other as they exchange awkward words and enter the rain-soaked ocean. In winter, Lee, a screenwriter in a creative crisis, travels to a snow-covered village with an old camera left by a deceased acquaintance. There he finds a strange deserted boarding house run by the enigmatic Benzo. Their conversations rarely connect, but they embark on an unexpected adventure.
Festivals / Awards: Locarno Film Festival – Golden Leopard; San Sebastián International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival…
17:00 PHANTOMS OF JULY / Sehnsucht in Sangerhausen
Germany, 2025, 89’
Director: Julian Radlmaier
Cast: Clara Schwinning, Maral Keshavarz, Henriette Confurius, Paula Schindler, Ghazal Shojaei, Kyung-Taek Lie, Buksori Lie…
Ursula and Neda, an East German waitress with a broken heart and an Iranian YouTuber with a broken arm, both feel trapped and alone in their precarious lives. One summer evening, Ursula falls in love with a mysterious musician from the city, while Neda is convinced that she has recognized an old friend from Tehran in the equally enigmatic street cleaner. The winding paths of chance bring two women together on an unexpected ghost hunt in the mountains. A romantic adventure film about an unexpected friendship and longing for another life.
Festivals: Locarno Film Festival, Valladolid International Film Festival…
19:00 ASHES / Popel
Documentary
Czech Republic, Spain, France, 2025, 90’
Director: Oier Plaza Gartzia
Participate: Antón Gandarias, Unai Egia, František Suchý, František Suchý…
High school teacher and historian Unaj Egia travels through Europe with Antonio Gandarias to discover the fate of Antonio’s uncle, who disappeared during World War II. Their journey, which leads from the Basque Country to Prague, reveals the story of František, the former director of the crematorium in Strašnice, and his son, who risked their lives to preserve the names and ashes of more than 2,200 victims of the Nazi regime. Among them, the Spaniards find the lost remains of their ancestors, whose traces were systematically erased eighty years ago. The film exposes the difficult journey of the republicans deported to the Hradištko concentration camp near Prague, through animations.
* Q&A after the screening
21:00 AN ORDINARY INCIDENT / Yek tasadef sadeh
Iran, France, Luxembourg, 2025, 105’
Director: Jafar Panahi
Cast: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr…
What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences.
Festivals / Awards: Cannes Film Festival – Palme d’Or; European Film Awards, nominies: European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter; Locarno Film Festival, San Sebastián International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival – Best Film; Warsaw International Film Festival…
