28th Raindance Film Festival Films A-Z
Features
April 7, 1980 (dir: Nadav Schirman, Israel). World Premiere. Award-winning documentary filmmaker Nadav Schirman (The Green Prince) directs this tense hostage drama set in a Kibbutz nursery. POLITICO
A Dim Valley (dir: Brandon Colvin, USA). International Premiere. In this queer hallucinogenic fairytale, a biologist and his two pot-smoking assistants working deep in the Appalachian woods encounter a trio of mystical backpackers. QUEER
After So Many Days (dir: Jim Hanft, Samantha Yonack, USA). European Premiere. The raw personal account of Jim and Sam, a singer-songwriter duo who uprooted their lives by attempting to play one show every day for a year – putting their music, health, career, and their first year of marriage to the test. First feature. SONICA
Antarctica (dir: Keith Bearden, USA). World Premiere. Two teenage misfits face the pressures of sex, drugs, gun-crazy janitors, and time-travelling boyfriends in this fresh dramatic comedy. GENERATION Z
Beyond Moving (dir: Vikram Dasgupta, Canada). European Premiere. Documenting gifted ballet dancer Siphe November, following his journey from South African township to the world of professional ballet. First feature. ARTY
Born to Be (dir: Tania Cypriano, USA). UK Premiere. An intimate look at how the work of Dr Jess Ting at New York’s groundbreaking Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery impacts the lives of his patients, as well as his own life. QUEER
Citizen Penn (dir: Don Hardy, USA). European Premiere. Actor and filmmaker Sean Penn joins aid workers from around the world to help the relief effort following 2010’s devastating Haiti earthquake. POLITICO
Descent (dir: Nays Baghai, Australia). UK Premiere. Documenting Dutch ice freediver Kiki Bosch, who dives into the world’s coldest waters without a wetsuit as therapy for the trauma of sexual assault, and to inspire others. First feature. FEMALE GAZE
Different Johns (dir: Robert Carr, France). European Premiere. Feature documentary exploring the different lives of John Cohen: folk musician, photographer, filmmaker, and one of the great faces of the 50s Beat Generation. SONICA
Drag Kids (dir: Megan Wennberg, Canada) UK Premiere. Touching documentary chronicling four drag performers under the age of 12. Having faced enormous scrutiny over their brief drag careers, the young stars prepare for the biggest performance of their lives at Montreal Pride. First feature. QUEER
Eastern (dir: Piotr Adamski, Poland). UK Premiere. A brutal, gun-wielding tale of two families entangled in a never-ending blood vendetta. DISCOVERY
Ella Es Cristina (dir: Gonzalo Maza, Chile). UK Premiere. Executive produced by Salma Hayek, the first feature as director by Oscar-winning screenwriter Gonzalo Maza (co-writer of 2018’s Best Foreign Language Film A Fantastic Woman) is the tale of two women in their 30s who are still living like they did in their teenage years. FEMALE GAZE
End Game: Breaking The Silence (dir: Pierre-Emmanuel Luneau-Daurignac, France). UK Premiere. Documenting one of the biggest taboos in sport today, this unprecedented investigation covers a variety of sports over a period of two years, showing that sexual violence is not limited to isolated incidents, and reveals the abuse of an entire system. POLITICO
Endless Sunshine on a Cloudy Day (dir: John Connors, Ireland). International Premiere. A heartbreaking account of the final months of social influencer Jade McCann, it portrays an Irish family battling to stay together despite the odds. First feature. DISCOVERY
FOMO – Fear of Missing Out (dir: Attila Hartung, Hungary). UK Premiere. One night, at a drunken house party, vulnerable Lilla falls victim to four teenage friends when a dare gets out of hand, and the youngsters’ world changes forever. First feature. GENERATION Z
Force of Habit (dir: Reetta Aalto, Alli Haapasalo, Anna Paavilainen, Kirsikka Saari, Miia Tervo, Elli Toivoniemi, Jenni Toivoniemi, Finland). UK Premiere. Seven directors depict the lives of various women on one day; their stories illustrate the normality of sexual harassment and abuse. FEMALE GAZE
He Dreams of Giants (dir: Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe, UK). UK Premiere. Following their 2002 documentary Lost In La Mancha, filmmakers Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe return to follow Terry Gilliam’s new (successful) attempt at filming The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. ARTY
I Am Not A Hero (dir: Pablo Crutzen Diaz, Robin Smit, Stijn Deconinck, Belgium). European Premiere. Timely and often harrowing portrayal of Belgian health workers combating COVID-19. First feature. POLITICO
Jimmy is Punk – The Story of PANIC (dir: Duco Donk, The Netherlands). UK Premiere. A punk story about the 1976 Dutch band Panic: capturing the pure undiluted spirit of punk. First feature. SONICA
Kosa (dir: Mohit Priyadarshi, India). World Premiere. A young boy from India’s forest heartlands in picked up by the police because his name is similar to that of a Maoist commander. Will the farcical trial that follows prove his innocence or confirm he’s a criminal? First feature. POLITICO
Madame (dir: Stéphane Riethauser, Switzerland). UK premiere. Using private archive footage, this family saga challenges the taboos of gender and sexuality as a flamboyant 90-year old and her gay grandson explore the development and transmission of gender identity in a patriarchal environment. QUEER
Materna (dir: David Gutnik, USA). With a cast including Kate Lyn Sheil, Jade Eshete, Lindsay Burdge, Rory Culkin and Assol Abdullina (in a role that won a Best Actress award at the Tribeca Film Festival), it portrays four women whose lives are bound together following an incident on the New York subway. DISCOVERY
My Thoughts Are Silent (dir: Antonio Lukich, Ukraine). UK Premiere. A champion at festivals including Karlovy Vary, this oddball drama follows an over-tall sound engineer and his diminutive mother, as they head to the mountains to record the sound of a very rare bird. DISCOVERY
Nafi’s Father (dir: Mamadou Dia, Senegal). A double-winner at Locarno Film Festival (Best First Feature & Golden Leopard: Filmmakers of the Present), it’s the story of an Imam and his powerful extremist brother as they fight over a family marriage, illustrating how a small village community can drift towards extremism. DISCOVERY
Non Western (dir: Laura Plancarte, UK/Mexico/USA). UK Premiere. Documenting the challenges faced by a Native and Non-Native couple in Montana ahead of their wedding. FEMALE GAZE
Not To Be Unpleasant But We Need To Have A Serious Talk (dir: Giorgos Georgopoulos, Greece). UK Premiere. Dark comedy about a womanizer who must inform his ex-girlfriends that he’s a carrier of a sexually transmitted virus, lethal only for women. ABSURDITIES
Now (dir: Jim Rakete, Germany). UK Premiere. Felix Finkbeiner, Luisa Neubauer, Greta Thunberg and Vic Barrett are challenging the status quo and pushing for social and political change – but what does it feel like to be an activist in 2020? A DIRTY WORLD
Nuclear (dir: Catherine Linstrum, UK). UK Premiere. The feature debut by Cannes Un Certain Regard and Welsh BAFTA award-winning short filmmaker Catherine Linstrum, this tense drama stars George MacKay, Emilia Jones, Sienna Guillory and Oliver Coopersmith. GENERATION Z
Once You Know (dir: Emmanuel Cappellin, France). UK Premiere. Exploring energy depletion and runaway climate change, it questions how will we cope with an ending world. A DIRTY WORLD
Our Own (dir: Jeanne Leblanc, Canada). European Premiere. Rising star Emilie Bierre plays a 13-year old who falls pregnant in this complex and compelling small-town drama. GENERATION Z
Punta Sacra (dir: Francesca Mazzoleni, Italy). UK Premiere. Evocative documentary about the community who live in an impoverished area outside of Rome: a favela-like settlement that is destined to be torn down. POLITICO
Shoot To Marry (dir: Steve Markle, Canada). European Premiere. Lovelorn filmmaker Steve Markle decides the perfect way to meet women is to ask them to be in his documentary – the result is a real-life romantic comedy. ABSURDITIES
Stardust (dir: Gabriel Range, UK). UK Premiere. Starring Johnny Flynn (Emma, Beast) as a young David Bowie embarking on his first trip to America, Stardust reveals the inspirations and life events that gave birth to his iconic alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, charting the transformation of one of the world’s greatest cultural icons. OPENING GALA
Suffocation (dir: Kenya Márquez, Mexico). UK Premiere. An albino woman newly released from prison, spends her nights taking care of a hypochondriac obsessed with avoiding sudden death. Their relationship moves through suspicion, fear and compassion to tenderness and love. FEMALE GAZE
Survival Skills (dir: Quinn Armstrong, USA). European Premiere. Presented as a lost training video from the 1980s, with Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach as narrator, it tells of a good policeman trying to resolve a domestic violence case. DISCOVERY
Ties (dir: Daniele Luchetti, Italy). UK Premiere. A marriage-in-crisis drama set in Naples and Rome, with a cast including Alba Rohrwacher (Venice Best Actress award winner for Hungry Hearts) and Luigi Lo Cascio. FEMALE GAZE
The Average Color of The Universe (dir: Alexandra-Therese Keining, Sweden). European Premiere. In a life severely marked by the loss of her son, a woman lingers in the borderlands between memory and reality, in this visually stunning portrayal of grief. FEMALE GAZE
The Dilemma of Desire (dir: Maria Finitzo, USA). UK Premiere. Executive produced by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, it follows four women artists/activists who aim to shatter myths by celebrating the clitoris and female sexual pleasure. FEMALE GAZE
The Eagle’s Nest (dir: Olivier Assoua, UK). UK Premiere. The story of two girls from Cameroon intent on migrating to Europe, they’re portrayed as unlikely superheroes in this surreal fantasy with a rich impression of African culture. ABSURDITIES
The Great Green Wall (dir: Jared P. Scott, UK). UK Premiere. Executive produced by Oscar-nominee Fernando Meirelles (City of God), it follows Malian musician, actress and UN Ambassador, Inna Modja on an epic journey along Africa’s ambitious Great Green Wall. A DIRTY WORLD
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo (dir: Javier Polo Gandia, Spain). With contributors including John Walters and Eduardo Casanova, this eccentric documentary follows a man obsessed with flamingos on his quest to unravel the real story behind this pink socio-cultural phenomenon.ABSURDITIES
The Past is Always New, the Future is Always Nostalgic (dir: Gen Iwama, Japan). UK Premiere. Intimate documentary capturing Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, aged 80, whose work transcends art, fashion and design. First feature. ARTY
The Price of Progress (dir: Victor Luengo, Spain). UK Premiere. Documenting both sides of the argument around the controversy of GMO foods. A DIRTY WORLD
The State of Texas vs. Melissa (dir: Sabrina Van Tassel, France). European Premiere. Documenting a life plagued by poverty and prejudice, this is the story of the first Hispanic woman to be sentenced to death in Texas as she faces her last appeal. POLITICO
The Woman with Leopard Shoes (dir: Alexis Bruchon, France). World Premiere. Pared-back Hitchcock-style thriller about a burglar who is hired by a mysterious woman to steal a box from a house, but the sudden arrival of party guests forces him to hide. First feature. DISCOVERY
Thou Shalt Not Hate (dir: Mauro Mancini, Italy). UK Premiere. A double winner at Venice Film Festival, Alessandro Gassmann plays the son of a Holocaust survivor working as a surgeon in Trieste, who begins to doubt his actions after refusing to help the victim of a traffic accident that he encounters on his way home from work. DISCOVERY
TOPOWA! – Never Give Up (dir: Philip Sansom, Inigo Gilmore, UK). UK Premiere. Celebrating the power of music to change lives, it follows four youngsters and the Brass For Africa band on a journey of hope from Uganda’s Katwe slums to the streets of London and the Cheltenham Festival. SONICA
True North (dir: Eiji Han Shimizu, Japan/Indonesia). European Premiere. A young boy must learn to survive when his father disappears and the rest of his family is sent to a notorious political prison camp in North Korea. This powerful animation is the first feature by manga producer and Zen master Eiji Han Shimizu. POLITICO
Twiceborn (dir: Hiroshi Akabane, Japan). European Premiere. After receiving a message from the spiritual world, a man realises his mission is to lead humankind to happiness. He becomes a successful businessman while secretly publishing spiritual messages, but the devil’s temptation shakes his mind. OFF-COMPETITION GALA
Under My Skin (dir: David O’Donnell, Australia/USA). Liv Hewson and Alex Russell star as a free-spirited artist and a straight-laced lawyer respectively, whose love is tested by questions of gender. QUEER
Uprooted – The Journey of Jazz Dance (dir: Khadifa Wong, USA). International Premiere. Exploring the lineage and future progressions of jazz dance, from its Afro-American roots to Broadway, with contributors including Debbie Allen and Joshua Bergasse. ARTY
Willow (dir: Milcho Manchevski, Republic of North Macedonia/Hungary/Belgium). UK Premiere. This Academy Award nominated and Venice Golden Lion winning director portrays three women from medieval times and the present as they struggle by various means to become mothers. FEMALE GAZE
Woolf Women (dir: Marchella de Angelis, Jennifer Schauerte, UK/Germany). Documenting five female skateboarders who embark on a modern day odyssey to Sumela, an ancient monastery perched high in Turkey’s Pontic Mountains. FEMALE GAZE
Shorts
A Fallen Fruit (Cambodia) Altered States
Dir: Amit Dubey
A La Carte (Vietnam) International Shorts
Dir: Jay Do
Akhada (India) Documentary
Dir: Sam Nixon
Anchors Away (USA) Animation
Dir: Gabe Mangold
Any Instant Whatever (UK) Animation
Dir: Michelle Brand
As We Fell Into The Sun(UK) HND Showcase
Dir. Ivory Campbell
Being My Mom International Shorts
Dir: Jasmine Trinca
Being Someone Else (UK) MA Showcase
Dir: Oyvind Aamli
Birth (UK) Short Competition Winners
Dir: Brody Gusar
Biscuit…Of Death (UK) Lockdown
Dir. Aran Webster
Bratus (UK) HND Showcase
Dir. Christian Schifano
City Of Widows (USA) Documentary
Dir: Lacey Uhlemeyer
Contact (UK) International Shorts
Dir: Sadie Frost
Cover Track (UK) Queer Shorts
Dir: Sam Nutt
Death on Halloween Night (UK) Lockdown
Dir. Amir Kiani
Denim (USA) Queer Shorts
Dir: Daryen Ru
Deus Otiosus (UK) MA Showcase
Dir: Mat Braddy
Do No Harm (UK) UK Shorts
Dir: Douglas King
Enfer (Italy) International Shorts
Dir: Duilio Scalici
Fabulous (UK) Short Competition Winners
Dir: James Skinner
Falling Star (French/Czech Republic) Animation
Dir: Mikhal Bak
Fever: Love In The Time Of Corona (UK) Short Competitions Winner
Dir: Clemily Martin
Firefly (Cuba) Documentary
Dir: Claudia Claremi
Forever (USA) Animation
Dir: Mitch McGlocklin
Frayed Roots (Lebanon) Relative States
Dir: Nay Tabbara
Furlough (Australia) Gone Astray
Dir: Phoebe Tonkin
Gets Good Light (USA) Relative States
Dir: Alejandra Parody
Ghillie (UK) UK Shorts
Dir: Mike Marriage
Ghost Eye (Belgium) Animation
Dir: Wouter Sel, Thijs De Cloedt
Gilbert and George Daytripping (Again) (UK/USA) Documentary
Dir: Iain B MacDonald
Good Thanks, You? (UK) UK Shorts
Dir: Molly Manning Walker
Graindelavoix:st Anthony’s Fire (Poland) International Shorts
Dir: Sebastian Panczyk
Gum (USA) International Shorts
Dir: Jacob Reed
Healing (Switzerland) Altered States
Dir: Adrian Perez
How We Die (UK) MA Showcase
Dir: Alexander Cockburn
I Still Breathe (UK) International Shorts
Into The Silver Ether (USA/Belgium) International Shorts
Dir: Vito A. Rowlands
Josiah (USA) International Shorts
Dir: Kyle Laursen
Just A Guy (Germany) Animation
Dir: Shoko Hara
Kanya (India/Czech Republic) Altered States
Dir: Apoorva Satish
Kill Norwood (UK) Queer Shorts
Dir: Lexy Anderson
Killer Workout (USA) Queer Shorts
Dir: Sara Werner
Leave Of Absence (Russia) Relative States
Dir: Anton Sazonov
Liminal (Canada) International Shorts
Dir: Dan Abramovici
Lions In The Corner (USA) Documentary
Dir: Paul Hairston
Lizard (UK) UK Shorts
Dir: Akinola Davies
Mazey Day (UK) MA Showcase
Dir: Martin Tunnicliffe-Squirrell
Measuring Up (UK) Short Competitions Winner
Dir: Eloise Heath
Mine (UK) International Shorts
Dir: Sophia Carr-Gomm
Moonlight Dreams (UK) Relative States
Dir: Souvid Datta
Next Of Kin (Germany/UK) Queer Shorts
Dir: Dean Marriott
No More Wings (UK) International Shorts
Dir: Abraham Adeyemi
Ondine (Poland) Urban Outcast
Dir: Tomasz Sliwinski
Pollie Has The Keys (UK) International Shorts
Dir: Liz Kingsman
Queens (UK) International Shorts
Dir: Nick Bechman
Raw Vision (UK) HND Showcase
Dir. Acacia Khonji
Red Ants Bite (Switzerland) Urban Outcast
Dir: Elene Naveriani
Reappear (UK) International Shorts
Dir: Tommy Clarke
Run On (USA) Urban Outcast
Dir: Daniel Newell Kaufman
Sad Beauty (Netherlands) Animation
Dir: Arjan Brentjes
Sandpaper (UK) UK Shorts
Dir: Michael Mante
Six To Six (Israel) Animation
Dir: Neta Cohen
Skin (UK) Documentary
Dir: Artur Zaremba
Slice Of Heaven (France/UK) International Shorts
Dir: Kourtney Roy
Solitude (Ukraine) Gone Astray
Dir: Yelizaveta Smith
Song Of Clouds (Nepal) Altered States
Dir: Ankit Poudel
Soup (Russia) Relative States
Dir: Inga Sukhorukova
Spirit (Canada) Documentary
Dir: Braden Dereniwski
Stay Hidden (UK) MA Showcase
Dir: James Owen
Stuff (Netherlands) Gone Astray
Dir: Malu Janssen
Sustain (UK) Shorts Competition Winner
Dir: Jake Bentley
The Act (UK) Queer Shorts
Dir: Thomas Hescott
The Bleach (Lebanon/Canada/Qatar) MA Showcase
Dir: Corine Colors
The Cypher (USA) Queer Shorts
Dir: Letia Solomon
The Dog (Iran) Gone Astray
Dir: Hesam Salehbeig
The Hat (UK) International Short
Dir: Darren Strowger
The Last Ferry From Grass Island (Hong Kong/USA) Gone Astray
Dir: Linhan Zhang
The Last Singer (USA) Documentary
Dir: Ivan Olita
The Last Video Store (UK) Documentary
Dir: Arthur Cauty
The Long Goodbye (UK) UK Shorts
Dir: Aneil Karia
The Mistress (Puerto Rico) Queer Shorts
Dir: Pati Cruz
The Name Of The Son (Argentina) Queer Shorts
Dir: Martina Matzkin
The Owl (Sweden) International Shorts
Dir: Simon Pontén, Joakim Behrman
The Parrot Lady (Cyprus) Animation
Dir: Michalis Kalopaidis
The Silence Of The River (Peru) Altered States
Dir: Francesca Canepa
The Text Kit (UK) MA Showcase
Dir: Vaiginta Perkauskaite
The Water Will Carry Us (China) Altered States
Dir: Shasha Huang
The Yellow Dress (France/UK/USA) International Shorts
Dir: Alex Ko
Tin Luck (UK) UK Shorts
Dir: Beatrix Blaise
To The Girl That Looks Like Me (USA) International Shorts
Dir: Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah
Troublemaker (Nigeria) Relative States
Dir: Olive Nwosu
U Up? (Hungary) Queer Shorts
Dir: Viktória Szemerédy
Umbilical (USA/China) Animation
Dir: Danski Tang
Unraveled (Spain) Animation
Dir: Arden Colley, Asil Atay, Kellie Fay, Isabel Wiegand
Virago (Estonia) Gone Astray
Dir: Kerli Kirch Schneider
White Eye (Israel) Urban Outcast
Dir: Tomer Shushan
Zipper (UK) Shorts Competition Winner
Dir: Paul Mulgrew
Music Videos
Action (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Benjamin Roberds
Alone, Omen 3 (UK) Music Videos
Dir: Jocelyn Anquetil
Best (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Shatara Michelle Ford
Colors (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Kristian Mercado
Epiphany (UK) Music Videos
Dir: Theo Nunn
Estrugamou Lord (Argentina/Germany) Music Videos
Dir: Mateo Yaya
Even If It Hurts (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Cara Stricker
Feeling Lonely (Norway) Music Videos
Dir: Julian Nazario Vargas
I’ll Come Too (UK) Music Videos
Dir: Matt Meech
Loser (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Scottie Cameron
Never Fight a Man with a Perm (UK) Music Videos
Dir: Al Brown
Repetition (Ireland) Music Videos
Dir: Kevin McGloughlin
Show Me Love (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Cara Stricker
So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Caroline Polachek, Matt Copson
Take a Piece (UK) Music Videos
Dir: Emilie Norenberg
This is Not Yemen (Israel) Music Videos
Dir: Omer Ben-David
Thugs (UK) Music Videos
Dir: James Green
Tremble (UK) Music Videos
Dir: Jessica Wright, Morgann Runacre-Temple
Water Me Down (USA) Music Videos
Dir: Maegan Houang
You’re Born (Russia) Music Videos
Dir: Andzej Gavriss
ZOEA (Taiwan) Music Videos
Dir: Powei Su
ZVER (Ukraine/Germany) Music Videos
Dir: Taisia Deeva