In 2024, in the city of Manaus, as part of the Olhar do Norte Amazon Film Festival program, an experimental 16mm film workshop was held, taught by filmmaker and photographer Raffaella Rosset, a beautiful immersion in 16mm material. Through experimentation, the participants were able to paint directly onto the 16mm film, creating possibilities, freedom of thought and construction, thus generating a collective film full of feelings. The film also features the Rio Negro and its tributaries, which magically bathe the city of Manaus, which in the Manaós language means “Mother of the Gods”. All hail the magic of cinema.
Inspired by the tradition of visual music (in particular, the Fischinger-copped JS Bach sequence that opens 1942's Fantasia), Scantasia is a rhythmic composition performed on a network of analog synthesizers, where the same voltages trigger rhythmic, synaesthetic shifts in both image and sound. Neither sound nor image is cut to the other; both co-emerge in the flow of real time.
In the midst of The Great Emu War and post depression in rural Australia, two contrasting yet equally half-witted farmers, John and Rob, face head to head with one of the dangerous beasts. Against the guidance of indifferent Army officials, the farmers deal with the situation themselves.
The vestiges of two people lost in life, both Iván and Camila, two beings who, like a desperate attempt, decide to get to know each other to avoid the tedium of life.
In 2002, Cheng's father murdered his mother. He is both the son of the perpetrator and the beloved son of the victim. That afternoon, he met the children of two other death row inmates. The three of them talked about life, about marriage, and about their greatest fear: their fathers, and the death penalty.
Winter is approaching in the remote Iranian Zagros Mountains, and 16-year-old Sogol lives a fragile life on the edge of childhood and adulthood. Her family's existence, rooted in nature and sustained by tradition, is shaped by patriarchal customs and the pressures of a changing world. Though she lacks a formal education, Sogol dreams of a different future for her younger family member Delaram, believing education can break the cycle of tradition and offer new possibilities. Sogol dares to imagine a future beyond the mountains for Delaram, but delicate dreams can be easily lost in the harsh wilderness.
Once a beloved playmate of her childhood, Markku had withdrawn into solitude, devoting his life to inner freedom and creativity rather than the expectations of society. Now his voice returns – sometimes playful, sometimes wounded, always searching – guiding Karin through his life’s work and opening space for an unusual collaboration between the living and the dead.
Sophie, a young woman torn between independence and duty, attends a Chinese New Year family gathering. When a red packet is exchanged, it uncovers hidden conflicts between generations. As tensions rise, Sophie and her relatives must confront the balance between their personal freedom and cultural traditions. The Red Packet explores themes of love, duty, and unspoken emotions, blending warmth with conflict to reflect on the ties that bind families together.
Prince Frederick is supposed to choose his bride at a ball, but in the enchanted forest he meets Odette – a girl who is a swan during the day. He falls in love and wants to break the spell, so he invites her to the ball. But the sorcerer Rothbart hatches a nasty plan and sends his daughter in Odette's place. Will Frederick realise the deception in time?
René is haunted by the ghost of a young girl. To break free, he must confront his school bullies, an absent father, and his own fears—while discovering the value of true friendship and mending his relationship with his mother.
An old hermit, living with his ducks in the woods, is kidnapped for not conforming by the state's children's army. In prison the old man undergoes a torturous re-education by fierce classical musicians. A courageous fellow prisoner heals him with love and they attempt an escape.
Ginevra and Giulio are siblings, but that’s all they have in common: even the piano no longer unites them.When Ginevra is forced to sacrifice everything to keep Giulio from destroying himself and ending up behind bars, she uncovers within herself the same violent fire that burns in her brother.