Introducing the new festival theme and the teaser - "Open Doors" to the world of cinema
On the eve of Christmas, the upcoming 28th Sofia International Film Festival delivers the news about three of the most important films of 2023, which will be highlights of the festival's programme next March. These are the winner of the "Golden Bear" for best film at Berlinale 2023, Nicolas Philibert's "On the Adamant", Aki Kaurismäki's Cannes Jury Prize-winning "Fallen Leaves" and the Venice Special Jury Prize winner, Agnieszka Holland's "The Green Border".
"On the Adamant"'s unique documentary story won the hearts of the audience and the jury, as well as the prestigious "Golden Bear" in February 2023. Its director, Nicolas Philibert, is an auteur with an enviable filmography and a reputation for documentary filmmaking whose retrospectives have been screened around the world, including the British Film Institute in London and MoMA in New York. His latest film follows the lives of the patients and doctors at the Adamant Psychiatric Centre, which operates on a unique floating structure on the river Seine, in the heart of Paris. It presents the methods of treatment of the mentally ill, applied with great warmth and enthusiasm, and also portraits of several patients who - surprisingly for their condition - are able to create original, moving works of art.
Honored with a Jury Prize and a "Palme d'Or" nomination, Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki's latest "Fallen Leaves" was one of the most talked-about films at Cannes. It is the fourth part of a peculiar film series, dedicated to working-class people - "Shadows in Paradise" (1986), "Ariel" (1988) and "The Match Factory Girl" (1990). Two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance one night in Helsinki, trying to find their path to happiness. The film is another delightful comedy by Kaurismäki, with a serious rock and roll soundtrack. The romantic story is presented in the director's signature style, with a charm that in no way undermines or ironizes the emotions involved. With nominations for European Film, Director and Screenplay - Kaurismäki, Actress and Actor - Alma Pösti and Jussi Vatanen, "Fallen Leaves" is one of the EFA members' favourite films in 2023.
"On the Adamant" and "Fallen Leaves" are among the films, selected for the LUX Audience Award 2024.
"The Green Border" premiered in competition at Venice, where legendary director Agnieszka Holland was awarded the Special Jury Prize. Her latest film also received the Arca Cinema Giovani Award for Best Film, the UNIMED Award for Cultural Diversity, the Premio CinemaSarà, the Sorriso Diverso Venezia for Best Foreign Language Film and the Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola - Cinema for UNICEF Award. "The Green Border" was also nominated for the European Film, Director and Screenwriter Awards by EFA. Controversially received in Poland, the large-scale co-production follows the fate of a Syrian family fleeing the civil war in Syria who, together with an Afghan teacher, want to enter the European Union, unaware that in an attempt to cross the Belarusian-Polish border they'll find themselves drawn into the political machinations of the authorities in Belarus. In Poland, fate meets them with the psychologist Julia and the young border guard Jan. The events that unfold force each of them to question what it really means to show humanity in extraordinary circumstances...
The vision of the 28th Sofia Film Festival theme "Open Doors" was made by the team of the advertising agency proof.
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Looking forward to seeing you at the #CINEMA!
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