Panorama: Rebels #2

According to Thai superstition, a virgin can ward off rain by planting lemongrass upside-down underneath an open sky. This belief remains prevalent to this day. As clouds begin to gather, a young production manager on a film set is tasked to carry out this tradition. As her fellow female co-workers shy away from the duty, she is left with no choice but to take on the burden of becoming the lemongrass girl.

“The hybrid structure of a docufiction lets Bunsermvicha reconstitute reality to create a powerful examination of sexism and power relations on film sets.”

Pom Bunsermvicha (b.1993, Thailand) graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Culture & Media Studies. During her semester abroad in Prague, she attended the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) and directed her first short film 10:10. Her documentary E-po is her first work from Thailand. Her shorts have been shown at several festivals, including BFI Flare, LAAPFF, Inside Out Toronto, Hamburg International Short Film Festival and SeaShorts. Her work combines documentary elements with fiction and is driven by her interest in queer and female characters. Pom is an alumna of Tribeca Film Institute and Berlinale Talents.

After being separated for 82 days, Adam travels down a rough road to be reunited with the one he loves, whatever it takes.

Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sameh studied German literature at Cairo University. Before moving to Europe, he worked as an assistant director in advertisement and feature films. In 2016, he finished his MA in filmmaking at EICAR film school in Paris. Sameh’s first short film Fifteen premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2017 and won several awards around the world. In 2019 he made his first advertisement campaign as a writer and director. His last short film I am afraid to forget your face, is the first Egyptian film in 50 years to be selected for the Official Short Film Competition at Cannes Film Festival 2020. Sameh is currently developing his debut feature film.

Filmed on 16mm film, in just one location and with only one actor, Young Diego appears as a metaphor that explores interpersonal relations and human desire. A personal portrait about youth and the seeking of first love, with an unsettling atmosphere and a narrative open to different interpretations.

Osama Chami and Enrique Gimeno Pedrós directed their first short film, According to Mateo in 2017. It premiered at Outfest in Los Angeles (California, USA) and made its way into the official selection of different international festivals such as Fringe! Queer Film Festival in London, Cine Movilh in Chile, InDPanda in Hong Kong, Our City Film Project in South Africa and LesGaiCineMad in Madrid, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize. According to Mateo is now available on Filmin.

During a blizzard on the tundra, a Sami woman is herding her reindeer when she is brutally raped by a man. Her sister senses that something is wrong and starts looking for her. Wrapped in fear and confusion, both women will unite in their fight for revenge.

The Tongues is directed and written by the sisters Marja Bål Nango and Ingir Bål. Both are Sami indigenous, living on the tundra in arctic Norway and working as reindeer herders, which is their heritage.

Marja Bål Nango (b. 1988) is a Sami director from Galgujávri, Norway. Her education stems from Nordland Art and Film School, Film & Television studies at Lillehammer University College and Film producing at Sámi University College. Her graduate short film Før hun kom, etter han dro (2012) won the Ellen Monague Award at the imagineNATIVE in Toronto, and her last short film O.M.G – Oh máigon girl (2015) won the UR Award at Uppsala Film Festival and Skårungen Award at Tromsø International Film Festival. Marja has participated in many international film festivals and is a member of the Sami International Film Institute. She is also a member of the board of the Northern Norway Film Center, a film funding center in Northern Norway. She worked as reindeer co-ordinator and director’s assistant on Sami Blood (dir. Amanda Kernell, 2016). In 2018 she was chosen for the FilmLab Norway-program – NFI’s and Talent Norges talent development program for female directors.

Sofia is panicky, again. The Universe decides to contact her. An other-wordly dialogue. A planet symphony for Mars, where people dream awake and fight for love. “Contemplates an imaginary solution to the problems of life on Earth with affecting humor.”

Jacqueline (Athens, 1989) is a writer/director whose cinematic language involves finding poetry in –seemingly- mundane premises and/or creating visual poetry through word and image association. She experiments with formats, duration and feelings. Thematically her films revolve around unconventional family constructs, love (and the lack of it), loneliness and belonging. She has directed four shorts which have screened and won in numerous festivals, the most prestigious one being the Cine Leica Discovery Award in Cannes’ Semaine De La Critique (2018) for Hector Malot: The Last Day of the Year.