Films
Subject Critic’s Picks: A small collection of the critics' favorites from the festival year.
A New Kind of Wilderness
A family who have created an idyllic self-sufficient life for their four children are forced to rethink their choices and try to (re)integrate into modern society when tragedy strikes unexpectedly. Radical life choices meet dilemmas in a moving and wise film.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen / Norway / 2024
Abiding Nowhere
A barefoot monk slowly wanders through the streets of Washington DC in Tsai Ming-liang's new and meditative work, which uses few and simple means to send one’s mind wandering (and wondering) along.
Tsai Ming-Liang / Taiwan & United States / 2024
Balomania
With police and bounty hunters hot on her heels, a young filmmaker embarks on a wild ride with a Brazilian brotherhood of balloon builders. A real-life action film with an incredible story about finding freedom against all odds.
Sissel Morell Dargis / Denmark & Spain / 2024 / World Premiere
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
... but expect one of the wildest and most entertaining films of the year when Romanian iconoclast Radu Jude drums up a blistering social satire. A true speedball of a film that moves freely across forms and genres.
Radu Jude / Romania, Luxembourg, France & Croatia / 2023
Every Little Thing
Hummingbirds are the fairies of nature's grand fairy tale. But for a woman who has dedicated her life to saving them from her Los Angeles mansion, the magical creatures are more than just cute.
Sally Aitken / Australia / 2024 / European Premiere
Grand Theft Hamlet
Two unemployed friends have a fresh idea: They want to stage Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' in Grand Theft Auto. But even in a virtual world, reality intrudes in a wild and trippy film shot entirely inside the ultra-violent video game.
Sam Crane & Pinny Grylls / United Kingdom / 2024 / European Premiere
In the Rearview
From a simple and minimalistic setup, an entire universe of human stories emerges as a Polish director shuttles to the Ukrainian border to rescue fleeing families from the country.
Music
Angela Shanelec's enigmatic and elliptical reinterpretation of the myth of King Oedipus is one of the greatest works of the past year. A deeply original highlight in the artistic career of one of the most singular names in European cinema.
No Other Land
The alliance between a young Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank and an Israeli journalist provides a unique and human insight into a decades-old conflict, as the two fight against the forced expulsion of the Masafer Yatta community. A film created by a Palestinian-Israeli collective.
Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra & Hamdan Bilal / Palestine / 2024 / International Premiere
Our Father Wears a Sun
A brother and sister's loving, poetic and personal film poem to their late father, Danish actor Søren Spanning.
Jasper Spanning & Rosalinde Mynster / Denmark / 2024 / World Premiere
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
The incredible story of how jazz music and soft power were used on both fronts of America's ideological battles during the Cold War - including in the Congo. An epic, original and supremely stylish trip through the 20th century from an original angle.
Johan Grimonprez / Belgium, France & Netherlands / 2024
Thank You Very Much
Andy Kaufman was the favourite comedian of all the other comedians. The story of his life is an endlessly fascinating and entertaining trip through the mind of a brilliant, tragic and extreme human being with an unsurpassed sense of humour.
Alex Braverman / United States / 2023
The Mother of All Lies
Last year's critically acclaimed Cannes winner is a Moroccan filmmaker's attempt to reconstruct her family's shadowy past. A miniature model of the family's labyrinthine neighbourhood in Casablanca is an important piece in a cinematic puzzle.
Asmae El Moudir / Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia & Qatar / 2023
The Son and the Moon
A Danish-Iranian filmmaker's brave and honest journey through six years of cancer, love and a life project of mapping her family's dramatic history. Existential poetry with an unforgettable woman in front of (and behind) the camera.
Roja Pakari / Denmark / 2024 / World Premiere
While the Green Grass Grows
A beautiful and enriching experience from one of the most original voices in documentary filmmaking, who has made his most personal film to date without lowering the philosophical altitude.
Peter Mettler / Switzerland & Canada / 2023
Youth (Spring)
China's greatest documentary filmmaker was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year for his epic portrayal of life behind the sewing machines in the country's vast textile industry, where young employees flirt, argue and dream of the future.