Samet is disillusioned. A teacher in remote Turkey, for his years of work he’s accused of inappropriate behavior by a student. In love with a politically active teacher from another town, Samet ponders the meaning of his life.

Alhaji is an aspiring actor and Sheku is a law student. They are first-generation Sierra Leonean American brothers in their twenties and each believes their brother has it made. But, not all is as it seems. Omar S. Kamara’s assured and charming feature debut won the Audience Award at Slamdance and radiates wisdom and affection in this exploration of enduring brotherly bonds.

Nicole Brending upends traditional joyful narratives about motherhood in this kaleidoscopic documentary that explores the darker and often unspoken side of the early months with a newborn child.

Sylvie is a single mom, trying to make life work for her two boys. One night, her youngest burns himself while she’s at work bartending. Now she’s in the fight of her life against France’s child protection system.

A Brussels high school literature instructor tries to inculcate a love of reading and freedom of expression as well as a sense of cohesion amongst her diverse class, but some of the students come from a fundamentalist background. –Alissa Simon

Itto is a pregnant woman from a modest background, married to an extremely wealthy man in Morocco. When he travels for business, she’s able to stop putting on airs–but when nationwide mysterious phenomena arise, will Itto adapt or succumb?

In 1942, seamen with supplies for the Eastern front brave brutal Arctic seas and enemy-infested waters as they head for Murmansk. A companion piece of sorts to the poignant period drama War Sailor from a few years back. –Alissa Simon

Everyone knows Thomas Kinkade, the “Painter of Light” (insert trademark logo here), who rocketed to success in the ‘90s and whose paintings were sold in malls everywhere. But when he died in 2012, his daughters uncovered a trove of darker works, which revealed a man they never really knew.

Perhaps the last great western, The Assassination of Jesse James boasts an incredible cast, a brilliant and moving script, and, of course, Roger Deakins’ lush cinematography, which beautifully evoked 19th Century America, earning him another Oscar nomination.

It’s the dream of a lifetime–Sandra and Daniel are burgeoning actors making a film with a top-shelf director. But when they begin an intimate scene and Daniel crosses a line, no one will ever be the same.

Mvskoke Media is the free press of the Muscogee Nation, the fourth largest Native American tribe in the country. That is, until 2018, when the tribal government repeals laws to protect the free press, in an effort to silence criticism.

Banel and Adama are deeply in love, so much so that nothing else seems to matter, including Adama’s role in daily prayers and as village chief. When a drought devastates the countryside, the couple’s love is put to its greatest test.

Starts April 26

MSPIFF43 Official Selection

The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely "erase" their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). Set first in Belle Époque-era Paris, Louis is a British man who woos her away from a cold husband, then in early 21st Century Los Angeles, he is a disturbed American bent on delivering violent "retribution." Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates? Visually audacious director Bertrand Bonello (Saint Laurent, Nocturama) fashions his most accomplished film to date: a sci-fi epic, inspired by Henry James’ turn-of-the-century novella, suffused with mounting dread and a haunting sense of mystery. Punctuated by a career-defini

2044: Gabrielle is terrified of her emotions. To suppress them, she undergoes a surgical process to extract past lives from her DNA. But when she meets Louis, she realizes that her fate, and those troubling emotions, are inexorably linked with his.

Iván Vallejo and Sebastián Cordero are Ecuadorian climbers and filmmakers, respectively. Together they begin a documentary of Vallejo’s ascent to the top of Mt. Everest, but as they climb higher, their vision of the film differs radically, and dangerously.

Inspired by the 1998 Olympics, 11-year-old Dom imagines himself a star goalie. In this Bad News Bears style dramedy, a disparate group of small town Czech kids form a makeshift hockey team to prove that no dream is too big. Age 10+ –Deb Girdwood

The director of the festival favorite The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner completes his trilogy on social problems and moral ills in contemporary Bulgaria with this cautionary drama about an older woman duped by a telephone scam aimed at the country’s pensioners. –Alissa Simon

Based on the life of Mauricio Aznar, an enigmatic Spanish rock musician who, fatigued by his own music, traveled to Latin America for inspiration. There, he met Don Carlos, who rekindled his love for music with his unconventional style. 

BYWAYS BOOK SIGNING

Purchase a copy of Byways (Damiani, 2021), Roger Deakins’ hardcover collection of photography, and meet Roger & James Deakins at the book signing.

After graduating from college Deakins spent a year photographing life in rural North Devon, in Southwest England, on a commission for the Beaford Arts Centre; these images are gathered here for the first time and attest to a keenly ironic English sensibility, while also documenting a vanished postwar Britain. A second suite of images expresses Deakins’ love of the seaside. Traveling for his cinematic work has allowed Deakins to photograph landscapes all over the world; in this third group of images, that same irony remains evident.

Books picked up at signing.

This is a ticketed event to moderate attendance. Ticket price includes price of the book and space during one of the allotted starting times (every 30 minutes).

When popular and wealthy student Wei accidentally hits Shuo, his introverted classmate, with a ball, they strike up an unlikely friendship. As Shou spends more time at Wei’s house, Shou slowly transforms from an awkward fish-out-of-water to a comfortable surrogate member of Wei’s family. 

The Krahô are the indigenous people of Northern Brazil. In The Buruti Flower, directors João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora present four tales, cinematic representations of the Krahô’s oral histories, detailing four tragic events from this people's history.

In the 1960s and 70s, Anita Pallenberg was a style icon, actress, and muse. Using her unpublished memoir as a basis, this brilliant documentary shows her impact on The Rolling Stones, cinema, fashion, and reveals a woman ahead of her time.

This gorgeous, boldly painted animated feature is a delightfully French slapstick comedy about a frazzled single mother going to outrageous lengths to get a chicken for her plucky 8-year-old daughter, Linda. Expect the unexpected. Age 10+ –Deb Girdwood

Ze is a typical high-school student–confused, troubled and rebellious–but he is also the village shaman. When Ze helps a teenage girl during a ceremony, he falls in love, which threatens his shamanic path.

Claire returns to Iceland on a solo trip, intending to confront her past and tend to a difficult task. There she meets Iris, a young, irreverent, somewhat irresponsible hitchhiker, and together they forge a bond neither will soon forget. Minnesota filmmaker Lynn Lukkas’ debut feature is a moving portrait of self-discovery and healing.

Óðinn Hafsteinsson is an investigator and single father living with his 13-year-old daughter, Rún, who witnessed her mother’s suicide. As Óðinn investigates mysterious deaths at a juvenile treatment center, he begins to wonder if these seemingly unrelated cases are connected.

Set in New Zealand in the 1830s, this breathtaking revisionist Western stars Guy Pearce as a mysterious lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement, only to find himself at the center of a war between Maori tribes. –Alissa Simon

Years before the first Women’s World Cup in 1991 was COPA 71: a hundred thousand people packed into Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium to watch the world’s finest female soccer players compete for the world title, an event lost to history. Until now.

Amir drives through Tehran in the night, dealing drugs and talking to the users, prostitutes, pimps, people in physical pain and other troubled souls. With his dog, he contemplates his loneliness and his, and his country’s, future.

Emma is one of the shining stars in Quebec’s classical music scene. Her father, Patrick, her agent, controls her every move. Until Naëlle, a cellist and single mother, enters the picture, and Emma sees a whole new world unfold.

Albert and Bruno are debt-ridden friends always looking for ways to cadge free stuff. One day they stumble on an environmental activist group offering free food and brews, and they slip in, and immediately sense a way to scam these true believers.

Radu Jude’s bizarre and radical film sees Angela juggling two jobs: the first as a film production assistant, and the second as her infamous face-filtered, foul-mouthed, misogynistic TikTok alter ego Bobita–an act of defiance that punches with anger, poise and absurdity. 

Elaha is a young Kurdish-German woman torn between unconditional love for her family and her own aspirations in life. Ultimately, she must decide: tell the truth or live a lie. A compelling drama about emancipation. –Alissa Simon

Henry Boucha was a legendary hockey player from Warroad, MN and member of the Ojibwe Nation, playing in the NHL and the USA Olympic team before he was assaulted on the ice. Temporarily lost without his hockey career, he was forced to start again off the ice.

Takumi is a single dad to his daughter, Hana. Life is hard in their village but peaceful. However, when a Tokyo company descends on the village with the intent of building a “glamping” resort, the village will never be the same, with potentially devastating results. 

Starts May 2

He’s a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?

From real life stunt man and director David Leitch, the blockbuster director of Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and the producer of John Wick, Nobody and Violent Night, comes his most personal film yet. A new hilarious, hard-driving, all-star apex-action thriller and love letter to action movies and the hard-working and under-appreciated crew of people who make them: The Fall Guy.

Oscar® nominee Ryan Gosling

IN CONVERSATION & FARGO SCREENING

Join us for a film conversation, with Roger Deakins & collaborator James Deakins, and a screening o thef Oscar winning movie Fargo.

Tickets for these events are on sale for MSP Film Society members now thru this weekend. Tickets will go on sale to the general public Monday, March 18th.

About the film

An instant classic when it was released in 1996, and Minnesota’s most famous film, Fargo is often overlooked for its stunning visuals. Roger Deakins’ camera captured our frigid landscape better than anyone before or since, and earned his second Oscar nomination.

Known as “the Fishing Hat Bandit” when he robbed 23 banks in Minnesota over 18 months in the early 2000s, John Whitrock’s story unfolds in utterly surprising ways in director Mark Brown’s riveting documentary.

When filmmaker Chris Wilcha revisits the record store he worked at as a teenager, he finds the once-thriving bastion of music and weirdness from his youth falling apart. Flipside documents his tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting other documentary projects he has abandoned over the years.

When Vera was young, she gave up her baby for adoption. Now, years later, she navigates Spain’s callous bureaucracy trying to find her biological son. Víctor Iriarte's visionary debut feature is a mysterious neo-noir experience.

Ash needs money. He’s trying to support his younger sister and his mother needs rehab. His back against the wall, he joins Dubz’s gang, zooming around London engaging in petty crime… until he finds himself on the wrong side of Armenian gangsters.

Closing Night Film. When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he unwittingly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, where he discovers community and purpose. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.

Mira is a star student at a strict boarding school who falls in love with a charming new boy. As the two start spending more time together, Mira’s mother, herself a bit repressed and jealous of the warm friendship the two have, also falls for the boy’s charisma. 

Mateo is a Filipino teenager failing high school. With his father missing, he relies on the paternal protection of his Uncle Berto, a local gang leader. When Mateo runs out of options and needs to leave town, he finally turns to his Uncle, accepting a seemingly inevitable life of violence.

Grace and her father are in pain. Grieving the loss of her mother and his wife, they travel across Russia in a beat-up old van, screening movies to rural crowds and eking out a living in Ilya Povolotsky’s subtle and moving tale.

Sometimes truth is even stranger than fiction. In this riveting Scandinavian documentary bloodline mysteries meet true crime as the filmmaker follows the twists and turns in a Norwegian family’s unexpected reconfiguration. –Alissa Simon

Three families struggling with profound grief are stunned when the dead rise again–are their loved ones truly home? Or is this a new form of terror? From the creator of Let the Right One In.

In the provincial town of Usak, a tightly-wound criminal defense attorney juggles urgent matters on the job and within her family in this engrossing drama. This finely-tuned second feature is a superior example of new Turkish filmmaking. –Alissa Simon

In fashion circles, the name John Galliano is fraught with contrasts: one of the highest profile fashion designers, an icon of British culture, and a man whose antisemitic outburst brought it all down. 

At only 20, Veronica has had more life than most people—having been found not guilty for the brutal murder of her mother, she retreats to her small hometown hoping to start her life anew.

Holly skips high school on the day a fire breaks out, killing classmates. When she attends a support group and almost magically helps the grieving, the townspeople begin to demand more and more, driving her to the edge of madness.

In an isolated Icelandic village, a man built a regulation soccer pitch in effort to host a championship game. 25 years later, his son is determined to finally realize that dream, and a few others, on his dad’s field. 

Sasha is a teenage vampire who just doesn’t want to kill humans. When her exasperated parents cut off her blood supply, Sasha’s life is in jeopardy. She meets Paul, a dour teenager, who’s eager to die to nourish his new friend.

Sirat is a transgender woman who is caught between duty and self-determination. As Aman, she lives in New Delhi with her widowed mother as a son. But for herself, her friends and co-workers, she identifies as Sirat, the woman she has always felt she is.

Starts May 16

Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack. 

In one of Latin America’s most unequal countries, Francia Márquez, a Black Colombian rural activist, challenges the status quo with a presidential campaign that reappropriates the

derogatory term “Igualada” — someone who acts as if they deserve rights that supposedly don’t correspond to them — and inspires a nation to dream.

With her father dead for years and her grandfather recently passed, medical student Mariam and her mother are without a financial and social safety net in a very patriarchal culture. Mariam’s imminent graduation could save them, but a series of calamities unleashes a haunting specter in her midst.

Festival favorite Hong Sang-soo’s latest feature, his 30th, weaves together the seemingly unrelated stories of a former actress who is in retreat, and a middle-aged poet whose work is galvanizing to the younger generation. 

When a German documentary crew descends on a small Turkish village to interview a woman whose child vanished decades ago, they find themselves caught in what looks like supernatural circumstances. Shot from three perspectives, Ayse Polat’s thriller is riveting.

Following the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, three members of the same family flee to Iran, only to find that, even after decades, they’re still struggling to fit in. This triptych covers decades in the lives of these three survivors.

Alarmed by the Russian invasion, director Maciek Hamela bought a van and helped evacuate civilians. With his cameraperson (and driver), he captured the quotidian details of civilian life, and escape, during wartime in this intimate and heartbreaking documentary.

MN FILM INDUSTRY NIGHT

MSP Film and CineMechanics invite you to a MN Film Industry night with acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins & collaborator James Deakins as they talk about Roger’s monumental career in cinematography, their photography book Byways (Damiani, 2021), and their popular cinematography podcast TEAM DEAKINS.

This in-person conversation will be moderated by on-set photographer Wilson Webb

Industry night is the perfect time to connect with your fellow Minnesota filmmakers.

Co-Presented by CineMechanics

In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet and her spellbinding nature.

The origin story of Lady Camden, the drag persona of Rex Wheeler, as they navigate the fame of being on RuPaul’s Drag Race and confront the ghosts of childhood trauma.

Anne is a successful lawyer married to Pierre, a wonderful man who has adopted two daughters and has a 17-year-old son, Théo. When the boy returns to living with Pierre, Anne cannot help but fall in love with him. 

This taut 19th century thriller, crackling with tension, pits smart but stubborn young heiress Maud against her scheming guardian Uncle Silas, his odious son, spoiled daughter and daughter’s sinister governess. –Alissa Simon

Troubled detective Travis Hurley is tasked with solving a 20-year-old cold case in the remote Australian outback. An Indigenous girl was murdered, her killer still in town. But is Hurley helping, or causing more emotional damage to Charlotte’s family?

The Mahroofs are Pakistani émigrés to East Oslo who don’t quite fit in. Based on the popular novel by Gulraiz Sharif, it’s bold and angry, charming and generous, and always full of love. –Alissa Simon

Emiliano is obsessed with finding his missing mother–an activist who vanished while protesting a local mine. When Emiliano starts digging to get to the bottom of this mystery, he finds a wealthy family that he thinks holds the key to his mother’s disappearance. His revenge, misguided or not, is exacted with plenty of collateral damage.

Sweet Potato is doing his best to rehabilitate–working in a small shop by the sea and laying low and trying to go straight after a stint in prison. When his old crime boss wants him back, he’s not going to run, but fight.

Noël Coward–songwriter, playwright, singer, actor, spy–possessing tremendous talent… and contradictions. A gay icon terrified of being outed, who knew he wanted to be a star at age two, he charmed the world and hid his secrets well.

This social-issues thriller asks the question “What price, survival?” as Eritrean fugitive Almaz (Meninet Abraha Teferi) arrives in Italy on a boat of refugees. As in director Espinosa’s best films, Madame Luna finds the humanity in morally compromised characters. –Alissa Simon

Following the buzz surrounding the Leonard Bernstein bio-pic Maestro, the informative documentary Maestra is even more compelling. It profiles five fiercely tenacious female orchestra conductors in the early stages of their careers who participate in France’s “La Maestra” competition. –Alissa Simon

In the heart of Riyadh, Fahad Algadaani's gripping journey from a struggling delivery man to the depths of a city's underworld, as he battles to save his father amidst desperation and opportunity.

Their films were perennial Oscar nominees, showcases for some of the best actors in the world, and they delighted audiences everywhere. Merchant Ivory tells the story of the incredible creative team of James Ivory, Ismail Merchant and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. 

Midnight Mayhem: Saturday, June 1 at 10:00 PM | The Main Cinema

Based on the best-selling adult comic by Germany's Ralf König and featuring special effects by notorious splatter master Jörg Buttgereit and creative consulting from the legendary H. R. Giger, Martin Walz's Killer Condom is a delirious queer horror comedy, newly restored to its unseen original director's cut.

Midnight Mayhem: Saturday, May 4 at 10:00 PM | The Main Cinema

Dalton (Patrick Swayze) is a true gentleman with a degree in philosophy from NYU. He also has a flip side - he's the best bar bouncer in the business. When Dalton's brought in to clean up a popular establishment that become particularly rowdy, his calm is put to the test by the town bully, in this throwback to the great westerns of the 40's and 50's.

From acclaimed filmmaker Cristi Puiu comes this quadriptych of tales about four different people enduring life in the eponymous year, one of the most fraught in human history. These seemingly unrelated short films perfectly capture life during the pandemic.

Asmae El Moudir’s grandmother Zahra always refused to get her photo taken. Seeking to understand her family’s past, El Moudir creates a miniature of their Casablanca neighborhood, and invites the family to reenact moments in the past, with eye-opening results.  

Suhail is a young boy with Autism living alone in the mountains, in tune with nature and away from a father who does not understand him. Lost in a desert storm, a young girl meets Suhail, and the adventures begin. Age 10+ –Deb Girdwood

Over the course of five years, Música! follows four young Cubans who view music as a way of life. Through music, they hope to find success and fulfillment, some choosing to remain in Cuba, and some seeking to venture out into the world beyond.

In Iraq, 5-year-old Lawand is deaf, with virtually no opportunity for an education His family makes the journey to the UK so he can attend the Royal School for the Deaf, where he eventually thrives---until the family is threatened with deportation, putting everything Lawland has accomplished at risk.

Sophia and Xavier have been together for over a decade, but they seem like an old couple, comfortable more than passionate. When Xavier hires Sylvain, a charismatic and handsome contractor, the door to passion is opened to Sophia. 

On a small farm in the Norwegian forest, the Payne family seeks a wild and free existence. They practice home-schooling and strive for a closely-knit family dynamic in harmony with nature. However, when tragedy unexpectedly strikes the family, it upends their idyllic world and forces them to forge a new path into modern society.

Comedian and disruptor-extraordinaire Lizz Winstead is angry–and she’s got good reason to be. With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, she and her group Abortion Access Front are rolling up their sleeves and taking the fight to the streets to secure abortion freedoms across the US.

County Durham used to thrive, but now the town, and its favorite pub, The Old Oak, are winding down. But when pub owner TJ and a young Syrian woman named Yara begin to form a friendship, hope once again emerges.

DeRay, a legendary street dancer, falls from the sky to land on the doorstep of his true love, the poet Naima. Boaz Yakin’s beautifully surreal film fuses rap, poetry, dance, and bold visuals to create a dreamlike cinematic fantasy.

Screening + Discussion • May 14 at 7:00pm

Post Film Discussion Speakers:
Rev. Leonard Freeman: Leonard Freeman, a veteran religious journalist, parish priest, and former head of communications for Washington National Cathedral and Trinity Church Wall Street, was the primary national church reporter for the Philadelphia 11 ordinations. He was also part of the national church communications team covering the 1976 General Convention that approved women’s ordination to the priesthood. He and Allison Cheek were classmates at Virginia Seminary.

Rev. Katherine Lewis: Katherine was ordained in 1996 and has served congregations in the Diocese of Southern Ohio and the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. She is currently the rector of St. David's in Minnetonka and is the Regional Dean for the Central and West Twin Cities metro areas. A vivid childhood memory of Katherine's was witnessing the protest of the ordination of a

Amidst the chaos and destruction of the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, three artists defiantly find inspiration and beauty as they defend their culture and their country. Porcelain War embodies the passion and fight that only an artist can put back into the world when it’s crumbling around them.

In the United States, police have been granted extraordinary power over our individual lives. In this sweeping documentary, director Yance Ford traces the accumulation of money, the consolidation of political power, and the nearly unrestricted bipartisan support that has created the institution of policing as we know it.

The Latine community is the fastest growing ethnic group in Minnesota – a state that also claims one of the largest opportunity gaps in the country. Today, two independent public schools are tackling this challenge by implementing a decolonized, bilingual, culture-affirming system to serve Latine students. Profe mixes historical interviews, archival and present day-verité to paint a picture of the Latine educational revolution in Minnesota – one which started with the Chicano Movement in the 1970s and is continuing to have real impact in Latine students today.

Teresa lives in terrified seclusion. Needing a change, she retreats to her family’s rural estate, driving there in an armored car. When the exploited farm workers are pushed too far, they rise up, and she’s trapped in the vehicle. 

Azra is constantly at odds with her conservative mother. A lesbian, Azra just tries to get along, but when her beloved father suddenly dies, her grief plunges her into a Bollywood-style examination of her family’s past and present. 

Trapped in a destiny she did not choose, Leni joins her father, Reverend Pearson, in his Evangelical mission. When their car–also their home–breaks down in rural Argentina, Leni begins to see her father for who he really is. 

Three women wander through a Tokyo suburb, and cross paths briefly but profoundly on a gorgeous summer’s day. Yui Kiyohara’s lyrical film captures, with Proustian detail, these women’s lives.