Best of Fest Encore Screening

An abandoned villa’s elderly caretaker fights the intrusions of modern Egypt in 19B. His story highlights the changes taking place in contemporary Egypt as characters of different social strata struggle to find their place. Winner, Best Arab Film, Best Cinematography and the International Critics’ Prize, Cairo Film Festival. –Alissa Simon

Tired of the corrupt politicians driving Uganda into the ground, pop star Robert Kyagulanyi, Bobi Wine to his millions of adoring fans, makes a daring run for president in directors Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp’s rousing documentary. 

Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi are a Country Western duo known as Dusty & Stones hailing from an unlikely place, the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). They get their big break to come to Nashville to record and compete in a Texas battle of the bands. It’s a dream come true, until they’re confronted with some harsh realities. 

During a remarkably hot summer, psychotherapist Ina discovers something wrong with her. But as usual, she ignores her problem to focus on her husband, her patients, her daughter and even her 70-year-old mother. But who’s looking out for Ina? Katharina Woll’s debut won Best Screenplay at the Munich Film Festival. 

Best of Fest Encore Screening

Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian’s urgent and intimate documentary looks at four multigenerational American farming families, including in Minnesota, wrestling with the various farm stressors, policies and politics farmers must maneuver to survive, connecting the dots between mental health, industrialization, food production and climate change.

A few months prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, five young women and men participate in a unique stage production that attempts to relate their war experiences to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The Hamlet Syndrome is a powerful portrait of a vibrant young Ukrainian generation, the first one born after the collapse of the Soviet Union, shaped by the Maidan Revolution of 2013, empowered by political change and scarred by war. 

Best of Fest Encore Screening

And now for something completely different … an offbeat crime thriller set in medieval Tallinn. Handsome young apothecary Melchior is known for his skill in diagnosing illnesses and concocting medications, but in addition, he has a knack for solving grisly murders. Estonia’s most-viewed film this year. –Alissa Simon

Best of Fest Encore Screening

Minnesota filmmaker and festival favorite Dawn Mikkelson (Risking Light, 2018 MSPIFF) returns with this rousing documentary following six fierce members of Minnesota Roller Derby as they fight to win the Hydra, the prize for the best women's flat track roller derby team in the entire world.

Best of Fest Encore Screening

Asan moves to a small village in Kyrgyzstan with his sister and mother, and waits for his father to join them. This third feature film by Aibek Daiyrbekov is a sweeping and moving coming-of-age story. 

Director Jasmin Mara López attending.

In this stunning and poetic autobiographical documentary, director Jasmin Mara López explores generations of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her grandfather, a Baptist minister. Generously allowing viewers along on this personal, cinematic journey, López bravely reveals a beautiful grace in the process of healing.

Winner of the prestigious FIPRESCI prize at the Locarno Film Festival, Stone Turtle is Woo Ming Jin's stunning thriller that evokes Groundhog Day and Woman in the Dunes. “[A] beguiling, all-around-gorgeous reimagining of Southeast Asian folklore.” –Peter Debruge, Variety

Best of Fest Encore Screening

From Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, Wild Life is a sweeping portrait of conservationists Kris and Doug Tompkins chronicling their fight to preserve one of the last truly wild places on earth. An epic, decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes they dedicated their lives to protecting.