AFI Fest’s World Cinema section unveiled Tuesday includes seven films that have been officially submitted for the Foreign Language Film Oscar, from Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum and Matteo Garrone’s Dogman to Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away and the Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Shoplifters by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The lineup includes 28 titles from 27 countries. The fest runs November 8-15 and opens with the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex.
Here’s the full World Cinema lineup:
WORLD CINEMA
3 FACES (SE ROKH) – Jafar Panahi and Iranian actress Behnaz Jafari travel to a small
village in northwest Iran to investigate the possible suicide of an aspiring young actress.
Content to sit in the car while three generations of women examine their dual oppression,
Panahi traverses moral and ideological pathways through rural Iran with trademark heart,
charm and wit. DIR Jafar Panahi. SCR Jafar Panahi. CAST Behnaz Jafari, Marziyeh
Rezaei, Narges Del Aram, Jafar Panahi, Maedeh Erteghaei. Iran
AMATEURS (AMATÖRER) – When German investors show interest in building a
superstore in the small town of Lafors, community leaders decide to create a promotional
video. Turning to students for help, teenagers Aida and Dana begin filming — and the battle for the true image of Lafors is on. Director Gabriela Pichler returns to AFI FEST with
a sharp, funny, youthful and complex drama about giving a voice to those most often
unheard. DIR Gabriela Pichler. SCR Gabriela Pichler, Jonas Hassen Khemeri. CAST
Zahraa Aldoujaili, Yara Aliadotter, Fredrik Dahl. Sweden
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT – Filmed over three years, the latest documentary from
James Longley follows students and teachers at a school in an old neighborhood of Kabul
that is slowly rebuilding from past conflicts. Interweaving the modern history of Afghanistan
with present-day portraits, the film offers an intimate and nuanced vision of a society living
in the shadow of war. DIR James Longley. USA, Denmark, Norway
ASH IS PUREST WHITE (JIANGHU ER NV) – Jia Zhang-ke returns to AFI FEST with his
latest sprawling masterwork. Centering on the struggles of Qiao (played by Zhao Tao), a
gangster’s girlfriend who spends five years in prison after getting caught up in a violent
attack, ASH IS PUREST WHITE is a haunting, enigmatic portrait of individuals navigating
China’s new “capitalism” at the dawn of the millennium. DIR Jia Zhang-ke. SCR Jia Zhang-
ke. CAST Zhao Tao, Liao Fan, Xu Zheng. China, France
BULBUL CAN SING – In Rima Das’ lyrical and quietly moving third feature, an
independent girl, Bulbul, lives a typical teenage life in the Assam region of India. But when
a cruel shaming by a group of local men balloons into a tragedy, Bulbul must learn how to
deal with her awakening desires in a restrictive culture. DIR Rima Das. SCR Rima Das.
CAST Arnali Das, Manoranjan Das, Bonita Thakuria, Pakija Begum. India
CAPERNAUM (CAPHARNAÜM) – CAPERNAUM tells the story of Zain, a Lebanese boy
who sues his parents for the “crime” of giving him life. Zain journeys from gutsy, streetwise
child to hardened 12-year-old “adult”: fleeing his abusive, negligent parents, surviving
through his wits on the streets, and finally, seeking justice in a courtroom. DIR Nadine
Labaki. SCR Nadine Labaki, Jihad Hojeily, Michelle Kesrwany. CAST Zain Al Rafeea,
Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawthar Al Haddad, Fadi Kamel
Youssef, Cedra Izam, Alaa Chouchnieh, Nadine Labaki, Nour el Husseini, Elias Khoury.
Lebanon
DAUGHTER OF MINE (FIGLIA MIA) – 10-year-old Vittoria is a quiet girl whose uneventful
Sardinian summer becomes upended when she discovers her birth mother is the town
drunk, Angelica (Alba Rohrwacher). As Vittoria begins to split her time between Angelica
and the more stable woman who raised her (Valeria Golino), she finds herself struggling
with something deep and innate. DIR Laura Bispuri. SCR Francesca Manieri, Laura
Bispuri. CAST Valeria Golino, Alba Rohrwacher, Sara Casu, Michele Carboni, Udo Kier.
Italy, Germany, Switzerland
DIAMANTINO – When Portuguese soccer god Diamantino blows a chance at World Cup
glory, the disgraced footballer finds himself unwittingly tied up in conspiracies involving evil
twin sisters, gender bending genetic experimentation, lesbian spies and far-right ultra-
nationalists in delightfully sharp, future cult classic. DIR Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt.
SCR Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt. CAST Carloto Cotta, Cleo Tavares, Anabela Moreira, Margarida Moreira, Carla Maciel, Filipe Vargas, Manuela Moura Guedes, Joana
Barrios, Maria Leite. Portugal, France, Brazil
DOGMAN – Matteo Garrone’s latest film is a gripping drama about Marcello, a gentle yet
cowardly dog groomer who finds himself caught up in Italy’s criminal underworld. Marcello
forms a dangerous, one-sided relationship with former boxer and cokehead Simone, who
terrorizes the community. Before long, Marcello is part of his reckless antics. DOGMAN will
screen at AFI FEST in partnership with Cinema Italian Style, an annual showcase of
contemporary Italian cinema in Los Angeles. DOGMAN will be the opening night film of
Cinema Italian Style. DIR Matteo Garrone. SCR Ugo Chiti, Maurizio Braucci, Matteo
Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso. CAST Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce, Nunzia Schiano,
Adamo Dionisi, Francesco Acquaroli. Italy, France
FUGUE (FUGA) – Alicja suffers from memory loss and has rebuilt her own free-spirited
way of life. Two years later, she returns to her family and unwillingly resumes her role as
wife, mother and daughter. FUGUE evokes the social taboos around motherhood and the
pressure on women to accept maternity without hesitation or reflection. DIR Agnieszka
Smoczyńska. SCR Gabriela Muskała. CAST Gabriela Muskała, Łukasz Simlat, Iwo
RajskiMałgorzata Buczkowska, Zbigniew Waleryś, Halina Rasiakówna, Piotr Skiba.
Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden
GENESIS (GENÈSE) – While Guillaume, an outwardly confident teenager in a posh
boarding school, struggles with surprising new feelings of love and alienation, his older
sister Charlotte navigates a thorny path of relationships with disappointing men in
Québécois director Philippe Lesage’s detailed, incisive portrait of adolescent yearning. DIR
Philippe Lesage. SCR Philippe Lesage. CAST Noée Abita, Théodore Pellerin, Jules Roy-
Sicotte, Maxime Dumontier, Edouard Tremblay-Grenier, Emilie Bierre, Pier-Luc Funk,
Vassili Schneider, Mylène Mackay. Canada
HAPPY AS LAZZARO (LAZZARO FELICE) – In auteur Alice Rohrwacher’s stunning third
feature, a simple young man named Lazzaro works with other unpaid laborers on an
isolated estate in the Italian countryside. But when Lazzaro suffers an accident, HAPPY
AS LAZZARO kicks into high gear as a work of fantastic time-jumping poetry and
grounded social critique. DIR Alice Rohrwacher. SCR Alice Rohrwacher. CAST Adriano
Tardiolo, Agnese Graziani, Alba Rohrwacher, Luca Chikovani, Tommaso Ragno, Sergi
López, Natalino Balasso, Gala Othero Winter, David Bennent, Nicoletta Braschi. Italy
HOTEL BY THE RIVER (GANGBYUN HOTEL) – A getaway destination along the frozen
Han River is the setting for Hong Sang-soo’s latest, a simmering and melancholic family
drama, lensed in stark black and white, about an aging poet facing mortality and his two
competing sons who cross paths with a woman nursing the wounds of a scarring breakup.
DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Ki Joo-bong, Kim Min-hee, Song Seon-
mi, Kwon Hae-hyo, Yu Jun-sang, Park Ran, Shin Seok-ho. South Korea
“I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS” (ÎMI ESTE
INDIFERENT DACA ÎN ISTORIE VOM INTRA CA BARBARI) – Mariana is a young, defiant artist mounting a theatrical production of the Odessa massacre, in which Romanian
soldiers killed thousands of Ukrainian Jews. As she attempts to stage a realistic
reenactment, to force her fellow Romanians to confront their sins of the past, she meets
with stiff resistance from local powers. Radu Jude’s latest masterpiece is at once funny,
uncomfortable and profound. DIR Radu Jude. SCR Radu Jude. CAST Ioana Iacob,
Alexandru Dabija, Alex Bogdan. Romania, Czech Republic, France, Bulgaria, Germany
MAYA – Mia Hansen-Løve reunites with Roman Kolinka for her sixth feature. As the
French protagonist Gabriel, he travels to India after a traumatic stint of forced captivity and
encounters the charming Maya. What takes shape is a subtle increase of silent attraction
as the two explore his childhood home in this gentle film filled with yearning, wandering
and rumination. DIR Mia Hansen-Løve. SCR Mia Hansen-Løve. CAST Roman Kolinka,
Aarshi Banerjee, Alex Descas. France
MY BRILLIANT FRIEND (L’AMICA GENIALE) – MY BRILLIANT FRIEND adapts the first
book in Elena Ferrante’s renowned coming-of-age epic, beginning in 1950s Naples and
spanning six decades. An unexpected phone call prompts Elena to reflect on her
relationship with her brilliant friend Lila and the complexities of female friendship in a
community replete with male violence. DIR Saverio Costanzo. SCR Elena Ferrante,
Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo. CAST Valentina Acca, Antonio
Buonanno, Gennaro Canonico, Pina Di Gennaro, Sarah Falanga, Luca Gallone. Italy
NEVER LOOK AWAY (WERK OHNE AUTOR) – Inspired by real events and spanning
three eras of German history, NEVER LOOK AWAY tells the story of an art
student Kurt, who falls in love with classmate Ellie. Ellie’s father, Professor Seeband, is
dismayed at his daughter’s choice of boyfriend, and will stop at nothing to destroy the
relationship. DIR Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. SCR Florian Henckel von
Donnersmarck. CAST Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Oliver Masucci Saskia
Rosendahl. Germany, Italy
NON-FICTION (DOUBLE VIES) – Olivier Assayas’ latest is a delightful, breezy comedy
centering on a married couple (Juliette Binoche and Guillaume Canet) as they navigate the
swiftly evolving landscape of the modern publishing industry, and the ever-thorny issue of
monogamy (or lack thereof) in long-term relationships. DIR Olivier Assayas. SCR Olivier
Assayas. CAST Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne. France
OF FATHERS AND SONS – Award-winning documentarian Talal Derki gained the trust of
a radical Islamist family in Syria and filmed their daily lives for two years. The result is OF
FATHERS AND SONS, a jaw-dropping, intensely uninhibited look at young boys training
as Jihadi fighters, and their Caliphate-obsessed father. DIR Talal Derki. Germany, Syria,
Lebanon
OUR TIME (NUESTRO TIEMPO) – Two-time AFI FEST alum Carlos Reygadas returns to
the festival with an intensely personal project. OUR TIME tells the story of an upper-
middle-class rancher (Reygadas) whose wife (played by Reygadas’ real-life spouse) draws
him into a cuckolding fetish. As the emotional stakes rise, life on the idyllic landscape becomes threatened. DIR Carlos Reygadas. SCR Carlos Reygadas. CAST Carlos
Reygadas, Natalia López, Eleazar Reygadas, Rut Reygadas, Phil Burgers. Mexico,
France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden
PIG (KHOOK) – Past-his-prime filmmaker Hasan is having a crisis of ego. A serial killer is
offing local filmmakers, and Hasan wants to know why he isn’t being targeted. In veteran
filmmaker Mani Haghighi’s wonderfully bizarre dark comedy, the satire is heavy and
hilarious, and gender stereotypes get smashed right and left. DIR Mani Haghighi. SCR
Mani Haghighi. CAST Hasan Majuni, Leila Hatami, Leili Rashidi, Parinaz Izadyar, Mina
Jafarzadeh, Aynaz Azarhoosh. Iran
PUTIN’S WITNESSES (SVIDETELI PUTINA) – With PUTIN’S WITNESSES, Vitaly
Mansky returns to footage he filmed when commissioned — and provided with unnervingly
intimate access — on a propaganda film promoting Vladmir Putin’s first presidential
election. In this captivating portrait, Mansky both chronicles the alarming ease of the
dictator’s rise to power and examines his own complicity in his near two-decade rule. DIR
Vitaly Mansky. SCR Vitaly Mansky. Latvia, Switzerland, Czech Republic
SHOPLIFTERS (MANBIKI KAZOKU) – The winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes
Film Festival, SHOPLIFTERS tells the tender story of a family of misfits and grifters
struggling to make ends meet. After taking in a girl off the street, a sudden incident upends
their lives and exposes their secrets. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda returns to the screen with
a nuanced class critique, and a beautiful portrait of family life. DIR Hirokazu Koreeda. SCR
Hirokazu Kore-eda. CAST Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki, Kiki Kirin.
Japan
SUNSET (NAPSZALLTA) – As World War I approaches, Irisz arrives in Budapest with the
dream to work as a milliner at Leiter, a store once owned by her family. Her hopes
dashed by the new proprietor, she discovers news that a previously unknown sibling may exist, and sets out to meet them. DIR László Nemes. SCR László Nemes, Clara Royer, Matthieu Taponier. CAST Juli Jakab, Vlad Ivanov, Evelin Dobos, Marcin Czarnik, Judit Bárdos, Benjamin Dino, Balázs Czukor, Christian Harting, Levente Molnár. Hungary, France
TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG (TARDE PARA MORIR JOVEN) – Sixteen-year-old Sofia
navigates the usual pitfalls of her age against the unusual backdrop of a burgeoning
utopian society in the Chilean jungle of the 1990s. A moody, atmospheric period piece, this
third feature firmly establishes Sotomayor as one of today’s most original filmmakers. DIR
Dominga Sotomayor. SCR Dominga Sotomayor. CAST Demian Hernández, Antar
Machado, Magdalena Tótoro. Chile
VISION – Juliette Binoche stars in Naomi Kawase’s latest, a meditative journey into the
heart of Japan, and a mysterious portrait of one woman’s search for meaning. When
Jeanne (Binoche) seeks a rare medicinal plant in the forested Nara region, her quest is
aided by a ranger who helps to reveal painful fragments of her past. DIR Naomi Kawase.
SCR Naomi Kawase. CAST Juliette Binoche, Masatoshi Nagase. Japan, France
THE WILD PEAR TREE (AHLAT AGACI) – THE WILD PEAR TREE is a portrait of an
ambitious young writer returning home after college. At once languid and rhapsodic, Palme
d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s film is a profound and poetic look at a misspent youth
grasping at a maturity that, once attained, is revealed to be the ultimate disappointment.
DIR Nuri Bilge Ceylan. SCR Akin Aksu, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. CAST Aydin Doğu
Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Hazar Ergüçlü, Serkan Keskin, Tamer Levent, Akin Aksu, Öner
Erkan, Ahmet Rifat Şungar, Kubilay Tunçer, Kadir Çermik, Özay Fecht, Ercüment
Balakoğlu, Asena Keskinci. Turkey
YARA – Yara lives alone with her grandmother on a remote Lebanese mountain-side. A
farmer brings supplies, a tour guide assists with odd tasks and, lost on a hike, a
charismatic young hiker happens upon Yara hanging her underwear. A gently paced
romance, Abbas Fahdel’s YARA captures the elation of first love and the crushing pain of
its loss. DIR Abbas Fahdel. SCR Abbas Fahdel. CAST Michelle Wehbe, Elias Freifer, Mary
Alkady. Lebanon, Iraq, France
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