 |
| Irish film One Sweet Hour is among the films in Competition Photo: Courtesy of POFF |
Among the established names are Venezuelan director Patricia Ortega and Dominican filmmaker José María Cabral, who have both previously had films screen at Sundance (Mamacruz and Woodpecker, respectively). Cabral's Sh*t Happens is a dark comedy, while Ortega's Caballé is a biopic of Catalan opera soprano Montserrat Caballé.
Irish film, One Sweet Hour, directed by Declan Recks, who previously directed BBC comedy drama Faithless is also in competition. It tells the story of an Elvis impersonator reconnecting with his brother - who has spent 30 years under a monastic vow of silence after their father's death.
The line-up represents 15 countries, including co-production partners. With the festival saying the films "explore coming of age, family relationships and pressing social issues through distinctive perspectives. Strong mother figures recur throughout the selection, revealing tensions between love, responsibility, loyalty and independence".
Triin Tramberg, Artistic Director of PÖFF said: “Discovery is at the heart of PÖFF’s Official Competition. This year, we bring together established directors and filmmakers making their second features, creating a space where very different cinematic perspectives can meet.
 |
| Caballé starring Begoña Alberdi Photo: Courtesy of POFF |
In the First Feature Competition, the UK is represented by In Starland, which marks the debut directorial feature of British star Ray Panthaki (Boiling Point, Colette). It is described as a “coming-of-middle-age” story and stars Sing Sing's Clarence Maclin. The 12 films in the section represent 19 countries. Malaika Bova, curator of the First Feature Competition said: “The 12 selected films bring together wildly original stories, exciting debut directors and standout acting talent.” Competition screenings will take place from 13 to 19 November during the festival’s 30th edition. Filmmakers representing every selected title will attend the festival. The full line-up of the sections is below.
Official Selection
• A Job Well Done (Switzerland), dir. Frédéric Baillif
• Caballé (Spain, Belgium), dir. Patricia Ortega
• Drumskin (Argentina), dir. Joaquín Cambre
• I Just Want to Talk to My Mom (Iran, Türkiye), dir. Mohsen Rabiei
• No Me Without You (Estonia), dir. Janno Jürgens
• On Top of the Cliff (Mexico, Peru, Switzerland), dir. Enrica Perez
• One Sweet Hour (Ireland), dir. Declan Recks
• Sh*t Happens (Dominican Republic), dir. José María Cabral
• Sinless (Hungary), dir. Attila Hartung
• The Assignment (Belgium, Germany, Netherlands), dir. Patrice Toye
• The Matriarch (Germany), dir. Alison Kuhn
• Where Is My Son? (Kazakhstan), dir. Dias Bertis
First Feature Competition
• Black Slaughter (France, Israel), directed by Gigi Betito
• Exotic (Poland), directed by Sonja Orlewicz-Zakrzewska
• In Starland (UK, USA), directed by Ray Panthaki
• Happy Ending (Iran), directed by Atena Mahmoudi
• Lionheart (Denmark), directed by Nagieb Khaja
• Oblivion (Lithuania), directed by Danielius Minkevičius
• Princess (Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia), directed by Christian Rojas
• Running Wild (Taiwan), directed by Wang Yi-Ling
• Status: Rejected (Philippines), directed by Vahn Leinard Pascual
• The Sweetness of Bitter Things (North Macedonia), directed by Andrey Volkashin
• When She Hears the Bells (France, Germany, Belgium), directed by Chabname Zariab
• White as Salt (Türkiye), directed by Murat Eroğlu
