Masks are strongly recommended for all screenings and events.
2022 RIFF SCHEDULE
Friday, May 6 - Opening Night
6:00 pm Opening Reception
7:00 pm "Beautiful Minds"
France/Switzerland/92 min/Directed by Bernard Campan & Alexandre Jollien
Graciously Sponsored by Judy and Alan Hoffman
When a lonely funeral director, Louis, and an introverted grocery delivery man with cerebral palsy, Igor, find themselves in a hearse on a long-distance trip, both men discover the true meaning of friendship. Based on writer-director-star Alexandre Jollien’s own life experiences, Beautiful Minds will charm and move viewers.
Louis is a lifelong bachelor who is proud of his funeral home. He is wonderful with the bereaved, a comforting and engaging presence, but for people who are not in the midst of grieving, he tends to fall a bit short. Igor delivers groceries and lives with his mother. His cerebral palsy keeps people at a distance, and makes some people question his faculties, but he’s a man obsessed with philosophy, devouring the works of Nietzsche and Spinoza. When the two men are thrown together on a long-distance journey, their conversation changes both of their lives. Written, directed and acted by Alexandre Julian (Igor) and Bernard Campan (Louis).
Saturday, May 7
2:30 pm "Klondike"
Ukraine/100 min/Directed by Maryna Er Gorbach
It is July 2014. Suddenly, there’s a wall missing from Irka and Tolik’s house near the village of Hrabove in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. The wall is an early casualty of the hostilities on the Russian-Ukrainian border. But even when the Malaysia Airways Flight 17 passenger jet is shot down nearby, pregnant Irka still wants to stay put in her home. The uncompromising, formally remarkable Klondike nabbed the Sundance World Cinema Best Director prize for Maryna Er Gorbach and illustrates beyond all doubt that Ukraine has been at war with the Russian aggressor for nearly eight years. Just like the news reports on the 2022 Russian invasion, the film strongly depicts the severe impact of the conflict on the region’s civilians — in particular, the innocent women to whom the film is dedicated. Like Irka, Gorbach’s unblinking camera stands its ground, shooting unbroken takes that observe obscene violence and destruction with cold candor.
4:45 pm "Costa Brava, Lebanon"
Lebanon/France/Spain/Sweden/Denmark/Norway/Qatar/107 min/Directed by Mounia Akl
Graciously Sponsored by Janice Peterson
The Badri family lives a difficult but satisfying life in Lebanon’s lush hills, off the grid, raising food and a healthy family. Having abandoned Beirut and its toxic mix of pollution and politics, they seem now to have found a home. Until the building of a landfill exposes long-simmering tensions.
This family of five has grown accustomed to quiet and hard work. So when the youngest child sees strangers in the distance, the family is wary to say the least. Soon, representatives from the corrupt government are nearby, and promise the family that this new landfill will be an environmentally friendly one. But the parents, Soraya (Nadine Labaki) and Walid (Saleh Bakri) have had first hand experience with such lies, and they know their home will soon be unlivable. Realism meets magical-realism in Mounia Akl’s moving drama. Lebanon’s official entry for Best International Feature at the 94th Academy Awards.
7:00 pm "Hard Shell, Soft Shell"
France/99 min/Directed by Emma Benestan
“The oyster also has heartaches.” So opens this charming love story, where Az, a young French oyster farmer, concocts an elaborate proposal for his girlfriend Jess that goes anything but right. Rejected, he begins to reconsider his and Jess’ ideas of love and happiness.
Az is a handsome twenty-something, Jess a lovely actress. When Az’s proposal goes awry, he tries to win her back by taking dancing lessons from a gorgeous friend whom he begins to fall for, of course! As expected, his pals have all kinds of relationship advice as do the female members of his family who surround him. Writer-director Emma Benestan tinkers gleefully with viewers expectations in this fun feminist update on the romantic dramedy.
Sunday, May 8
2:45 pm "Exposure"
USA/88 min/Directed by Holly Morris
Graciously Sponsored by Home Federal
An all-woman team made up of Arab and European women comes together to attempt a daring expedition to the North Pole during one of the most fraught seasons in modern times. After two years of training, the adventurers, led by explorer Felicity Aston, strap on their skis and pull their sledges true North, determined to succeed against all odds.
Filmmaker Holly Morris (The Babushkas of Chernobyl) and an all-women crew document this unprecedented journey as the women navigate everything from frostbite and polar bear threats to sexism, physical exhaustion and self-doubt, all while bearing witness to the melting sea ice. This intimate story of resilience, survival and mutual support may end up being the last-ever over-ice expedition to the top of the world.
USA/88 min/Directed by Holly Morris
Graciously Sponsored by Home Federal
An all-woman team made up of Arab and European women comes together to attempt a daring expedition to the North Pole during one of the most fraught seasons in modern times. After two years of training, the adventurers, led by explorer Felicity Aston, strap on their skis and pull their sledges true North, determined to succeed against all odds.
Filmmaker Holly Morris (The Babushkas of Chernobyl) and an all-women crew document this unprecedented journey as the women navigate everything from frostbite and polar bear threats to sexism, physical exhaustion and self-doubt, all while bearing witness to the melting sea ice. This intimate story of resilience, survival and mutual support may end up being the last-ever over-ice expedition to the top of the world.
4:45 pm "Drunken Birds"
Canada/Mexico/105 min/Directed by Ivan Grbovic
Willy works for a Mexican drug cartel and, unwisely, falls in love with Marlena, the boss’s wife. When Marlena disappears, a desperate Willy, still in love, searches for her in vain for four years, then follows a rumor of her living in Montreal in the hopes of reconnecting. Ivan Grbovic’s stunning feature was Canada’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
Narrowly escaping a death sentence for his transgressions, Willy’s flight from Mexico to the North brings opportunity and renewed hope. While working as a migrant field hand, Willy becomes inextricably caught up in his host family’s turmoil and secrets, that begin to entangle with his own. A collaboration with the production teams behind the acclaimed Roma and Incendies, Drunken Birds explores how destinies intersect and tensions swell amongst those dreaming for a better future.
7:00 pm "Sweet Disaster"
Germany/90 min/Directed by Laura Lehmus
Frida is a 40-year-old painting therapist who finds herself pregnant. When Felix, her boyfriend, (who hasn’t been her partner for very long), hears this, he’s gone and back with his ex. What is Frida to do but launch a full-scale, sometimes outlandish plan to keep him in her life?
After a chance encounter and whirlwind romance between Frida and Felix results in a stunning pregnancy, the two parents-to-be reevaluate their lives. For Felix, this means hightailing it out of there. But for Frida, it is a challenge–with the help of her friend, a teenage neighbor, she concocts plans to win Felix back that are at once clever and totally bonkers. Laura Lehmus’ bold use of color, magical realism, and a brilliant comic performance by Friederike Kempter make Sweet Disaster a genuine crowd pleaser.
Friday, May 13
2:45 pm "The Territory"
Brazil/Denmark/USA/86 min/Directed by Alex Pritz
“The Amazon is not just the heart of Brazil, but of the whole world.” These are the words of Bitate, a young Uru-eu-wau-wau leader, who is fighting, possibly to the death, to save his community and the rain forest. Though promised constitutional protection, the Uru-eu-wau-wau’s homeland is under dire threat from farmers and land-grabbers.
The Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people have long been thriving in Brazil’s Amazonian rain forest, despite the forest being slowly and steadily destroyed. Now, they number less than 200, and President Jair Bolsonaro, disregarding the law, has encouraged homesteaders to take their land. Taking us straight into the center of this battle, filmmaker Alex Pritz masterfully tracks multiple points of view: we see the Uru-eu-wau-wau as they fight to save themselves and the rain forest, as well as local farmers trying to form a settlement in the area and a group of homesteaders determined to clear-cut the forest. “Both sumptuous and enraging” –Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com. Winner, Sundance Audience Award, World Cinema Documentary.
4:45 pm "The Tale of King Crab"
Italy/France/Argentina/105 min/Directed by Alessio Rigo de Righi & Matteo Zoppis
In 19th Century Italy, Luciano is an outcast. His opposition to the prince, a forbidden love, and too much liquor have exiled him from his homeland. When an opportunity arrives to find a mythical treasure which could make him rich, Luciano can only wonder if this will be his salvation… or his ruin.
Told in flashback from the present day, The Tale of King Crab (Re granchio) is a strange and mesmerizing feature from former documentary filmmakers Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis. Featuring a charismatic star-turn by Gabriele Silli as Luciano, this is a strange and wondrous film that shouldn’t be missed.
7:00 pm "Hive"
Kosovo/Albania/Switzerland/Albania/Republic of North Macedonia/84 min/Directed by Blerta Basholli
Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo so she sets up her own small business to provide for her kids, but as she fights against a patriarchal society that does not support her, she faces a crucial decision: to wait for his return, or to continue to persevere.
Saturday, May 14
2:30 pm "The Janes"
USA/101 min/Directed by Tia Lessin & Emma Pildes
Graciously Sponsored by Ann and Paul Allen
1972. An apartment on Chicago’s South Side. Seven women, part of a secret network, are arrested in a police raid. Their goal: provide women with safe and affordable abortions. Their name: The Janes. Using terrific archival footage and illuminating interviews, directors Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes craft a moving — and thrilling — documentary that celebrates these brave women.
4:45 pm "Wolka"
Iceland/Poland/101 min/Directed by Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson
A well-crafted thriller with emotional heft and commercial appeal, Wolka stands as testimony to the talent of the late director Arni Olafur Asgeirsson (Brim, Ploeey), a graduate of Poland’s Lodz Film School, and to the lives of Iceland’s largest minority population, immigrants from Poland. It begins as Anna (Olga Boladz), sporting tattoos and oozing attitude, is released after 15 years in a Polish prison. She returns to her rundown Warsaw neighborhood and starts looking for a woman named Dorota. But Dorota is nowhere to be found – not in Poland at least. So, Anna almost immediately breaks the terms of her parole and travels to an island off the coast of Iceland with a large Polish migrant community. After she arrives, a feeling of unease spreads; the visitor is disturbing the peace of the community. And it becomes increasingly clear that Anna has an agenda for which she is prepared to sacrifice everything.
7:00 pm "Everybody Hates Johan"
Norway/93 min/Directed by Hallvar Witzo
An offbeat, literally explosive comedy about the long and adventurous life of Johan Grande (Pål Sverre Hagen, Amundsen) and his eternal struggle for love. Johan is an eccentric loner who lives with his aunt and uncle in the scenic small town of Titran, at the end of the windswept Trøndelag Gulf. He lost his mother and father at a young age due to an unfortunate accident, but their influence lingers. Those even more peculiar parents, communists who resisted the Nazi occupation of Norway by bombing bridges, left him a great love of dynamite. A lonely teenager, Johan loves his wild horse Ella and big explosions, but not much else. Except for the sympathetic girl next door, Solvor (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, The Spy), whom he later partially explodes by mistake. No wonder everyone in Titran hates Johan. Debuting feature director Hallvar Witzø makes savvy comic use of star Pål Sverre Hagen’s incredible height (6’5.5”) and slender frame.
Sunday, May 15-Closing Night
2:30 pm "Mission:Joy- Finding Happiness in Troubled Times"
USA/90 min/Directed by Louie Psihoyos & Peggy Callahan
The profound friendship between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and their embrace of an all-encompassing happiness in life — despite the incredible challenges that both have faced —is examined in this uplifting documentary from Oscar®-winning director Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) and Peggy Callahan.
4:30 pm "A Winter Love"
USA/92 min/ Directed by Rhiana Yazzie
Blue (writer and director Rhiana Yazzie) is a 35 year-old Navajo singer-songwriter, struggling in Minneapolis’ bleak winter. Her creativity seems to be hibernating, thanks to a series of awful relationships and the general mood of the season. But when she meets Eddie, a 25 year-old Lakota man, and law school dropout, he could be just the tonic for her winter blues. But Eddie’s a complex person, so complex, in fact, that the two of them may end up searching for something that will end their romance. Self-described as “A modern day, inter-tribal, love story that shows true love is found in the season you love yourself,” A Winter Love is an eye-opening romantic drama filmed in Minnesota.
Director Rhiana Yazzie will be in attendance for a Q&A.
6:15 pm Closing Night Event
7:00 pm "Hit the Road"
Iran/93 min/Directed by Panah Panahi
Graciously Sponsored by Gerrard Corporation
Panah Panahi, son and collaborator of embattled Iranian master Jafar Panahi, makes a striking feature debut with this charming, sharp-witted, and deeply moving comic drama. Hit the Road takes the tradition of the Iranian road-trip movie and adds unexpected twists and turns. It follows a family of four – two middle-aged parents and their sons, one a taciturn adult, the other an ebullient six-year-old – as they drive across the Iranian countryside. Over the course of the trip, they bond over memories of the past, grapple with fears of the unknown and fuss over their sick dog. Unspoken tensions arise and the film builds emotional momentum as it slowly reveals the furtive purpose for their journey. The result is a humanist drama that offers an authentic, raw, and deeply sincere observation of an Iranian family preparing to part with one of their own. Winner, London Film Festival.