DOCUMENTARY FILMS
AU by Olga Kalchugina, Ukraine 2019, 62 minutes (D)
The characters of the film are two Ukrainian families raising children with autism spectrum disorders.The film revolves around two mothers and their sons, 10-year-old Tymofiy from Kyiv and 15-year-old Daniel from Rome.Women are friends, share difficulties and joys, support each other. Although they live in different countries —Ukraine and Italy
What Happens Tomorrow by Anastasia Shtandke, Russia 2020, 13 minutes (D)
Now Leisan is preparing for the European Championship in table tennis. Enduring love of her family and support of her close friends help her overcome stereotypes and rejection of the society. Ramzia, Leisan's mother, decides that no matter how, but she will help her daughter develop her talents. Will Leisan take gold in the coming European Championship in Finland?
The Man of the Trees by Andrea Trivero, Italy 2018, 18 minutes (D)
Daniel Balima is a senior horticulturist from Tenkodogo, Burkina Faso. He as a child falls ill with polio and, although growing without the use of his legs, he is able to follow his father in the family nursery, walking on his hands. He says: "I could take two paths: begging or taking my life in hand and devoting myself to work with dignity ". So every day he goes to the garden to work, despite the various difficulties he faces.
I Am by Juan Pedro Sabina, Spain 2019, 20 minutes (D)
Four women, four different disabilities respond to five concepts that are a part of their lives: sexuality, freedom, walking, women and darkness. Their voices define what they are, inviting the viewer to enter a special world, that of women with disabilities.
Maricarmen by Sergio Morkin, Mexico 2019, 80 minutes (D)
Maricarmen Graue is a cello player; she plays with a rock band, as well as in a chamber orchestra. She is also a music teacher, a writer, and a marathon runner. She lives alone and is completely blind. She copes with her condition by having a biting sense of humor and being fiercely self-demanding.
My Beautiful City by Elham Aghlari, Iran 2019, 29 minutes (D)
Hamed Paak is a 37-year-old father and husband with mild mental retardation. He needs a job to support his family but his fellow-citizens don’t accept him for jobs with considerable amount of salary because of his reputation for being mentally retarded. On the other hand, Retarded Support Organization of his country doesn’t accept him as a retarded person because it is a mild retardation.
Hope by Aliaksandra Markava, Belarus 2020, 26 minutes (D)
Nadia is a young and attractive woman, wife and mother who first faces the illness of her only child - autism, and then her own diagnosis - cancer. Despite all this, Nadezhda joins an organization that helps children and adults with special needs using pet therapy. Social activity, good relationships with dogs and caring for a child help her fight the disease.
On the Top Tyrryry by Renata Kijowska, Poland 2019, 60 minutes (D)
No mercy! – Boys hate it. In their own words, “Na Górze” (“On the top”) is a “semi-normal” band because the public considers half of the line-up to be disabled. Adam, Robert and Kris do not give a monkey’s about their ailments; they are more concerned about ordinary problems: alcoholism, family problems or unemployment, although actually they do not really care about the problems either as they are going to the biggest gig in their career so far. Will they be able to play? Will the performance change anything?
Papcio Chmiel by Petro Aleksowski, Poland 2020, 52 minutes (D)
“Papcio Chmiel" is a documentary about Henryk Chmielewski – the author of the longest-running Polish comic book "Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek." The 97-year-old artist is presented through the eyes of a 12-year-old fan of his work. In conversations with the boy, the bitter-sweet life of the man perceived as a symbol of humour and success through the prism of his comic book's protagonist – a playful monkey – is described by Papcio Chmiel's children, the artist himself, as well as his friends from both the past and the present.
Tell Me More by Martyna Peszko, Poland 2020, 29 minutes (D)
Martyna returns home for a three-week "vacation" to care for her mother suffering from ALS. Barbara, despite the fact that she can only communicate with the eye movement, tries to tell her daughter as much as possible. Those might be her last words.
Moving by Omer Ben David, Israel 2019, 21 minutes (D)
Shimrit, Adi and Mussaare are best friends and roommates in a hostel for people with mental disabilities. When the three are forced to separate into different apartments, it raises new difficulties. The re-locations also include getting new jobs which distances them further from one another. Through the separation and moving process, the audience gets a pick into the trio's magical world that is so different and yet so similar to their own.
At Grandma’s by Milena Mądra, Poland 2019, 10 minutes (D)
A story about the exceptional closeness of a grandmother and her granddaughter, despite physical limitations. An elderly woman and a disabled nine-year-old girl lead a seemingly uncomplicated life, finding pleasure in every activity. The world seems to have infinitely many colors, especially for the girl. However, in everyday care, effulgence and energy sometimes escape for a moment.
I Need the Handshakes by Andrej Kuciła, Poland 2020, 18 minutes (D)
A small hamlet lost in the endless Belarusian province. 92-year-old Walentyna looks through her daughter's old notebooks. We set off with her to the unknown world of a man who everybody has forgotten about.
To See Independence by Piotr Jasiński, Poland 2020, 10 minutes (D)
A blind man – Wojtek – for the first time in his life, participates in a nationalist march celebrating Independence Day in Poland. On his way he meets various participants of the march. He wants to experience it firsthand, and get a sense of what independence feels like. Wojtek comes to his own conclusions, and - despite his total loss of vision - sees things others often fail to notice.
Life, Take 2 by Krzysztof Włostowski, Poland 2019, 30 minutes (D)
The director builds this film on his experience of 6 weeks spent in a transplant unit, as he receives a transplant of stem cells. The material he shoots during his stay covers the deciding stages of his treatment. He gives an account of moments related to his condition. He describes his therapy in phases and narrates changes he notices in his body. He also shares his anxiety and uncertainty, the loneliness of every single day and dreams that let him forget the risk tied to this form of treatment.
FEATURE FILMS
Gasping by Rok Hvala, Slovenia 2020, 17 minutes (F)
Maja quits her job as a psychiatrist. Emotional unstable as she is, seeing everyday old people has led her into depression. She is lost and tries to find her way out with too much drinking and sleeping – totally abandoning herself. She finds a duck in a lake and keeps it in her bathtub. Through a conversation with the duck she realises that she must move forward and leave the past behind.
Sunshine by Carla Malling Agger, Denmark 2019, 30 minutes (F)
The 7-year-old girl, Solvej, lives alone with her mentally ill mother in a messy apartment. She eats canned food and goes to school in her dirty clothes. Amidst all the mess, Solvej dreams herself away in her drawings, which come alive to take her away from the world, she's been placed in. In her troubled daily life, there are only small beams of hope. When her mother's mental illness worsens, it is up to Solvej to fight and accept the terms, she and her mother are faced with.
Electric by François Le Guen, France 2020, 4 minutes (F)
A man with both legs amputated dreams of walking again. Annoyed by the permanent motorization of pedestrians, he embarks on a race with the worst representative of this mode: an electric scooter.
I Am Here by Julia Orlik, Poland 2020, 15 minutes (F)
„I'm here!", the protagonist would like to cry out, but she is not even able to ask for a glass of water. She cannot get up either because the disease confined her to bed and made her dependent on others. Nevertheless, she can hear very well what her family members say about her condition. This piercing story about loneliness in the face of death is presented from the perspective of a dying woman, although she does not utter a word.
Dementia Spots by Ildikó Gaál, Hungary 2019, 10 minutes
Scenes from the life of a demented man.
The Flares by David Valero Simón, Spain 2020, 21 minutes (F)
„Los Bengalas”, an orchestra formed by four retired friends who have been playing at small village festivals for over 30 years. But this year something has changed.
Deaf Love by Michele Bertini Malgarini, Italy 2019, 15 minutes (F)
Two young people, love and a wild and wonderful island populated only by deaf people. Paolo is a musician and he is totally in love with Claudia, a girl he has never actually met but with whom he texts a lot. In order to meet her, he will leave for the island where she lives and he will stand up for her and their love.
Innocence by Ben Reid, Great Britain 2019, 19 minutes (F)
When a worker falls to his death at a care home, it appears to be a terrible accident. But when a detective questions a young man with Down syndrome spotted at the scene, they uncover a crime more shocking than anyone imagined.
Paper Boat by Reza Ghadyani, Germany 2019, 10 minutes (F)
A man struggling with his kind of reality, fantasy and memories. The viewer will not exactly know what his imagination is and what's
not. The film deals with questions concerning human rights, politics, emotions... all that without any kind of a spoken word.
The Right to Life by Olga koleva, Bulgaria 2020, 20 minutes (F)
A pregnant women discovers that the child she is expecting, according to the medical analyses is very likely to be born with a genetic disorder. Struggling with her own fears and doubts, as well as with the prejudices of the society, Maria faces the hard choice – to give or not the right to life of her special child.
The Dress by Tadeusz Łysiak, Poland 2020, 30 minutes (F)
Julia works at a roadside motel and is overwhelmed by the ubiquitous sense of rejection and loneliness. She is different and the society has made it very clear to her many times. She dreams of a relationship and physical intimacy with a man. Unexpectedly, she meets a handsome truck driver and her fantasies start revolving around him.
I lived a Life with You by Elena Martinez Santos, Spain 2019, 15 minutes (F)
Chloe begins to work in a new plant of her hospital, hematological oncology. She is a nurse and at first she is overcome by the situation until she meets Laura, a patient who will leave her mark.
AMATEUR FILMS
Once Upon A Time in Chorzów by Sylwia Pradelok-Świerc, Paweł Mikołajczyk, Poland 2019, 10 minutes (A)
A positive story showing that together we can do more. It is a film about who we are and who we can be when we start noticing other people around us.
Stereo Monologue by Mariusz Wieliczko, Poland 2020, 7 minutes (A)
A quote from the beginning of the film unveils raw hits of the large drum. The protagonist puts the large drum aside, listens to the recorded sounds, switches off the recording, rewinds it, listens to it, once again records, takes a mike and starts to make an auto reflexive radio programme.
Matt 6,3 by Maciej Książko, Poland 2020, 4 minutes (A)
Ania is 53 years old. She has been living with her mother all her life. She is a very good person. Will her mother see what is the best in her? There is always hope.
Stubbornness by Emilia Jaworska, Poland 2019, 3 minutes (A)
Dreams are beautiful and we may make them come true thanks to a firm decision.
In Harmony by Krzysztof Kuźnicki, Anna Wiśniewska, Poland 2019, 5 minutes (A)
The film "In Harmony" has been made by a group of participants showing symptoms of mental disorders. They have co-created the film script and its form, acted as animators and producers of the audio recording. They have been inspired by K. Kieślowski's film Talking Heads.
The Task by Dariusz Janiczak, Poland 2018, 5 minutes (A)
Monika, the main character of the film, has a special task to do. Although the task does not seem difficult, Monika begins to have doubts. The film shows in a light and funny way the hardships of overcoming our own barriers and the development of independence in people with intellectual disabilities.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Babyteeth by Shannon Murphy, Australia 2019, 120 minutes (F)
When seriously ill teenager Milla Finlay falls in love with smalltime drug dealer Moses, it’s her parents’ worst nightmare. But as Milla’s first brush with love brings her a new lust for life, things get messy and traditional morals go out the window. Milla shows everyone in her orbit—her parents, Moses, a sensitive music teacher, a budding child violinist, and a disarmingly honest pregnant neighbor—how to live like you have nothing to lose.
Icarus. The Legend of Mietek Kosz by Maciej Pieprzyca, Poland 2019, 122 minutes (F)
Inspired by true events, a story of a blind grand piano genius. As a child Mietek loses his sight. Despite this he goes on to become a brilliant classical pianist. Once he discovers jazz music, though, he has only one goal left: to become the best jazz pianist in Poland. He wins the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival.
Hope by Marie Sødahl, Norway 2019, 126 minutes (F)
Set between Christmas and New Year, we follow Anja and her husband Tomas, parents of six biological and stepchildren, as they try to deal with the bombshell news that she has a brain cancer and only three months to live. While Anja goes through an emotional turmoil and her treatment starts to affect her physical state, the couple’s relationship is put to the test.
The Specials by Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, France 2019, 119 minutes (F)
For twenty years, Bruno and Malik have lived in a different world—the world of autistic children and teens. In charge of two separate nonprofit organizations, they train young people from underprivileged areas to be caregivers for extreme cases that have been refused by all other institutions. It’s an exceptional partnership, outside of traditional settings, for some quite extraordinary characters.
The Father by Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov, Bulgaria, Greece, 87 minutes (F)
Vasil has just lost his long-time partner in life, his wife Valentina. When a woman at her funeral proclaims that the dead woman called her cell phone, Vasil seeks out the help of a well-known medium in order to contact his wife. His son Pavel tries to bring him to his senses, but Vasil stubbornly insists on doing things his own way. "The Father" is an intimate family drama about the difficulties of connecting with those close to us.
Still Standing by Stéphane Haskell, France 2019, 90 minutes (D)
Following a high-risk back operation, a man in his early forties finds himself paralyzed. He is told he will never walk again. After years of debilitating pain, he discovers a possible way to heal through yoga. This inner voyage will not only help him rediscover himself, it will also open him to the world.
The Peanut Butter Falcon by Tyler Nilson, Mike Schwartz, the USA 2020 , 97 minutes (F)
Zak, a young man with Down syndrome, runs away from a residential nursing home to follow his dream of attending the professional wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck. A strange turn of events pairs him on the road with Tyler, a small time outlaw on the run, who becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor, a kind nursing home employee charged with Zak’s return, to join them on their journey.