essentia(2022)

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream(en)

From 1970-1977, six low budget films shown at midnight transformed the way we make and watch films.

Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara(hi)

Once known for his intellectual prowess, a retired professor (Anupam Kher) begins experiencing memory gaps and periods of forgetfulness. But while he tries to laugh it off, it soon becomes clear that the symptoms are a sign of a more serious illness, prompting his grown daughter (Urmila Matondkar) to move in as his caretaker. Meanwhile, as his mind regresses, he recalls a traumatic childhood memory involving the death of Mahatma Gandhi.

Liberation: Direction of the Main Blow(ru)

This five part epic war drama gives a dramatized detailed account of Soviet Union's war against Nazi Germany during world war two. Each of the five parts represents a separate major eastern front campaign.

Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?(hi)

Dr Samir is an absolute charmer when it comes to women, but he poses as a married man to keep them at bay. Love becomes a three-ring-circus for him after he ends up tangled in his web of lies with his girlfriend Sonia and pretend wife Naina.

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles(fr)

A lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores and takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet. Slowly, her ritualized daily routines begin to fall apart.

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown(en)

After the death of his girlfriend's daughter from a drug overdose, Paul Kersey takes on the local drug cartel.

Re-re-repeat(en)

Re-re-repeat A rhythmic dialogue between sound and image: exploring space, corporeal phenomenology and chance outcomes, which alter perceptions of time and memory.

Soul Kitchen(de)

In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.

Sullivan's Travels(en)

Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.

All We Imagine as Light(ml)

In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. A trip to a beach town allows them to find a space for their desires to manifest.

Meet John Doe(en)

As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

The Brutalist(en)

When a visionary architect and his wife flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern United States, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious, wealthy client.

State and Main(en)

A movie crew invades a small town whose residents are all too ready to give up their values for showbiz glitz.

Shall We Dance(en)

Ballet star Petrov arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as the dancer and musical star he's fallen for but barely knows. By the time the ocean liner reaches New York, a little white lie has churned through the rumour mill and turned into a hot gossip item—that the two celebrities are secretly married.

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu(hi)

Rahul and Riana meet each other for the first time, get drunk, and awake the next morning to find that they have gotten legally married to each other.

I'm Still Here(pt)

In 1971, military dictatorship in Brazil reaches its height. The Paiva family — Rubens, Eunice, and their five children — live in a beachside house in Rio, open to all their friends. One day, Rubens is taken for questioning and does not return.

Maine-Ocean Express(fr)

"Maine-Ocean" is the name of a train that rides from Paris to Saint-Nazaire (near the ocean). In that train, Dejanira, a Brazilian, has a brush with the two ticket inspectors. Mimi, another traveler and also a lawyer, helps her. The four of them will meet together later and live a few shifted adventures with a strange-speaking sailor (Mimi's client).

Shadow of a Doubt(en)

Just when Charlie is feeling especially frustrated by the lack of excitement in her small town in California, she receives wonderful news: Her uncle and namesake, Charlie, is coming to visit. However, as secrets about him come to the fore, her admiration turns into suspicion.

The Hills Have Eyes Part 2(en)

A motocross team on their way to trial a new super-fuel head out across the desert lead by Rachel, who, unbeknownst to the rest of the group, is a survivor of the cannibal clan which menaced the Carter family several years before.

Scent of a Woman(it)

An army cadet accompanies an irascible, blind captain on a week-long trip from Turin to Naples.

My Body, My Rules, & Them(tl)

The film is an exploration of the queer body’s struggle to attain validation and evade exploitation. In a society where queer identities have always struggled to be recognized, our bodies have often been a medium of our expression and avenue for satisfaction. However, we, as a community, have subjected ourselves as victims to a system that exploits our vulnerabilities and bodies, to the point of moral decay.

Guava Express(en)

A "hero" steps out for work on a rainy Monday with a red umbrella, unaware he's the star of a cosmic show. Rain falls, thoughts swirl, and reality bends. Is this just another day, or the beginning of something out of normalcy?

Goose Chase(en)

Students turn the world upside down in their quest to find Krit, a missing young boy. They embark on a challenging journey filled with unexpected twists of fate and high-stakes bets.

The Scary Movie(en)

Martina and Sonja, cross-dress in vampire capes and werewolf claws, re-enacting familiar horror tropes. A corresponding soundtrack of stock screams and "scary" music suggests that the girls' toying with gender roles and power dynamics may have dire consequences.

The dream of the absurd man(hi)

An absurd man, feeling hopeless, decides to end his life. The night before, he dreams of a perfect world with no pain. In this dream, he sees how good people can be and how he can change. When he wakes up, he understands he must choose between giving up and finding hope. He realizes that even a silly dream can bring big changes.

Sombras da Primavera(pt)

Tarta(es)

Christmas Eve in rapid camera.

Cara-cola(en)

A light explodes and becomes a snail.

All The Stars We Made(en)

A journey through a composite galaxy of artificial light.

Partially Obscured(en)

A film about creation itself, a rite of the sun and the surfaces illuminated by it. Light capturing and light summoning "in a primitive attempt to catch the sun with my hands".

My Neighbor Wants Me Dead(en)

The Tenant continuously fails to escape his deadly apartment under five minute time limit as his blood-thirsty neighbor threatens to break in and exterminate him.

The Phantom Liberty(es)

Art is a freedom for those who make it and for those who look at it. A freedom that ends when the violence starts. In Mexico, every day eleven women are murdered and in more than ninety percent of the cases impunity prevails. Through the testimony of seven women, this documentary essay reflects on femicide and the destruction that this leaves a country and its culture. Because in times of horror, art cannot be the same, every time a woman is murdered, a museum or a library collapses in the world.

Linton Falls - A Study of the Force of Water(en)

An experimental film documenting a river leading up to a waterfall, depicting both its natural beauty and its inherent danger.

Presence(en)

A couple, Rebekah and Chris, and their children, Tyler and Chloe, move into a seemingly normal suburban home. When strange events occur, they begin to believe there is something else in the house with them. The presence is about to disrupt their lives in unimaginable ways.

História do Amor(pt)

After the sudden break up of a relationship, a young man tries to make a film using the images of his ex-girlfriend that he had on his camera.

Lamiai(en)

Shot on Super 8mm film and digital video, Lamiai is an experimental dream film. Lamiai is loosely derived from the Lamia in Greek mythology as well from John Keats’s poem Lamia and Peter Gabriel’s song The Lamia from Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album. Lamiai is the third part of an experimental dream film trilogy that includes Dream Screen and Pizzica.

Blue Egg(en)

A queer stop-motion animation live-action hybrid film following four women in a surrealist parallel narrative unconstricted to heteronormative space and time.

Berro(pt)

This film is about entering the flow of the scream and seeing its color.

Friend of the World(en)

After a catastrophic global war, a young filmmaker awakens in the carnage and seeks refuge in the only other survivor: an eccentric, ideologically opposed figure of the United States military. Together, they brave the toxic landscape in search of safety... and answers.

Metamorfosi(it)

Metamorphosis is a real ballet dance on the rocks, interpreted by a great climber, Patrick Berhault, and set in the picturesque countryside of Cote d'Azur and the Lingurian coast. Berhault's evolutions, in the sea, in the grottoes, on the rocks and precipices, are exceedingly difficult but they are chiefly performed to give the movement an aesthetic value. Matemorphosis is the story of a cycle without words, narrated with gestures and music. The climber Monique Dalmasso also partecipates in the film.