Rifkin’s Festival

Amore effimero(it)

Your Heart Is Homeless(en)

Carl, struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, meets James for a one night stand.

Love or Money(en)

Two young people, Daniel and Samantha, are selected in a television show to marry. They have never seen each other ever. After the wedding ceremony took place on television, then married life really starts. To collect the price money of one million pounds, they have to stay together for at least six months.

Vanilla Sky(en)

David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.

Love and Rubbish(en)

Two groundskeepers compete for the attention of a pretty park visitor. When the woman’s daughter goes missing, the two set out to rescue her.

Star David(ru)

12-year-old Jewish girl Dinka studies at Machon (Jewish Orthodox orphanage). Lone middle-aged Hana, the Machon headmistress, exerts her best efforts to educate girls in the spirit of Jewish tradition and to protect them from the temptations of the outside world. Once Dinka has watched a boring B-movie on TV and felt in love with Hollywood actor David Travis, a muscular, handsome moustachette. She decides to marry him by the Talmudic rules and writes letters to Hollywood.

I'm Yours(hi)

A recently broken up couple meet on a railway station. Brought together by fate they decide to revisit their relationship and reflect on things left unsaid

Heartbreak Hotel(sv)

Elisabeth and Gudrun are two Swedish divorcées, both over 40, who meet when Elisabeth parks her car on a loading zone and is ticketed by Gudrun. Despite this shaky start, a friendship grows between the two. Elizabeth, a gynecologist, is sexy and confident. She leads the shy Gudrun through the dangerous waters of single life. But as they cavort through the dance floors and bars of Stockholm's nightlife they are led to a deeper examination of the relationships with men.

No Regrets(de)

This teenage drama deals with the emotional chaos of a high school graduate at the beginning of a new period of his life. 19-year-old Daniel is frustrated: he wants his great love Luca to be the "first" woman in his life, but she seems to be unreachable, so he is still a virgin. During his community service as a male nurse, his boss Anna falls in love with him and they finally have sex. Suddenly Luca is interested in Daniel...

Earth Girls Are Easy(en)

In this musical comedy, Valerie is dealing with her philandering fiancé, Ted, when she finds that a trio of aliens have crashed their spaceship into her swimming pool. Once the furry beings are shaved at her girlfriend's salon, the women discover three handsome men underneath. After absorbing the native culture via television, the spacemen are ready to hit the dating scene in 1980s Los Angeles.

The Legend of Paul and Paula(de)

Paul and Paula have had bad experiences with love: Paul is financially well off but has lost all affection for his wife, and Paula leads a troublesome life raising two children on her own. They meet and discover a strong passion for each other. Life seems like a dream when they're together - but their short flights from the burdens of reality are once and again interrupted by Paul's ties to family and career.

Paris Je T'aime(fr)

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to chose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Closer(en)

The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.

Martin in the Clouds(sh)

Martin and his girlfriend Zorica are two students who live as subtenants in separate flats. Since that situation has devastating effect on their love life, they yearn after the place of their own. When Martin's landlords go to the hollidays, it seems that their prayers, at least temporarily, had been listened to. However, the idilla is very short one, because other people also want to use the situation.

Le Pion(fr)

Humiliated and down on his luck, a superintendent turns his life around when he decides to write a book.

Home Sweet Home(fr)

Jules, a rebellious septuagenarian, foments a revolt in his home ruled by quasi-military rules. He and his twenty supporters will oppose the management, the firefighters and even the gendarmes.

Tableau d'honneur(fr)

Handsome Jules has problems with school and girls. His domineering dad doesn't make matters easier, although his mom is supportive of her only child. Contemplating an extramarital affair, Claude Jade attempts to discreetly shop for condoms, a cute twist on what is traditionally a teenage boy's awkward ordeal.

Carentena(pt)

In the middle of a pandemic, Jorge is an introspective young man who does not talk to many people besides his girlfriend Luiza. While everyone is isolated in quarantine, both seek a more balanced mental health at this time so needy for everyone.

What a Blonde(en)

American gas rationing during WWII results in comic mayhem as a lingerie executive finds his home overrun with showgirls.

The Princess Bride(en)

In this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup and the dashing Westley must overcome staggering odds to find happiness amid six-fingered swordsmen, murderous princes, Sicilians and rodents of unusual size. But even death can't stop these true lovebirds from triumphing.

Heart Is Not a Service(pl)

Connections of people who have stopped believing in love, though in the depths of their hearts, are just waiting for such true love.

Deeper!(ru)

A rather unlucky young theater director finds himself without work and means of subsistence. To somehow make ends meet, on the advice of a friend, he decides to become a director of pornographic films, using creativity and psychological aspects in his work.

Playlist(fr)

Sophie, 28, just found out she landed that job at a famous Parisian publisher. Her dream? Not exactly: she would rather see her own graphic work printed… When she tells her boyfriend Jean she is pregnant, everything explodes. They break up and she must return to waiting tables like her friend Julia, an aspiring actress. How can one survive in the city under such conditions?

What Happens at the Lake House(en)

Take a deep dive with director David Bruckner and the cast to unearth the secrets of THE NIGHT HOUSE. From the design of the mind-bending set, to Rebecca Hall's haunted performance, witness how this chilling mystery was brought to life.

The Queen of the Lizards(es)

A spaceship is about to come to pick up Javi, so him and Berta have to put an end to their summer love.

Picking Up the Pieces(en)

A small New Mexican village discovers a severed hand that is considered a miracle of God, when it actually belongs to a murdered spouse with a husband in search of it.

Music Hole(fr)

Francis, a little accountant officiating in a shady cabaret has marital concerns with his wife. After a violent argument, he wakes up to discover a surprise. It's the macabre and zany starting point of a burlesque thriller.

Wondrous Boccaccio(it)

It's 1348. The plague has brutally hit Florence. A group of then young people, seven women and three men, rebel against the feeling of death that is about to swallow them. They flee the city and find refuge in an abandoned villa in the Tuscan hills. Here, between moral doubts and the tasks needed to survive, they kill time by telling each other stories until they will decide to return. The stories are varied - tragic, bizarre, funny or erotic - but common and central to all of them is the female presence.

Le vie del Signore sono finite(it)

Set in Italy during the 1920s, a barber is in a wheelchair because of a psychosomatic illness after he lost the woman he loves.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her(fr)

As the city of Paris and the French people grow in consumer culture, a housewife living in a high-rise apartment with her husband and two children takes to prostitution to help pay the bills.

Hidden Away(it)

The film tackles the life journey of Toni Ligabue, visionary naïf painter who used to draw tigers, lions and jaguars while living among the poplar trees of the boundless Po valley. A harsh life that is a fairy tale too, as a lonely and marginalized kid finds redemption in his art, and a way to express himself and be admired by the world.

My Thoughts Are Silent(uk)

Twenty-five-year-old Vadym earns a living recording and selling all kinds of different sounds; nevertheless, he’d rather exchange his life in Kyiv for a better future in far-flung Canada. Thus, when he gets a generous job offer which might help him realise his dream, he jumps at the chance; he soon sets off to record the sounds of animals indigenous to Ukraine and also a rare bird native to the Carpathians. The situation proves somewhat more complicated when Vadym’s companion on the trip turns out to be his mother… To the sounds of a synthesized music score, debuting Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich unfolds a visually creative road movie, in which he demonstrates a highly unusual talent for constructing tragicomic situations.

Mikado(fr)

Mikado and Laetitia lead an alternative lifestyle aboard a van with their homeschooled children Nuage and Zephir. One day, their van breaks down, forcing them to lead a somewhat 'normal' life over summer.

Crime Wave(es)

Leyre lives a quiet and comfortable life which ends abruptly when an act of rage of her teenage son leads her to protect him by any means necessary.

My Brother, My Sister(it)

When their father's will forces them to live together, siblings Nik and Tesla — and Tesla's kids — try to overcome their differences to become a family.

Prizzi's Honor(en)

Charley Partanna is a hitman who works for the Prizzis, one of the richest crime families in the US. When he sees Irene Walker, it's love at first sight. But he soon finds that she, too, is a killer for hire. Charley can overlook his suspicions, but he can't turn off his heart. And the couple must remember that even if they love each other, the Prizzis love only money.

The Bad Poet(it)

1936. Giovanni Comini, the youngest Federal in Fascist Italy, is summoned to Rome for a delicate mission: to surveil aging national poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, whose increasingly restless behavior Mussolini fears could damage his alliance with Nazi Germany. However, after spending time with D'Annunzio, Comini finds himself torn between loyalty to the Party and his fascination with the poet, who will put his burgeoning career at risk.

I Am Cuba(es)

Four vignettes on the lives of the Cuban people in the pre-revolutionary era. In Havana, Maria is ashamed when a man she loves discovers how she makes a living. Pedro, an old farmer, discovers that the land he cultivates is being sold to an American company. A student sees his friends attacked by the police while they distribute leaflets supporting Fidel Castro. Finally, a peasant family is threatened by Batista's army.

Three Men and a Cradle(fr)

Three young men - Jacques, Pierre, and Michel - share an apartment in Paris, and have many girlfriends and parties. Once, during a party, a friend of Jacques' tells him he has a quite compromising package to deliver, and asks him if he can leave it discreetly at their place. Jacques agrees and, as he works as a steward, flies away for a one-month trip in Japan, telling Pierre and Michel about the package. Then, one of Jacques' former girlfriends drops a baby before their door, making Pierre and Michel believing it is the package they are waiting for. Their lives are then completely changed.

The White Sheik(it)

In Italy, small-town newlyweds Wanda and Ivan Cavalli embark on their honeymoon in the big city of Rome. Ivan dutifully wants to keep appointments with family and church, but Wanda is only interested in meeting her favorite photo-strip star known as "The White Sheik". While Wanda impetuously sneaks away to locate the object of her affections, disconsolate Ivan tries his hardest to keep up appearances with the couple's relatives.