13/01/2016 - The Black Movie Festival Black Movie in Geneva offers the best of “independent” film, placing particular emphasis on film productions that are all too often marginalised

One Floor Below by Radu Muntean

Like every year, Geneva is kicking off the new year in style with its exciting Black Movie Festival, this year in its 17^th edition (22-31 January). Over 10 days there will be screenings of 66 productions by emerging talents and filmmakers established in Asia, Africa and Latin America, without forgetting more surprising film producing countries such as Romania, which will be the focus this year. There will be a special section dedicated to Romanian cinema, featuring screenings of two films by the legendary Lucien Pintilie and five contemporary films, including Romanian-French co-productions One Floor Below [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Muntean
film profile] by Radu Muntean and The Treasure [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Corneliu Porumboiu
interview: Corneliu Porumboiu
film profile] by Corneliu Porumboiu, which was unveiled in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes and won the Un Certain Talent Prize, and of course political thriller Why Me? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tudor Giurgiu
film profile] by Tudor Giurgiu, which featured in the Panorama Special section of the Berlinale.

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Grouped into thematic sections spanning everything from politics to new urban cultures, all kinds of films are screened at the The Black Movie Festival: fictional films, documentaries, experimental films, animations, feature films and short films. Basically, all that counts is the strength and quality of the film. This year’s edition boasts a bold and (intentionally) selective programme that brings together big names and emerging filmmakers that it will be worth keeping an eye on in. European films featured in the line-up include the new films by Athina Rachel Tsangari (Chevalier [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Yorgos Lanthimos
film profile]), Mexican-French co-production Chronic [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Michel Franco, the winner of the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes, Nektie Youth [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a South African-Dutch co-production by the promising Sib Shongwe-La Mer, which won the Open Doors Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival (2014), and The Event [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by award-winning Ukranian director Sergei Loznitsa, a documentary made up of found footage which was unveiled at the TIFF and the Venice Film Festival (out of competition). This year two special retrospectives will be dedicated to irreverent Japanese director Sion Sono and Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène.

(Translated from Italian)