A celebration of new trends in world cinema: this is how FEST - New Directors New Films Festival defines itself. The international gathering is all set to unspool in the Portuguese city of Espinho and will turn 18 this year. This edition, which marks the event’s coming of age, will take place from 20-27 June, will place a particular emphasis on the film industries of Ukraine and Tunisia, will organise an industry sidebar (details of which will be published shortly) and will spend one week screening short films and features of all shapes and sizes, ranging from animation to documentary, not to mention experimental works.

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The starting pistol will be fired by a film that has garnered a great deal of acclaim in its native Spain, Lullaby [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
scheda film], the feature debut by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, which triumphed at the 25^th Málaga Film Festival after initially being unveiled at the Berlinale. On the other hand, proceedings will be brought to a close by Sundown [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Mexico/France/Sweden), a film bristling with tension, directed by Michel Franco, and toplined by French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and British thesp Tim Roth.

The Golden Lynx competition homes in on first or second features helmed by innovative filmmakers active on the international film scene. These ten works will reflect the rude state of health that modern cinema finds itself in, as demonstrated by Utama [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alejandro Loayza
scheda film] by Alejandro Loayza, a co-production involving Bolivia, Uruguay and France that is leaving audiences in awe wherever it is shown; A Piece of Sky [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Michael Koch
scheda film], a drama by Swiss director Michael Koch; the claustrophobic Immaculate [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Monica Stan, George Chiper…
scheda film] by Romanian duo Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark; the Sundance hit Gentle [+leggi anche:
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intervista: László Csuja e Anna Nemes
scheda film] (Hungary/Germany) by the directorial made up of László Csuja and Anna Nemes, centring on the world of professional body building; the Swedish “coming-of-old-age” flick Calendar Girls [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen, also applauded at Sundance; the teen-focused documentary Alis [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Colombia/Chile/Romania) by Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás Van Hemelryck, which won awards at Berlin; the hard-hitting Canadian flick The Noise of Engines by Philippe Grégoire; the magical realism of To Kill the Beast (Argentina/Brazil/Chile) by Agustina San Martín; the Jordanian comedy Daughters of Abdul-Rahman by Zaid Abu Hamdan; and the Vietnamese doc Children of the Mist by Ha Le Diem.

Another of FEST 2022’s competitive sections is the one that sees hopefuls vying for the Silver Lynx. Split into ten sessions, it will screen short films from all over the world – titles in which there is certainly no lack of provocation or risk-taking. The same thing will happen with the six programmes of short films that make up the competitive NEXXT 2022 section, featuring the cream of the crop made at the most prestigious and forward-thinking film schools on the planet. Plus, in the National Grand Prix section, audiences will get a glimpse of the imminent future of Portuguese cinema, with shorts helmed by names to keep a close eye on, such as Hugo Sousa, Débora Gonçalves and Guilherme Daniel, among others.

Rounding things off, among the gathering’s jam-packed programme, we should highlight the space dedicated to the Odesa Film Festival, which found itself unable to take place in Ukraine this year, but which will extend its reach all the way to Espinho with a selection of national titles that have won plaudits at its most recent editions: Homeward [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Nariman Aliev (a film that was chosen by its country to compete for the Oscars in 2020), Blindfold by Taras Dron, Stop-Zemlia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kateryna Gornostai
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intervista: Valentyn Vasyanovych
scheda film] by Valentyn Vasianovych and My Thoughts Are Silent [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Antonio Lukich, as well as five shorts.