Julia and Tobias discover that their daughter Marielle has suddenly developed telepathic abilities and can see and hear everything they do. This leads to situations ranging from the awkward to the absurd as uncomfortable truths are revealed.
A seventeen-year-old girl experiences a sexual awakening when she falls head over heels in love with her female teacher. She writes this down in her diary, and writes so well, vividly and recognizably that both mother and grandmother think the book should be published. Without taking into account that the girl has only written it to keep the crush alive for herself.
During summer, colorful beach bars and umbrellas line the pristine white dunes of Porto Pino, while in winter, gunfire and fighter jets dominate the landscape. Part of the dunes lies within Sardinia’s largest military base, accessible to beachgoers only during summer. Over the years, the dunes have visibly shrunk. Locals whisper about a legend: Silvio Berlusconi stole the sand and moved it to his scandal-ridden villa in northern Sardinia.
Starting with this rumor, LA DUNA questions: Who owns the land? The film interweaves true stories of expropriation, resistance, and the struggle for identity—featuring a farmer who fights NATO with goat skulls, a fisherman taking tourists to a radioactive island, a livestock breeder who defeats an international real estate consortium, a seasonal waitress envisioning a matriarchal yacht club, and a scattered Sardinian family caught in the "Battle for the Narrative.”
Following the screening Q&A with the directors.
An entirely ordinary day on the beds ward of a surgical department. The nursing team is understaffed due to a shortage of personnel. Despite the hectic environment, Floria cares for her patients with expertise and full dedication. Although she gives her all, the shift gradually spirals out of control – until it eventually leads to a dramatic outburst.
A female doctor in her late forties has no desire for a permanent relationship. But when a male nurse talks about how random meetings with men sometimes lead to rewarding and non-committal sex, she notices how this is exactly what she wants.
Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
Two men in heterosexual marriages whose unexpected experiences challenge their perceptions of sexuality, gender and identity.
Breu febril / Dark ferverish
(Wallace Douglas, Brazil, 11:16min)
Gustavo, a young man passionate about the sea and photography who shares experiences through his memories the strange meaning of being black. Symptom "Embodying the dreams and ideologies of Yerevan's post-Soviet generation, Sona and Amassia meet in high school and form an experimental electronica band called Symptom Error. They soon become known for their underground shows, which are often disrupted by sexist and homophobic police intervention. The stakes get higher on the eve of the Velvet Revolution, when thousands take to the streets demanding social and political change. Sona and Amassia are the first amongst their friends to join the crowds. As the people of Armenia feel the waves of the revolution for years to come, we follow Symptom in their rise to fame. They continue to make music through the pandemic and war, and their dreams finally begin to take shape as they prepare for their first international tour."
Symptom
(Kamee Abrahamian, Armenia/Canada, 23min)
Embodying the dreams and ideologies of Yerevan's post-Soviet generation, Sona and Amassia meet in high school and form an experimental electronica band called Symptom Error. They soon become known for their underground shows, which are often disrupted by sexist and homophobic police intervention. The stakes get higher on the eve of the Velvet Revolution, when thousands take to the streets demanding social and political change. Sona and Amassia are the first amongst their friends to join the crowds.
As the people of Armenia feel the waves of the revolution for years to come, we follow Symptom in their rise to fame. They continue to make music through the pandemic and war, and their dreams finally begin to take shape as they prepare for their first international tour.
Dirty Care
(Isa Schieche, Austria, 16min)
“Dirty Care” is an essay film shot from first-person perspective. From martial arts training to everyday life, we follow the protagonist's point of view and a voiceover through various landscapes and tasks. In a public toilet, above the rooftops of Vienna at sunrise, in a trailer park and in a snowy landscape, we are instructed and trained to defend ourselves against a physical attack. “Dirty Care” describes the efforts that non-normative women have to make in order not to be exposed to patriarchal violence or to be capable of standing up to it. The film portrays scenes of empowerment, intimacy, resilience and companionship." Vakhtanguri "One night of 2022, Mindia and Joy meet in a park in Tbilisi and quickly connect. Though LGBTQ+ people still face discrimination in Georgia, as the government tightens laws around “family values”, Pride events and queer expression are increasingly suppressed. Seeking a different future, they launch a small vintage clothing business to save funds and leave for Belgium as asylum seekers. In the refugee shelter they face privacy issues and grapple with the instability of their legal status. The two find support within the local queer community, but when their asylum application is unexpectedly denied, they must once again try to stay together.
Vakhtanguri
(Valeriu Adimei, Belgium/Romania, 16:56 min)
"One night of 2022, Mindia and Joy meet in a park in Tbilisi and quickly connect. Though LGBTQ+ people still face discrimination in Georgia, as the government tightens laws around “family values”, Pride events and queer expression are increasingly suppressed.
Seeking a different future, they launch a small vintage clothing business to save funds and leave for Belgium as asylum seekers. In the refugee shelter they face privacy issues and grapple with the instability of their legal status. The two find support within the local queer community, but when their asylum application is unexpectedly denied, they must once again try to stay together."
Possa Poder / Bittersweet Power
(Victor Di Marco & Márcio Picoli, Brazil, 19 min)
In one night, three queer people remember the pains and delights of being who they are.
Set in the small, mountainous village of Vermiglio during the waning days of WWII, a series of dramatic, consequential events unfold after the arrival of a taciturn Sicilian soldier, who hides out in town after deserting the army. While there, the soldier develops a romance with a provincial family’s eldest daughter.
