The films selected for Festival Kaleidoscope at the 52nd International Film Festival of India are as follows-
- Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn
Director: Radu Jade | Romania, Luxembourg, Croatia,Czech Republic | Romanian
Synopsis: A video goes viral. It shows a man and a woman having sex while wearing masks. The woman is, nevertheless, identified. Too bad she is a teacher and supposed to be a role model. And this, moreover, in a (post-socialist but ultimately any) society that is about to get lost in a social network discourse of would-be healing squeaky-clean attitudes, pseudo-political knowing-it-all, sanctimonious chauvinism and grotesque conspiracy theories. Everyone has an opinion. The debate turns into a tribunal – about consensual sex, pornography and more.
- Brighton 4th
Director: Levan Koguashvili | Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, Monaco, USA | Georgian
Synopsis: The story of former wrestling champion Kakhi whose devotion to his family leads him on a journey from his home in Tbilisi to visit his son Soso in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He is not studying medicine, as Kakhi believed, but is working for a moving company to repay a gambling debt to a local mob boss. Kakhi sets his mind to helping his son…
- Compartment No 6
Director: Juho Kuosmanen | Finland, Germany, Estonia, Russia | Finnish, Russian
Synopsis: A young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment no. 6 to face the truth about their own yearning for human connection.
- Feathers
Director: Omar El Zohairy | France, Egypt, The Netherlands, Greece | Arabic
Synopsis: When a magic trick goes awry at a children’s birthday party, the authoritative father of the family turns into a chicken. An avalanche of coincidental absurdities befalls everyone; the mother, whose mundane life was dedicated to her husband and children, is now urged to come to the fore and take care of her family. While moving heaven and earth to bring her husband back and secure their survival, she goes through a total transformation.
- I’m Your Man
Director: Maria Schrader | Germany | German
Synopsis: Alma is a scientist at the famous Pergamon Museum in Berlin. In order to obtain research funds for her studies, she accepts an offer to participate in an extraordinary experiment. For three weeks, she is to live with a humanoid robot whose artificial intelligence has been designed to allow it to morph into that of her ideal life partner. Enter Tom, a machine in (handsome) human form, created to make her happy. What ensues is a tragicomic tale that explores notions of love, longing and what makes us human.
- Red Rocket
Director: Sean Baker | United States of America | English
Synopsis: The audacious new film from writer-director Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Tangerine), starring Simon Rex in a magnetic, live-wire performance, Red Rocket is a darkly funny, raw, and humane portrait of a uniquely American hustler and a hometown that barely tolerates him.
- Souad
Director: Ayten Amin | Egypt, Tunisia, Germany | Arabic
Synopsis: Souad, a 19-year-old Egyptian, is on the cusp of adulthood. In her everyday life, her desire to explore new kinds of freedom clashes with the expectations of society, her family and religious community which she has internalised. On the one hand, she creates a secret cosmopolitan alter ego on her smartphone and seeks romantic connections online. On the other, she is a diligent student, obedient daughter and big sister. But when Souad’s notions of a self-determined life shatter, the busy noise of her contradictory realities dissipates, clearing the way to reveal an encounter between two people who have nothing in common but their relationship with Souad. Perhaps it is only now, in this encounter, that Souad becomes tangible.
With a sure hand for changes of pace, and skilfully juxtaposing dense and unhurried moments, Ayten Amin gets remarkably close to her characters to depict the longing to know another person and to be recognised ourselves.
- Spencer
Director: Pablo Larraín | Germany, UK | English
Synopsis: The marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. But this year, things will be a whole lot different.
Spencer is an imagining of what might have happened during those few fateful days.
- The Story of My Wife
Director: Ildikó Enyedi | Hungary, Germany, Italy, France | English, Dutch, French, German, Italian
Synopsis: The Story of My Wife follows the dashing Gijs Naber as the gallant yet damned Captain Jakob Störr, who bets an associate that he will marry the first woman who enters the café they’re sitting in. Destined to converge with Störr’s life, in walks Lizzy and the rest, as they say, is written in the stars.
- The Worst Person In The World
Director: Joachim Trier | Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark | Norwegian
Synopsis: A modern dramedy about the quest for love and meaning in contemporary Oslo. It chronicles four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
- Titane
Director: Julia Ducournau | France, Belgium | French|
Synopsis: A young man with a bruised face is discovered in an airport. He claims his name to be Adrien Legrand—a child who disappeared ten years ago. As he’s finally reunited with his father, gruesome murders are piling up in the region.
