Note: Not all films are showing at both Joburg venues. You can book tickets for films screened at The Bioscope here and for films screened at Nu Metro here.
What's on the lineup
1. Denmark’s Malou Reymann directs A Perfectly Normal Family. Eleven-year-old Emma believes she lives in a “normal” family until the day her father, Thomas, reveals that he is transgender and begins transitioning into Agnete. What follows is a gentle but powerful exploration of a family reconfiguring itself in the face of emotional upheaval and societal scrutiny.2. Next comes Fuori, an Italian film by Mario Martone. Set in 1980s Rome, the film follows writer Goliarda Sapienza, who, after her life's work is rejected, impulsively steals jewellery and is sent to prison – an experience that transforms her in unexpected ways.
3. Also on the programme is the Belgian film Real Faces, directed by Leni Huyghe, where we meet Julia, an ambitious casting agent who relocates to Brussels after a painful breakup. She enters the world of Eliott, a reclusive microbiologist, and through their unlikely connection, she begins to dismantle her façade of certainty.
4. From Germany, director Christian Petzold, known for his elegant and psychologically charged storytelling, returns with Miroirs No. 3, a haunting psychodrama where past and present collide.
5. From Spain comes Óliver Laxe's Sirat, a sensory and emotional odyssey through the heart of grief, loss, and existential dread.
6. The festival also features Frédéric Farrucci's French film, The Mohican, a suspenseful, character-driven tale of resilience, rebellion, and what it means to stand your ground.
7. From the UK, Sally El Hosaini, and James Krishna Floyd's film Unicorns is about embracing contradiction and finding truth in the in-between.
8. Portuguese director Marco Martins's Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures examines the effects of Brexit on the English coastal town of Great Yarmouth, which becomes a grim limbo for hundreds of newly arrived Portuguese migrant workers.
9. Dutch director Bart Schrijver's The North is a profound meditation on friendship, solitude, masculinity, and the spiritual renewal that can only be found through deep immersion in nature.
10. Lastly, we have Polish director Damian Kocur's film, Under the Volcano. On the final day of a family holiday in Tenerife, a Ukrainian father, his new wife, and two children are jolted from their sunlit bubble by the devastating news that Russia has invaded their homeland. A resonant, quietly powerful film about displacement and the invisible weight of trauma.
The 2025 edition of the festival has 10 contemporary European films that deliver carefully crafted stories and breathtaking landscapes. See the full schedule here.
