On the other side of the camera: Scarlett Johansson and Kristen Stewart’s directorial debuts at the 21st CineFest

On the other side of the camera: Scarlett Johansson and Kristen Stewart’s directorial debuts at the 21st CineFest

Following the previously announced Open Eye and East of Europe sections, the lineup for the Official Competition has finally been revealed.

Year after year, the Official Competition program of feature films keeps cinema-goers in a fever of excitement: this is the category where it is not uncommon for tickets to sell out days or even weeks before the screenings. This is very likely to happen again this year, as the program includes a number of major films that have been successful at the world’s biggest film festivals and will now be seen by Hungarian audiences for the first time at CineFest.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos, following his films Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, both shot in Hungary, has made it into the CineFest competition program with his third film in a row. What’s more, like Poor Things, it arrives in Miskolc just a few days after its premiere in Venice. His new film, Bugonia, is about two conspiracy-obsessed young people who kidnap an influential executive of a multinational corporation because they are convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying the Earth. The cult South Korean sci-fi comedy Save the Green Planet! has been reimagined for the US, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.

One of the special aspects of this year’s CineFest Official Competition Program is that three established actors are making their directorial debuts. Based on Lidia Yuknavitch’s autobiographical bestseller, The Chronology of Water, directed, co-written, and produced by Oscar-nominated actress Kristen Stewart, explores how trauma can be forged into art. In her film, Lidia (Imogen Poots), a young girl raised in an environment torn apart by violence and alcohol, manages to escape her family and find refuge in literature at university. The drama features a brilliant performance by the long seen Jim Belushi (Red Heat, K-9) in a supporting role. Two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson‘s first feature film as a director, Eleanor, the Great is a story of a 94-year-old Florida woman who befriends a 19-year-old New York college student. The title role is played by June Squibb, who turns 96 this year and was previously nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Nebraska, which also debuted at CineFest. The star of The Triangle of Sadness and Good Girl, Harris Dickinson, makes his feature directorial debut with Urchin, in which the young hero works with all his might to change his life. Recently released from prison, he has no job and no home. If he could overcome his self-destructive tendencies, he might just find the narrow path to happiness. All three films had their world premieres at Cannes, where Urchin won the International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI) in the Un Certain Regard category.

One of the most important contemporary directors of American independent cinema, Kelly Reichardt has created a series of masterpieces, yet her films are rarely seen on the big screen in Hungary. Fortunately, CineFest is doing a lot to change this, as her latest film is now debuting here after 2016’s Certain Women. Coming from Cannes, The Mastermindis the story of a painting theft gone wrong. In the 1970s, Mooney (Josh O’Connor) and his accomplices rob a museum in broad daylight, but keeping the artworks proves to be a much greater challenge than they had anticipated.

New York-based Joel Alfonso Vargas‘s first feature film, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), shot in just 16 days, was screened at Sundance and in Berlin. The film offers a glimpse into the life of the Dominican-American community, where Rico and his pregnant girlfriend move in with the boy’s parents, and are forced to grow up much sooner than they had hoped. The strength of Vargas’ film lies in his ability to portray a world he knows well in an extremely authentic and heartfelt way.

In 1917, Lionel (Paul Mescal), a young, talented music student, meets David (Josh O’Connor) at the Boston Conservatory, where they bond over their love of folk music. Years later, Lionel receives a letter from David, which leads to an unexpected reunion and a blossoming romance in Oliver Hermanus‘s story. The moving romantic drama History of Sound was one of the most talked-about films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

What would you do if you found out that your daughter had telepathic abilities and could see and hear everything you did without any filters? This is exactly the situation Julia and Tobias find themselves in, despite their seemingly idyllic relationship. Their daughter Marielle, a primary school student, unwittingly confronts her parents with the lies they tell each other and, above all, themselves. After the adults’ most unpleasant secrets come to light, they try to circumvent the new rules of family dynamics in increasingly bizarre ways. The most exciting film of this year’s Berlinale, What Marielle Knows is both a sharp satire and an absurd comedy. Directed by German filmmaker Frédéric Hambalek, it is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression.

A coming-of-age drama and comedy intertwine around a rather unusual theme: director-writer-lead actress Eva Victor explores the aftermath of a trauma—an unseen but central act of sexual abuse—in an intellectually and emotionally complex way in her Cannes film Sorry, Baby. The heroine of the story, Agnes, is trying to make a name for herself as a literature professor at a liberal arts college when she falls into the clutches of a more prestigious teacher. Will Agnes be able to continue her life as everyone around her seems to be moving forward?

Some of the films in this year’s competition program have already been revealed. These include Joachim Trier‘s new film, Sentimental Value, which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Kleber Mendonça Filho also appeared at Cannes with his latest film, The Secret Agent, which won the award for best director and the International Federation of Film Critics Prize, while Wagner Moura, known from the Narcos series, was named best actor. For the first time in the 21-year history of CineFest, two Hungarian Oscar-winning filmmakers have been included in the competition program: László Nemes‘s Orphan, fresh from Venice, and Kristóf Deák‘s With Friends Like These. The Hungarian film scene is further strengthened by Bence Fliegauf‘s mystical thriller Jimmy Jaguár, which was screened at Karlovy Vary, and Tamás Dömötör‘s film Mercy, which takes viewers behind the scenes of the film industry.

There is a Hungarian connection to the Cannes Camera d’Or and Audience Award of the Directors’ Fortnight section winner. The President’s Cake by Hasan Hadi is a film with sound design by Tamás Zányi, Dorka Mező, Tamás Székely, and Tamás Beke. Julia Ducournau, who won the Palme d’Or a few years ago with Titane, also had her previous film in the CineFest Competition Program, so it’s almost a given that her latest work, Alpha, also from Cannes, will be shown here first, starring French-Hungarian actress and model Mélissa Boros. Kirill Serebrennikov, a Russian filmmaker who was under house arrest in his home country for a long time and now lives in Berlin, has cast actress Annamária Láng in his film about the notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, The Disappearance of Josef Mengele.

Pre-sale tickets for the 21st CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival will go on sale on August 21 at https://jegy.cinefest.hu.

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