KASHISH 2021 Narrative Features in Competition

ADVENT OF MARY
Dir: Vinícius Machado / 103 min / Brazil

Maria, an 11-year-old transgender girl, tormented by the search for her identity, faces religious and family pressure until she meets Lena, her new neighbour. A pure friendship, free from judgments and prejudices, moves Maria to discover and understand her condition.

FIREBIRD
Dir: Peeter Rebane / 107 min / Estonia, UK

Firebird is a touching love story set in the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War. Sergey, a troubled young private, is counting the days till his military service ends. His life is turned upside down when a daring fighter pilot, Roman arrives at the base. Driven by curiosity, Sergey and Roman navigate the precarious line between love and friendship as a dangerous love triangle forms between them and Luisa, the secretary to the base Commander. Sergey is forced to face his past as Roman’s career is endangered and Luisa struggles to keep her family together. Amid the fears of the all-seeing Soviet regime, they risk their freedom and their lives in the face of an escalating KGB investigation. Based on a true story.

FORGOTTEN ROADS
Dir: Nicol Ruiz / 72 min / Chile

Claudina is a traditional woman from the countryside. After the pass away of her husband, she gets into a lonely routine. Having a difficult economic situation, Claudina has to move with her dearest grandson Cristóban, and her daughter Alejandra, knowing that both women have a distanced relationship. Living together, Claudina meets the neighbor Elsa, an independent and married woman who sings on a hidden bar called “Porvenir“ (The Future.) Claudina starts a relationship with Elsa, getting in love. Since then, she develops a journey of self-knowledge to be free, under the judgment of her daughter and friends on a religious and conservatory little town, obsessed with UFO sighting.

THE MAN WITH THE ANSWERS
Dir: Stelios Kammitsis / 80 min / Cyprus, Greece, Italy

Victor, a Greek ex-diving champion in his early 20’s, lives with his grandmother in a seaside town in Greece. Missing out on his triumph days and tired of working at a furniture factory, his life suddenly changes with his grandmother’s death. Driving an old dusty car, he begins a road trip to Germany. On the boat to Italy, he meets Matthias, an adventurous young German, who is on his way home. Matthias persuades Victor to take him along and, as they drive north, Matthias pushes him to come out of his comfort zone and reveal the real reasons behind his trip. Victor’s uptight character clashes with the more free-spirited Matthias. When their journey comes to an end, through the unpredictable turns of life, will their questions find the answers they so much long for?

VERSUS
Dir: Ralston Gonzales Jover / 99 min / Philippines

It tells the story of a Filipino migrant father in Brisbane named Leo, his journey into transitioning as Lea, and his fight as a trans person for the custody of his Filipino children.