Eight-year-old Aitor (whose name means “good father” in Basque; played by Sofia Otero) makes it clear that he would rather be a girl. His understanding mother, Ane, gives him a more gender-neutral name: Cocó, which mean “sweetheart”. Aitor prefers to be called Lucía, a reference to light.

Banel & Adama is the debut feature from French-Sengalese writer-director Ramata-Toulaye Sy. A heartbreaking love story set in a remote village in northern Senegal. Fate strikes when Banel’s husband falls into a well and dies.

Rome, 1946. American troops are still in the streets of the capital. Italy is going through a turbulent political period, accompanied by sweeping constitutional changes. Delia is a brave, hardworking woman trapped in an abusive marriage. At home, she is constantly humiliated, both verbally and physically, by her husband, Ivano, who is also encouraged in the background by the resident and bedridden father-in-law.

After a very difficult childhood that scarred her, the barefoot diva (1941-2011) became a world star at the age of 50 in an industry obsessed with beauty and youth. Her songs are often about love, homesickness, nostalgia and the history of the people of Cape Verde.

The life story of Antonia Brico, the world’s first successful female conductor. A captivating tale of ambition, love and courage, set in early 20th century Amsterdam, Berlin and New York. The Dutch, 24-year-old Antonia Brico was a child when she and her parents immigrated to the United States. She dreams of becoming a conductor, but nobody takes her ambition seriously. Because she has little to lose, she returns to her motherland, where she begs the famous conductor Mengelberg to teach her conducting lessons.

Based on an inspiring true story. Zahia Ziouani and her twin sister Fettouma pursue a career in music at the urging of their parents. Talented 17-year-old Zahia has one dream: to become a conductor. But she has everything against her – she is a woman and the daughter of working-class Algerian parents.

Beloved classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is Spielberg’s most magical movie about an extra -terrestrial, E.T., who is accidentally left behind on earth after collecting plant specimens. He befriends the curious and ompassionate Elliott (Henry Thomas) and his younger sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore), forming an unbreakable bond.

A tender romance, first love. Two lonely people, Ansa and Holappa, try to find the love of their lives. Kaurismäki, one of our favorite directors, presents an indie playfulness, dark and dry humor in this vibrant tragicomedy. A movie that does not lose sight of the complications of dating when you have other things on your mind.

This first Jordanian movie to screen at Cannes, is a passionate story about the country´s legal and social barriers to single motherhood. The movie establishes a world of dominant masculinity through details such as the freedom to use one´s own cell phone. After the sudden death of her husband, Nawal, played by actress Mouna Hawa, must fight for her share of the inheritance.

A poetic, unsentimental movie about survival, ignorance, and loss. The fate of two 16-year-old boys, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar, Senegal, is heartbreaking. They experience hell on earth as they face the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea.

In a highly controlled smart city in the year 2084 two climate migrants try to connect through old-fashioned letters. In the not-so-distant future of 2084, Ángel finds himself trapped as a climate migrant in an undisclosed city, where surveillance reigns supreme.

In France, there is a form of restorative justice that offers victims and perpetrators of offences to engage in mediated dialogue, supervised by professionals. Although the movie is a work of fiction, the experience is very realistic for the viewer. Two storylines complement and reinforce each other. The general part deals with the group sessions and within them the special confrontation between the victim Chloë and her half brother who raped her.

In the corridors of the criminal police, it is said that all the investigators have a crime that haunts them. One day or another, they come across a case hurting them more than the others, without always knowing why. It starts spinning in their heads to the point of obsession.

France at the end of the 19th century. A beautiful chateau with a lovely, lush garden. Fresh vegetables and herbs. All the ingredients for a place where haute cuisine must have been invented. Eugenie, a great role played by Juliette Binoche, shines as a chef alongside the grand master Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel).

Los Reyes de la Salsa is a vibrant musical journey that chronicles the ups and downs of salsa sensation duo Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. The movie delves into their lives. From their first meeting in New York City, Richie, a child prodigy, and Bobby, a young man immersed in the harshness of the street, find the passion that will unite them for the rest of their lives: music.

Spain, Barcelona, 1977. A country and a city in transition after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. A new social order emerges, leading to far-reaching attacks on prevailing conventions. The established order does not accept this without a fight.

A delicate portrait of the world of an introverted janitor in Tokyo, who cleans state-of-the-art public toilets specially designed by renowned architects for the Tokyo Toilet Project. German director Wim Wenders manages to portray a complex Japanese point of view that is warm and optimistic. In essence, it is a praise of the so-called insignificant little things of life, events and encounters.

A quiet dystopian movie about the Japanese government and its plan to deal with an aging population. In a country where 30% of the population is over 65 and the birth rate is low, an economic and health crisis is looming. The program, Plan 75, offers financial and logistical support to citizens over that age who wish to be euthanized. Those who volunteer will receive a bonus for a last dream vacation and a free funeral.

A comedy with an all-star cast about love in all its forms set in the bustling metropolis of New York City. She Came to Me follows Steven Lauddem (Peter Dinklage), a composer who is plagued by a creative block which leaves him unable to finish the score for his big comeback opera.

Philosophy professor Sophia has a pleasant but not very intimate relationship with Xavier. While renovating their country house, Sophia meets the rough and attractive Sylvain, a builder from a completely different background. Sophia comes from a wealthy family, while Sylvain comes from a family of manual workers.

A heartwarming and touching documentary about the Adamant, a unique day-care center in a boat located on the Seine river, in the heart of Paris. A safe place where psychiatric patients can spend their days making music, developing creative activities and lending a listening ear. People who have difficulty communicating because of fears, obsessions or because their heads work differently.

An interesting and moving variation on the Romeo & Juliet theme. The story is set in a small community in a remote country: Albania in 1958. Centuries-old traditions dominate daily life. Luana, the daughter of a respected man, and Agim, the son of traitors exiled by the communists, have known each other since childhood.

A loving couple, Augusto and Paulina are both living with the effects of his Alzheimer’s disease. Two public figures in Chile, both linked by their work to their country’s recent (violent) history. Paulina is an actress and was also Minister of Culture for several years. As a (television) journalist, Augusto documented the crimes of the Pinochet regime. He emphasized that not only numbers and statistics are important, but also feelings and traumas: emotional memory.

In the summer of 2014, Bernard Jordan (Michael Cane) made global headlines. He had staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary. The Great Escaper not only tells the inspiring story of a man trying to come to terms with his lasting war trauma.

After Nebraska, shot in black and white in 2013, another movie by grandmaster Alexander Payne in the CIFF program. At first glance a simple movie, shot in a straightforward style in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio common in the 1970s.

A couple of elderly ladies sign up for a talent show at the local church and end up winning a pilgrimage to Lourdes. They have been longing to escape, even for a moment, from their dreary lives and husbands. When a friend from their past, now living in America, suddenly appears and joins them on the trip, a lot of unfinished business comes up.

The movie, part of the trilogy, I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You, is set in a small mining town in decline, where the last remaining pub has little chance of survival. Inevitable closure threatens the town´s only remaining social gathering place. The arrival of a group of Syrian refugees adds to the turmoil, fueling already latent feelings of unrest.

The director´s debut feature. A silent movie on many levels. In rural Ireland in 1981, people live and work mostly in silence. Beneath the surface there are all kinds of soul stirrings that are suppressed as much as possible. This is the background against which 9-year-old Cáit grows up. In a large chaotic family, poor, desperate, with neglectful parents.

Seven-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes) spends the day at her grandfather's house, where the family is preparing a surprise party for her terminally ill father. As the day progresses, the family's relationships are put to the test. Shot in a single interior location, the movie takes the viewer inside the delicate family relationships that are soaked in life as well as grief and loss.

Elderly couple, Virginio and Sisa, live remotely on the parched Altiplano, the Bolivian plateau subject to severe erosion, with no amenities such as running water or electricity. The local community, playing versions of themselves, add a documentary layer to the movie. Climate change casts a dark shadow over this Bolivian drama.