Second edition of the Beneath The River Danube will be held in Belgrade, Serbia.
31 films from 24 countries all over the world will be shown on June 1st, 2024.
Last five months we have lived an amazing experience watching 1321 films from 97 countries around the world.
With a great pride and pleasure, we present films from this year’s official selection:
Boogeyman – Adrián Cores (Spain)
A young black man walking back home stepping on the line of what is normal and what is suspicious. A special individual being misunderstood. A scared neighbor, a 911 call and its consequences.
If you see something, say something.
Who is the victim and who is the hangman?
Who is to be feared and who is really the boogeyman?
Chicken – Anna Benner (Germany)
A woman who is escaping an abusive situation stumbles and finds herself eye to eye with a hen who is in the same situation. Even though they are separated by a fence as well as by species they develop a mutual understanding based on the outward shared symptoms of their pain: sore skin. In the moment of their connection we see flashbacks to the origin of their pain. As the woman smokes a cigarette to calm her nerves, she and the chicken come up with a plan: to set the world on fire to match their burning skin. The fire may be imaginary but nevertheless it soothes and provides catharsis.
Bonneville Brothers – Tommaso Magnano (United States)
Italian brothers fulfill their Bonneville dreams.
Trails of Doubt – Raoelijaona Gourio Laurino (Madagascar)
This film evokes, in its own way, the major dilemma that the indigenous Mikea populations in Madagascar, like those around the world, face today. To resist or not to the attractions of modernity and the cultural concessions it imposes?
Piano – Marjan Keshani(Iran)
“Piano deals with poverty and life’s problems, and is the story of a person who wants to buy a piano, but the war crisis occurs and he is deprived of the simplest things in his life.
Coldness – Alfred Rubin (Denmark)
Set in Gothenburg’s first snow, ‘Coldness’ depicts the chilling distance among citizens and their city, as well as between individuals — a lone bassist, a distant harmonicist, dancing lovers by a frozen river, and a girl finding onions on her way home. Narrated by Tarjei Sandvik Moe and Isabella Ølshøj, the film immerses us in the frigid embrace of a Swedish winter.Through glimpses of the characters, we examine their feelings of cold. A bassist plays alone in the street and is answered by a harmonicist from across town, two lovers dance by the frozen river and a girl stumble upon a bunch of onions on her way home.
The Filmmaker – Elcio Cabral Melo (Brazil)
This is a movie about a filmmaker who doesn’t have money to submit his film to festivals.
The Absent Soul – Sonja Ortiz (Peru)
In the heart of the Amazon, an abandoned teenage boy searches for a way to nourish his deceased mother’s soul with butterflies. Inspired by the young protagonist’s life journey through love, loss, and the magic of an Amazon legend. Realized under the guidance of Werner Herzog during his masterclass in Peru.
Parallels – Husnija Coralic (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Romantic drama with elements of love, whose story we follow through the eyes of a boyfriend and a girlfriend who end their long-term relationship.
Two opposite worlds finally begin to look alike, yet they stop recognizing each other along the way.
RH – Jan Caplin (France)
A Human Resources manager is interviewing an employee. At least, that’s what he thinks.
Proof of Love – Denis Nazzari (Italy)
Gigi in the mornig prepare the breakfast.
The Winner – Yury Sysoev (Russia)
1999. A German veteran of the Second World War comes to Moscow for an excursion. And after a walk, unexpectedly, he meets an old man in an underground passage, in whom he recognizes a Soviet soldier whom he tried to kill more than half a century ago.
As One – Marko Plejic (Croatia)
The chaotic, yet necessary, step towards becoming a man often remains overlooked with disdain. Boyhood, with all its depravities is abundant with beauty, which might not be quite apparent while to the boy still marching towards maturity.
When War is Over – Simone Massi (Italy)
A world without war is another utopia that we cannot wait any longer.
The Big Bad Wolf – Charlotte Karas (France)
Gabriel, 8 years old, leaves his house at the middle of the night. He leaves behind him a scene that his imagination struggles to make him forget.
Spectacular – Pau Alba (Spain)
The images recall the dispute between Bartali, Loroño, Bobet, Wagtmans, Robic, Schär and others, together with the appearance of the press, the mechanics, the public or the music in sporting events. The overall result looks back into a time in which sport was experienced in a more spontaneous way. This epic allows Tanoca to pay tribute to these years and to escape from the contemporary professionalisation of cycling -and of filmmaking.
Thin Ice – Sam Heyd (Austria)
Illusion won’t save us from reality, even as the sustained narrative of tabloids becomes history and the myth of progress continues to perpetuate violence and inequality. Globalization has moved forward unevenly and no one can say where this “New Frontier” is taking us. Our time is marked by deindustrialization and the exploitation of cheap labor, climate change and clean coal, nationalism and a refugee crisis.
Cocoon – Mona Farkhondeh (Iran)
A story about a mother’s love for her child.
Whirl – Anil Kurmie (Nepal)
Bhagat, a returnee migrant worker in the Terai region of Nepal, wants to stay back and start vegetable farming with the government’s agricultural support schemes. Getting the actual assistance, however, proves to be far more challenging than he expects.
Night Owl – Bongani Ndaba(South Africa)
Isaac is a successful painter getting ready for an international exhibition. Finding himself with a creative block he begins to have sleepless nights. He turns to VR for inspiration which ultimately leads to him having a mental breakdown.
Lines of Resistence – Katarina Bugarin (Serbia)
Through the prism of Yugoslavian animated films, we witness humanity succumbing to capitalism, the illusion of power, and slavery. With the fear and anxiety it brings with it, self-destruction is close but its end is not in sight. This film is a mirror of our downfall.
Winter Days– Jonas Thielcke (Germany)
Minko has been living on the streets for many years and pretty much fits the stereotype of an alcoholic homeless person. But when he unexpectedly meets a child, Minko cannot escape his responsibility and has to face his future and his present in cold, deep snowy winter days.
From Inside The Room – Paula Magrini Urbinati (Brazil)
A little boy wakes up inside his room without remembering anything, not even his own name. He doesn’t know what happened nor how did he end up there, but that doesn’t bother him. He loves his room and, in fact, he’s afraid of leaving it. However, as time goes by, he starts getting irritated with the fact that he’s locked in there and builds up the courage to see what’s outside.
The Watter Seller – Vainqueur Adan (DR Congo)
Mr. Adan is a young Congolese resident in the city of Kinshasa precisely in the KIngasani district of which he gave himself to sell water in his head but while being clean with his clothes, and a bandit ended up snatching his goods because he was clean.
Saksham – Ajinkya P Patil (India)
When a moderate-magnitude earthquake strikes a school for the visually impaired, visually challenged children not only survive the tremors but also save the lives of their beloved.
Inventory – Gabriela Nápoles (Mexico)
In Sinaloa, México 2010, 6 Coppel store workers stayed to take inventory inside the warehouse, the managers left them locked up, the store caught fire and they died inside. This short film is to remember that they never had justice.
Sights – Syed Saif Uddin (Pakistan)
The study is related to a blind community and how can a blind person perceive a world without sight, expresses himself and what are the methods used for translating tactile and auditory senses. And how can it be possible to translate it into animation etc. Also the visual imagery used in this project were drawn by the blind child Wali khan.This project has my personal affiliation while going to schools of blind with my father when I was around 10 years old, while being there I always wanted to know how is it possible that blind can survive without sight and can they have images in their mind or not.
Run Carlos Run – David Sarkissian (Armenia)
This is an experimental film, the leading hero of which is one person. The film has been shot for 8 years. The main hero wakes up in the morning and starts activities. He runs, draws abstract paintings, plays chess, throws wood, does restoration work and other activities.
I love you even when you win – Giordano Toreti (Italy)
The story examines the relationship between a father and son who find themselves in an unusual situation
The Mud – Medine Baskin (Turkey)
One day the phone rings, it is Hüseyin on the phone. While Leyla is busy working at home and the children are busy with their dreams and games, Hüseyin arrives. But when expectations are not met and some lies imposed by poverty prevail in the house.
Rebound in San Jose – Nazareth Hernandez (Venezuela)
In the challenging environment of the San José de Petare neighborhood, a passionate basketball teacher dedicates his time to training and educating girls, boys and young people. Their goal is to improve their lives and guide them towards pride, dignity and teamwork. In the midst of the difficulties of living in an adverse and sometimes forgotten territory, these children find in basketball an inexhaustible source of hope, a way to preserve their dreams and keep their joy intact.
