Joëlle Bertossa

Cosmos

In a forgotten village of the Yucatán, Lena, a 68-year-old widow, crosses paths with Leon, a 62-year-old Mayan guardian of nature’s secrets and spirits. Lena finds an unexpected companion in Leon. Despite their differences and seemingly opposite worlds, a deep connection forms between them—one that will bind them until death. In his new film, Germinal Roaux, one of the most unique voices of contemporary European cinema, delivers a philosophical story about aging and the decay of the body. Above all, it’s about solidarity and the small gestures of love that give meaning—and dignity—to our existence. True to the aesthetic codes established in his previous works, Roaux’s film, shot in black and white and unfolding with a ritualistic rhythm that mirrors the slow passage of time at the twilight of life, speaks poetically and with genuine emotion about the most essential bond that connects us: love.

2G

Agadez in Niger has long been the starting point for people smugglers moving migrants through the desert to Libya. Under pressure from Europe, the Niger government has been trying to combat people smuggling, but the local economy offers few alternatives. Those who give up smuggling usually end up in gold mining. But it’s hard and dangerous work, and only a few make their fortunes.

Lonely

Precious and Federico are united by their passion for music. The two teenagers live in the small Italian town of Como. While Federico struggles with his health, Precious suffers from conflicts with her mother.

Thunder

Summer 1900, Switzerland. Elisabeth, 17, is about to take her vows when the sudden death of her older sister forces her to leave the convent and return to the family farm. Stifled by the suffocating and strict rules of the village, walking in her sister’s step to uncover the mystery of her death, Elisabeth is slowly driven to rebel against the local order and for her right to live her life.

It Begins

The world is on the verge of collapse. Climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, infertile soils, overpopulation... Frédéric Choffat's two children, 13 and 17 years old, confront him.

Madeleine Collins

Judith leads a double life between Switzerland and France. On the one hand Abdel, with whom she is raising a little girl, on the other Melvil with whom she has two older boys. Little by little, this fragile balance, made up of lies, secrets and back and forth, cracks dangerously. Trapped, Judith chooses to head forward, at the risk of losing everything.

My Body

Oscar, not quite a child anymore, scavenges for scrap metal for his father. He spends his life in improvised landfills among what remains of leftovers. Worlds apart, yet close-by, there is Stanley. He tidies the church in exchange for a monetised hospitality, picks fruits, herds sheep: anything that keep his foreign body busy. Oscar, the young Sicilian, and Stanley the Nigerian don’t seem to have much in common. Except for the feeling of being thrown into the world, to suffer the same refusal, the same overwhelming wave of choices imposed on them by others.

Diabetes, a Hefty Bill

How can we better manage patients with diabetes, a chronic disease that affects more and more people around the world? Conducted on three continents, an in-depth investigation into an alarming situation.

The Salt of Tears

Luc travels to Paris for the first time to sit the entrance exam for a carpentry school. There he meets Djemila, a young worker with whom he enjoys a short romance, before returning to his home town and beginning a relationship with Geneviève, whom he has known since childhood. Caught between two passions, Luc runs, resolving to fulfil his father's dreams by devoting himself to his future... until finally, he experiences true love.

Sing Me a Song

As the Internet finally arrives in tiny Bhutan, documentarian Thomas Balmès is there to witness its transformative impact on a young Buddhist monk whose initial trepidation gives way to profound engagement with the technology.

Yalda

Maryam accidentally killed her husband Nasser and is sentenced to death. The only person who can save her is Mona, Nasser's daughter. All Mona has to do is appear on a TV show and forgive Maryam. But forgiveness proves difficult when they are forced to relive the past.

My English Cousin

Full of hope, Fahed arrived in England from Algeria back in 2001. Fifteen years later, his dreams of prosperity have evaporated and he finds himself in a midlife crisis, no longer knowing where his home is. Will Fahed, the director's cousin, return to his place of birth?

My English Cousin

Full of hope, Fahed arrived in England from Algeria back in 2001. Fifteen years later, his dreams of prosperity have evaporated and he finds himself in a midlife crisis, no longer knowing where his home is. Will Fahed, the director's cousin, return to his place of birth?

The Swallows of Kabul

Summer 1998—Kabul under Taliban rule. Zunaira and Mohsen are young and in love. Despite the daily violence and misery, they hope for a better future. One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn.

Bird Island

After a long period of isolation, Antonin rediscovers the world in a bird shelter where, rocked by the noise of planes, troubled souls are saved just as much as the birds.

Looking for the Man with the Camera

Boutheyna Bouslama remembers her holidays in Syria in the summer of 1994: a boy offered her an armful of cherries. He was called Oussama. Twenty years later, his name appears in the credits of Return to Homs by Talal Derki, programmed in Istanbul. The childhood friend has become “the man with the camera”, a “media activist” documenting the demonstrations and their repression by the Assad regime, until his arrest in 2012. The filmmaker sets off in search of the man whose name features on the list of the 70,000 forced disappearances that have occurred since the beginning of the conflict.

Advocate

Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli lawyer, defends Palestinians: from feminists to fundamentalists, from nonviolent demonstrators to armed militants. As far as most Israelis are concerned, she defends the indefensible. As far as Palestinians are concerned, she’s more than an attorney, she’s an ally. «Advocate» follows Tsemel in real time, including the trial of a 13-year-old boy — her youngest client to date.

Tomorrow the Sun

2028. For reasons unknown to men, the earth is slowly growing closer to the sun. The planet is now separated in two distinct zones: the North, barely livable, and the South, which has become too hot to be inhabited. In the heart of the Congo, a small group of soldiers witnesses the expansion of the southern forest.

A Skin So Soft

Jean-François, Ronald, Alexis, Cédric, Benoit and Maxim are gladiators of modern times. From the strongman to the top-class bodybuilder, to the veteran who has become a trainer, they all share the same definition and obsession with overcoming their limitations. They are waiting for the next competition, working hard in the gym and following extreme diets.

I Am Not Your Negro

Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.

Wild Plants

People's associations with flora goes back a long way, taking us back to our own roots as well as to new ways of life and creative potential that reveal themselves as we deal with plants.

Rio Corgo

Silva, an old drifter, arrives at a small and isolated Portuguese village where he meets the young Ana. They develop a relation in between friendship and initiation. Fascinated by that wondrous man, Ana progressively falls into his universe. A life populated by supernatural figures including her long lost friend Carolina. But strange fits weaken Silva, bringing him to the hospital, where a dozen women start inhabiting him. Will they save him?

Rio Corgo

Silva, an old drifter, arrives at a small and isolated Portuguese village where he meets the young Ana. They develop a relation in between friendship and initiation. Fascinated by that wondrous man, Ana progressively falls into his universe. A life populated by supernatural figures including her long lost friend Carolina. But strange fits weaken Silva, bringing him to the hospital, where a dozen women start inhabiting him. Will they save him?

Babor Casanova

Algiers, 2015. Adlan and Terrorist navigate the Sacré Coeur neighborhood, desperately trying to make a few dinars.

(Be)Longing

At Uz, an isolated hamlet in the northern mountains of Portugal, four generations live together in a group of around fifty people. When life is rough, solidarity is of the highest order. Everything else is left in God’s hands. They could have emigrated, like so many others, but chose to stay and keep their ancestral way of life, away from the racket of modernity.

In the Shadow of Women

Pierre and Manon are poor. They make documentaries with nothing and they live by doing odd jobs. Pierre meets a young intern, Elisabeth, and she becomes his mistress. But Pierre will not leave Manon for Elisabeth; he wants to keep both.

Sam

Sam, a seven years old kid, has been living with his mother since the divorce of his parents. He has to temporarily move in with his father, Gerome, who has never taken care of him. So, Sam is not close with his father. Everyone around Gerome thinks that he's incapable to look after a child. After a chaotic start, Sam, by the force of his convictions, is going to help Gerome to get mature and to teach him how to become a father that he missed so much.

So Close So Far

Bolivia in the 50's : on the Island of the Sun, in the midst of Lake Titicaca, Alberto Perrin films the indigenous community recently emancipated through the agrarian reform and the 1952 revolution. 2010: Carmen Perrin, his daughter, returns to the inhabitants the films shot by her father. No nostalgia, because the ancestral rites and the spirit of liberty continues to enliven the community, despite the pressure of tourism. A memory is emerging, gestures are invented, ties are woven in the landscape sanctuary.