Grzegorz Zariczny's excellent Simple Things is currently screening in Polish theaters. On June 25, Christos Nikou's Oblivion, the hit of last year's New Horizons edition, will get its theater premiere here and, on July 16, Burhan Qurbani's long-awaited Berlin Alexanderplatz will screen in cinemas.
During the 21st NH you can enjoy premiere titles distributed by the New Horizons Association – including Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, the provocative masterpiece from Radu Jude, winner of the Golden Bear in Berlin, and the latest film by Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), the beautifully poetic Petite Maman.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, by Japanese master Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, winner of the Silver Bear at this year's Berlinale, will also premiere in Wrocław. The film by the author of Happy Hour, composed of three short stories, revolves around themes of chance and returning to the past. It is also an extraordinary journey with a growing sense of surprise, because the film, which begins like a classic drama, slowly moves towards the metaphysical or even fantasy. Hamaguchi spins the wheel of fortune with masterful skill, drawing phenomenal, nuanced portraits of interpersonal relationships, seasoning them with a discreet sense of humor and sadness.
The Beginning by Dey Kulumbegashvili will be yet another premiere; it is one of last year’s most talked-about films, the hit of the Cannes festival official selection, and winner of the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian festival and the FIPRESCI prize in Toronto. This phenomenal debut, about a family of Jehovah's witnesses in an orthodox Georgian village, pulsates with emotions, deconstructs religious obsessions, and hypnotizes with the phenomenal music of Nicolas Jaar (Ema). The artistic director of Nowe Horyzonty, Marcin Pieńkowski, called the film "the debut of the year – moving, mature, New Horizons vengeance cinema."
All the above-mentioned films will be featured in the festival's Gala Shows section, sponsored by OPPO.
The 21st New Horizons International Film Festival will be held this year in a hybrid format: audiences are invited to screenings at cinemas in Wrocław from August 12 to 22, 2021, while online screenings will be available from August 12 to 29. The festival's complete program will be announced on August 3; tickets go on sale for in-cinema screenings August 4; online sales begin August 5. For more details, visit www.nowehoryzonty.pl.