After a year of traveling through several festivals of the international circle and analyzing over 500 submissions for competition, we finally present the selection of feature films that will compete for the Golden Lynx in this edition of FEST - New Directors | New Films Festival. We also present our choice of special sessions, such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the session for the senior population of Espinho.

Always seeking to present innovative content that allows a broad view of the future of cinema, in a year in which so many good films were produced, making the selection for this edition proved to be a really difficult task.

Golden Lynx | Documentary

In this category, are in competition films that are very different in origin, theme and approach but that converge in importance and excellence. A national production about a foreign director who was fascinated by Portuguese culture and cinema ("Lupo" by Pedro Lino); a portrait of a Poland that is divided even in the smallest nuclei of the society, a family ("The Celebration - Impreza", by Alexandra Wesolowski); and a compilation of images from Syria and Iraq, obtained in various forms and in various formats that come together to show the reality of those living in two war-torn countries ("Sand and Blood" by Matthias Krepp and Angelika Spangel).

Lupo

Pedro Lino | PRT | 74'

Sand and Blood

Matthias Krepp, Angelika Spangel | AUT | 90’

The Celebration - Impreza

Alexandra Wesolowski | DEU | 75’

Golden Lynx | Fiction

Focused on issues of great importance and a regular source of debate today, we continue with the films that will compete for the Golden Lynx for Fiction.

From promising social dramas like "Mobile Homes" (Vladimir de Fontenay), or incredible visual and thematic works, such as "Winter Brothers" (Hlynur Palmason), to great hits within the circle of festivals such as "Blue My Mind" (Lisa Brühlmann) and "Killing Jesus" (Laura Mora) who participated in the prestigious San Sebastián Festival, or "Lemonade" (Ioana Uricaru), participant in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival.

Also noteworthy, one of the most surreal and unforgettable comedies of the last decade and one of the most acclaimed films in this year's BAFTA Awards, "I'm Not a Witch" (Rungano Nyoni); Norman Leto's ambitious project, "Photon", which just like great classics such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" (Stanley Kubrick, 1968), thinks the creation of the planet and the universe from a new point of view; and the essential "Blockage" (Mohsen Gharaei), which shows a shattered Iran after years of international embargo.

Blockage

Mohsen Gharaei | IRN | 82'

Blue My Mind

Lisa Brühlmann | CHE | 97’

I'm Not a Witch

Rungano Nyoni | GBR, FRA, DEU | 93'

Killing Jesus

Laura Mora | ARG, COL | 95'

Lemonade

Ioana Uricaru | ROU, CAN, DEU, SWE | 88'

Photon

Norman Leto | POL | 107'

Winter Brothers

Hlynur Palmason | DNK | 100'

Open Ceremony

Mobile Homes*

Vladimir de Fontenay | CAN, FRA | 105’

*also in competiton for the Golden Lynx | Fiction

Closing Ceremony

We close the festival with the first feature film from Franziska Hoenisch, a beloved director whose career has always been linked to FEST, having previously participated in both the Training Ground and the Pitching Forum. The theme of the film is the icing on the cake, as there could not be a film that fits the theme of this year’s edition any better than this drama about immigration, international relations, and the ethical issues associated with it.

Club europa

Franziska Hoenisch | DEU | 82’

Special Screenings

Revisiting one of the most consecrated works of Luis Galvão Teles, an inescapable name of national cinema.

Dotcom

Luis Galvão Teles | PRT | 103’

One of the first feature films of Francis Ford Coppola, the national debut of the recently restored version of this classic.

Dementia 13

Francis Ford Coppolla | USA/Ireland | 75’

Gomes de Almeida Shorts

Once again, FEST joined Gomes de Almeida Secondary School in an initiative integrated in the National Cinema Plan. Now it’s time to show some of the students' works, winners of an internal school competition, produced after several workshops and masterclasses with big names in national cinema.