Judging by the synopses, the 2024 Un Certain Regard line-up has something for every taste this year, from deep, intriguing, tense and sensitively told films to some very light (and rare) fare…One week ahead of their unfurling in Cannes, these are the hot titles I’ll be keeping my eyes on:
Deliciously kooky: Avril, a lawyer who subscribes to lost causes, made a promise to herself: she will win her next case! But when Dariuch, a client as desperate as his cause, asks her to defend his faithful companion Cosmos, Avril’s convictions take over. Thus begins a trial as unexpected as it is agitated: the trial of the dog.
2. MY SUNSHINE, by OKUYAMA Hiroshi
Charming: On the island of Hokkaido, winter is the hockey season for boys. Takuya, for his part, is more captivated by Sakura, who has just arrived from Tokyo. She is rehearsing figure skating sequences and he clumsily tries to imitate her. Sakura’s coach, touched by his efforts, decides to train them as a duo for an upcoming competition… As the winter progresses, a harmony settles between them despite their differences. But the first snow melts and spring arrives, inevitably.
3. ARMAND, by Halfdan ULLMANN TØNDEL
Tense: When an incident occurs at school, the parents of young Armand and Jon are summoned by the management. But everyone has a hard time explaining what really happened. The children’s stories conflict, their points of view clash, to the point of shaking the adults’ certainties…
Intriguing: A rural region in northern India. After the death of her husband, Santosh, a young woman, inherits his position, as the law allows, and becomes a police officer. When she is called to the scene of the murder of a low-caste girl, Santosh finds herself immersed in a tortuous investigation alongside the charismatic Inspector Sharma, who takes her under his wing.
Sensitively told: Anchored in Saudi Arabia in the 90s, NORAH tells the touching story of a new teacher (Nader) and a young woman (Norah), in a small isolated village. At that time, all artistic expression was strictly prohibited. Despite the risks they face, Norah and Nader cultivate a tender friendship and inspire each other to preserve their creativity despite the restrictions. Nader, originally an artist, opens Norah’s eyes to the vast world beyond the village. She realises that she must leave her environment to find a place where her artistic desires can be freely expressed.
6. ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL, by Rungano NYONI
Deep: On a deserted road in the middle of the night, Shula comes across the remains of her uncle. During funeral preparations, Shula and her cousins uncover the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family. In this surreal and vibrant film, filmmaker Rungano Nyoni probes the lies we tell ourselves.
Curious: Paris 1952, Niki moved to France with her husband and daughter, far from a suffocating family in America. But despite the distance, Niki is regularly shaken by reminiscences of her childhood which invade her thoughts. From the hell that she will discover, Niki will find in art a weapon to free herself.
CINERRATICA 