Eight films are competing in RIFF's Vitrana category this year, which is the festival's main competition category, and many of its films have been successful around the world in recent years. The category is a hallmark of the festival, showcasing progressive films by aspiring directors who are presenting their first or second feature. The festival's main prize, the Golden Grove, is awarded to the best film in the category, and the film has subsequently been shown in countless countries.
This year, eight brand new films have been specially selected for the category by program director Frédéric Boyer. Their subjects range from a young girl starting school at a demanding ski school in the French Alps, a struggle for survival in the Argentine highlands, a fateful moment in history in a notorious prison in the Ivory Coast, a desperate unrequited love between university students, and a complex Danish family drama.
Lonely Rock
Nordic premiere of the first feature film by the emerging Argentine filmmaker Alejandro Telémaco Tarraf. The film premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival earlier this year. The film tells the story of Fidel, a llama herder who lives in the Argentine highlands 4000 meters above sea level, and his journey to protect his livelihood. The barren landscape and unconventional filming frame this interesting film.
Night of the Kings
Twelfth Night comes straight from the Venice Film Festival, the oldest and one of the most prestigious festivals in the world. The film's director, Philippe Lacote, grew up in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where the film is set, but its setting is the infamous La Maca prison where the prisoners rule. Twelfth Night tells the story of a young man who ends up in prison and is assigned the role of narrator. According to the rules of La Maca, he will not be able to escape his fate, but he tries his best to make the story last until morning.
Shithouse
Young director Cooper Raiff from Dallas, Texas, wrote, directed, edited and starred in The Shitty Place, his first feature film. The story follows Alex, a lonely first-year college student who dreams of moving closer to his family. He has been struggling to fit in with college life and has become completely isolated, but one night he decides to go to a party at the infamous Shitty Place on campus. He spends the night with Maggie, the student council president, and becomes enamored with her. However, her feelings are not reciprocated, and Alex desperately seeks ways to get her attention.
Skiing/Slalom
Directed by Charléne Favier, the first feature film comes straight from the Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of 15-year-old Lyz, who has recently been accepted into a prestigious ski school with the goal of becoming a professional skier. One of the teachers abuses her power over Lyz, and the film is considered to be an unusually realistic look at sexual violence in competitive sports. Favier has produced both short films and documentaries, and her film Odol Gorro was nominated for the 2020 César Award for Best Short Film.
This is not a burial, its a resurrection/This is not a burial, its a resurrection A film by director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese that won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Portland Film Festival and the grand prize at the Taipei Film Festival. The director is a screenwriter, director and artist from Lesotho who lives in Berlin. The film tells the story of an octogenarian widow, Mantoa, who begins to prepare for her own death after losing her only surviving son in a mining accident. However, her plans for a peaceful end to her life go awry when she learns that a reservoir is to be built in her village, which will flood the cemetery. As a result, Mantoa enlists the townspeople to fight against the construction, and her last days become more memorable than she had imagined.
Flesh and Blood/Wildland
The Danish film Flesh and Blood is directed by Jeanette Nordahl, who has shot to stardom in recent years, having worked as an assistant director on the award-winning TV series Borgen. Her graduation film Waiting for Phil was nominated for the Danish Film Award for Best Short Film in 2013. Flesh and Blood is her first feature film. Wildland is Jeanette's first feature film, where the viewer is left to grapple with the pressing question of what he is willing to sacrifice for his family?
Last Days of Spring
Director Isabel Lamberti's films straddle the line between documentary and fiction. Her latest film, The Last Days of Spring, will premiere at the prestigious San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain in mid-September. The film tells the story of a family living in the illegal La Cañada Real in Madrid, living their lives on hold. The film combines real-life environments and people in the spirit of documentary, but weaves together a plot that has no basis in reality.
200 Metres/200 Meters
Fresh off its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the oldest and one of the most prestigious festivals in the world, RIFF will screen Palestinian screenwriter and director Ameen Nayfeh's film 200 Meters. The film tells the harrowing journey of Palestinian Mustafa, who lives on the Left Bank, to reunite with his son, who is hospitalized on the Right Bank. A mere 200 meter journey becomes a 200 km ordeal, with smugglers and other dubious travelers standing in the way of the father. A masterpiece that has been awaited.
RIFF Reykjavík International Film Festival will be held for the 17th time on September 24th. The films will be shown on the website riff.is where it will be possible to buy tickets and all citizens can now enjoy the program and others who do not have access to it at home.