2025 shortlist
Crystal Swan (2018) [Movie] TMDB IMDb WikiData
Хрусталь
director:
Darya Zhuk
actor:
Alina Nasibullina
/
Ivan Mulin
…
other title:
Crystal swan
/
Le Cygne de cristal
…
Minsk, Belarus, 1996. Velya, an aspiring DJ, wants to move to Chicago to make her dreams come true, but bureaucracy, a phone line and the human condition will put obstacles in her way that will be difficult to avoid.
The Peasants (2023) [Movie] NeoDB Douban IMDb WikiData TMDB
Chłopi
director:
Hugh Welchman
/
DK Welchman
actor:
Kamila Urzędowska
/
Robert Gulaczyk
…
other title:
La nostra terra
/
Das Flüstern der Felder
…
Peasant girl Jagna is forced to marry the much older, wealthy farmer Boryna, despite her love for his son Antek. With time, Jagna becomes the object of envy and disdain with the villagers and she must fight to preserve her independence.
Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1996) [Movie] NeoDB Douban TMDB WikiData IMDb
Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania
director:
Jonas Mekas
actor:
Pola Chapelle
/
Peter Kubelka
…
Jonas Mekas weaves an elegiac diary film from his 1971–72 return to Lithuania, chronicling a visit to his birthplace of Semeniškiai after decades in exile. Blending personal memory with documentary observation, the film becomes both a portrait of homecoming and a meditation on displacement, family, and the passage of time.
The Message (1976) [Movie] TMDB WikiData IMDb
Al-risâlah
director:
Moustapha Akkad
actor:
Abdallah Ghaith
/
Ali Ahmed Salem
…
other title:
Le Message
/
Al-risâlah
…
In sixth-century Mecca, Prophet Muhammad receives his first revelation from God as a messenger. Three years later, he's not alone in his quest and publicly declares his prophecy. Muhammad is fought by Abu Sufian and his wife Hind, rulers of Mecca. Muhammad's followers are hunted and tortured but he continues his calling.
The Perfect Candidate (2020) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
المرشحة المثالية
director:
Haifaa al-Mansour
actor:
Mila Alzahrani
/
Nora Al Awadh
…
other title:
La candidata ideale
/
Maryam - den perfekte kandidat
…
A young Saudi doctor campaigns for a seat on the municipal council, finding confidence as she combats prejudice.
Wadjda (2012) [Movie] NeoDB Douban TMDB IMDb WikiData
Das Mädchen Wadjda
director:
Haifaa al-Mansour
actor:
Reem Abdullah
/
Waad Mohammed
…
other title:
La bicicletta verde
/
Den grønne cykel
…
An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Quran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.
Turtles Can Fly (2005) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
کیسەڵەکانیش دەفڕن
director:
Bahman Ghobadi
actor:
Soran Ebrahim
/
Avaz Latif
…
other title:
As Tartarugas Também Voam
/
Schildkröten können fliegen
…
Turtles Can Fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iraq border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.
If Only I Could Hibernate (2024) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
Баавгай болохсон
director:
Zoljargal Purevdash
actor:
Battsooj Uurtsaikh
/
Nominjiguur Tsend
…
other title:
Se solo fossi un orso
/
Wenn ich doch nur Winterschlaf halten könnte
…
Ulzii, a teenager from a poor neighborhood in Ulaanbaatar, is determined to win a sciences-physics competition to get a scholarship. His illiterate mother finds a job in the countryside, leaving him and his brother and sister in the middle of winter. Ulzii wanders around at night looking for things to burn for heat while preparing for the national competition.
The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005) [Movie] NeoDB Douban IMDb WikiData TMDB
Шар нохойн там
director:
Byambasuren Davaa
actor:
Batchuluun Urjindorj
/
Buyandulam Daramdadi
…
other title:
Il cane giallo della Mongolia
/
Die Höhle des gelben Hundes
…
The little nomad girl, Nansal, finds a baby dog in the Mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend - against all rejections of her parents. A story about a Mongolian family of nomads - their traditional way of life and the rising call of the City.
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel
director:
Byambasuren Davaa
/
Luigi Falorni
actor:
Janchiv Ayurzana
/
Chimed Ohin
…
other title:
La storia del cammello che piange
/
Historien Om Den Grædende Kamel
…
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
Manakamana (2013) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
Manakamana
director:
Pacho Velez
/
Stephanie Spray
actor:
Chabbi Lal Gandharba
/
Amish Gandharba
…
2013 film
A River Called Titas (1973) [Movie] IMDb TMDB WikiData
তিতাস একটি নদীর নাম
director:
Ritwik Ghatak
actor:
Rosy Afsary
/
Kabori Sarwar
…
other title:
Ein Fluß namens Titash
/
La Rivière Titash
…
An in-depth look at the lives and struggles of a fishing community living by the River Titas in Bangladesh after the Partition of India in 1947.
The Cloud-Capped Star (1960) [Movie] NeoDB Douban WikiData IMDb TMDB
মেঘে ঢাকা তারা
director:
Ritwik Ghatak
actor:
Supriya Choudhury
/
Anil Chatterjee
…
other title:
La stella nascosta
/
Etoile cachée
…
A selfless young woman, the daughter of a middle-class refugee family from East Pakistan, sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
Nina Wu (2019) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
灼人秘密
director:
Midi Z
actor:
Wu Ke-Xi
/
Vivian Sung
…
other title:
灼人秘密
After years toiling in bit-parts, an actress finally gets her break with a leading role in a spy thriller. The part is challenging, not least because it calls for explicit sex scenes, and the director is often hard on her. But both the industry and the press think the results are sensationally good.
Furie (2019) [Movie] IMDb TMDB WikiData
Hai Phượng
director:
Le Van Kiet
actor:
Veronica Ngo
/
Phan Thanh Nhien
…
other title:
Hai Phượng
When a little girl is kidnapped by a trafficking ring, they soon find they messed with the wrong child. Her mother, a notorious former gang leader, is close on their trail and will go to any lengths to bring her child home.
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000) [Movie] NeoDB IMDb TMDB Douban WikiData
Mùa hè chiều thẳng đứng
director:
Trần Anh Hùng
actor:
Trần Nữ Yên Khê
/
Lê Khanh
…
other title:
Solstizio d'estate
/
Em Pleno Verão
…
Hanoi comes across almost picture-perfect in director Tran Anh Hung's beautiful, elegiac tale about the lives and loves of three Vietnamese sisters. A mood characteristic of Hung's films is set early on with the vivid sounds of birds, insects and water and the way the lighting enhances the subtle use of color. They all combine to gem-like effect here.
Lingui: The Sacred Bonds (2021) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
Lingui : les liens sacrés
director:
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
actor:
Achouackh Abakar Souleymane
/
Rihane Khalil Alio
…
other title:
Una madre, una figlia
/
Lingui : les liens sacrés
…
On the outskirts of the capital of Chad, determined single mother Amina works tirelessly to provide for herself and her 15-year old daughter Maria. When Amina discovers Maria is pregnant and does not want a child, the two women begin to seek out an abortion, condemned by both religion and law. In the process, mother and daughter forge a connection stronger than any they’ve ever known.
Talking About Trees (2019) [Movie] TMDB WikiData IMDb
Talking About Trees
director:
Suhaib Gasmelbari
actor:
Ibrahim Shaddad
/
Suliman Mohamed Ibrahim Elnour
…
Filmmakers Ibrahim, Suliman, Eltayeb and Manar, close friends for many years, left their motherland in the sixties and seventies to study film abroad and founded the Sudanese Film Group in 1989. After years of distance and exile, they are reunited, hoping to finally make their old dream come true: to bring back cinema to Sudan by reopening the Halfaia Cinema, a dilapidated theater in Khartoum.
A Screaming Man (2010) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
Un homme qui crie
director:
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
actor:
Youssouf Djaoro
/
Diouc Koma
…
other title:
Un Homme qui crie - Ein Mann der schreit
/
Un homme qui crie
…
Adam Ousmane is a pool attendant at a local resort. When the new managers decide to downsize, Adam loses his job to his own son, Abdel. Shattered by the turn of events, Adam is pressured into contributing to the Chadian war effort. With no money to speak of, the only asset he can donate is his son.