TIFF

A small and stubborn Bulgarian village facing the Turkish border has been resisting foreign invaders since the times of the Roman and Ottoman Empires. Now its electorate of 38 elderly Bulgarians is deciding on future of Europe. The Great Gate, as the village has been called for centuries because of its location on the doorsteps of the former Ottoman Empire, has found itself in the middle of European crisis, as at night asylum seekers sneak across the border causing fear and unrest. Once again the sleepy and forgotten village has become the most important secret loophole of Europe. Postman Ivan has a new political vision. He decides to run for mayor to bring the dying village to life by welcoming refugees. His opponents want either to close their eyes or close down the border and reintroduce communism. Busy on the campaign trail while delivering the mail, Ivan soon learns that while good intentions are not enough, even the smallest deeds matter.

A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.

In early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor faces a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich's doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success?

A boy leaves his small country town and heads to the big city to get a job. As soon as he makes it big his sweetheart will join him and marry him. His enthusiasm to get ahead leads to some interesting adventures.

A paramedic devoted to his patients struggles to make time for his wife who begins to believe his patients are more important to him than she is.

A massive montage of movie characters going to the movies. Clips from 100+ films are cut together to create a new cinema-going experience. Romance, musical, action, horror, noir, comedy - and countless characters watch in the dark with you.

A small deserted rail station, where the train stops only because it is scheduled to do so. Station without future and faith. Nobody gets on or goes off the train. Old retired switch man lives there with his family. In the nearby village local poets dig graves to make ends meet. Projectionist remembers once crowded movie theater. Old man is looking for "the lover's pear tree". A shepherd dreams of ice cream, served in a restaurant. Paramedic - philosopher cares for elderly single woman. Twelve local men tell stories from the poorest region of the European Union - Northwestern Bulgaria. Mosaic film, slice of life from rural Bulgaria. Confession from the little people about not so little things - cows, life, faith, death, the benefits of dogs and mice and the need for blond waitresses, Jean-Paul Sartre and existentialism, river fishing, old fortune tellers and the wind.

Two couples' romances are fancifully intertwined.

In Romania, ancient forests and expansive wetlands provide habitats to some of Europe's most iconic creatures. Focusing on the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube Delta, this documentary is a celebration of nature, in all its beauty and diversity.

In 1916 as an officer in the Habsburg Army ethnic Romanian Apostol Bologa is torn between remaining loyal to the Habsburgs or deserting to the Romanian Army across enemy lines.

An actress attempts to convince a director how she's perfect for a role in his upcoming production.

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

A film constructed using the opposition of what a huge collection of recently discovered glass-plate photographs from the 30's and 40's tell us about Romania and what they do not show.

During comunist era in Romania, the cine-clubs were very active. A documentary about resistance and passion for making film in front of insurmountable obstacles (political, social, and especially technical).

Ileana Birsan and Claudiu Mitcu document the case of Mihai Moldoveanu, a former Romanian army officer sentenced to 25 years in prison for a crime he claims he did not commit. After a long series of attempts to prove his innocence, in June 2012 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided that - in the case of Moldoveanu vs. Romania - there was a violation of the right to a fair trial. The accused had no lawyer, was not heard and no evidence was given directly. The documentary follows Mihai Moldoveanu after the provisional release and focuses on re-examining the case and the consequences of the new sentence, giving the spectator the role of juryman in a complicated and controversial case.

In Petrila, a Romanian mining town, an ex-miner uses art and absurdism in a struggle to keep history alive.

At Radu Maligan's 94th anniversary the family members and the former colleagues of the old man come to his birthday party. Everything gets complicated when half of the guests try to convince Radu to confess his sins to a priest, while the others think that no one should be forced to do something beyond their will.

After being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.

In the old days it was called hypochrondria, or black melancholia. Now, apparently, it's termed the Asthenic Syndrome. Whatever it is, Nikolai, a teacher has got it, and it's not much fun.

After leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.

On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.

The enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.

In August 1983, architect Dinu Neagu together with his wife and two children, a boy and a girl, are on a beach of nudists near an industrial area. He is arrested and taken to Bucharest police office, where he is imprisoned in a cell together with Vali, a collaborator of the Security Service.

Sporadic gunshots echo among the ruins of a village which, though abandoned, is an objective of great import for the authorities. This forces two young men to lead a hard negotiation, both for the fate of the settlement and for their own future.

Six passengers are traveling to the seaside in a train compartment. After a while, a suspicion makes some of them lose their composure and the remainder of the trip goes terribly wrong.