Session 1
Saturday 25/10 – 4:15 PM
As the tide comes in
by Juan Palacios and Sofie Husum Johannesen
Denmark | 2023 | 88 min
Synopsis: On the Danish island of Mandø, only 27 people withstand the relentless forces of the sea and time. Amid storms, collapsing dikes, and unstoppable climate change, life continues with a peculiar and fragile routine. Gregers, the last farmer on the island, refuses to leave and dreams of finding someone to share the farm and isolation with.
With a calm and precise mise-en-scène, As the tide comes in paints a poetic portrait of a community in extinction. The film tenderly and ironically observes how they cling to their portion of the world while the landscape—sky, water, and wind—changes around them.
Premiered globally at IDFA 2023, the film has been selected in over 40 international festivals, including Visions du Réel, Göteborg, Thessaloniki, CPH:DOX, Dokufest, Hamburg, and Gijón, among many others.
+ info: www.elkfilm.dk/before-the-storm
Session 2
Saturday 25/10 – 6:30 PM
El Eco
by Tatiana Huezo
Mexico-Germany | 102’ | 2023
Synopsis: In a remote and solitary valley in Mexico, battered by drought and harsh winters, children grow up observing the world with raw and tender lucidity. In El Eco, Tatiana Huezo builds a deeply human and sensory portrait of the passage of time, responsibility, resilience, and the relationship with nature.
Without voiceover or interventions, and with a mise-en-scène that oscillates between tenderness and awe, the film delves into the daily life of a rural community through the eyes of its youngest members. What emerges is a childhood full of silences, learning, and resistance—a visual tale of growing up in direct contact with the land and its laws, while reflecting on inheritance, gender roles, memory, and the imprint of the world we inhabit.
El Eco has received several international awards: Best Documentary at the Berlin Festival 2023, Best Mexican Documentary Feature, and Audience Award at the Morelia Festival. It has also been selected at festivals such as San Sebastián, Chicago, Palm Springs, and Luxembourg, among many others.
+ info: bteampictures.es/el-eco
Session 3
Sunday 26/10 – 4:00 PM
Flow, a world to save
by Gints Zilbalodis
Latvia | 2024 | 83 min
Synopsis: In a world covered by water and with no trace of humans, a lonely cat is forced to seek refuge. During its journey, it boards a ship inhabited by animals of different species. Coexistence will not be easy: overcoming personal fears and learning to trust others becomes an even greater challenge than the threat of the sea.
Flow is a remarkable film with a profound and ethical story. With an elegant and unusual visual style, and a narrative without dialogue or caricatures, the portrayal of the characters’ movements approaches the realm of documentary. A sensitive proposal reflecting on coexistence, the fragility of the planet, and the need to adapt together to a changing world.
Awarded the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (2025), Flow has been selected at renowned international festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, London, Annecy, and Seville. It has also received nominations at the Goya Awards and BAFTA, among others.
Official website: https://flowunmundoquesalvar.es/
Screening sponsored by Adso Films
Session 4
Sunday 26/10 – 6:30 PM
A happy day
by Hisham Zaman
Norway-Denmark | 2023 | 108 min
Synopsis: Three teenage friends live in a refugee camp in the freezing north of Norway. Together, they devise a plan to escape through the mountains to a world where their dreams can come true. However, when one of them falls in love, the plan begins to unravel.
Norwegian-Kurdish director Hisham Zaman draws on his own experience as a refugee to make an unusual and poetic film, offering a unique view of the discomfort and confusion that exist between humans, nature, and politics, while leaving a trace of hope across a vast snowy landscape.
A happy day has been screened at international festivals including Toronto, Chicago, Bergen, and Gothenburg.