Old Masters, New Voices: 20 Films in the Spotlight
Home to a myriad of retro cinemas, the wintery climes of Sweden in November make this the perfect time of year for movie-watching, as avid film enthusiasts immerse themselves in a glorious array of arthouse and world cinema at the 36th edition of the Stockholm International Film Festival.
The FIPRESCI jury was tasked with picking a winner from a selection of twenty worthy contenders. A broad range of genres with films from up-and-coming to master filmmakers, the adjudication process was extensive and ultimately rewarding. Here’s a glimpse of the films in this year’s competition.
Set against Stalin’s Great Purge in 1937, Sergey Loznitsa’s authentic, immersive, and pensive Two Prosecutors (Zwei Staatsanwälte) finds an idealistic young Soviet prosecutor on a quest for justice after a fateful meeting with an imprisoned Old Bolshevik compels him to petition authorities to investigate the NKVD secret police.
Kelly Reichardt’s curious, nostalgic, and offbeat 1970s crime caper The Mastermind journeys with James Mooney, a Massachusetts architect and family man turned art thief, whose life begins to unravel after he becomes implicated in a slapdash heist gone wrong.
In 1930s Algeria, the inherent apathy and honesty of an emotionally-detached Frenchman becomes his downfall when a court is forced to decide his fate in The Stranger (L’étranger). François Ozon delivers a complex, haunting, and provocative black-and-white crime drama adaptation of the novel by Albert Camus.
When a university professor’s ailing mother dies under suspicious circumstances, he aligns with a drifter to carry out his revenge plot in The Things You Kill. Alireza Khatami’s ambitious, experimental, and gripping dark crime drama wrestles with culpability, duty, and responsibility.
The “Pharaoh” of the big screen, Egyptian actor George Fahmy, is coerced to star in a film commissioned by authorities, leading him down a rabbit hole of political power as he becomes embroiled in a dangerous affair. An intriguing and visually-striking political thriller, Tarik Saleh wields political satire with relative ease in Eagles of the Republic.
Jennifer Lawrence stars in Die My Love, Lynne Ramsay’s devastating portrait of a new mother’s battle with postnatal depression. An unflinchingly manic examination of a woman’s struggle with mental health, this full tilt psychological drama gets under your skin.
An internet-famous 16-year-old teenage daughter comes to realize just how artificial her life has been when her social media influencer parents plan for another child in Babystar. This alienating, provocative, and timely drama from Joscha Bongard goes behind the scenes to reflect on the meaninglessness and superficiality of our times.
What happens when you realize your parents are far from perfect? Accountability and honesty go under the microscope in Frédéric Hambalek’s darkly comic and thought-provoking dramedy, What Marielle Knows (Was Marielle weiß), when a 12-year-old daughter convinces her parents she can see and hear everything they do.
A dignified translator in post-war Saigon befriends a quiet widow in their close-knit Vietnamese community. A picturesque and tender romance drama, Leon Le lovingly unfurls a gentle, meditative, and wistful love story in Ky Nam Inn.
When ex-lovers reunite years later, the emotional debt of a life-changing sacrifice becomes almost insurmountable as they struggle to move forward. A labyrinthine and tragic drama, Shangjun Cai’s heartbreaking The Sun Rises on Us All (Ri gua zhong tian) captures the awkward frustration, deep-seated turmoil, and push-pull complexity of an unresolved relationship.
A French doctor arrives in Japan as part of a mission to change minds and lives over the taboos surrounding death and organ donation. Naomi Kawase’s enigmatic, heartfelt, and soulful drama Yakushima’s Illusion swathes audiences in authentic drama amplified further by nuanced performances and real-world implications.
Ira Sachs conjures up the nostalgic world of a long-buried interview with photographer Peter Hujar. A time capsule for the 1974 New York scene, Peter Hujar’s Day is a moody two-hander and day-in-the-life drama that carries an old-world authenticity and swagger.
An elusive herd of elephants become the focus for Dr Steve Boyes and a team of San trackers who lead an expedition to the Angolan highlands. Werner Herzog’s enigmatic documentary Ghost Elephants infuses myth with science as he relays this dignified, poetic, and soul-searching safari adventure.
When a government program forces the elderly to rely on their family or relocate to a colony, a 77-year-old woman does everything in her power to escape the system. Gabriel Mascaro’s evocative, humorous, and imaginative The Blue Trail (O Último Azul) is a surreal, entertaining and transformative tale about freedom and free will.
Benny Safdie’s multi-faceted The Smashing Machine charts the rise, fall, and duality of former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr, a pioneer in the intensely combative sport of UFC. This bold, nostalgic, and stylish no-frills biopic features an inspired jazz soundtrack and a transformative lead performance from Dwayne Johnson.
Montreal’s indie rock scene becomes the backdrop for a 24-year-old music critic’s rocky runaway and rebirth. Chandler Levack’s entertaining, goofy, and spirited Mile End Kicks captures the nostalgia, self-doubt, and ick of a reckless yet determined young woman’s hilarious romantic misadventures.
A former papermill employee and devoted family man resolves to eliminate his competition when the prospect of losing everything compels him to kill. Park Chan-wook’s dark crime comedy caper No Other Choice (Eojjeolsuga eobsda) is creative, incisive, and spectacular—a razor sharp and timely sociopolitical commentary.
When a pianist’s boyfriend dies in a car accident, she’s taken in by an older woman with ulterior motives. Christian Petzold presents a gentle, elusive, and subtle psychological drama in the slow-burning Mirrors No. 3 (Miroirs no. 3).
A screenwriter discovers the depths of her disconnectedness and loneliness through her hit-and-miss screenplay and a winter retreat to find solace at an inn. Shô Miyake’s Two Seasons, Two Strangers (Tabi to Hibi) is a melancholic, tender, and soulful portrait of a woman’s quest for meaning and belonging.
A young girl’s gift of animal communication becomes a lucrative opportunity for her guardians on their seemingly perpetual cross-country road trip. Iván Fund breathes life into this seemingly candid, curious, and even poetic black-and-white road movie, The Message (El mensaje).
Stephen ‘Spling’ Aspeling
Edited by Robert Horton
© FIPRESCI 2025