IDFA presents three documentaries in our Europe Day festival
26 Apr 2023
As in previous years IDFA participates in Europe Day with a selection of films that highlight different aspects of Life in Europe. This year for #EuropeDay23 the IDFA team selected three documentaries that will be available for free from May 9 – May 14. Two of the three films will have some geographical limits, and all three of them will be screened on IDFA’s digital platform.
Mr. Landsbergis
Lithuania, the Netherlands – 2021 – Sergei Loznitsa – 246 min.
Sergei Loznitsa is a consummate chronicler of the history of Eastern Europe, covering both fairly recent events such as the Ukrainian revolt in Maidan (2014) and earlier ones such as Stalin’s funeral in State Funeral (2019). Always vigilant in his representation of the past, he skillfully uses archive footage to make you feel like you are an eyewitness. So too in this film about the Baltic nation of Lithuania from 1989 to 1991, when it broke away from the Soviet Union. This period of peaceful protests involving lots of singing came to be known as the “singing revolution.”
France – 2019 – Madeleine Leroyer – 63 min.
On April 18, 2015, a ship carrying at least 800 refugees sank off the Libyan coast. A year later, the salvaged wreck is brought to a Sicilian military base, where a forensic pathologist and her team are waiting to discover the identity of the victims. At this point, all that remains of victim #387 are remnants of clothing and decaying photographs and letters. Sim cards, soaked banknotes and a tube of toothpaste: these simple belongings have now become macabre still lifes.
Chelas Nha Kau
Portugal – 2020 – Bataclan 1950, Bagabaga Studios – 57 min.
The hip-hop beats of rappers Bataclan 1950 reverberate around the stairwells and corridors. In Chelas nha Kau this group of friends from Lisbon use their music to offer a glimpse into the life of the Chelas neighborhood—and they’re frequently found behind the camera too.
