SIFF HIGHLIGHTS

Mrs. Géquil is a shy teacher despised by her colleagues and students. On a stormy night, while conducting an experiment in her lab, she is struck by lightning and faints. When she wakes up, she feels decidedly different... And the appearance of the dangerous Mrs. Hyde soon impacts on Mrs. Géquil's teaching methods. Indeed, Mrs. Géquil's tardy educational success will "burn her wings". Only by becoming another woman will she be able to pass something on to her students at last. Her newfound authority is merely one stage in a headlong movement that is beyond Mrs. Géquil's control. In short, the transformation that has allowed her to realize herself finally as a teacher will turn out to be very dangerous. There is another thing to concern: despite herself, Mrs. Géquil turns into the dangerous Mrs. Hyde. Is this the dark side of Mrs. Géquil or another person altogether?

Roman J. Israel is a lawyer who has spent his entire thirty-six-year career as the employee of a boldly principled, civil-rights-oriented defense attorney named William Henry Jackson. But when Jackson suffers a heart attack and dies, Roman is left unemployed with no savings, and the firm turns out to be in the red, leaving him with no severance. He needs to find another job, quickly and is offered one by Jackson’s executor, a rich and famous criminal lawyer named George Pierce. He begins a friendship with a young champion of equal rights - a turbulent series of events ensues, which will put the activism that has defined Roman’s career to the test.

NICO 1988 is a documentary about legendary singer Nico who cooperated with Velvet Underground in the 1960s and gained reputation with the help of Andy Warhol. In order to prove herself, Nico went solo to make her own songs. However, 20 years after that, people still remember her as the girl from Velvet Underground, which really frustrates Nico and she determines to change the deep-rooted image. In the last two years of her life, she started a tour for her latest album while trying to get clean. Finally in 1988, she proved her talent and taste in music against all the disapproving voices. Rehabiliating from drugs and stripping off all the tags attched, Nico has been involved in a fight with her own fate.

 

Less than 20 years after the Yugoslav war ended, a group of veterans gather at a remote mountain hotel. They have very different characters, which make it hard for them to live in harmony. The sorrow of losing comrade-in-arms, the sadness as time passes, and the horror experienced in the battlefield, all these negative feelings come quietly in the dead of night, tormenting their fragile and vulnerable hearts. Their emotions can't find a way out, thus they can only resort to violence. But at the same time, they have grown to understand each other more and are willing to give up what they have sticked to in order to take care of others' feelings. The emotional bond between them is becoming stronger and stronger, and their inner wounds are healing.

The script of THE BOTTOMLESS BAG is inspired by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's story IN A GROVE. The plot takes place during the reign of Russian Emperor Alexander II. A lady-in-waiting is telling the prince in his palace a metaphysical fairy tale, set in the past and revolving around the mysterious murder of the Tsar’s son in the forest. The characters in the fable – witnesses to this violent crime – narrate different versions of the events, shedding light on what really happened.