Few things are as strong as the ties that bind us to those we love, nor as devastating as when those ties break. Love, pets and responsibility hold families together as they struggle with the disruptions that would tear them apart, from immigration law and mental health issues to deceit and death. Throughout these gripping narratives the need to belong burns bright.
Festival Programme
Films — by Strand
Belonging
After Love
Deception abounds in this nuanced portrait of lies and loss when a middle-aged woman discovers her recently deceased husband led another life in France, contradictory to the pious Muslim home they built together in England.
Blue Bayou
Justin Chon writes, directs and stars in this stylish drama about a Korean-born, Louisiana-raised man who must go up against an unjust US immigration system to keep his family together.
The Employer and the Employee
El empleado y el patrón
Subtle and slow-burning, this quietly perceptive rural drama elegantly exhibits the social barriers and economic polarities operating in contemporary Uruguay.
Hit the Road
Jadde khaki
Debut director Panah Panahi’s stunning Iranian road movie wowed critics at Cannes with its rich emotional nuance and sly political critique.
Nowhere Special
After learning he only has months to live, a working-class father reckons with guilt and grief as he searches for a replacement family for his young son.
The Restless
Les Intranquilles
An unflinching study of the impact of bipolar disorder on a French artist and his family. “Lafosse administers the tension like a seasoned anaesthetist who knows exactly what dose to deliver.” — Hollywood Reporter