From totalitarian absurdity to intimate family drama, from national borders to the borders of one’s own body — this program brings together films in which reality loses its monolithic certainty. The characters face the ground giving way beneath their feet: whether it’s a burnt-out lightbulb, a mysterious piece of cheese, a stranger in the forest, or their own trauma. This is cinema about the fragility of inner order, the illusion of control, and that “first crack” after which nothing may ever be the same again.
LOSER
by Alexandra Kutsen
(17:41, Poland)
Mela, a 15-year-old skater, feels lonely and lost, searching for her place in the world. She believes in the teachings of a controversial relationship guru – if you are not sexually active, you are a loser. In her search for closeness she meets 25-year-old Michał, who impresses her with his self-confidence. Their relationship becomes more complicated when Mela tries to seduce him. To accept herself she needs to confront her past and her biggest authority.
TOMORROW I WON’T BE HERE
by Alexandra Tchebotiko
(04:04, Belarus, Poland)
Even on the most difficult day, filled with exhausting conversations in a foreign language and collecting documents for the immigration center, I always find 20 minutes during my tram ride when I can dream about the little “secrets” I notice around me – like the Horse that appeared at the stop.
HUMAN
by Lena Le
(02:30, Belarus)
Animation about Human being who follows the Spark and loses something which helped him once.
xCUTx
by Vital Stužka
(06:50, Belarus)
The film is burning and I light up a cigarette.
Where am I? What is this snowy horrifying place?
Only a pair of scissors in my hand and nowhere to run.
I want to forget this place…
CAFE
by Arseniy Aleinik
(03:45, Czech Republic)
A girl writes her phone number on the glass, sparking a rivalry between her boyfriend and another guy who sent her a message. What begins as a simple gesture quickly escalates into a tense confrontation.
SAY CHEESE
by Kira Alsheuski
(09:00, Belarus, Poland)
A typical evening in a typical Belarusian family: Ian prepares dinner for his wife Kira and daughter Sonya. Things go off when he throws away a piece of gorgonzola. Ian receives a creepy video, Kira gaslights him and acts weird, and a phone robot summons him for KGB questioning. Panicked, he tries to flee, but his family stands in his way. The cheese seems to be the cause—until it doesn’t.
VERA
by Hanna Sulima
(11:22, Belarus)
Vera Alexandrovna is 80 years old. She lives alone in her apartment. Нer only company comes from her caretaker, Irina, and her son, Kirill.
Her days have long become monotonous: there is no room for chance, and everything happens according to her plan, exactly as she wants it.
Old age is unacceptable to her; to acknowledge it would mean accepting dependence, vulnerability, and the loss of control over her own life.
On a typical day, she takes a shower, reads a book, and visits her son. But this morning, a light bulb burns out — and nothing will ever be the same again.
Her son Kirill is apathetic and withdrawn: he fears her, resents her, and yet reveres her, making their relationship both dependent and destructive. This unresolved tension culminates in a desperate act.
Vera still keeps her composure, but the world slowly reminds her that control is an illusion and her carefully ordered life is beginning to unravel. This film is about the “first crack,” the moment when even the most orderly and measured world starts to fracture. In the near future, everything may fall apart completely.
FEEL NO FEAR WITH ME
by Monika Klimkiewicz-Dudziec
(17:56, Poland)
Polish-Belarusian border. Podlasie. 12-year-old Ola, daughter of a gambling-addict border guard, is forced by her father to smuggle cigarettes in the border forests. One day, instead of cigarettes, Ola picks up a refugee.
All XII NoFilter Kino programmes
At Close Quarters
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Fiction Swing
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Metanarratives & Vagrant Cinema + Food & Footage:
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Solo Soul Sauna
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Tamed Algorithms
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Through Sounds of Sirens
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Under Pressure
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