Ten-year-old Asalif and his mother have been displaced from their farmland on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by the construction of a condominium. To fight back against those casting him out, Asalif taps into a fantasy of becoming his hero: the lion (“anbessa” in Amharic). Asalif uses his imagination to battle forces beyond his control. He must find the strength that resides in him in order to deal with the tides of change that are usurping a community, a country, and his own identity.
Anbessa Anbessa
Through an intimate coming-of-age story, Anbessa captures one boy taking on modernization on his own terms, revealing a unique and magical perspective on the myth of “progress”.
What's On
LIFFe
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European Arthouse Cinema Day
Sandbag Dam Zečji nasip
Čejen Černić Čanak
Sunday, 23. 11. 2025 / 16:45 / Main Hall
A story of forbidden love in the Croatian countryside, where the boundaries of tolerance are too narrow for a tumultuous youthful romance.
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Fiume o morte! Fiume o morte!
Igor Bezinović
Sunday, 23. 11. 2025 / 17:30 / Small Hall
On 12 September 1919, a troop of some three hundred soldiers under the leadership of the flamboyant war-loving Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio swooped into the Northern-Adriatic port town of Fiume, now Rijeka, wanting to annex the city to Italy. Over the course of the next 16 months, during what is regarded as one of the most bizarre militant sieges of all time his official photography team captured over 10,000 images. A century later, Igor Bezinović orchestrates a direct-action history lesson focused on the siege and its modern-day implications.
LIFFe
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Perspectives
A Sad and Beautiful World A Sad and Beautiful World
Cyril Aris
Sunday, 23. 11. 2025 / 18:45 / Main Hall
In this sweeping romance set in Beirut, two star-crossed lovers face a decision whether or not to build a family and chart a track to happiness, despite the tragic fates ravaging contemporary Lebanon.