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
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Fiume o morte! Fiume o morte!
Igor Bezinović
Tuesday, 10. 03. 2026 / 19:30 / 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.
Premiere
A Poet Un poeta
Simón Mesa Soto
Tuesday, 10. 03. 2026 / 20:30 / Main Hall
A film that captures the poetic reality of a neurotic poet, skilfully blending cringe comedy with an emotionally resonant story of lost and rediscovered hope. A singular work with an unforgettable central character.
It Was Just an Accident Yek tasadef sadeh
Jafar Panahi
Wednesday, 11. 03. 2026 / 16:15 / Main Hall
A slowly smouldering moral thriller by Jafar Panahi, inspired by the director’s own experience of imprisonment. The film twists and turns as it probes difficult questions of revenge, trauma and forgiveness, all the while sustaining a vein of bitter, unsettling humour.
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes.