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
Fantasy Fantasy
Kukla
Thursday, 18. 12. 2025 / 18:20 / Main Hall
Mihrije, Sina, and Jasna are best friends in their early twenties. Because of their boyish lifestyle, they often clash with their conservative surroundings. When they meet a transgender woman named Fantasy, a new world opens up to them… In her feature debut, young Slovenian director Kukla asks: “Who am I when there is no one left to define me?” The film won the award for Best Ensemble Cast at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Fiume o morte! Fiume o morte!
Igor Bezinović
Thursday, 18. 12. 2025 / 19:15 / 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.
New on the programme
Father Mother Sister Brother Father Mother Sister Brother
Jim Jarmusch
Thursday, 18. 12. 2025 / 20:30 / Main Hall
Three stories, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, about the relationship between parents and their adult children. Jim Jarmusch’s “anti-action film” received the Golden Lion in Venice.