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
Additional Screening
Materialists Materialists
Celine Song
Monday, 25. 08. 2025 / 18:00 / Main Hall
Lucy works at a high-end matchmaking company trying to pair up moneyed entrepreneurs with elite bachelors and bachelorettes. When she meets Harry at the wedding of two of her successfully paired clients, she immediately knows that this ‘unicorn’ would be a perfect catch for a lot of her customers. But Harry is more interested in Lucy. And then her ex suddenly shows up… As we could expect from the director of Past Lives, Materialists is not exactly a romantic comedy about a matchmaker torn between two suitors, but rather a lucid examination of the contradictions of love and dating.
Dreams (Sex Love) Drømmer
Dag Johan Haugerud
Monday, 25. 08. 2025 / 20:20 / Main Hall
Johanne falls in love for the first time… with her teacher. To preserve her overwhelming experience, she entrusts her feelings to paper. When her mother and grandmother read her writings, they are initially shocked by its intimate content but soon see its literary potential… Golden Bear at the last Berlinale.
The Gold Rush The Gold Rush
Charles Chaplin
Monday, 25. 08. 2025 / 20:30 / Congress Square
A newly restored version of Chaplin’s most successful film is being shown at more than 500 screenings in seventy countries around the world to mark the centenary of its premiere.