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”.
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Fiume o morte! Fiume o morte!
Igor Bezinović
Friday, 14. 11. 2025 / 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.
LIFFe
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Avantpremieres
Ungrateful Beings Nevděčné bytosti
Olmo Omerzu
Friday, 14. 11. 2025 / 20:45 / Main Hall
The new feature by Slovenian-born, Czechia-based director Olmo Omerzu is an intimate exploration of parental dilemmas and adolescent alienation. A father’s holiday turns dark when his daughter’s summer romance becomes entangled with a local murder.
LIFFe
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Kinobalon at LIFFe
Aleque & Issay Aleque & Issay
Tora Mkandawire Mårtens
Saturday, 15. 11. 2025 / 10:00 / Main Hall
The film follows three-year-old twins who have just moved from Sweden to China, consistently maintaining a child’s-eye perspective, keeping the camera at their level.