The latest edition of the International Black Movie Independent Film Festival, which is unspooling in Geneva from 20 to 29 January, will offer its loyal public a succession of fascinating productions hailing from upwards of 50 countries. It’s a scintillating explosion of 91 independent films, consisting of 51 feature films and 40 shorts, and including 54 Swiss premieres. As emphasised by Maria Watzlawick, the festival’s artistic director: "These men and women directors, these modern-day court jesters, have got it all worked out. Daring to depict the world as they perceive it with their artistic sensibility and without filters or right-thinking, these directors present the various facets of the magnificent yet troubling kaleidoscope that is our planet".

As in previous years, Black Movie is dividing its enthralling selection into themed sections: To Be Followed… (a best-of of independent filmmakers adored by the festival), Live! (recounting young people’s lives in an increasingly complex and angst-inducing world), Unleashed (an ode against the patriarchy), UFOs (eight works which explore and tear down concepts of genre), Memento Mori (a reflection on our relationship with death), Pagan East (offering up folk films from Central and Eastern Europe), Spasms (inviting viewers along to three nocturnal rendezvous) and Black Movie for Kids.

Festivalgoers will be re-introduced to familiar names, such as – to only name the European ones among them – Portuguese talents João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata (who, in addition to delivering a highly anticipated masterclass on 23 January, will be presenting two films, Where Is This Street? Or With No Before Or After [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], which pays respectful and elegant tribute to Paulo Rocha’s masterpiece Os verdes anos (1963), and Will-O’-The-Wisp [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: João Pedro Rodrigues
scheda film]), Spanish director Eduardo Casanova (Piety [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]) and Ukraine’s Antonio Lukich (Luxembourg, Luxembourg [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Antonio Lukich
scheda film]).

A special focus will also be placed on Iranian filmmakers, notably via screenings of How Dare You Have Such a Rubbish Wish by Mania Akbari, The House of Forgetfulness by Farhad Ghodsi and Sahand Sarhaddi, and Alone by Jafar Najafi.

In addition to the afore-mentioned movies, the line-up encompasses numerous European productions and co-productions, including Theo Montoya’s touching portrayal of transgender individuals in Anhell69 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Theo Montoya
scheda film], modern-day thrillers Blanquita [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Fernando Guzzoni and To the North [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Mihai Mincan
scheda film] by Mihai Mincan, African road trip movie No U-Turn [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Ike Nnaebue, surrealist tale Have You Seen This Woman? [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Dušan Zorić e Matija Glušč…
scheda film] by Matija Gluščević and Dušan Zorić, and the unusual love story unfolding in My Love Affair With Marriage [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Signe Baumane
scheda film] by Signe Baumane, not to mention The River is not a Border [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Alassane Diago, Pornomelancolía [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Manuel Abramovich
scheda film] by Manuel Abramovich, Aya [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Simon Coulibaly Gillard
scheda film] by Simon Coulibaly Gillard, Bread and Salt [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Damian Kocur
scheda film] by Damian Kocur, How To Save a Dead Friend [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Marusya Syroechkovskaya, I am Chance [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Marc-Henri Wajnberg
scheda film] by Marc-Henri Wajnberg, Under the Fig Trees [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Erige Sehiri
scheda film] by Erige Sehiri, We, Students! [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]  by Rafiki Fariala and The Damned Don’t Cry [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Fyzal Boulifa, to name just a few.

Black Movie is also continuing its offer of online films this year (for Swiss audiences), viewable between 24 and 29 January.