humor

An ambitious videomaker is tasked with making a short social media video to promote the idea that city parking lots are eco-friendly. Assisting him are a cameraman and a clumsy engineer. The pervasiveness of the gray landscape and the absurdity of their task push the trio into a tragicomic spiral of parking lot reviews. The film is part of DELTA | Emerging Italian Filmmakers Across Europe: A Project by Bellaria Film Festival.

Where does provocation for its own sake end and the desire for reassurance that someone cares about us begin? Actor and musician František Prachař builds his image on irreverent humour and deliberately goading his audience. This short documentary portrait juxtaposes his assured public persona with his uncertainty when he has no one to perform for. Headlong editing, fragments of TikTok videos and abrupt shifts in pace bring the restlessness of Gen Z life into the film. The search for identity amid a stream of gestures, poses and personal confessions merges with an endless struggle for attention. “I don’t think I’m arrogant.”

A group of African film students decide to make a film about sexual harassment in the workplace. They want it to be a comedy, as they believe humour is a more effective way of getting a serious message across. They discuss their plans with the sister of one of the crew members, and this young feminist starts to help them create a completely different story…“The Cinergie editors who gathered to select their prize among the Young Belgian Talents highlighted the originality of the subject, its relevance in a world where women still have to fight for respect, and the inventiveness of its treatment, awarding the prize to Sensitive Topic by Nina Hamzeh & Mathis Albet.” — The Millenium Festival

How does one behave properly in society, carry oneself with elegance and conduct a polite conversation? Charlie, a 35-year-old Frenchwoman, decides to change her career and sets off on a summer course at the last remaining school of etiquette. Surrounded by the Swiss countryside, she joins women from all corners of the world to learn the rules of dining, the art of hospitality and social etiquette. Through lessons and seemingly casual conversations, the students gradually grow closer, sharing their life stories and forming deep friendships. This sensitive and at times humorous film follows its likeable protagonist in an environment where an emphasis on elegance, discipline and good manners intertwines with conservative notions of the female role. Are the women here learning to conduct themselves confidently in society, or are they still expected, above all, to be perfect wives? With gentle irony, the film explores gender stereotypes and the tensions between tradition and modernity, asking what women’s emancipation actually means and to what extent women themselves can determine its form.“You feel free to do what you want because you’re successful.”