Panorama
Small, Slow but Steady
99 minutes | 2021 | Japan | Narrative |
Japanese | sub. English | 13+

Schedule
XXI 1 | TUE 29 NOV | 12:30
XXI 2 | WED 30 NOV | 17:45
Indonesia Premiere
Synopsis
Boxer Keiko was born with a hearing impairment. Boxing is a real challenge, but her club is like a family. After winning two fights, a creeping fear begins to grow in her. Confused, she goes on to her third fight. Meanwhile, the gym is about to close for good.
Director
Shô Miyake
Director’s Filmography
2018
And Your Bird Can SIng
2015
The Cockpit
Production Company
Comme des Cinémas · Happinet Phantom Studios · Nagoya Broadcasting Network (Nagoya TV)
Berlin International Film Festival 2022
Nominee for Encounters Award
Ghent International Film Festival 2022
Nominee for Audience Award
BFI London Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Busan International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
This story is inspired by real people and events but is a fiction unrelated to real people or groups.
Director's Profile

Shô Miyake
Born in 1984 in Hokkaido, Japan. Directed his first theatrical feature film “Playback” in 2012, which was screened in the Competition at Locarno International Film Festival. His feature film in 2018, “And Your Bird Can Sing” was officially selected to the Forum section at Berlin International Film Festival. Other directorial works include a music documentary “The Cockpit”(2014) which was selected for the New Directors section of Cinema du Réel, a costume TV drama “The Courier”(2017) and a streaming TV drama series “Ju-on: Origins”(2020). His latest work is “Small, Slow but Steady” in 2022, which was selected to the Encounters section at Berlin International Film Festival.

The Novelist's Film
92 minutes | 2022 | South Korea | Narrative | Korean | sub. English | 13+

Schedule
XXI 2 | TUE 29 NOV | 20:30
XXI 1 | THU 1 DEC | 18:15
Synopsis
A female novelist takes a long trip to visit a bookstore, run by a younger colleague who has fallen out of touch. Then she goes up a tower on her own and runs into a film director and his wife. They take a walk in a park and meet an actress, after which the novelist tries to convince the actress to make a film with her. She and the actress get something to eat, then revisit the bookstore where a group of people are drinking. The actress gets drunk and falls asleep…
South Korea, 2022
Director
Hong Sang-soo
Director’s Filmography
2020
The Woman Who Ran
2017
The Day After
2017
Claire’s Camera
Production Company
Jeonwonsa Film Co
Berlin International Film Festival 2022
Winner, Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
Busan International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Director's Profile

Hong Sang-soo
Was born in Seoul, Korea in October 25th 1960 studied at Chungang University, California College of Arts, School of Art Institute of Chicago. He made the first feature film in 1996 since then he made 26 feature films and a few short films currently is teaching at Konkuk University in seoul

No Bears
106 minutes | 2022 | Iran | Narrative |
Persian, Azerbaijani | sub. English | 13+

Schedule
XXI 1 | TUE 29 NOV | 17:15
XXI 2 | WED 30 NOV | 20:00
Synopsis
Follows two parallel love stories in which the partners are thwarted by hidden, inevitable obstacles, the force of superstition, and the mechanics of power.
Director
Jafar Panahi
Director’s Filmography
2018
3 Faces
2015
Taxi
Production Company
JP Production
Venice Film Festival 2022
Winner, Special Jury Price
Special Mention: Premio CinemaSara
Chicago International Film Festival 2022
Winner, Award for Cinematic Bravery
Toronto International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Busan International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Director's Profile

Jafar Panahi
Jafar Panahi was born in Mianeh, Iran. He has directed the feature films The White Balloon (95), The Mirror (97), The Circle (00), Crimson Gold (03), Offside (06), This Is Not a Film (11), Closed Curtain (13), Jafar Panahi’s Taxi (15), and 3 Faces (18), all of which screened at the Festival. No Bears (22) is his latest film.

My Small Land
114 minutes | 2022 | Japan | Narrative |
Japanese, Turkish, Kurdish | sub. English | All Ages

Schedule
XXI 2 | TUE 29 NOV | 18:00
XXI 1 | FRI 2 DEC | 14:00
Indonesia Premiere
Synopsis
For Sarya (17), a Kurdish refugee girl in Japan, life seems to be on the upswing; her grades in school are enough to go on to college, good friends surround her, and her relationship with Sota is special. Sarya’s life is turned upside down when she discovers that her family’s refugee status is being denied, limiting her family from working and traveling throughout the city. His father, who continues to work to survive, is detained for illegal work. Sarya is suddenly forced into a situation where she is responsible for her younger siblings and her existence.
Director
Emma Kawawada
Production Company
AOI Pro
Berlin International Film Festival 2022
Official Selection
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2022
Official Selection
Busan International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Director's Profile

Emma Kawawada
Born in 1991 in Chiba Prefecture. Her film Circle, produced when she was a student at Waseda University, won second prize at the Tokyo Student Film Festival. Since 2014 she has been part of Koreeda Hirokazu’s production company Bun-buku, assisting him on several films. In 2018, she won the ARTE International Prize in the Asian Project Market of the twenty-third Annual Busan International Film Festival. Her feature-length directorial debut, 2022’s My Small Land, was selected for the Generation division of the seventy-second Berlin International Film Festival, and was named the Amnesty International Special Mention film.

Love Life
123 minutes | 2022 | Japan | Narrative | Japanese, Korean, Korean Sign Language | sub. English | 13+

Schedule
XXI 2 | SUN 27 NOV | 19:30
XXI 2 | FRI 2 DEC | 17:15
Synopsis
Taeko and her husband, Jirō, are living a peaceful existence with her young son Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy’s long-lost father, Park, back into her life. To cope with the pain and guilt, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man.
Director
Kôji Fukada
Director’s Filmography
A Girl Missing (2019)
Harmonium (2016)
Production Company
Nagoya Broadcasting Network, Comme Des Cinemas
Contact:
intlsales@mk2.com
Venice Film Festival 2022
Nominee for Best Film
Toronto International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
BFI London Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Busan International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Director's Profile

Kôji Fukada
Kôji Fukada was born on January 5, 1980 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Au Revoir L'Ete (2013), Harmonium (2016) and Hospitalité (2010).

Leila's Brothers
165 minutes | 2022 | Iran | Narrative |
Persian | sub. English | 17+

Schedule
XXI 1 | MON 28 NOV | 16:30
Indonesia Premiere
Synopsis
At 40 years old, Leila has spent her whole life taking care of her parents and her four brothers. The family argues constantly and is crushed by debts, in a country caught in the grip of international economic sanctions. As her brothers are trying to make ends meet, Leila formulates a plan: to start a family business that would save them from poverty.
While they are in desperate need of financial support, Leila finds out that their father Esmail has secretly been hiding a family heirloom. He had been saving it as an offering to become the new Patriarch of the clan, the highest honor in the Persian tradition.
Director
Saeed Roustaee
Director’s Filmography
2019
Just 6.5
2016
Life and A Day
Production Company
Iris Film
Contact:
romain@elledriver.eu
Munich Film Festival 2022
Honorable mention, ARRI Award
Cannes Film Festival 2022
FIPRESCI Award
Busan International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Hong Kong International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Director's Profile

Saeed Roustaee
Saeed Roustaee was born in Iran in 1989. After graduating from Soore University with a Bachelor in Cinematography, he first directed three short films, then a documentary which won over 100 awards worldwide.
His feature debut Life and a Day (2016), won Best Directing and Best Screenplay awards at the Fajr International Film Festival, the main film festival in Iran, along with several prizes in international festivals.
His second feature, Just 6.5 (2019), premiered at Venice Orrizonti. It was nominated for the César Award for Best Foreign Film and won the Best Director Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Joyland
126 minutes | 2022 | Pakistan | Narrative |
Urdu | sub. English | 17+

Schedule
XXI 2 | FRI 2 DEC | 12:15
XXI 1 | SAT 3 DEC | 12:30
Synopsis
When Rana’s happy family want a baby boy, Rana’s youngest child secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls in love with a very ambitious young trans star. Their love story slowly illuminates the desire of all members of Rana’s family to commit sexual rebellion.
Director
Saim Sadiq
Director’s Filmography
2019
Darling (short)
2018
Nice Talking to You (short)
Production Company
All Caps
Khoosat Films
Diversity Hire Ltd.
One Two Twenty Entertainment
Blood Moon Creative
NNB Digital Media
Film Manufacturers Inc.
Astrakan AB
Noruz Films
Contact:
abengio@wmeagency.com
Cannes Film Festival 2022
Winner, Un Certain Regard Jury Prize
Winner, Queer Palm
Toronto International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Pakistan entry for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards 2023
Director's Profile

Saim Sadiq
Saim Sadiq is a Pakistani filmmaker with a background in anthropology. Saim's earlier documentary work was showcased by various national networks on television, went viral on social media in Pakistan, and was featured by BBC's Free Speech Stories. His first short film “Pasban” screened at numerous festivals around the globe. His latest short Nice Talking to You was awarded Vimeo's Best Director along with five other awards at the 2018 Columbia University thesis film showcase. He is the recipient of the Kodak Student Scholarship Gold Award 2018, selected as the top winner from students across the world.

Holy Spider
116 minutes | 2022 | Iran | Narrative |
Persian | sub. English | 17+

Schedule
XXI 1 | SUN 27 NOV | 17:15
XXI 2 | MON 28 NOV | 19:30
Synopsis
A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called “Spider Killer”, who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.
Director
Ali Abbasi
Director’s Filmography
Border (2018)
Shelley (2016)
Production Company
Profile Pictures,
One Two Films
Cannes Film Festival 2022
Best Actress
Toronto International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Telluride Film Festival 2022
Official selection
BFI London Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Busan International Film Festival 2022
Official selection
Director's Profile

Ali Abbasi
Ali Abbasi was born 1981 in Iran and left his studies in Tehran to move to Stockholm, where he graduated with a BA in architecture. He then studied directing at the National Film School of Denmark, graduating with his short film “M for Markus'' in 2011. His feature debut, “Shelley'' premiered at the Berlinale in 2016 and was released in the US. He is best known for his 2018 film “Border'', which won the Prix Un Certain Regard in Cannes. The film was chosen as Sweden’s Academy Award® Entry, was widely released internationally, won the Danish Film Award and was nominated for three European Film Awards including Best Director, Best Screenwriter & Best Film.
