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Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren

This Spanish debut film about gender and identity is set in the Basque country. Eight-year-old Aitor goes with his mother to visit his grandmother and several conflicts crop up. Aitor, commonly called Coco, no longer feels at home in his body and his mother has her own problems. Especially with her mother and her father's inheritance. Only the family bee farm seems an oasis of calm. It brings acceptance and tolerance, because if there are 20 000 species of bees, there must be room for different species of people, right? Sofia Otero was awarded a Silver Bear for her role as Aitor at the Berlinale.

Aki Kaurismäki

Kaurismäki's twentieth feature is set in a Helsinki karoake bar where two lost souls meet. They are looking for some happiness but life itself creates a lot of obstacles in the process. "Longing for love, solidarity, hope, mutual respect, nature and everything living and dead are themes that, in the midst of senseless and criminal wars, may offer humanity a future perspective," says the director about his latest film in which he "salutes his film gods Bresson, Ozu and Chaplin with his too-small hat but is otherwise entirely responsible himself for the catastrophic failure of his film".

Anna Hints

One of the powerful women's stories woven like a thread into the programme of the 50th edition of FFG. In an Estonian smoke sauna, which is declared immaterial cultural heritage, women recount their experiences with all aspects of a patriarchal society. Open and naked, without bodyshaming, with humour, surprise, annoyance, bitterness but also with a healing sisterly connection. An impressive hybrid documentary about the power of purifying rituals.

Ilker Çatak

Idealistic maths and physical education teacher Carla Nowak finds herself in the midst of a storm when she gets involved in an investigation into an alleged theft by one of her students. The more she tries her best to follow the rules, the more she risks capsizing. With a vessel full of topical themes, Ilker Çatak offers one of the most suspenseful and claustrophobic thrillers of the year, and through the school he also eyes society.