One of the things I love most about spring in Minnesota isn’t only the warmer weather but also the kickoff of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival! MSPIFF is back this Wednesday, celebrating its 45th anniversary! From April 8-19, over 200 films will be screened at this year’s festival, making it the biggest celebration of international cinema in the Midwest.
The film festival is set to start this Wednesday, April 8, at the Main Cinema in Minneapolis, featuring opening-day screenings of two highly relevant and timely documentaries:
Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story, co-directed by Judd Apatow and Neil Berkeley, tells the life story of comedian Maria Bamford, who hails from Duluth. The film takes us through her journey from childhood to her rise to fame, delving into the mental health challenges and relationships that have influenced her life and career.
Everybody to Kenmure Street is a Scottish documentary that captures a community’s passionate and spontaneous reaction to injustice. On the first day of Eid in 2021, when two Muslim men were detained in Glasgow, thousands of people flooded the streets to prevent law enforcement from taking any more of their neighbors, marking one of the most remarkable modern acts of civil resistance in UK history.
The final night film, Prince & The New Power Generation Live at Glam Slam, is promoted as “the inaugural performance of the Diamonds and Pearls Tour” and showcases exclusive footage straight from the vault of the spontaneous concert that took place at Prince’s venue in January 1992.
I’m so looking forward to seeing lots of films from all over the globe… here, near and far. I’m thrilled that there is such strong female representation among filmmakers at MSPIFF. There are a total of 92 narrative fiction and documentary features and short films directed by women this year. You can filter by the Films By Women program on the MSPIFF website.
I know it can be a challenge to figure out which films to see at any given film festival. So I picked 25 films, both narratives and documentaries, that I recommend this year (in alphabetical order).
Films marked with an asterisk (*) indicate films directed by women
Narratives
Anda (USA – MN Connected)
Dir. Jayendra Ganta | 76 min
A visually haunting and lyrical feature film that blends Nordic folklore with surrealist storytelling and modern themes. The film follows an elderly woman whose mother returns decades younger than expected. Her search for answers pulls her into a dreamlike realm where myth and reality entwine.
A Sad and Beautiful World (Lebanon, USA, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
Dir. Cyril Aris | 109 min
Born on the same day, in the same Beirut hospital, just minutes apart, Nino and Yasmina are a Lebanese couple destined to be in love. In director Cyril Aris’ debut magical-realist film, the universe itself pushes these lovers together, despite the intense hardships of living in contemporary Lebanon. Examining three decades of their love and the couple’s often disparate personalities (he’s an optimist, she’s a pessimist who doesn’t want kids), A Sad and Beautiful World asks how couples can endure the normal challenges of life when the world is tearing itself apart.
Kurak* (Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Ireland, Serbia, France, Switzerland)
Dir. Erke Dzhumakmatova, Emil Atageldiev | 89 min
Women’s rights take center stage in Kurak, which means “patchwork” in Kyrgyz, illuminating the stories of women fighting for their rights and the injustices they face every single day in Kyrgyzstan. Intermingling documentary footage with fictional stories that are all too familiar, Kurak examines the struggle for women of every class to fight oppression.
Broken English* (UK)
Dir. Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth | 99 min
A genre-defying documentary about the English artist Marianne Faithfull, singer, songwriter, and total icon. Opening at the fictional The Ministry of Not Forgetting, Tilda Swinton and George MacKay lead viewers on a tour of Faithfull’s life. Featuring never-before-seen footage, interviews with the icon herself (the project was started before she died); as well as tributes and reminiscences from friends and musical luminaries around the world.
Broken Voices (Czechia, Slovakia)
Dir. Ondrej Provazník | 106 min
In early 1990s Czech Republic, 13-year-old Karolína earns a place in a world-famous girls’ choir, joining her older sister and other driven young talents. Her voice soon catches the attention of the admired and enigmatic choirmaster Machá. Being singled out feels like a triumph, until she begins to understand the unsettling price of that privilege. Inspired by the Bambini di Praga case.
Calle Málaga* (Morocco, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium)
Dir. Maryam Touzani | 116 min
María Ángeles, a 79-year-old woman, happily lives alone in Tangier, enjoying her sunny city on the Mediterranean. When her newly divorced daughter arrives from Madrid to sell her apartment, María finds a way to stay in her community, and in the process, she re-examines her life and falls in love.
The Christophers (UK)
Dir. Steven Soderbergh | 100 min
Lori (I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel) is hardly an artist; she’s a freelance art restorer who daylights in a food truck. Barnaby and Sally (Jessica Gunning and James Corden) are the estranged kids of famous artist Julian (Ian McKellan), who is a legend. Problem is, they’re all broke, and their irascible father isn’t giving them a farthing. How about this for a plan: hire Lori to forge their father’s unfinished paintings and then sell them for big bucks once he’s dead.
Don’t Call Me Mama* (Norway)
Dir. Nina Knag | 105 min
A tense and surprisingly subversive debut drama that will make you wonder what you would do in the protagonist’s place, Don’t Call Me Mama looks at power imbalances and difficult choices. Eva (the superb Pia Tjelte), a popular high school teacher and wife to the town’s mayor (Kristoffer Joner), faces the ultimate test when she falls in love with a young asylum seeker (Tarek Zayat), sparking a forbidden relationship with shattering consequences for them both
The Girl in the Snow (France)
Dir. Louise Hémon 98 min
In an Alpine hamlet on the French-Italian border in 1899, Aimée arrives as a new teacher, and she’s hungry to bring the children up-to-date and rid them of superstition. A romantic encounter with a young man from the village leads to a tragedy that threatens her place in the community. Winner of the Prix Jean Vigo prize, The Girl in the Snow is the directorial debut of French video artist and stage director Louise Hemon, who carries you away to an unexpected crossroad between magical realism, nature mysticism, and old folklore.
Honeyjoon* (USA, Portugal)
Dir. Lilian T. Mehrel | 75 min
June and her Persian-exiled mother, Lela, are on an island vacation in the Azores, trying to recover from the loss of June’s father, who died a year earlier. Amidst honeymooners and aloof locals, both women have very different ideas of how to use the trip to heal in Lilian Mehrel’s surprisingly sexy, darkly funny, and heartwarming debut.
I Swear (UK)
Dir. Kirk Jones 121 min
Funny, honest, and deeply human, I Swear is based on the life of John Davidson, a Tourette’s syndrome activist. It shows his teenage years in 1980s Scotland—a time when the condition was poorly understood, and covers his struggles through early adulthood, how he turned ridicule into resilience, and his later work advocating for better awareness and acceptance of Tourette’s.
I have seen this one, and I highly recommend it. Read my review »
Primavera (Italy)
Dir. Damiano Michieletto | 110 min
A stunning period production centered on Italian Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi’s years as music director at Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, a charitable home for girls. Known for its musical performances attracting high society and wealthy benefactors, the Ospedale also provides another perk for high-end donors: virginal brides. It’s a fate that orphaned violin virtuoso Cecilia is eager to postpone, especially after coming under the tutelage of the brilliant and ambitious composer.
The Last Viking (Denmark, Sweden)
Dir. Anders Thomas Jensen 116 min
Anker is a robber, freshly out of the slammer. And he’s got a secret: he gave the loot to his brother, Manfred, to hide. Turns out Manfred buried it in a very secret place. One problem: Manfred has dissociative identity disorder, thinks he’s John Lennon, and doesn’t have a clue what Anker is talking about. Oscar-winning director Anders Thomas Jensen’s newest black comedy features Mads Mikkelsen in a tour-de-force comic performance as Manfred.
Power Ballad (Ireland, USA)
Dir. John Carney | 98 min
When Rick (Paul Rudd), a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves – even if it means risking everything he cares about. From writer-director John Carney (Sing Street, Once), Power Ballad is a feel-good story about music, self-respect, friendship, and the price of ambition.
Rangga & Cinta (Indonesia)
Dir. Riri Riza | 119 min
When Cinta loses a poetry contest to the booksmart Rangga, it should be that she wants nothing to do with this guy. But soon she finds herself stealing time away from her clique of tight-knit friends and maybe even falling in love. A modern reboot of a classic Indonesian high school film, at once nostalgic and up-to-date, and a movie that can be adored by teens and adults alike.
The Travel Companion (USA – MN Connected)
Dir. Travis Wood, Alex Mallis | 91 min
A documentary filmmaker depends on his friend’s airline employee benefits for free flights. When the friend finds a girlfriend, he desperately tries to preserve his travel privileges.
I have seen this one as well, and it’s a darkly funny friendship comedy that’s pretty relatable for travelers and indie filmmakers alike. Stay tuned for my review later this week!
Documentaries
#WhileBlack* (USA)
Dir. Sidney Fussell, Jennifer Holness | 84 min
#WhileBlack follows citizen journalists like Diamond Reynolds and Darnella Frazier, whose cell phone videos from Minneapolis changed the conversation around policing and accountability overnight. Millions watched their footage, but almost no one saw what came next.
Ask E. Jean*
Dir. Ivy Meeropol | 91 min
E. Jean Carroll is one of the country’s most acclaimed writers, whose advice column in Elle was notable for its honesty. At the height of the #MeToo movement, she revealed that she was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump, whom she sued when he accused her of lying. Her victory, upheld by all courts, galvanized the movement. Documentary filmmaker Ivy Meeropol convinced Carroll to participate in this documentary, which shows viewers the incredible E. Jean Carroll and her decades-long fight to tell the truth in all its forms.
The Chaplain and the Doctor*
Dir. Jessica Zitter | 86 min
Betty Clark is an 80-year-old, African-American chaplain. Dr. Jessica Zitter is a white, Jewish physician at the Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland, California. Two unlikely allies work to bring curiosity, connection, and compassion to a broken healthcare system, one patient at a time. I saw this one last week and found it to be profoundly moving. Stay tuned for my review later this month.
The Cycle of Love (United Kingdom, India, Sweden)
Dir. Orlando von Einsiedel | 98 min
Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia, or P.K., is a portraitist in Delhi. Growing up in a small town, he left for the big city to follow his dreams. Anne-Charlotte von Schedvin, Lotta, is from Borås, Sweden, and has come to India on vacation. They fall in love, but she has to return home. That’s the usual story, but PK has believed, from a young age, that he was destined to meet his life partner, and Lotta is the one—their very short time together made them fall deeply in love. Lotte promised to return soon, but as the time stretches on, PK decides to bike to Sweden, over 6,000 miles, to be with the woman he loves.
In-I in Motion* (France)
Dir. Juliette Binoche | 124 min
Juliette Binoche is one of the world’s greatest actors. Akram Khan is as acclaimed a choreographer and dancer as the world has known. In 2007, together, they decided to teach one another their profession—and passion—live and on stage in a show called In-I Motion, where both Binoche and Khan use each other’s discipline to help expand their own and learn about themselves and each other as well. Binoche steps behind the camera to capture the cathartic rehearsals and the incredible performance.
Jane Elliot Against the World* (USA)
Dir. Judd Ehrlich | 99 min
In the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Jane Elliott, a third-grade teacher in rural Iowa, leads her all-white class through a controversial lesson in discrimination that came to be known as the “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” experiment. With her students’ willing participation, she separated the kids into groups based on eye color and declared one color to be better than the other in an effort to teach them about discrimination. Despite facing backlash from the conservative community in which she taught and at great cost to her family, she became an outspoken opponent of discrimination and a national voice against racism.
Time and Water* (USA, Iceland)
Dir. Sara Dosa | 87 min
Renowned Icelandic poet and author Andri Snær Magnason is chasing something elusive. As the glacial ice of his homeland melts, he constructs a cinematic time capsule to hold onto this moment and send it to the future, before everything he loves slips away. Using his own collected archives, his grandparents’ photographs, and films, as well as traditional songs and folktales, Andri interlaces his family’s story with that of the land around him.
To Hold A Mountain (Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, France)
Dir. Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazic | 105 min
In the remote highlands of Montenegro, a shepherd mother and her teenage daughter spend their lives peacefully carrying out their daily duties. Despite this utterly hardscrabble life, they summon up their strength and courage to rally their neighbors and resist NATO’s attempts to turn their ancestral homeland into a military training ground. Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazic’s stunning documentary captures, with loving detail, the intense hardships these women face every day and the bravery of a fight to preserve their livelihood.
Uncle Roy* (USA – MN Connected)
Dir. Keri Pickett | 87 min
Filmmaker Keri Pickett’s cinematic portrait of her wonderful and mysterious Uncle Roy, a renowned figure skater and collector. Virtually unknown to her as a child, she befriended Roy when she moved to New York straight after college, where he became her mentor and best friend. As 93-year-old Roy Blakey faces life-threatening dementia, his niece races to preserve his legacy – a figure skater, ice show archivist, and gay photographer whose male nudes are etched into history—before his curtain call.
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Some cool films coming out. I wanna see that Prince concert film.