2016 Foreign Film Submissions

Since its inception cinema has offered numerous movies depicting life in prison but always from the perspective of male directors and mostly about the plight of imprisoned men. 3000 Nights is the first prison film about female prisoners made by a female director, Palestinian Mai Masri, who chose to shed light on the predicament of tens of thousands of Palestinians languishing in Israeli jails through the eyes of a woman: a school teacher, Layal (played by Maisa Abd Ehladi).

Ma Ma is the first movie fully produced by Penélope Cruz. The three-time Golden Globe nominated actress has produced before but, as she herself recognized, “never from the first moment”.

Aquarius, the Brazilian drama directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Golden Globe nominee Sonia Braga, feels bigger than just another foreign film. The walls of Aquarius, the building that gives the title to this drama, are pregnant with meaning, especially for anyone from Brazil or aware of the latest news from the largest Latin American country.