Deep in the Austrian countryside, the taciturn Lenz works in a sparsely attended pub where time seems to have stood still for the last twenty or thirty years. His mate Fabian beats an opponent so badly in a brawl that he ends up in hospital. Carina, the waitress with whom Lenz is secretly in love, dreams of a future in Vienna or New York. Lenz would actually be content with a stable life. But at some point he has to realise that, although the passage of time moves more slowly in the village, it cannot ultimately be stopped. THE LAST PEOPLE is a quiet drama shot in beautiful black and white.

Regie: Nicolás Pindeus, Produktion: Alisa Frischholz & Melvyn Zeyns, Drehbuch: Nicolás Pindeus, Kamera: Lukas Allmaier, Schnitt: Maria Lisa Pichler, Ton: Sound recording: Marius Mertens; Sound design: Alexander Siegl, Musik: -

Alejandra and her grandmother Yolanda live on a remote farm in the heart of a conflict zone. The Mexican state has lost control of the region and drug cartels are exercising their power through violence. Adapting to the prevailing rules is essential for survival here: ‘We can’t trust anyone,’ Yolanda tells her granddaughter. She herself is caught in a dilemma between caution and compassion. When she hides a wounded soldier – who is being hunted by mercenaries – in her hut, she is taking a huge risk. A BURNING TURRET takes a relentless look at the violence that has been raging in Mexico for around two decades.

Regie: Humberto Flores Jáuregui, Produktion: Mónica Velasco, Sergio Martínez Esqueda, Drehbuch: Humberto Flores Jáuregui, Kamera: Bruno Herrera, Schnitt: Manuel Acuña A., Humberto Flores Jáuregui, Ton: Rubí J. Pérez, Rafael Gepe Arcos, Mario Martínez Cobos, Musik: Hermanito

NORHEIMSUND is an insignificant village on Norway’s Hardangerfjord, yet for Yaimita, who lives in precarious circumstances with her mother in Cuba, it represents a dream of prosperity. The prospect of a better life through marriage to an older Norwegian man named Sven gives her hope, until she comes to a bitter realisation. Told in a lively and authentic style, the film depicts a process of disillusionment: whilst her mother refuses to acknowledge the links between economic inequality and sexual exploitation, Yaimita eventually realises that she can hardly escape her poverty.

Regie: Ana A. Alpizar, Produktion: Madeline Rose Finkel, Ana A. Alpizar, Drehbuch: Ana A. Alpizar, Kamera: Yuqian Zhang, Schnitt: Ana A. Alpizar, Ton: Denis Colina, Musik: Denis Colina

Tamim, a 70-year-old immigrant, supports his family by working as a toilet cleaner in a Viennese nightclub. One night, he finds a wallet full of cash and cocaine. Instead of handing it in, he sets out to find the owner. Despite his good intentions, his decision to act on his own leads to misunderstandings that jeopardise his job and his integrity. FOUND&LOST is a film that straddles the line between drama and comedy, raising a number of questions. Above all: how does one find one’s bearings as a migrant in a foreign culture, its environments and its unwritten rules?

Regie: Reza Rasouli, Produktion: Jakob Serdaroglu, Philip Ivancsics, Reza Rasouli, Drehbuch: Reza Rasouli, Kamera: Konstantin Johann, Schnitt: Jonathan Meiri, Ton: Sound recording: Mathias Edelmann, Alexander Römisch; Sound Design: Ramin Abusedgh, Musik: -

A small urban family finds themselves stranded in a country inn where a young man is forced to sing. The family’s little girl is a silent observer. The world before her eyes is full of contradictions. What she sees is familiar and enigmatic, ugly and beautiful, homely and abysmal, evil and warm-hearted. THE SINGERS transposes a story by the 19th-century Russian writer Ivan Turgenev into contemporary Austria – effortlessly and enchantingly.

Regie: Fabian Rausch, Zorah Berghammer, Produktion: Maximilian Demets, Drehbuch: Fabian Rausch, Kamera: Zorah Berghammer, Lidija Kumpas, Schnitt: Paul Eckhart, Ton: Sound recording: Lena Zechner; Sound design: Matthias Hafner, Musik: Matthäus Schnöll

The daring teenagers Erdem and Yasin are throwing water bombs, whilst boxing coach Arkan’s little Chihuahua dies tragically. Can dogs actually have a heart attack? This question is soon the subject of lively debate in the neighbourhood. HARIKA translates as ‘wonderful’ and depicts everyday life in the Turkish community of a small German town. Free from the constraints of causal logic, light-hearted and fast-paced, with no professional actors – but full of likeable people who are more or less playing themselves.

Regie: Beran Ergün, Produktion: Beran Ergün, Sophie Beckmann, Drehbuch: Beran Ergün, Kamera: David Goralsky, Schnitt: Beran Ergün, Ton: Gürkan Özkaya, Sound Design: Tim Elzer, Musik: David Goralsky

A barmaid initially seems aloof, but does not appear entirely impervious to the shy attempts at flirtation by a young man sitting at her bar. He borrows his brother’s motorbike and takes her out. The brother hops on his bike and encounters a man filled with hatred – old and alone – who believes he must defend his land against unauthorised intruders. A series of encounters leads inexorably to disaster: WIRAŹ is a dark thriller set in rural Poland in the early 2000s.

Regie: Piotr Szubra, Produktion: Krystyna Doktorowicz, Drehbuch: Piotr Szubra, Kamera: Jakub Kaźmierczak, Schnitt: Kacper Rosiak, Jakub Słoniec, Piotr Szubra, Ton: Oskar Światowski, Musik: Jan Maremnout

An unremarkable man drives round and round in an unremarkable neighbourhood. Through his car’s windscreen, he sees uniform houses, neatly trimmed hedges, grey rockeries and, occasionally, other unremarkable people. The man finally pulls into the car park of a discount supermarket and begins an activity that grows increasingly fervent: he digs a hole. And as we watch him, questions arise in our minds about life in the suburbs, about the landscape, about architectural culture and about ways out. With satirical wit, GRABEN tells the story of the search for something genuine in a world that has become alien.

Regie: Joshua Martin, Produktion: Mia ter Horst, Drehbuch: Joshua Martin, Kamera: Tim Semrau, Schnitt: Joshua Martin, Tim Semrau, Ton: Till Bellinghausen, Musik: Till Bellinghausen

The final days of a family farm in rural Denmark: an old horse is put out of its misery, and the property is about to be sold. The father, who coughs constantly, is ravaged by illness, yet the family maintains a tacit, consensual silence on the matter. Feelings are best left unspoken; fears certainly are. Yet the father is not the only one here struggling to catch his breath. MAYBE IN MARCH is a film that makes no compromises: a heart-wrenchingly sad swan song to a farming way of life, in which even the square aspect ratio feels constricting.

Regie: Mikkel Bjørn Kehlert, Produktion: Sebastian Willum Braae, Drehbuch: Agnes Maagaard, Kamera: Gerda Falk, Schnitt: Anna Wistreich, Ton: Simon Pedersen, Musik: Oskar Krusell, Andreas K. Westmark

Her mother embodies worldly pragmatism, whilst her grandmother clings to old beliefs. The teenager Nina’s life is shaped by conflicting influences. She attends school and helps with farm work, yet in her thoughts and dreams she is elsewhere. She is fascinated by ancient rock paintings, exploring the traces of the past, the culture of her ancestors, ancient traditions and religious myths. NINA’S DREAMS is set on the Kola Peninsula in north-western Russia and offers insights into Sami culture.

Regie: Diana Belova, Produktion: Diana Belova, Yanina Kostitsyna, Alexey Belov, Drehbuch: Diana Belova, Kamera: Grigory Rozanov, Schnitt: Alexey Belov, Diana Belova, Ton: Alexander Vanyukov, Musik: folk song

Amongst China’s Korean population, it is customary to bid farewell to the dead on the water. It is believed that the souls of the departed return to their homeland across the vast blue expanse. But what, exactly, is home? A young woman who has moved to the USA returns to the place where she grew up for her grandmother’s funeral and feels like a stranger there. Her relationship with her mother has also changed since she left. Their time together is characterised by unconditional love, but also by mutual misunderstanding. With gentle melancholy, BORA tells of the alienation between generations and the loss of cultural roots.

Regie: Qian Li, Produktion: Chenchen Lin, Drehbuch: Qian Li, Kamera: Zisheng Zhou, Schnitt: Binghan Li, Qian Li, Ton: Xinyi Jiang, Yini Li, Yaxuan Wen, Musik: Siyang Shen

Traces of an environmental disaster, images of death and decay, empty streets and ruined houses: a bleak setting that is nonetheless home. LAST TROPICS tells the story of a woman and two men – the last remaining inhabitants of a coastal village sealed off by the military. The young trio scrape a living through dubious fishing methods; in the sunlight, their bodies are covered in strange scars. Eventually, a disease threatens the survival of this small community. From Greece comes a visually striking and metaphor-rich allegory about our relationship with nature.

Regie: Thanasis Trouboukis, Produktion: Annabelle Aronis, Thanasis Trouboukis, Drehbuch: Thanasis Trouboukis, Kamera: Konstantinos Koukoulios, Schnitt: Yannis Chalkiadakis, Ton: Daphne Farazi, Nikos Linardopoulos, Musik: Costis Kontos, Regressverbot - Drive to Dive (Edit)