Cinéforom

At dawn, in a great classical dance conservatory, a boy falls while rehearsing some movements. Something breaks in his foot, causing sharp pain. But it's exams day and the boy refuses to quit: he tries to face his dance partner and classmates, convincing himself his body has no limits.

Scheherazade narrates three more tales, supposedly selected from the 470th, 484th and 497th nights of her ordeal: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that a Judge will cry instead of giving out her sentence. A runaway murderer will wander through the land for over forty days and will teletransport himself to escape the Guard while dreaming of prostitutes and partridges. A wounded cow will reminisce about a thousand-year-old olive tree while saying what she must say, which will sound none less than sad!

Every night, in danger of being beheaded, Scheherazade tells King Shahryar unfinished tales to continue them the following night, hence defying his promise of murdering his new wives after their wedding night. Scheherazade tells King Shahryar her stories but these are not those in the book. As in the book, these stories are tragic and comical, with rich and poor, powerless and powerful people, filled with surprising and extraordinary events.

In which Scheherazade doubts that she will still be able to tell stories to please the King, given that what she has to tell weighs three thousand tonnes. She therefore escapes from the palace and travels the Kingdom in search of pleasure and enchantment. Her father, the Grand-Vizier, arranges to meet her at the Ferris wheel, and Scheherazade resumes her narration: “Auspicious King, in old shanty towns of Lisbon there was a community of bewitched men who, in all rigour and passion, dedicated themselves to teaching birds to sing…”. And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.

In a fairy tale world, a winemaker creates the most exquisite wine in the world. When Death herself wants to taste the wine, he discovers that his bride is next on Death list.

Some of the chapters from Arabian Nights are adapted to a modern Portugal in this epic.

At Milan’s Niguarda public hospital, the unconventional Dr. Bini leads a bold mission overseeing aspiring parents undergoing in vitro fertilization and the journeys of individuals reconciling their bodies with their gender identities. He navigates the constraints set by a conservative government and an aggressive market eager to commodify bodies.

In the heart of Russia, the city of Magnitogorsk is home to the Kombinat, one of the largest iron and steel factory in the country. Here, Gabriel Tejedor films the day-to-day lives of Lena, Sasha, Guenia and their families, while this new generation of young parents wonder about their living and working conditions, which seem pre-determined by the Kombinat and its State capitalism.

It’s the beginning of summer, and Juliette, 17, freshly graduated from high school, is about to leave for scout camp. In her backpack, she doesn’t forget her essentials: tarot cards, some stones, a pendulum and her telephone. Juliette, who has 40’000 followers, defines herself as a modern witch. Between swims and beach parties, the young woman heals her friends’ sunburns, asks the universe for help with her university admission, and draws cards to figure out the path she and her friends should take in their lives.

Russia’s record-high number of holidays are celebrated at an upbeat balalaika pace and with black humour in a lively mosaic of impressions from life in the vast, inscrutable country in the East.

Documentary feature about Swiss writer Yvette Z'Graggen and her life, mixing voice-over, talking head, and some docu-drama. Directed by Frédéric Gonseth.

SolarStratos, a mission envisioned by Raphaël Domjan and an airplane designed by Calin Gologan, returns to the skies after a short hiatus in its program in 2018.