The 13th “Sunny Bunny” selection at Molodist comprises 13 queer feature films

At the 43rd Molodist IFF "Sunny Bunny" will become a complete competition program with its own jury. The program includes films by well-known directors like Xavier Dolan, Bruce LaBruce and Małgorzata Szumowska, as well as brand new names in cinema.

 

The 13th “Sunny Bunny” selection comprises 13 queer feature films. The competition program consists of 9 movies.

Tomasz Wasilewski’s “Floating Skyscrapers” is a story of Kuba, a young man, whose life gets upside down when he meets Michał. This is Wasilewski’s second film. His debut was featured in last year’s Karlovy Vary IFF program. The filmmaker started out as the director assistant at the shooting of Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist” and Per Fly’s “The Woman That Dreamed About a Man”.  

“Gerontophilia”, the new film by the Canadian director and writer Bruce LaBruce, deals with a taboo: relationships between a young boy and an elderly man. However, instead of a direct discussion of sexuality, the author seeks to understand the meaning of the taboo itself. The film premiered as part of the Venice Days program this year. LaBruce visited Molodist in 2010, and he was given a Special diploma from the “Sunny Bunny” jury for his film “L.A. Zombie”. 

“In the Name of…” is the new film by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska. The movie smashes the stereotypes about homosexuality in Catholic Church. “In the Name of…” won the Teddy prize at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Last year Szumowska’s film “Elles” starring Juliette Binoche entered the non-competition program at Molodist.

In his debut “Out in the Dark”, the Israeli director Michael Mayer depicts a conflict between the public and the personal. Nimer, a Palestinian student, falls in love with an Israeli lawyer named Roy. As their relationship deepens, Nimer is confronted with the harsh realities of a Palestinian society that refuses to accept him for his sexual identity, and an Israeli society that rejects him for his nationality.

The French-Moroccan co-production “Salvation Army” is director Abdellah Taïa’s debut work. Taïa is a famous Maroccan writer, who was the first public figure in the country to overtly declare his homosexuality.

Alain Guiraudie’s “Stranger by the Lake” arrives to Molodist after the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Director Award in the “Un Certain Regard” section. Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel. An attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this, but wants to live out his passion anyway.

The protagonist of the French-Canadian film “Tom at the Farm” by Xavier Dolan travels to the country for his lover’s funeral and becomes involved into his family’s twisted games. Dolan’s debut “I Killed My Mother” was featured in the competition program at Molodist. The film won three awards from the Director's Fortnight program at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated Canada’s entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.

Anna Margarita Albelo’s “Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf?” tells a story of a 40-year-old filmmaker who sacrificed her love life for her film career, but realizes she has neither, so she decides to get them both by adapting an all-female version of, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” is Taiwan director Arvin Chen’s second feature film. Introvert Weichung’s measured life as a family man is shaken up when a chance encounter revives feelings from his long suppressed gay past, forcing him to choose between love and security. Chen’s first steps in cinema were quite successful: his graduation short film won the Silver Bear at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, and his full-length debut won the Best Asian Film Award from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) at the Berlinale in 2010.

 

Other festival programs include queer films as well.

Canadian director Denis Côté’s  “Vic and Flo Saw a Bear” (“French Connection” program) was nominated for the Golden Bear of the 2013 Berlin IFF. The new film by a famous director won the Alfred Bauer Prize. Victoria just got out on parole. Florence has done her time, and reconnects with her lover from prison. They hole up in a sugar shack out in the woods. Guillaume is Vic’s parole officer. As he watches over the women’s reintegration, their different ambitions and personalities pull them farther and farther apart. When the past catches up with them, their freedom is jeopardized. Denis Côté will present the film himself and will also give a master class in Kyiv.

The full-length film competition program includes the actor and director Guillaume Gallienne’s debut “Me, Myself and Mom”, in which a young boy named Guillaume mimics his mother’s behaviour. The film won the Art Cinema Award and the Prix SACD of the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. “Les Garçons et Guillaume, à table!” is a popular French play. Guillaume Gallienne has long been performing the main part in the play on Paris stage.

“Sarah Prefers to Run” by Canadian director Chloé Robichaud (International Competition program) is a story of a Montreal athletics student, who gets married, but loves running more than anything else. The actor Jean-Sébastien Courchesne will come to Molodist to present the film.

 

The screenings of the “Sunny Bunny” program will be held in “Zhovten” cinema.