BellaTOFIFEST International Film Festival

The FORUM section is based on an original and subjective selection of the most interesting films of the season. This section is dedicated to the films worthy of a deeper analysis and a profound discussion - our festival will be a perfect occasion to do both. The programme of this section includes both pre-release screenings and films that already had their premières on the big screen, but which we see as worthy of rediscovering.

The film Under the Volcano directed by Damian Kocur portrays a family from Ukraine, who are caught off guard by the military conflict escalating in their homeland, while spending vacations in Tenerife. Unable to go back to Kiev, both the parents and their children are no longer tourists, but refugees. The film provides a very unorthodox perspective on war.

In Wrooklyn Zoo, we see the life of Kosa, a talented skateboarder, and Zora, a Romani singer, who need to overcome social divisions to be together.

Shula, the protagonist in the film On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, finds the body of her uncle Fredd lying on an empty road, when taking a late night stroll. This is but one of the many tragic events happening in a world in which the silence of women is considered a norm and the men are always above the law.

In The Second Act, we see the film industry as a caricature: affronted actors, celebrities with hang-ups, and a world where truth is always mixed with fiction, political correctness, and... artificial intelligence.

Flow is a universal story about survival, nature, cooperation and those things which connect in a world where words no longer have meaning. This absolutely unique animated film is an Oscar winner.

State of Emergency is a story about a seasoned foreign correspondent working in a fictional Arab country. Torn between personal issues and journalistic ethics, Karel creates a fictional reportage with simulated sounds of a revolution happening in real time. This is the latest film of the Czech master of comedy Jan Hřebejk.

In My Mother, God, And Sylvie Vartan, Esther is determined to make sure that her son will have a wonderful life, regardless of the devastating diagnosis the doctors gave him. As a mother, she is a little too overprotective, which leads to a whole lot of new problems. Can there be limits for motherly love, and where does one set such a limit?

When the Light Breaks is a film directed by one of the most important contemporary filmmakers from Iceland. The film focuses on handling loss and looking for intimacy, and it brims with the classic ingredients of good Scandinavian cinema.

The Most Precious of Cargoes is an animated story that takes us back to the Second World War era, based on the best-selling novel by Jean-Claude Grumberg. One day, a poverty-stricken couple living in a vast forest finds an abandoned new-born baby. Who is the man who left it for certain death? Are all war heroes always so black-and-white?

The three title Balconettes - extravagant Ruby, self-conscious writer Nicola and actress Élise - spend time watching their neighbours, finding one of them particularly fascinating. When they pay a visit to the mysterious man, the late evening adventure takes a dramatic turn.

Rose and her daughter Sofia, the two protagonists in Hot Milk, travel to a little coastal Spanish town looking for a healer. The people they encounter along the way can change their lives completely.

Violette and Florence, the title Two Women, are not exactly aware of what is happening to them. One is at her wits end, while the other no longer feels anything. Neither career nor family can make them happy again. Perhaps they need to revolt against the social expectations to rediscover happiness?

Sicilian Letters is a dark comedy based on the life of Matteo Messina Denaro, boss of the Cosa Nostra, whose criminal activities forced him to hide from justice. This film is both a festival of excellent acting and a kaleidoscope of the beautiful Sicilian scenery.

The film Los pequeños amores has all the ingredients that make summer films so loveable: scenic landscapes, humour, and pop songs mixed with important life choices and a closer look at complicated family relations.

Know Me is a story based on actual events. Grief-stricken Kenson is looking for a way to bring down the false narrative propagated by the national media and the local head of the Catholic Church in Haiti, in order to keep the memory of his late brother alive.

Included in the section:

Under the Volcano, dir. by Damian Kocur, Poland, 2024, 105’
Wrooklyn Zoo, dir. by Krzysztof Skonieczny, Poland, 2024, 124’
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, dir. by Rungano Nyoni, Zambia, Great Britain, Ireland, 2024, 95’
The Second Act, dir. by Quentin Dupieux, France, 2024, 80’
Flow, dir. by Gints Zilbalodis, Latvia, France, 2024, 84’
State of Emergency, dir. by Jan Hřebejk, Czech Republic, 2024, 100’
My Mother, God, And Sylvie Vartan, dir. by Ken Scott, France, Canada, 2025, 102’
When the Light Breaks, dir. by Rúnar Rúnarsson, The Netherlands, Croatia, France, 2024, 82’
The Most Precious of Cargoes, dir. by Michel Hazanavicius, Belgium, France 2024, 81’
The Balconettes, dir. by Noémie Merlant, France, 2024, 104’
Hot Milk, dir. by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Great Britain, 2025, 92’
Two Women, dir. by Chloé Robichaud, Canada, 2025, 100’
Sicilian Letters, dir. by Antonio Piazza, Fabio Grassadonia, Italy, France, 2024, 122’
Los pequeños amores, dir. by Celia Rico Clavellino, France, Spain, 2024, 95’
Know Me, dir. by Edson Jean, USA, 2025, 73'

Toruń, Kujawy i Pomorze, 28.06–4.07.2025

FORUM

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