PIPFF

This year's Spectrum introduces a selection of films that zoom in on the microscopic aspect of life rather than a macroscopic one involving nations, ethnicity or religion. They come with vivid moments of pain and confusion we lay-people often find ourselves in. Apparently, in the face of an overwhelming fate, some of us will cave in, while a handful others will find a way to rise above.

Camille and This Is Not a Movie each tells the story of an extraordinary soul determined to share the pain of war with strangers. In #AnneFrank. Parallel Stories, a teen girl gets to see her life through the eyes of the victims of Holocaust. Loop Dreams poses a dilemma often faced by the younger generation in today's capitalist society.

Meanwhile, people are forced to choose a new way of life against their will. Ceuta's Gate, Jiyan, Among the Almond Trees, and Porosity Valley 2: Tricksters’ Plot depict the harsh reality awaiting those forced to migrate from their homeland, while All This Victory, Charlatan, How to disappear, and So We Live shed light on the irony of war. In La Llorona, Heroes don't Die and Our Mothers, unexpected encounters with the past reaffirms the innate strength of human beings, built to endure the aftermaths of life's tragic events. When life moves in an unanticipated direction, let us think about how to change its course and there will be an answer.