Hand-picked European films including a dark farce about Nazis on the moon and the sexual adventures of a disabled man feature in Variety’s 10 Euro Filmmakers to Watch at next month’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival, which runs June 29-July 2.
The films — selected by event curator, Variety critic Alissa Simon — include Finnish director Timo Vuorensola’s comic sci-fi yarn of moon-based Nazis, “Iron Sky,” and Belgian Geoffrey Enthoven’s “Hasta la vista,” a fictional account of Asta Philpot’s real-life trips to a wheelchair-accessible Spanish brothel and his advocacy of prostitution.
“Last year our selection included the eventual winner of the European Film Award for Discovery of the Year; we hope this year’s lineup will be equally revelatory and appealing,” Simon said.
The full list, culled from Variety critics’ favorite European films of the past year, include:
• “Either Way,” Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, Iceland
Two highway maintenance men in the barren wilderness of 1980s Iceland find themselves at a figurative crossroads.
• “A Trip,” Nejc Gazvoda, Slovenia
Three best pals from high school remember the past and confront their fears about the future.
• “Jackpot,” Magnus Mertens, Norway
Black comedy adapted from a Jo Nesbo story.
• “Hemel,” Sacha Polak Netherlands
Berlin Fipresci winner follows the sexual odyssey of a young woman.
• “This Life,” Anne Grethe Bjarup Riis, Denmark
Historical drama set during WWII about the resistance movement in German occupied Denmark.
• “Wrinkles” Ignacio Ferreras, Spain
2D toon set in an old folks’ home.
• “Black Pond,” Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley, U.K.
Oddball comic drama in which an ordinary family is accused of murder when a stranger dies at the dinner table.
• “Hell,” Tim Fehlbaum, Germany-Switzerland
Post-apocalyptic survival tale
The films tapped for 10 Euro Filmmakers to Watch, with directors in attendance, screen July 1-2.
