PORTRAITS OF SUMMER:
From sun-dappled Tunisian fig orchards to the glistening Adriatic waters of Croatia — escape to the far corners of the world, in some of our favourite Modern portraits of summer.
UNDER THE FIG TREES
Dir. Erige Sehiri
Summer, Tunisia
Over the course of one day women and men, young and old, work in a fig orchard under the watchful eye of the foreman. They are restless and eager in the summer heat, stealing away from work to catch up, gossip, and flirt. Each encounter is ripe with discovery and connection. Sun-dappled and sensual, Erige Sehiri’s fiction debut captures the strength of sisterhood, promise of young love, and the sorrows of life with remarkable intimacy and tenderness.
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LUXOR
Dir. Zeina Durra
Summer, Egypt
In her much heralded BIFA nominated role, Andrea Riseborough plays Hana, a British aid worker who returns to the ancient city of Luxor where she comes across Sultan (Karim Saleh), an archeologist and former lover. As she wanders, haunted by the familiar place, she struggles to reconcile her past choices with the uncertainty of the present.
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MURINA
DIR. Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Summer, Croatia
A Caméra d'Or winner at Cannes, Murina is Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s debut feature. From executive producer, Martin Scorsese, and from the cinematographer of The Lost Daughter, Murina follows the story of Julija— a teenage girl who decides to replace her controlling father with his wealthy foreign friend during a weekend trip to the Adriatic Sea.
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SKATE KITCHEN
Dir. Crystal Moselle
Summer, New York
Camille, an introverted teenage skateboarder (Rachelle Vinberg) from Long Island, meets and befriends an all girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew called Skate Kitchen. She falls in with the in-crowd, has a falling-out with her mother, and falls for a mysterious skateboarder guy (Jaden Smith), but a relationship with him proves to be trickier to navigate than a kickflip.
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SILENT LAND
Dir. Aga Woszcynska
Summer, Italy
After arriving at a holiday villa on an Italian island, bourgeois couple Adam (Dobromir Dymecki) and Anna (Agnieszka Żulewska) discover that the swimming pool is empty. The migrant worker sent to fix it suffers a deadly poolside accident, setting off a chain of disturbing events that shake the moral foundations of this seemingly-perfect couple. Aesthetically sparse, with an enigmatic plot, Agnieszka Woszczyńska’s debut feature is an unflinching character study that unfurls the power of denial.
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MOON, 66 QUESTIONS
Dir. Jacqueline Lentzou
Summer, Greece
After years of distance, Artemis has to get back to Athens due to her father’s frail state of health. Discovering her father’s well-kept secret allows Artemis to understand her father, in a way she was not able before, therefore love him truly for the first time.
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