By Ryan Keating-Lambert

The fourth edition of Be2Can Film Festival is coming to Prague cinemas this October and promises to be another year rich in diverse titles and broad cinema discussion. Be2Can brings the best of the best from top European festivals in Berlin, Venice, and of course Cannes.

The festival takes place from October 4 – 10 in Prague cinemas Kino Svetozor, Kino Evald, and Kino Lucerna, and from October 12 – 18 in other Czech regions.

Nestled among this year’s titles are recent gems like the heartfelt LGBT hit BPM, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Killing of A Sacred Deer and Cannes Palm d’Or winner The Square.

This year, Be2Can also offers a retrospective on director Paulo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, Youth), and a Be2Can ‘Focus’ section that screens some of the festival’s most talked about films from previous years – a great opportunity to catch up on what you’ve missed.

Check out some of our recommendations below and visit the Be2Can website for tickets and times.

 

The Square

Opening night sees the Czech premiere of the Cannes Palm d’Or Winner The Square. An offbeat dramedy that sadly reflects the hypocrisy and ego of western cultures through art curator Christian (Claes Bang). Swedish director Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure) scrutinises society under a microscope in his films and has been compared to auteur Ingmar Bergman for his portrayal of family and relationships. The Square also stars American actress Elisabeth Moss (TV’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’), and Dominic West (TV’s ‘The Wire’).

 

You Were Never Really Here

The latest film from Scottish writer / director Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin). You Were Never Really Here is an intense thriller that sees damaged contractor Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) desperately searching for missing girl Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov). Phoenix won Best Actor at Cannes for his role and has been compared to Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. The film also picked up a Best Screenplay award at the festival.

 

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest is a disturbing psychological thriller and revenge story, and its subtlety and stylish minimalism has been compared to the great Stanley Kubrick. Starring Nicole Kidman, and Colin Farrell, who was also in Lanthimos’ recent black comedy hit The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer borders on horror as it explores the breakdown of an eccentric family, and an obsessive surgeon.

 

Loveless

Set in Moscow, divorcing couple Zhenya and Boris search for their missing son after he disappears during one of their heated arguments. Loveless is an emotional and intelligent study on severed family relationships in modern day Russia by director Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, The Return), who has also been dubbed a present day Andrei Tarkovsky, and it also took away the Jury prize at Cannes this year.

 

On Body and Soul

Awarded the Golden Bear at Berlinale Film Festival this year, On Body and Soul marks the return of renowned Hungarian film maker Ildikó Enyedi after an 18-year break. The film is an experimental romance set around a couple who work in an abbatoir and develop their relationship through their surreal dreaming experiences.

 

BPM (Beats Per Minute)

The winner of the Cannes Grand Prix this year is an emotional tour-de-force set around a group of Parisian activists fighting stigmas surrounding the AIDS virus in the early 1990s. BPM is directed by the remarkable Robin Campillo (Eastern Boys), and is a welcoming mix of drama, eroticism and politics. It’s brutal, but thought provoking.

 

In the Fade

Closing the festival and directed by Fatih Akin (Goodbye Berlin, Head On), In The Fade saw actress Diane Kruger receive Best Actress at Cannes for her visceral portrayal of Katja, a desperate woman seeking justice for the murder of her husband and son by Neo-Nazis. Set in Hamburg, this German language production is a timely thriller / drama that’s driven by Kruger’s powerhouse performance.

For full programme details check out the Be2Can website and Facebook page.

Photo: Festival de Cannes