IFFK 2024 Competition section: Onmanorama Critics' Choice award unveiled

For the first time Onmanorama constituted a three-member team (Swathi P Ajith, Ayyappan R and Aswin J Kumar) to watch and assess 14 competition films at the 29th IFFK. Here are the top five films picked for Onmanorama Critics' Choice.

5. Animal/Humano
Directed by Alessandro Pugno, the film explores how a teenager named Matteo and an animal (Fandango)- though worlds apart- navigate strikingly similar challenges while growing up. They are thrust into the world of bullfighting. The film delves into the crushing weight of expectations- whether self-imposed or placed by others- revealing how both Matteo and Fandango grapple with the pressure to prove themselves to a world eager to judge. Even while dealing with themes of death, violence and blood, the film also meditates on inherent fears, weaknesses and compassion. It also philosophises death as Matteo whose family conducts funeral for living aspires for an honourable death. It's also a film which reimagines the idea of bravery. It's a film which said that the determination to stand up for oneself required as much courage as standing before a blood-thirsty bull.

4. Linda
A maid with an enigmatic aura around her wreaks emotional havoc in a rich family in Mariana Wainstein's film Linda. It moves beyond sexuality, desire and choices to probe deeper meanings of power dynamics and class differences. The film is a compelling exploration of hidden facades and untold secrets, all shattered by the sheer force of one woman—Linda. She’s assertive, strong, and unapologetically aware of her power to command attention. Yet, what makes her truly intriguing is her deliberate choice over whom she grants her attention, showcasing her agency and control. The film delves into the stark realities of class divides, exposing how the wealthy often believe they can buy their way into anything, regardless of morality or consequence.

3. Malu
The Brazilian movie directed by Pedro Freire is a story about how trauma is passed down through generations. At its core are three women; Malu, the lead character, her strained relationship with her mother and daughter. Consciously or unconsciously they inherit and transmit the trauma and emotinal wounds to one another. These women are as much capable of inflicting deep emotional and physical wounds on each other as they are of expressing intense love. The movie excels in the way it denies a cathartic end as the wounds are too deep to heal. They also widen the film to extend the mother-daughter bond to convey the growing dismay over the existing state of Brazil.

2. Feminichi Fathima
This Malayalam movie directed by Fasil Muhammed has the innocence of a fable and tenderness of a folk tale. A satire-laced narrative against conservatism, the film doesn't demonise the characters. It avoids dramatic scenes to drive home the point. With measured subtlety, the film brilliantly exposes the hypocrisy of patriarchy embedded in society. In this film, Fathima's struggle is for a far more basic right than the usual struggles that the women wage like the right to equality, right to property or education. Here it is for the right to have a good night's sleep and what better object to put the spotlight on than a mattress. The mattress becomes both the metaphor and the story in this movie.

1. Me, Maryam, The Children And 26 Others
Helmed by Iranian director Farshad Hashemi, it's a brilliantly crafted film which uses cinema not just as a story-telling medium but as a form of art and therapy. A woman in her thirties, the character Mahboubeh heaves under past trauma, clinging to the familiar for a sense of security. The movie was shot as an act of defiance with the women characters not wearing hijab when the film was shot in Iran. Yet it tells a story of warmth and togetherness backed by strong performances. This film is a toast to the film-making and power of cinema to heal. Initially the woman is disgusted with the chaos which she has invited to her house in the form of a film-unit. Gradually she adapts to the changes, she begins to like the new characters in her life. Her world expands from her memories, her profession to include an entire world.