5 feature lenght films you should not miss at "We are One" Film Festival

"We Are One" Film Festival, organised by 20 A-list film festivals from all around the world during the past week has brought us splendid films that didn't get enough media/ audience attention, mostly in a past decade. This eye-opening event, made out of solidarity surely showed that film is a global language and a nation, a way of universal expression that we can all feel and relate to. Every single film has been picked by renewed festival programmers and it is a bit of unfair to cut down their choices to several titles, but let's be honest, not everyone has time for personal exploration of the WAO programme, so we decided to bring you here our top five picks of the films that should not be missed!

Ticket of No Return

The mysterious 'she' buys a one-way ticket to berlin. Young, rich and beautiful, in a series of spectacular outfits 'she' intends to drink herself to death on cognac and champagne in all the finest nightspots and hotels of the city. 

Bringing together so much 70's German talent for a film that is deliberately meandering and aimless, but feels truly glorious shows the pure artistic nature of Ulrike Ottinger and her work. In her film, she manages to bring the spirit of Ozu while capturing the essence of the time. Created at the same time as some of the most prolific works of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Wim Wenders, Ulrike 's Ticket of No Return is a gem that was sadly forgotten up until now!

Mary is Happy, Marry is Happy 

How creative you need to be to mould a story around a girl's series of tweets? At its best when going to odd territories to accompany the words, at its worst when going to familiar territories. While the real Mary abstracts her life into consecutive tweets, personal context denied by the internet divide, Thamrongrattanarit rebirths the capsules as absurdist revelations. The conveying tone from isolated text is maddening so the director boldly plays it all literally. The difference being that literal adaptation takes on new dimensions as the interpretations fall on a spectrum ranging from the mental state through to physical action. The desire to steal cake is outright robbery at the threat of machete, but practising emotion is the isolation of projecting happiness in the mirror.

Ice Cream and the Sound of Raindrops

In March 2017, at a small town, six boys and girls are selected through auditions. They work hard to prepare for a play, but the play is suddenly cancelled. These young people are disappointed with the news but as one of them says “let’s practice.” the crew decides to stand on stage no matter what.

Ice Cream and the Sound of Raindrops is an impressive one-take feature-length experiment that manages to amaze with its natural simplicity while managing to tell two immersive stories simultaneously, technically collaging them one upon another.  After seeing this film, Daigo Matsui will be the name you want to follow! 

Beyond the Mountain

Beyond the Mountain is a neo-noir/western-esque tale about the familial legacy that can overtake our drive. After experiencing a great tragedy, one that appears to be the accumulation of a long series of tragedies, Miguel embarks on a life-defining journey that would either help him or break him.

This slow-paced fascinating drama plays a rather strong as a writer and directorial debut of David R. Romay. The film has the spirit of works like Sex, Lies, and Videotape or Paris, Texas with choppy emotional drives, protagonists lacking nature and peace that surely can't be upheld. If there is one thing that stands out in this film the most than that is a lead actor, Benny Emmanuel who manages to capture obscure space between boyhood and manhood and with the rawness of his talent mesmerises the viewer into the story. 

Dantza 

Dantza is a non-narrative musical film focusing on a story about the cycle of life and death, of the struggle for survival, where the passage of time is marked by the course of nature, music and dance.

Culture, mythic symbolism, and the passage of the seasons and time through spellbinding, hypnotic dance. Visually dazzling in its graceful cinematography, vibrant colours, and vivacious dance movements, Telmo Esnal's film is surely one of a kind cinematic experience that awaits random curious cinephile explorers to find it.