According to the well-known saying, you can’t choose your family (though we will come back to that later). This “basic social unit”, as it is commonly defined, has been an inexhaustible source of cultural and cinematic inspiration for decades. Intricate, dramatic and amusing family stories are dressed up by directors in a variety of conventions and genre schemes. It is hard not to agree with the statement that over the past few years, as a result of technological and cultural changes, the functions, characteristics and faces of the family and the relationships within it have changed fundamentally. From so-called patchwork families to “chosen family” groups, shifts in established gender roles and patterns: the portrayal of the family in films and elsewhere is constantly evolving and adapting to dynamic transformations. In this year’s new Mastercard OFF CAMERA section, prepared in cooperation with the SEXEDPL Foundation established by Anja Rubik, we look at new family formations. Ones no longer necessarily defined by blood ties and biological kinship. By following the filmmakers and protagonists of the films shown there, viewers will have a unique opportunity to discover new, often surprising types of family relationships and to verify their own ideas and beliefs about the functions and shapes a family might take.
The partners of section are SEXEDPL and Vogue.
Drifter
DRIFTER
Dir.: Hannes Hirsch
2023, 79 min.
Other People’s Children
LES INFANTS DES AUTRES
Dir.: Rebecca Zlotowski
2022, 103 min.
The Uncle
STRIC
Dir.: David Kapac, Andrija Mardešić
2022, 104 min.
For My Country
POUR LA FRANCE
Dir.: Rachid Hami
2022, 103 min.
Soft
Soft
Dir.: Joseph Amenta
2022, 87 min.
Winter Boy
LA LYCÉEN
Dir.: Christophe Honoré
2022, 124 min.
Harka
HARKA
Dir.: Lotfy Nathan
2022, 87 min.
The Cake Dynasty
KAGEFABRIKKEN
Dir.: Christian Lollike
2022, 109 min.