For the first time in its history a documentary will be in Official Competition, joining a line-up of Foreign Oscar entries, bold debuts, and the world premiere of Cuba’s first psychological horror film.
Centerpiece Gala
September 15, 2018, 9.00 pm, Oldenburg State Theater
King of Beasts, USA 2018, by Tomer Almagor and Nadav Harel
Tomer Almagor and Nadav Harel present the world premiere of their film at the Mid-Fest gala. With unprecedented access, they accompany Aaron, a trophy hunter, as he leaves the comforts of his Colorado home and sets forth on a neo colonial expedition to the Tanzanian bush, in pursuit of the ultimate trophy, a wild African lion. With narrative style and visual energy more intense than many fictional features, the never-before seen footage is a provocative portrait that shines a light on a dark reality rarely captured.
WORLD PREMIERE
Closing Night Gala
September 16, 2018, 7.00pm, Oldenburg State Theater
Promise at Dawn, FR 2017, by Eric Barbier
“Promise at Dawn” tells the real life-story of the famous French writer, director and diplomat Romain Gary. From his childhood in Poland through to his youth under the Mediterranean sun in Nice, to his experiences as a pilot in Africa during WWII, Romain Gary lived an extraordinary life. And his unwavering love for his mother Nina (Charlotte Gainsbourg) inspired him to become – amongst many things - one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, the only man who twice won the French literary award Prix Goncourt. An inspiring sweeping epic.
GERMANPREMIERE
OTHER PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Is that You?, CUB/UK 2018, by Rudy Riverón Sánchez
In the world premiere of the first psychological horror film to come out of Cuba, the story of a young girl controlled by her father mirrors the real fear in a country that has long-struggled with the oppressive terror of a dominating power.
WORLD PREMIERE
We, NED 2018, by René Eller
“Stand by Me” in the Dutch-Belgian countryside. Eight teenagers spend a fateful summer at which end nothing will be as before. Based on Elvis Peeter’s bestseller “Wij”, the film paints a frightful and gorgeous portrait of youth that knows no boundaries.
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Love Express. The Disappearance of Walerian Borowczyk, POL/EST 2018, by Kuba Mikurda
Kuba Mikurda follows the footsteps of Walerian Borowczyk, a director celebrated as a brilliant filmmaker during the early 70s. This fascinating cinematic mapping expedition tells the tale of how the industry wasted Borowczyk’s talent and what he left behind for some of our greatest contemporary filmmakers.
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Sorry Angel, FR 2018, by Christophe Honoré
Honored in Oldenburg with a 2016 Retrospective, the ‘child of Nouvelle Vague’ returns with his latest offering that bowed in Cannes. A first and a last love. A start into life and its end. A love story between a young optimist and a callous, resigned old man becomes an unforgettable drama about love and living in the present.
GERMAN PREMIERE
All These Small Moments, USA 2018, by Melissa Miller Costanzo
A coming-of-age film that won critical acclaim for first-time director Melissa Miller Costanzo at its premiere at Tribeca. A teenage boy’s infatuation with a woman he sees on the bus, further complicates his already tumultuous adolescence. The uncertainty of our collective childhood is poignantly captured with insight and heart-breaking humor. As his mother, Molly Ringwald is divine in a role reversal for the icon of the teenage genre.
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Mr. & Mrs. Adelman, FR 2017, by Nicolas Bedos
Cinema can dissolve the linearity of time. In his feature film directorial debut, award-winning theater director and best-selling author, Nicolas Bedos, proves this with his deliriously delightful romantic comedy about a married couple and their great love. At the beginning is death. Time moves in reverse, then forward, and occasionally it stops. Only love is everlasting.
GERMAN PREMIERE
The Return, MKD 2018, by Kastriot Abdyli
This contemporary story takes place in a Balkan village where the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, eastern and western, all intertwine. Ilir, a young Albanian man from Macedonia who migrated to France, has decided to marry a French woman. She will meet his family on a return home visit for the wedding. Promises will be made, and a broken promise will threaten them.
The world premiere will be held in concert with a presentation from the Macedonian Film Agency as a co-production partner in the framework of the Matchbox Coproduction at the festival.
WORLD PREMIERE
Blue My Mind, SUI 2017, by Lisa Brühlmann
15-year old Mia will do everything to become popular. But the moment the peer pressure begins to change her identity, something disturbing happens. Her toes begin to grow together and she suddenly develops a ravenous appetite for fish. Live fish. The award-winning debut of the actress and filmmaker is an allegorical wonder.
Oldenburg 
