Among others, the 2024 programme will feature the Palestinian film Bye Bye Tiberias and the anime hit Blue Giant.
Espoo Ciné is best known for its European films, and this year's festival is no exception. However, in addition to Europe, the 2024 Espoo Ciné will also take us to Japan and Palestine.
The documentary Bye Bye Tiberias, directed by Lina Soualem, tells the story of Palestinian actress Hiam Abbas (Succession). Soualem's mother, Abbas, left her home in the village of Deir Hanna in Palestine in her twenties to pursue an acting career in Europe. Thirty years later, Soualem takes Abbas back to her childhood village to find out why her mother left Palestine. The documentary, compiled from newly filmed footage, old home videos, and archival material, tells not only the story of Soualem's family but also the broader story of Palestinian women from an intergenerational female perspective.
Japan is visited through the anime hit Blue Giant, directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa. In the film, former basketball player Dai Miyamoto discovers jazz music and immediately decides to become a saxophonist – and not just any saxophonist, but the best in the world. The film, based on Shinichi Ishizuka's manga series of the same name, features music by Japanese pianist and composer Hiromi, who has also performed at jazz festivals in Finland such as April Jazz and Pori Jazz. In addition to Blue Giant, Espoo Ciné will feature a number of other Japanese films this year – more details on these will be revealed later!
The core area of the festival, European film, will be represented by Víctor Erice's Close Your Eyes and Quentin Dupieux's Daaaaaali!. Close Your Eyes, a story about friendship and filmmaking, is the long-anticipated fourth film by cinephile-loved director legend Erice. The starting point of the movie is a disappearance of a famous Spanish actor, which, many years after the initial incident, is brought back to a spotlight by a TV programme. Daaaaaali!, directed by Dupieux, is a surreal comedy in which six different actors play Salvador Dalí. Dupieux, also known as DJ Mr. Oizo, has quickly risen to cult fame, and his latest film The Second Act opened this year's Cannes Film Festival.
The full Espoo Ciné programme will be released on Thursday, 1 August, but films will be gradually announced throughout June and July. So, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay on top of the festival wave.
Photo from the film Bye Bye Tiberias. Photographer: Frida Marzouk/Beall Productions.
