by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

Happy 30th Birthday, Philadelphia Film Festival! I’ve been attending the fest for close to thirty years myself, starting back in the Linda Blackaby-run days. I remember being wowed by the remarkable Estonian film Darkness in Tallinn back in 1993 and underwhelmed by the Spanish import, The Red Squirrel. But I love the festival for introducing me to films that I would never see otherwise. The late, great Jennifer Steinberg curated documentaries during the Ray Murray/TLA years. Without her guidance I would have missed non-fiction films as diverse as Dust and Zoo. The Film Society, which runs the fest now (and has since 2013) allowed me to see Philippe Lacôte’s Run and the Argentine drama, The German Doctor. 

This year’s fest, like last year’s, includes an online component, which is where I will screen most of the films I’ll see. I may venture out to theaters for a film or two but there are some great options online, like Catch the Fair One and Sundown, both brutal films (albeit in different ways). For those who want the big screen experience there are more than 100 features and dozens of shorts to see. Here’s a rundown of what I hope to watch.

From the Red Carpet of my living room:
I’m excited to get a sneak peek at Huda’s Salon, which is coming out in 2022. I’ve been a fan of director Hany Abu-Assad since I saw his film Paradise Now at the Toronto film festival in 2005. (His films Omar and The Idol are also great). Described as a thriller, Huda’s Salon involves a blackmail scheme. That’s really all I need to know.

The World After Us, depicts a young man who hopes to write a novel (I love films about writers). While he struggles, his efforts are further complicated when he meets—and hopes to move in with—a beautiful young woman.  However, he needs to raise money for the apartment, and that isn’t any easier than writing. 

The documentary Mr. Bachmann and His Class, set in a German school, appeals to me because I am an absolute sucker for inspirational teacher films. (My father was a teacher). And I’m undaunted by the 3 hour and 37 minute running time—especially if I am watching this at home. 

Brother’s Keeper is a Turkish-Romanian film about two young boys in crises. This is exactly the kind of film I like to discover at a festival—something that will show me a part of the world I would never see otherwise. I don’t know the filmmaker so hopefully this will be a great discovery (which is also what is great about festivals).

If I venture to the cinema, the two films I most want to see are:

The Absent Director. I love Iranian cinema, and this film, shot in a single take, has a theater company working in secret on a production of Macbeth. This is director Arvand Dashtaray’s debut, and it looks promising to me.

Persian Lessons. I have admired Argentine actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart since I first saw him in Glue 15 years ago. This story of a Jewish man posing as Iranian in a concentration camp is reportedly a (melo)drama mixed with absurdist comedy, which is exactly the kind of risk I want a film to take.