THE PROMISED LAND

Denmark/Germany/Sweden | 2023 | 127

This sweeping 18th-century epic follows Captain Ludvig (Mads Mikkelsen) who sets out to cultivate the harsh Danish heath. But he soon faces an even harsher adversary: the merciless Frederik de Schinkel, who believes the land belongs to him.

GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI

USA | 2023 | 104

In the borderlands of South Texas, the Edinburg North High School’s acclaimed mariachi band starts a year off with inexperienced musicians, a limited budget and intense competition. Will their dedicated coach and unwavering spirit catapult them back to the top?

BLACKBERRY

Canada | 2023 | 122

Raucous and darkly humorous, this award-winning biopic tells the story of the roller-coaster rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone. Terrific performances inform this spirited telling of one of the most fascinating business stories of the last century.

TOGETHER 99

Sweden/Denmark | 2023 | 115

You don’t need to have seen Lukas Moodysson’s 2000 masterpiece Together, about a Stockholm commune in the ‘70s, to fall in love with this big-hearted, bittersweet follow-up, in which the aging friends gather for a reunion that goes hilariously awry.

AMERIKATSI

In Armenian, English and Russian with English subtitles | 2022 | 117

THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE

Germany | 2023 | 94

In this intense study of the power dynamics in contemporary German society, an idealistic middle-school teacher makes a bad decision while trying to do the right thing, and her every subsequent move mires her in an even bigger mess.

JOIKA

New Zealand/Poland | 2023 | 110

Based on the true story, teenager Joy Womack (Talia Ryder) becomes one of the first American women to be admitted to the prestigious but punishing Bolshoi Ballet School, where she is tutored by the vaunted Tatiyana Volkova (Diane Kruger).

20,000 SPECIES OF BEES

Spain | 2023 | 125

Eight-year-old Lucía spends a summer in the country with the family’s widowed matriarch when questions about her gender identity arise, leading each woman in the family to face her own doubts and fears.

CONCRETE UTOPIA

South Korea | 2023 | 130

A massive earthquake rolls through Seoul, upending every apartment complex – except one. With refugees at their doorsteps, the residents of the remaining Imperial Palace apartment decide to wall out the rest of society, and an apocalyptic showdown becomes inevitable.

THE SETTLERS

Chile/Argentina/France/Denmark/UK/Taiwan/Sweden/Germany | 2023 | 97

Chile’s brutal colonial legacy is laid savagely bare in this turn-of-the-century revisionist Western in which a bloodthirsty English soldier and a mercenary Texas cowboy must execute a landowner’s mission to clear his expansive property of its indigenous population.

LAROY

USA/France | 2023 | 112

Steve Zahn stars as an overeager small-town private eye alongside John Magaro as a suicidal cuckold who’s mistaken for a hitman in this twisty, darkly funny neo-noir set in a dusty Texas town where blackmail seems to be the local sport.

ANIMALIA

Morocco/Qatar/France | 2023 | 91

In this highly original and suspenseful Moroccan feature, an expectant mother finds herself separated from her wealthy in-laws and left to fend for herself while a mysterious, menacing force threatens the world around her.

BIG BOYS

USA | 2023 | 88

This endearing, understated ode to queer self-discovery follows awkward 14-year-old Jamie (the wonderful Isaac Krasner), who discovers on a family camping trip to Lake Arrowhead that he can’t take his eyes off his cousin’s hunky older boyfriend.

RED ROOMS

Canada | 2023 | 118

A fashion model’s mysterious obsession with a serial killer standing trial for murders livestreamed on the dark web sends her down a dangerous and sordid path to obtain the elusive remaining piece of the puzzle.

FAIRYLAND

USA/France | 2023 | 115

Based on Alysia Abbott’s memoir, a teenager (Emilia Jones) reflects on coming of age in San Francisco in the 1970s and ’80s while being raised by her widowed bisexual father, poet and activist Steve Abbott (Scoot McNairy).

A LOOK THROUGH HIS LENS

USA/France/Ireland/UK | 2023 | 103

Oscar®-winning cinematographer Philippe Rousselot offers a master class in image making, with insightful examples from his work on Diva, Hope and Glory, A River Runs Through It, Dangerous Liaisons, Interview with the Vampire and many more in this cineaste’s delight.

WITHOUT AIR

Hungary/Romania | 2023 | 104

In this social realist thriller that reveals the powder keg teachers must navigate with respect to their autonomy, a literature instructor makes an extracurricular suggestion of a film to watch, and the fallout threatens to bring down her career.

HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON

Canada | 2023 | 92

This charming, funny and stylish play on the traditional vampire tale tells the story of Sasha, a young vampire who can’t bring herself to kill. Facing starvation, she meets a young depressed man who could help solve both their problems.

THE FISHBOWL

Puerto Rico/Spain | 2023 | 92

Diagnosed with advanced cancer, Noelia returns to her native Vieques to reconnect with her origins. What she finds there is an island fighting its own terminal illness, the result of more than 60 years of military practices.

BAD FAITH

USA | 2023 | 89

The forces tearing apart our democracy have never been more frightening or powerful, but who is actually behind them? Bad Faith exposes the sinister Christian Nationalism movement and shines a light on its unholy plan to upend the constitution and impose Biblical law on all Americans.

RICHELIEU

Canada/France | 2023 | 89

After facing personal hardship, Ariane is hired as an interpreter for seasonal Latin American migrant workers. Despite her vow to stay emotionally distant, the workplace abuses she witnesses force her to decide how, and if, she should fight for justice.

ALL WE CARRY

USA/Mexico | 2024 | 88

In this heartfelt documentary, a young couple and their baby flee violence in Honduras only to find themselves caught in the complexweb of the United States’ draconian immigration system, before finding shelter in an unlikely place.

LIV ULLMANN: A ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Norway/UK | 2023 | 132

Not only one of cinema’s greatest actors and Ingmar Bergman’s muse, Liv Ullmann has been a prolific writer, director and world-traveling humanitarian. The self-effacing Norwegian icon opens up about her extraordinary life in this insightful, wide-ranging celebration.

DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY

USA | 2022 | 101

Join us for two encore screenings of PSIFF 2023's DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY in celebration of the film making the Oscar© Shortlist for Documentaries! There will be a post-screening Q&A with producer Susan Margolin and Michael Childers on January 7.

No Oscar®-winning film captured its tumultuous time as indelibly as 1969’s X-rated Midnight Cowboy. Rich with interviews and archival footage, this ambitious documentary chronicles not just its unlikely creation, but the cultural, sexual and political undercurrents that fueled John Schlesinger’s classic movie.

STUDIO ONE FOREVER

USA | 2023 | 96

At the center of Hollywood gay life in the 1970s, Studio One was an erotic, liberating mecca in an anything-goes era. This star-studded documentary takes us back to the wild disco nights, and bears witness to the devastating morning after.

FALLEN LEAVES

Finland/Germany | 2023 | 81

Precise and intelligent, this bittersweet romance between two Helsinki loners (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen, both irresistible) posits love as the means to transcend – or at least survive – the grim reality of living in a capitalist society.

MAD ABOUT THE BOY: THE NOËL COWARD STORY

United Kingdom/USA | 2023 | 91

Featuring a wealth of archival material and waspish witticisms, this fascinating portrait of a 20th-century great digs into the contradictions that marked the life of actor, singer, playwright, lyricist, style icon, closeted homosexual and British intelligence operative Noël Coward.

ROBOT DREAMS

Spain/France | 2023 | 103

Bored and craving company in 1980s New York City, Dog purchases a robot he can easily assemble. As their friendship blossoms, Dog and Robot soon learn that their seemingly inseparable companionship may not last forever.

OPPONENT

Sweden | 2023 | 118

In the aftermath of a devastating rumor, Iman and his family flee Iran, winding up as refugees in northern Sweden. To increase their chances of asylum, Iman breaks a promise to his wife and joins the local wrestling club.

LISTEN UP!

Norway | 2023 | 86

In this warm and lively family comedy exploring identity, gender and class, the Mahroofs are a Pakistani household living in East Oslo who don’t quite fit in, and whose lives are about to change when a family secret is revealed.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

France | 2023 | 130

In this surprising, expectation-defying and often humorous drama, a father (Romain Duris) and his teen son (Paul Kircher) contend with a cross-country move and an unexplained epidemic that causes people to mutate into animals.

ALL ILLUSIONS MUST BE BROKEN

USA | 2023 | 89

Philosophically deep and cinematically rich, this inventive meditation on the wisdom of Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker shoots off a flurry of provocative ideas, from the evils of utopian thinking to the joy of living a life of disillusion.

MRS

India | 2023 | 111

This Hindi remake of the highly popular The Great Indian Kitchen follows Richa, who as a newly married woman is expected to be relegated to the kitchen. Desperate for autonomy, Richa must find a way to fight for her own aspirations.

COMMON GROUND

USA | 2023 | 105

This alarming yet hopeful documentary explores sustainable farming and the power of “Regenerative Agriculture,” following a politically and culturally diverse group of farmers, ranchers, scientists and advocates as they work toward harvesting a more harmonious relationship with the environment.

SONGS OF EARTH

Norway | 2023 | 90

In this stunning work about the importance of being present in the world, filmmaker Margreth Olin’s 84-year-old father Jørgen guides us through Norway’s dizzyingly beautiful mountain landscapes to where his family has lived in nature for generations.

THIS WORLD IS NOT MY OWN

USA/Sweden | 2023 | 97

This playfully inventive, historically rich documentary illuminates the life of Southern-raised folk artist Nellie Mae Rowe, whose funky, magical creations were championed by a rich, eccentric Jewish gallerist who opened the world’s eyes to Rowe’s singular visions.

SWAN SONG

Canada | 2023 | 103

In this unforgettable glimpse into sacrifice and legacy, the renowned National Ballet of Canada’s rigorous 2022 production of Swan Lake caps the storied career of ballet legend Karen Kain.

UNICORNS

United Kingdom/USA/Sweden | 2023 | 119

In this powerful, lyrical story of serendipitous human connection, a queer South Asian nightclub performer crosses paths with a single working-class father, leading both down unexpected paths toward transformation, love and acceptance.

THE CONVERT

New Zealand/Australia | 2023 | 119

Set in New Zealand in the 1830s, this breathtaking revisionist Western stars Guy Pearce as a mysterious lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement, only to find himself at the center of a war between Maori tribes.

SUMMER QAMP

Canada | 2023 | 80

This warm, uplifting documentary takes us to Camp fYrefly, a haven for trans and queer kids who befriend each other and blossom in a bucolic summer setting, mercifully free of the bullies and homophobes who have tormented them.

SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD

Estonia/USA | 2023 | 89

A smoke sauna in southeast Estonia is both chamber and sanctuary for women who regularly gather to cleanse themselves and share their stories – intimate, funny, tragic – and imbue each other with the strength to re-enter the world outside.

THE TROUBLE WITH JESSICA

United Kingdom | 2023 | 89

Here’s a twisty, suspenseful black comedy of which even Hitchcock would have been proud, following a well-to-do couple on the brink of financial crisis who confront the moral dilemma of their lives after an uninvited guest does the unthinkable.

THE PERFORMANCE

USA | 2023 | 112

While on a European tour in 1937, American Jew and accomplished tap dancer Harold May (Jeremy Piven) is scouted by a German attaché (Robert Carlyle) to headline an exclusive performance in Berlin for a VIP guest: Adolf Hitler.

THE SWEET EAST

USA | 2023 | 104

After Lillian (Talia Ryder) separates from her classmates on a school trip, she embarks on a Kafkaesque journey across America’s East that quickly begins to resemble a modern-day Wonderland. Deliriously funny, dreamy and freewheeling, here’s a trip like no other.

CHUCK CHUCK BABY

United Kingdom | 2023 | 101

Helen’s humdrum world takes a surprisingly interesting romantic turn with the return of her charismatic childhood friend Joanne. Moving, funny and charming, this is the musical rom-com set in a Welsh chicken processing plant you never knew you needed.

IN OUR DAY

South Korea | 2023 | 83

In parallel conversations, a poet and an actress are visited by a younger generation of aspiring artists in director Hong Sang-soo’s latest modest, featherlight jaunt, rife with gentle wisdom, cigarettes and soju, and the air of spending an afternoon with friends.

EGOIST

Japan | 2022 | 120

In this hot and heartbreaking Japanese queer drama, a handsome fashion editor falls for his endearing but troubled personal trainer. This haunting, exquisitely made love story has been hailed for its moving mixture of eroticism and deep emotion.

MONSTER

Japan | 2023 | 126

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest is a Rashomon-like story of a mother who alleges that her son’s teacher has verbally and physically abused him. The scenario is approached from three perspectives, each complicating the previous, while unfolding deeper layers of humanity and hope.

DAY OFF

Taiwan | 2023 | 106

After 40 years on the job, a hairdresser takes a day off to visit an old client miles away. Though her children are against the road trip, nothing will stop a determined pro and the simple, timeless obligations of kindness.

IN THE REARVIEW

Poland/France/Ukraine | 2023 | 85

A Polish filmmaker takes his van and his camera into war-torn Ukraine to transport refugee families, who’ve left everything behind, to safety. This intimate and powerful film allows us to share their dangerous journey toward an unknown future.

SUMO DIDI

India | 2023 | 118

Based on the incredible life of Hetal Dave, India’s first and only professional sumo wrestler, this rousing biopic follows Dave as she sets out for Japan to endure rigorous training and discover a potential she never knew she had.

THE BOSTONIANS

USA | 1984 | 122

In this sapphic-tinged love triangle set in 19th-century Boston, the fiercely independent Olive (Vanessa Redgrave) becomes mentor to young orator Verena (Madeleine Potter), who soon attracts Olive’s conservative cousin Basil (Christopher Reeve).

TRAIN TO BUSAN

South Korea | 2016 | 118

While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.