In their filigree drawings populated by hybrid creatures, Polish twin sisters Alicja und Bożena Wahl didn’t just explore themselves, but also the close relationship they shared. Helena Stańczyk’s animated film brings these drawings to life and supplements them with collages and texts taken from Alicja’s diary entries from the 60s and 70s. At times directly addressing her sister Bożena, Alicja’s voice gives an account of surreal dreams and events involving her daughters while reflecting upon memories. Shot through with different physical and mental motifs, “I’m Painting a Self-Portrait, but All I See Is My Sister’s Face” is a film teeming with different elements, abruptly propelling the viewer into a place of artistic symbiosis and female self-discovery. A tribute to two women who left their mark on the Warsaw art scene and have received increasing international attention posthumously too.

Carolin Weidner

“I remember everything”, says Mohammed Imrani, who is hardly seen in Florinda Ciucio’s short film. But we hear him. And we follow Imrani’s hand, which draws a version of a Gaza in full knowledge of the fact that it only still exists in his memory. Ciucio’s setting is pared down to the greatest possible degree: a light pad, a few sheets of white paper, a pencil. Streets and buildings start to appear already, the famous “Al-Baqa” bar, where Imrani kissed his girlfriend for the first time and where drinks made from mangos and strawberries are served alongside coffee. There is the sea and the statue of a phoenix, which means a lot to the people of Gaza because “it doesn’t die”. Imrani’s sketches are at once detailed and abstract. In quick, tender movements, his drawings open up a space that doesn’t just come across as a personal portal but also as an invitation to us: to not forget.

Carolin Weidner

Wugoushui, a Hakka village in southern Taiwan, is slowly losing its traditional way of life as younger generations leave. Its huofang compounds, once shared by generations of one family, grow quiet. Between waiting for children and grandchildren to fill the house and the moments of their departure, eighty-year-old Alan tends her garden, processes the harvest and shares the small chores of daily life with her lifelong friend A-Mei. Here, life has another pace, embraced with grace and quiet acceptance.

Anca Păunescu