Good cinema is here!

''The film-festival crowd is a completely different animal. These people seek out movies that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to see,” says Chris Gore, actor.

So true. With the screening schedule in hand and potpourri of films to pick, it is a Sisyphean task. For, in seven days and five screenings per day, film buffs must sift through best movies from 35 films.
To make the task easy, ‘Metrolife’ whips up a wishlist. Of course, choices are subjective. But then, it’s better to be informed than not at all. Without much ado, here is the scroll of films. Of course, as former US Vice-President Alben W Barkley said “the best audience is intelligent, well-educated,” and Austrian-American screenwriter Billy Wilder added “an audience is never wrong.” 
Here’s the bucket list. Top is the Russian film ‘Test’ by Aleksandr Kott. A sheer beauty. Next is the Chilean gem ‘Illiterate’ by Moises Sepulveda and the German film ‘Stations of the Cross’.

The lustrous Latin American line-up comprises Cuban ‘Behavior’ by Belen Macias, Venezuelan ‘The Longest Distance’ by Claudia Pinto, Argentinian ‘Refugiado’ by Diego Lerman, Matias Luccesi’s ‘Natural Sciences’, Mexican Aaron Fernandez’s ‘The Empty Hours’, Belen Macias’ Spanish ‘Marseille’, and Venezuelan Mariano Randon’s ‘Bad Hair’. Each, a rare cinematic marvel. 
The Turkish treatful quartet includes Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s epic ‘Winter Sleep’,
‘Koltuk’ by Meltem Parlak, ‘Taste of Poetry’ by Savas Baykal, and Milan Cieslar’s heart-wrencher ‘Mrs Nergis’.  
For sheer drama, watch Emma Dante’s Italian film ‘A Street in Palermo’, Serbian sparkler Dark Lungulov’s ‘Monument to Michael Jackson’, Slovakian Milan Cieslar’s captivating ‘Colette’, Swiss stealer Peter Luisi’s ‘Unlikely Heroes’, French offering Serge Frydman’s taut thriller ‘Now or Never’, Solveig Anspach’s comical ‘Lulu in the Nude’, Michel Hazanavicius’ sizzler ‘The Search’ and Martin Provost’s gusty ‘Violette’. 

The Iranian ensemble includes Parviz Shahbazi’s ‘Trapped’, Nima Javidi’s ‘Melbourne’, Nasser Zamiri’s ‘Ba Digaran’ and Rakshan Bani-Etemad’s ‘Tales’. Germany’s adorable ‘Ms Sixty’ by Sigrid Hoerner, Christian Schwochow’s ‘West’, Kazakhstan’s visual delight ‘The Owners’ by Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Russian Yuri Bykov’s ‘The Fool’, Chinese legend Zhang Yimou’s tearful ‘Coming Home’, Bulgarian-Greece introspective ‘The Lesson’ by Kristinagrozeva & Petar Valchanov, Poland’s black and white ‘Ida’ by Pawel Pawlikowsk, Philip Noyce’s rivetting ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ and South Korean film ‘Silenced’ are part of the festival. 
As Canadian actor-director Keanu Reeves says, the whole aspect of cinema and film festivals (is) a moment to come together to celebrate art and humanity. So, let’s toast to cinema and let the show begin. Prosit!