Programmers' Picks: Stan Shields on SIFF 2025
DJ Ahmet
Georgi M. Unkovski’s debut feature is a charming coming-of-age story told with warmth, an infectious sense of humor, great ensemble acting performances—especially Arif Jakup as Ahmet—and an evocative, upbeat soundtrack.
Cloud
Prolific Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa returns in top form with an engrossing story of an amoral internet profiteer that subtly evolves into a broader satire of our current internet age, culminating in a simultaneously riveting—and slightly absurd—manhunt.
The New Year That Never Came
Bogdan Mureşanu’s robust, darkly funny debut feature cleverly expands his award-winning 2018 short The Christmas Gift, expertly incorporating it in as one of six intertwining stories that unfold over two wintry days in Bucharest on the eve of the Romanian revolution, culminating in a truly symphonic finale.
Salsa Lives
Weaving together a treasure trove of archival footage with iconic interviews and an irresistible soundtrack, director Juan Carvajal’s infectious documentary immerses you so deeply in Salsa music's rich history that you may be transformed into a salsera or salsero by the end.
Seeds
Shot in exquisite black and white over nine years, Brittany Shyne's lyrical, loving documentary immerses us in the daily lives and rhythms of multiple generations of a Georgia county’s Black farming families as they struggle to preserve their way of life.
Beginnings
Actors Trine Dyrholm and David Dencik deliver a masterclass on performance as they head up an amazing acting ensemble in Jeanette Nordahl’s moving story of a couple who finds hope where they least expect it.
Sorry, Baby
Understated yet extraordinary, Eva Victor’s wryly funny debut feature achieves a miraculous balance of humor, anger, and sadness as it explores the complex and delicate relationship between two friends as they navigate a complicated path toward recovery in the aftermath of an unexpected betrayal.
Souleymane’s Story
Boris Lojkine’s propulsive, visceral drama puts us squarely in the passenger seat as we accompany an undocumented delivery biker’s constant, unrelenting races across Paris to meet multiple deadlines while he simultaneously prepares for an immigration interview that could change his life.
Unclickable
A shocking, eye-opening exposé on the pervasiveness of online digital fraud and the complicity of major corporations in allowing it to thrive on the internet, unchecked.
ShortsFest
From ShortsFest Opening Night to Animation4Adults; from Medicine Circle to Sound Visions, this year’s diverse array of short film programs have something for everyone.
