The Prefab People
TIFF.24
A man finally decides he's had it, and he's walking out on his wife. But this is not a story about a cruel man abandoning a woman.
Hungary - 1982
102 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
Schedule
Schedule
Friday 13.06
A Woman Heats the Sauna
TIFF.24
Preceded by the short film Sauna Day (dir. Anna Hints, Tushar Prakash)
Estonia - 1979
69 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Saturday 14.06
The Outsider
TIFF.24
In an industrial town in Hungary, András, a music-loving young nurse, is fired for alcoholism. It's another failure in his life. As he wanders through the city, András drifts through his relationships, both social and romantic.
Hungary - 1981
122 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
The Man from London
TIFF.24
After witnessing a crime during his night shift as railway switchman near the docks, a man finds a briefcase full of money. While he and his family step up their living standards, others start looking for the disappeared case. Based on the thriller novel of Georges Simenon!
Hungary, France, Germany, Italy - 2007
139 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
The Black Hole
Q&A with director Moonika Siimets
When the aliens land on Earth, they will change the lives of everyone they meet. Sirje and Maret, dreaming of finding work abroad, end up in an extraterrestrial science experiment. Jüri, still living with his mother, falls in love with his lustful neighbour, Gertrud.
Estonia, Finland - 2024
115 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Autumn Ball
Q&A with actor Rain Tolk
It’s autumn. We see a huge sprawling conurbation of tower blocks built in the Soviet era – the neighbourhood called Lasnamäe. Mati is a young writer who lives alone in a two-bedroom apartment after his wife left him for his friend.
Estonia - 2007
123 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Sunday 15.06
The Black Hole
Q&A with director Moonika Siimets
When the aliens land on Earth, they will change the lives of everyone they meet. Sirje and Maret, dreaming of finding work abroad, end up in an extraterrestrial science experiment. Jüri, still living with his mother, falls in love with his lustful neighbour, Gertrud.
Estonia, Finland - 2024
115 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Life & Love
Q&A with director Helen Takkin
In 1933, in times of hardship when nothing is certain and love only seems to exist in films, optimistic cinephile Irma believes in the possibility of true love. The country girl catches the eye of the lonely, handsome older publisher Rudolf, but he is surrounded by unsettling rumors.
Estonia - 2024
119 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Monday 16.06
Life & Love
Q&A with director Helen Takkin
In 1933, in times of hardship when nothing is certain and love only seems to exist in films, optimistic cinephile Irma believes in the possibility of true love. The country girl catches the eye of the lonely, handsome older publisher Rudolf, but he is surrounded by unsettling rumors.
Estonia - 2024
119 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Wednesday 18.06
A Woman Heats the Sauna
TIFF.24
Preceded by the short film Sauna Day (dir. Anna Hints, Tushar Prakash)
Estonia - 1979
69 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Family Nest
Q&A with director Bella Tarr
Irén lives with her daughter in a small apartment of her in-laws, in the center of Budapest. Her husband Laci just came back from his national service and his relationship with Irén is deteriorating.
Hungary - 1979
108 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
The Invisible Fight
Q&A with director Rainer Sarnet
USSR-China border, 1973. Rafael is in the army on guard duty when the border falls under attack from flying Chinese kung fu warriors.
Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Greece - 2024
115 minute
3 x 3
FOCUS Estonia
Thursday 19.06
Werkhmeister Harmonies
Q&A with director Bella Tarr
An innocent young man witnesses violence break out after an isolated village is inflamed by the arrival of a circus and its peculiar attractions: a giant whale and a mysterious man named “The Prince”.
Hungary, France, Germany, Italy - 2000
145 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
Smile at Last
Q&A with producer Monika Raide
16-year-old Mari, raised without a mother by a drunkard father, is put in an orphanage which she immediately, though unsuccessfully, tries to flee from. The sensitive Mari finds it hard to adapt to the coarse manners and brutal games amongst the children.
Estonia - 1985
86 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Alien 2 or the Return of Valdis in 17 Chapters
TIFF.24
Preceded by the short film Alien 2 or: Valdis' Escape in 11 Chapters (dir. Rasmus Merivoo )
Estonia - 2024
100 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Friday 20.06
The Turin Horse
Q&A with director Bella Tarr
In Turin in 1889, Friedrich Nietzsche is witness to a brutal scene: a hansom cab driver whipping his stubborn horse. Nietzsche throws his arms around the animal’s neck, sobbing.
Hungary, France, Germany, Switzerland, United States - 2011
155 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
Aurora
Q&A with directors Andres Maimik and Rain Tolk
Aurora, the daughter of a religious leader, travels with her husband Joonas to celebrate their wedding anniversary with her parents and the congregation.
Estonia - 2025
111 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Almanac of Fall
Q&A with director Bella Tarr
In a grim, claustrophobic apartment owned by a rich elderly woman, the inhabitants desperately try to relate to each other as they go about their bleak lives revealing their darkest secrets, fears, obsessions and hostilities.
Hungary - 1984
119 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
Alien 2 or the Return of Valdis in 17 Chapters
Q&A with director Rasmus Merivoo and producer Tonu Hiielaid
Preceded by the short film Alien 2 or: Valdis' Escape in 11 Chapters (dir. Rasmus Merivoo )
Estonia - 2024
100 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Saturday 21.06
Smile at Last
Q&A with producer Monika Raide
16-year-old Mari, raised without a mother by a drunkard father, is put in an orphanage which she immediately, though unsuccessfully, tries to flee from. The sensitive Mari finds it hard to adapt to the coarse manners and brutal games amongst the children.
Estonia - 1985
86 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Aurora
Q&A with directors Andres Maimik and Rain Tolk
Aurora, the daughter of a religious leader, travels with her husband Joonas to celebrate their wedding anniversary with her parents and the congregation.
Estonia - 2025
111 minute
FOCUS Estonia
Sunday 22.06
Damnation
TIFF.24
In a desolate landscape, Karrer lived for years cut off from the rest of the world, by passing his time to staring at dumpsters disappearing under an endless rain. His only social links are a pub, the Titanic, where he ran aground every night, and his boss, Willarsky.
Hungary - 1988
120 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr