Expat Cinema Rotterdam

"a restrained chamber thriller, merging socio-political inquiry with genre filmmaking to explore agency, entrapment, and power dynamics within the confines of an erotic call center in late-1990s Turkey." - Screen Anarchy

💐Premiered at Berlinale Film Festival 2025

► ABOUT THE FILM
Turkey, 1999. Under the pseudonym of Arzu, forty-year-old Sabiha works in a erotic call centre in Ankara. Call after call comes in. Then, suddenly, a terrible earthquake hits Istanbul. A teenage customer who spoke to her shortly before the disaster rings back. He is buried under rubble and begs her to save him. Sabiha can only think of one solution. She makes a phone call without realising that it will draw her into political issues beyond her control.
Reminder: film with a short introduction starts at 19.00 sharp!

"Cannes' hidden gem...poetic and claustrophobic" - The Hollywood Reporter

Rietland (Reedland) had its world premiere earlier this year at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 🤩 and is slated to be the closing film at the current Netherlands Film Festival.

► ABOUT THE FILM
🌾 When reed cutter Johan finds a girl’s lifeless body on his land, he is struck by a vague sense of guilt. While caring for his granddaughter, he searches for answers and tries to track down evil.

Reedland is the first feature film by Sven Bresser. In this drama, nature appears to dominate people’s lives. When cane cutter Johan (Gerrit Knobbe) finds a girl’s lifeless body on his land, he is struck by a vague sense of guilt. While caring for his granddaughter (Loïs Reinders), he searches for answers and tries to track down evil. Selected for La Semaine de la Critique, the Cannes section dedicated to new talent, where Reedland received praise from the international press.

Reminder: film with a short introduction starts at 19.00 sharp!

😂 A subtle, clever French comedy that was a favourite and winner of the Audience Award at the Alpe d'Huez Film Festival

► ABOUT THE FILM
Baptiste, a talented impressionist, struggles to break through. Until one day he’s approached by the famous writer Pierre Chozène.

Pierre is currently working on his latest masterpiece, but barely gets any writing done because he’s constantly interrupted by phone calls from his publisher, his daughter, his ex… Turning off his phone isn’t an option: just the thought of all the voicemails he’d have to listen to drives him mad. He proposes that Baptiste become his “answering machine” by mastering Pierre’s voice and impersonating him. Before long, Baptiste gets a taste for it and takes over not just Pierre’s phone, but his entire life.

Reminder: film with a short introduction starts at 19.00 sharp!

Inspired by real events and deeply rooted in a ruthless social context, Red Path by Tunisian writer and director Lotfi Achour is a dreamlike journey into the wounded psyche of a child and his incredible ability to overcome trauma. 🏆 Winner of the Audience Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

► ABOUT THE FILM
Mghila Mountain, Tunisia, November 2015. When jihadists attack two young shepherds, 13-year-old Achraf is forced to bring a gruesome message to the villagers. Traumatized and trying not to lose his mind, Achraf needs to stand strong, confronted with the helplessness of his elders, themselves abandoned by the authorities.

In the harsh landscape of Tunisian Mghila Mountain, a young boy’s life is forever altered by a brutal act of violence. Thirteen-year-old shepherd Achraf, who was innocently playing with his cousin Nizar in a forbidden area, is ambushed by a group of jihadists. Their play is violently shattered, and the attackers show no remorse. Achraf is sent home with a harrowing message: his cousin’s severed head in a bag.

Reminder: film with a short introduction starts at 19.00 sharp!