Michaela Hošková

In a Lisbon techno club, Abdul, an immigrant worker on his very first shift, is on a video call with his wife Aliyah, who is going into labor and urging him to be present, while his new boss Maria desperately calls for his help. Caught between work’s demands and his son’s birth, Abdul grapples with the fear of losing his job and the challenge of becoming a father from afar, and fights with his strict father-in-law for his right to perform the sacred tradition of reciting the Adhan for his newborn son. The film Prayer, which explores the intersection of tradition, fatherhood, and the struggles of undocumented immigrant labor, is based on the autobiographical story of its screenwriter, Deo Mahameru. The project was created as a student film within the KinoEyes Joint European Film Masters at Lusofona University in Lisbon.

Elena, a social curator, is entering a new phase of her life as she approaches climacterium. As if it weren’t enough, Erik, a troubled teenager abandoned by his mother, who she mentors, misinterprets some of her gestures and initiates an unexpected sexual encounter in the office toilets. This moment throws them into existential crises, where they both find out their own inappropriate ways to cope. Will Elena pretend nothing happened, or will she finally face the world on her own terms?

Liina, a perfectionist clinging to control, hires an actor to play her father for a carefully staged family dinner meant to welcome her estranged daughter, Mari.

The psychological journey of Dalibor, a young Romani man from a dysfunctional family, is set against the backdrop of a Slovak slum. This gripping, immersive, and cinematic experience delves into the captivating life at the edge of society, unfolding a modern-day Oedipus story. With a stolen childhood, Dalibor yearns for a father figure in a world that brings a constant struggle for one‘s place. Fakir vividly explores the raw pain that arises from abuse and trauma. This pain resides both internally within the family‘s walls and externally, where the circus‘s agonizing nailbed becomes his haven.

Video footage shot by two sisters portrays their escape from the real world through their phone while living with their mother escaping the same world but with the help of alcohol. Their nice memories are interwoven with the struggles of the family.