Raindance is back! The UK’s leading independent film festival, Raindance, prides itself on discovering new talent and is described by its artistic directors Martuna Szmytkowska and Malaika Bova as the “leading UK platform for emerging filmmakers.” It returns in a new summer slot from June 19th to June 28th, 2024.
Tilman Singer’s anticipated thriller “Cuckoo,” starring Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer, will open the festival following its SXSW premiere. It’s about a 17-year-old who is forced to leave her home in America to live with her father and a new family in a resort in the German Alps. The screening will be followed by a Q&A from Tilman Singer. Rounding out the festival will be Luke Gilford’s “National Anthem,” the perfect film to celebrate Pride weekend in London, about queer rodeo performers in New Mexico.
“National Anthem” will premiere in competition, alongside a stacked slate of intriguing debut films, in fact, 90% of the festival is comprised of first efforts from newly discovered filmmakers! Hungary is making a splash this year with “Arni” and “Cat Call”, the former about a worker in a travelling circus from Dorka Vermes, and the latter from Rozalia Szeleczki about a woman who’s life is turned on its head when a talking cat begins courting her. “Falling Into Place” by Aylin Tezel is an arthouse romcom set over a brief winter weekend. “It’s Burning” by German Erol Afsin is about the fallout of a hate crime against an Arab family. “Satu – The Year of the Rabbit” by Josh Trigg is set in Laos as a coming-of-age film about an Orphan in search of his mother.
The French film “Sisterhood” by Nora el Hourch is about a group of teenage girls who cause a public outcry after posting a social media video. “Sleep” by South Korea’s Jason Yu is about a pregnant mother who must stop her husband’s sleep-walking habit. Both the films are also in the lineup. Finally, “The Heirloom,” both directed by and starring Ben Petrie in a story about a filmmaker inspired by his girlfriend’s decision to adopt a traumatized recuse Dog, and “The Quiet Maid,” a Spanish thriller from Miguel Faus about a maid looking for revenge against her difficult family, round out the impressive slate.
This competition lineup is accompanied by several other international titles, with a key focus on German cinema, given that they serve as this year’s Guest of Honour. A special shorts programme will be screened celebrating German filmmakers, with a retrospective of Michael Haneke’s Oscar-nominated, Palme d’Or-winning “The White Ribbon” being screened alongside a masterclass from actor Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest).
The nine short film programmes will be of particular interest, as the recipient of the Best Live Action Short, Best Animation Short, and Best Documentary Short awards will all be eligible for consideration at the Acadamy Awards without requiring the standard theatrical run. The winners of these will be decided by this year’s jury, with notable names including Rogue One’s Diego Luna, Daniel Green, the distribution operations director at MUBI, and Ivana Mackinnon, the producer for breakout hits “How to Have Sex” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Raindance Film Festival also brings us panels and masterclasses aimed at emerging filmmakers, and the Raindance Immersive programme, celebrates films, games, and music on the cutting edge of virtual reality technology. Raindance 2024 promises to be bigger and better than ever!
