Anything can happen behind the closed door of the women’s restroom. But if you thought that the toilet is a place where women do their make-up while engaging in friendly banter, Catcave Hysteria will disabuse you of that idea. Sure, once the door closes girls will engage in relaxed conversation, but it can take an unexpected turn at any time. Confiding in one’s sister leads to expressions of concern, while gossip has the power to hurt those not meant to hear it. Angelika Abramovitch’s vividly dynamic and playfully confrontational exploration of female relationships tears down the stereotyped image of women as the “fairer sex” who don’t know how to bare their claws.

Three generations of a seemingly ordinary family gather at the family home in southern Slovakia. The arrival of the granddaughter Zoja doesn’t cause any major issues, though perhaps just a little more alcohol is consumed, one more family secret is talked about, one minor tragedy occurs … Liquid Bread is a family portrait – and a portrait of a family portrait. Working with a playful curiosity, Slovak director Alica Bednáriková explores the possibilities of the film script, its (self-)reflection, and cinematic narrative as such, thus showing that a classical subject can be approached from a fresh angle and with a sense of humor.

As the rest of the world falls asleep, Eva stays awake. No matter how hard she tries, she just cannot close her eyes. In order to get at least a little bit closer to that elusive slumber, she spends her nights in other people’s houses, quietly watching their sleeping inhabitants. But people are slowly losing patience with her nighttime visits. If sleep allows us to take a break, to not be here, Lullaby’s tale of a seventeen-year-old girl shows how insomnia can make existence oppressive and tiring. Not only is Eva’s ever-growing sleep deprivation a source of fatigue, but it also causes her to view the world differently as its real contours are increasingly distorted. But herein lies the potential for seeing things from a different perspective.

It’s difficult to say what Wojtek struggles with more with in life: his obesity and the old car stuffed with fruits and vegetables that his mother uses to drive him to school every day, or the classmates who make fun of him because of it. And Wojtek’s mother, who operates a small grocery store, doesn’t seem to notice his troubles. Maybe it’s because she has enough to worry about trying to feed them both. Or perhaps she has no idea how to help her son. One day, all these problems escalate – but there's a surprising solution… A loving drama about an unusual mother-son relationship, about the importance of accepting oneself, and about new dress that can change a lot of things.

It’s been a few months since Leonora last heard from her ex-boyfriend, but she can’t get him out of her mind. Her ideas return like a boomerang; they call for action. If only he knew that the things she did in the past were because of her illness. If only he knew how far she has come thanks to therapy. How desperately she would like to look him in the eyes and explain it all. … Nicolai G. H. Johansen’s psychological drama takes us into the mind of an ill young woman who yearns for forgiveness but cannot distinguish between love and obsession. This view from her perspective is what makes If You Knew so important, for it approaches the issue of mental illness not from an observational or rational point of view, but from an emotional perspective.

One evening that means a lot for Max. It’s the first time he dares to go on a date arranged on the internet. The moment he gets into Tadas’s car, he embarks on a journey into the unknown. Max is nervous, and you can tell that he feels uncomfortable in this situation. The visibly more experienced and uninhibited Tadas tries to take the initiative, to dispel Max’s uncertainty, but the more he tries, the more Max shuts down. Something is clearly not alright… I Was Max is a sensitive exploration of the process of self-acceptance, of the moment when we have to stop hiding and to accept responsibility for who we truly are – and not to be ashamed of it. It is the moment when we fully become one with our own identity.

Like many others, Daniil has decided to leave his native Georgia and move to Prague in search of better pay. Originally a teacher, he finds a job with Ukrainian laborers controlled by a Russian boss called Sergei and thus becomes a cog in the machinery that takes advantage of the work of illegal immigrants. One day he is unexpectedly given a promotion, but this only increases his sense of desperation, caught in a situation that is difficult to escape from. He would like to return home, but the lack of freedom at work and a budding relationship with the nurse Julia make this step increasingly more complicated… Vinland looks at the lives of people whose labor we rely on but about whom we know so little because their identities disappear the moment they relinquish their passports to the mafia who are interested only in profit.

After Maxi wins an important music award, the pressure for her to release an album only increases. But pressure equals crisis, crisis equals self-doubt, and self-doubt does not make for a creative atmosphere. Maxi doesn’t know what to do. Her inner child is angry and resentful and her inner cop lowers her self-confidence, so she ends up feeling like a hamster on its little wheel – tired and useless. Brenda Lien’s graduation film is a playful, glitter-covered study of depression and burnout. She explores what it would be like if our inner child came to life and demanded the care and attention that we so rarely give it as adults.

Janika is in the advanced stages of pregnancy, but she is not resting. In fact, she uses her pregnancy to smuggle amphetamines from Tallinn to Helsinki, since pregnant women don’t have to go through customs. As her date approaches, and with a new job waiting, Janika is nevertheless determined to do one last deal. But soon she feels the first contractions, and so a race against the clock begins. An exciting drama, told with lightness and a sense of detachment even when the characters find themselves in difficult situations. The film’s situational humor and expressive acting give it a sense of immediacy.

Teenager Amelie is impatiently counting down to the end of the school year, perhaps more than at any time before. The class is going on a trip to Tenerife, and Amelie can finally pack a pair of jeans – after many years, she can finally throw off the orthopedic corset that has kept her from wearing this particular article of clothing. But a visit to the doctor brings unexpected news… Carmen Pedrero’s film shows Amelie as she is forced to accept her situation and ultimately herself as well. The director expresses her protagonist’s dreams, desires, and disappointments using a poetic language that enables her to capture the small but important steps on Amelie’s journey towards adulthood and inner balance.