15 years ago, while making a short film in Pristina, award‐winning Danish director Birgitte Stærmose met several local kids selling peanuts and cigarettes on the street. She kept in touch, and in 2017 returned to film a sequel with their help. The resulting hybrid feature focuses on Xhevahire, Gëzim, Shpresim, and Besnik (all credited as co‐creators) and is structured in three parts – the 1998‐99 war, the quartet’s struggles in the present, and their uncertain future. As these former street kids reflect on the war’s long‐term impact on their lives, audiences are left to consider the unavoidable truth: that today’s conflicts will doubtless trigger the same repercussions.

During a game of truth or dare, soft‐spoken Bosnian teen Iman confirms a rumour she slept with an older crush – even though it isn’t true. The seemingly harmless white lie soon snowballs into more compulsive fibbing, threatening Iman’s closest relationships and a buzzy upcoming excursion. Director Una Gunjak explores this hotbed of patriarchal double standards and peer pressure through a nuanced and empathetic female lens. Assisted by DOP Matthias Pilz’s crisp handheld cinematography, this carefully observed debut captures the vibrant intensity of being young, impulsive, and fumbling your way through life.

A committed feminist, Milo enthusiastically took part in the 2019 mass demonstrations in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad. In response, her ultra‐conservative family locked her up at home for a year and burnt her wardrobe and possessions. Now she sneaks out of the house in her brother’s clothes. Khalili risked his life filming the street battles; his devastating footage is featured in the film. Today, he struggles with the impact of activism on his health and wellbeing. Working closely with Swiss filmmaker Maja Tschumi, the pair collaborated on this unique, cinematic film based on their lives, laying bare memories as they expose their anguish and hope.

Iida is a woman hardened by decades of shame, carrying the weight of a life defined by prejudice because of her Sámi heritage. Confronted by the pain of her past, she sets out for Lapland alongside her niece, Sanna, to clear out their long‐held family home in preparation for its sale. Iida’s instinct is to burn anything and everything connected to her heritage. However, as she ruminates on her history, Iida finds herself facing a powerful reckoning – and the possibility of reclaiming an identity she had denied herself.

A father tenderly carries his young daughter through a darkened house and tucks her into bed. The sweet parental gesture soon morphs into confusion and terror when the girl wakes to discover that she and her three siblings have been mysteriously abandoned in the forest. The resourceful kids ration food and play hide‐and‐seek until they can find a way home – but when things start to go to bump in the night, the boundary between reality and the paranormal becomes blurred. Full of sly Lynchian imagery, Michèle Jacob’s debut feature is a suspenseful, visually inventive fairy‐tale full of sublimated trauma and simmering unease, bolstered by a remarkable quartet of child performances.

Loving Latvian couple Ernests and Alvīne discover they can take advantage of a lottery scheme to fulfill their lifelong dream of travelling to Rome. As they embark on their international holiday, it becomes clear that Alvīne's Alzheimer's disease is rapidly progressing – a reality that neither party is ready to face. Director Elza Gauja handles this heavy subject matter with a light touch, focusing on the conspiratorial banter and bickering of the central couple, whose relationship is defined by decades‐long devotion. Latvia and Rome are photographed with cosy warmth and vivid detail in this funny and tender drama.