THE COURIER

Other movies
GIRL
Director: Shu Qi
Superstar Shu Qi, icon of Asian cinema and muse of Hou Hsiao-hsien, makes her directorial debut with this self-penned, deeply personal coming-of-age drama. In a cramped home ruled by abuse, young teenager Lin Xiaoli keeps her head down, caring for her little sister while her father’s drunken rages cascade into her mother’s cruelty. Everything shifts when she befriends Li Lili, a rebellious classmate who skips class, smokes and urges Xiaoli to challenge the family’s toxic status quo. As escape glimmers, Shu Qi films with poised restraint, observing at a remove and tuning the viewer to intimate, everyday textures with a quietly harrowing strength. Tender yet unsentimental, Girl finds fragile beauty amid hurt and announces a formidable new directorial voice.
YUNAN
Director: Ameer Fakher Eldin
Haunted by a cryptic family parable, Munir (Georges Khabbaz) flees to a remote island to contemplate a drastic decision. Here he encounters the enigmatic Valeska and her rough, loyal son, Karl. With few words exchanged and quiet acts of kindness, suspicion dissolves, easing Munir’s burden and reigniting his desire to live. Much like the prophet Jonah, who was spit out by the sea and then returned to land, Munir finds himself a stranger in the world, struggling with alienation and aborted dreams. As his mother's memory fades, he also struggles to recall a story about a cursed shepherd his mother told him. A captivating visual fable, the film immerses us in Munir's consuming frustration. "This film contains scenes that may be considered sensitive for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised"
KWIBUKA, REMEMBER
Director: Jonas D'adesky
In Kwibuka, Remember, Jonas D’Adesky tells the story of Lia, a Belgian-Rwandan basketball player facing the twilight of her career. Twenty years after fleeing the genocide, she is asked to join the Rwandan national basketball team. This journey stirs buried memories of a painful past: exile, family silences and the pain of a fractured identity. Through her eyes, the film explores confrontation between memory and the present, and a nation scarred by tragedy with a contemporary Rwanda brimming with life and creativity. The strength of Kwibuka, Remember lies in the delicate handling of generational trauma while highlighting collective hope. Balancing intimacy and history, the film transcends personal drama to deliver a universal story of resilience.
NIGHTTIME SOUNDS
Director: Zhang Zhongchen
Nighttime Sounds blends social realism with surrealist poetry to explore the emotional landscapes of women in rural China: their buried desires and muted cries for freedom, love and recognition. Eight-year-old Qing lives with her mother, while her father works in a distant city. One morning, Qing encounters a ghostly child searching for their missing mother. Through dreamlike imagery and a haunting soundscape, director Zhang Zhongchen weaves a powerful tale of memory, longing and the silence passed from one generation of women to the next.