18. If! Istanbul Bagimsiz Filmler Festivali 2019
by matthias-kyska | created - 24 Aug 2019 | updated - 29 Aug 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Being Impossible (2018)
TV-MA | 97 min | Drama
A young woman discovers she was submitted to several surgeries to correct her intersexual body as a baby. She has to find her own self outside gender binaries.
Director: Patricia Ortega | Stars: Lucía Bedoya, Belkis Avilladares, María Elena Duque, Adyane Gonzalez
Votes: 167
2. Gay Chorus Deep South (2019)
TV-14 | 100 min | Documentary, Music
In response to a wave of discriminatory anti-LGBTQ laws and the divisive 2016 election, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus embarks on a tour of the American Deep South.
Director: David Charles Rodrigues | Stars: Tim Seelig, Chris Verdugo, Ashle Blow, Jimmy White
Votes: 274
3. The Dead Don't Die (2019)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Tom Waits
Votes: 85,381 | Gross: $6.56M
4. I Lost My Body (2019)
16+ | 81 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.
Director: Jérémy Clapin | Stars: Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick d'Assumçao, Alfonso Arfi
Votes: 36,603
5. To Live to Sing (2019)
105 min | Drama
A Sichuan Opera troupe are faced with the demolition of their theater and dissolution.
Director: Johnny Ma | Stars: Xiaoli Zhao, Guidan Gan, Xihu Yan, Huanghe Yan
Votes: 198
6. Too Late to Die Young (2018)
110 min | Drama
During the summer of 1990 in Chile, people begin to feel a growing sense of freedom and three teenagers face their first loves and fears.
Director: Dominga Sotomayor | Stars: Demian Hernández, Antar Machado, Magdalena Tótoro, Matías Oviedo
Votes: 1,402 | Gross: $0.01M
7. End of the Century (2019)
Unrated | 84 min | Drama
Two men meet in Barcelona and after spending a day together they realize that they have already met twenty years ago.
Director: Lucio Castro | Stars: Juan Barberini, Ramon Pujol, Mía Maestro, Mariano Lopez Seoane
Votes: 3,942 | Gross: $0.03M
8. Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life (2018)
100 min | Documentary, Biography
Jonathan Agassi is one of the world's most successful gay porn stars. This is a rare and intimate look at the world of porn and escorting, as well as on a unique relationship between a mother and son.
Director: Tomer Heymann | Stars: Jonathan Agassi, Michael Lucas
Votes: 461
9. Beanpole (2019)
Unrated | 130 min | Drama, War
1945, Leningrad. WWII has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.
Director: Kantemir Balagov | Stars: Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina, Andrey Bykov, Igor Shirokov
Votes: 12,251
10. This Is Not Berlin (2019)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
In the 1980s, an outsider gets invited to a mythical nightclub where he's unleashed to punk, sexual liberty and drugs.
Director: Hari Sama | Stars: Lumi Cavazos, Marina de Tavira, Ximena Romo, Dalia Xiuhcoatl
Votes: 1,430
11. Lara (2019)
98 min | Drama, Music
It's Lara's 60th birthday, and this very evening, her son will be giving his debut piano concert. Lara mapped out his musical career. But Lara is not welcome at his debut performance. Even if Lara engages, everything gets out of control.
Director: Jan-Ole Gerster | Stars: Corinna Harfouch, Johann von Bülow, Alexander Khuon, André Jung
Votes: 2,599
12. Les Misérables (2019)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A cop from the provinces moves to Paris to join the Anti-Crime Brigade of Montfermeil, discovering an underworld where the tensions between the different groups mark the rhythm.
Director: Ladj Ly | Stars: Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djebril Zonga, Issa Perica
Votes: 28,286 | Gross: $0.33M
13. Our Time (2018)
Not Rated | 177 min | Drama
A family lives in the Mexican countryside raising fighting bulls. Esther is in charge of running the ranch, while her husband Juan, a world-renowned poet, raises and selects the beasts. ... See full summary »
Director: Carlos Reygadas | Stars: Natalia López, Phil Burgers, Carlos Reygadas, Yago Martínez
Votes: 2,051 | Gross: $0.01M
14. About Endlessness (2019)
78 min | Drama, Fantasy
Roy Andersson adds to his cinematic oeuvre with a reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendour and banality.
Director: Roy Andersson | Stars: Jessica Louthander, Tatiana Delaunay, Anders Hellström, Bertil J. Nyberg
Votes: 7,765
15. The Death of Dick Long (2019)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Dick died last night, and Zeke and Earl don't want anybody finding out how. That's too bad though, cause news travels fast in small-town Alabama.
Director: Daniel Scheinert | Stars: Michael Abbott Jr., Virginia Newcomb, Andre Hyland, Sarah Baker
Votes: 7,339
16. The Souvenir (2019)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
A young film student in the early '80s becomes romantically involved with a complicated and untrustworthy man.
Director: Joanna Hogg | Stars: Neil Young, Tosin Cole, Jack McMullen, Frankie Wilson
Votes: 14,486 | Gross: $1.04M
17. The Unknown Saint (2019)
100 min | Comedy, Crime
A criminal returns to the fake grave where he buried his loot years before and discovers that it has become the shrine of an unknown saint and a thriving little village.
Director: Alaa Eddine Aljem | Stars: Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, Bouchaib Semmak, Mohammed Nouaimane
Votes: 1,575
18. Forman vs. Forman (2019)
77 min | Documentary
A look at the life and work of director Milos Forman, from the Czech New Wave to Hollywood.
Directors: Jakub Hejna, Helena Trestíková | Stars: Milos Forman, Miroslav Ondrícek
Votes: 284
19. Loving Vincent: The Impossible Dream (2019 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary, History
The journey of two passionate filmmakers to achieve their impossible dream: creating the world's first fully painted feature film.
Director: Miki Wecel | Stars: Bartosz Armusiewicz, Sean M. Bobbitt, Douglas Booth, Piotr Dominiak
Votes: 323
20. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
Unrated | 94 min | Documentary
An exploration of the history and emotional power of cinema sound, as revealed by legendary sound designers and visionary directors, via interviews, clips from movies, and a look at their actual process of creation and discovery.
Director: Midge Costin | Stars: Gary Rydstrom, Steven Spielberg, Teresa Eckton, Thomas A. Edison
Votes: 2,239
21. Mystify: Michael Hutchence (2019)
102 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A documentary feature about the troubled heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, lead singer and songwriter of INXS.
Director: Richard Lowenstein | Stars: Michael Hutchence, Dennis Farriss, INXS, Andrew Farriss
Votes: 2,674
22. System K (2019)
94 min | Documentary
In the urban jungle of Kinshasa, amid social and political chaos, an eclectic and bubbling street art scene is emerging.
Director: Renaud Barret | Stars: Béni Baras, Géraldine Tobe, Freddy Tsimba
Votes: 111
23. The Sound Is Innocent (2019)
68 min | Documentary, Music
Electronic music is a playground. And your toy can be an instrument, a machine, an object.
Director: Johana Ozvold | Stars: Steve Goodman, John Richards, François Bonnet, Hannes Hoelzl
Votes: 26
24. Varda by Agnès (2019)
Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary, Biography
Agnès Varda, photographer, installation artist and pioneer of the Nouvelle Vague, is an institution of French cinema. Taking a seat on a theatre stage, she uses photos and film excerpts to provide an insight into her unorthodox oeuvre.
Stars: Agnès Varda, Sandrine Bonnaire, Hervé Chandès, Nurith Aviv
Votes: 2,550
25. Amina (2019)
70 min | Documentary
Amina, an African immigrant woman living in Turkey, tries to hold on to life through her dreams against the challenges of life.
Director: Kivilcim Akay | Star: Aminata Fall
Votes: 118
26. Kadin Olmanin Gunahi/The Sin of Being a Woman (2018)
60 min | Documentary
The Sin of Being a Woman is the story of an indomitable woman who fought a relentless and uphill battle against prejudice, convention and authority at a difficult time in a difficult part of the world.
Director: Umran Safter | Star: Aysel Yildirim
Votes: 77
27. The Disappearance of My Mother (2019)
94 min | Documentary
A once-iconic fashion model strives to escape the world of images and disappear for good, but her son's determination to make a final film about her sparks an unexpected collaboration and confrontation with the camera's gaze.
Director: Beniamino Barrese | Stars: Benedetta Barzini, Beniamino Barrese, Lauren Hutton, Stephanie DeBaillew
Votes: 412
28. One Child Nation (2019)
R | 83 min | Documentary, History
After becoming a mother, a filmmaker uncovers the untold history of China's one-child policy and the generations of parents and children forever shaped by this social experiment.
Directors: Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang | Stars: Nanfu Wang, Zaodi Wang, Zhimei Wang, Tunde Wang
Votes: 7,199 | Gross: $0.18M
29. The Final Hour (2019)
88 min | Documentary | Completed
Faced with the imminent extinction of her ancestral language, a young woman embarks on a voyage across Europe, to discover her origins and her (dying) culture.
Director: Caglar Malli | Stars: Can Evrensel, Deniz Bensusan, Arturo Ruiz Taboada, Alicia Córdoba
Votes: 15
30. The Swing (2018)
74 min | Documentary, Drama, Family
An assured, emotionally rich film about the lies a family tells to keep their patriarch happy; and the unattended costs of their falsehood. After sixty years of marriage, Antoine and Vivi ... See full summary »
Director: Cyril Aris | Stars: Antoine Aris, Marie-Therese Aris, Toufic Aris, Viviane Aris
Votes: 39
31. Demons (II) (2018)
84 min | Comedy, Horror
A young actress struggles to come to terms with the price she has to pay for making art.
Director: Daniel Hui | Stars: Vicki Yang, Glen Goei, Vikneshwaran Kobinathan, Eshley Gao
Votes: 76
32. Down the River (2018)
98 min | Adventure, Drama
An estranged father and son takes a wild trip. The journey turns into an adventure during which they both have to deal with their and each other's past and present.
Director: Rick Ostermann | Stars: Louis Hofmann, Oliver Masucci
Votes: 57
33. M (III) (2018)
90 min | Mystery
M is a work of art that explores the relationship between sexuality and death. These two appear to be opposite forces, but in fact they merge in all of us, disguising the fear of death or ... See full synopsis »
Director: Anna Eriksson | Stars: Veera Sivonen, Joni Segerroos, Dulce Rodriguez-Saldivar, Melanie Rodriguez-Saldivar
Votes: 236
34. Føniks (2018)
85 min | Drama
From a young age, Jill has acted as the responsible adult in her small family. She cares for her loving but mentally unstable mother and her younger brother. The news that their estranged ... See full summary »
Director: Camilla Strøm Henriksen | Stars: Ylva Bjørkaas Thedin, Maria Bonnevie, Sverrir Gudnason, Casper Falck-Løvås
Votes: 303
35. Giant Little Ones (2018)
R | 93 min | Drama
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
Director: Keith Behrman | Stars: Josh Wiggins, Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Maria Bello
Votes: 9,770 | Gross: $0.18M
36. Old Boys (2018)
96 min | Comedy
In the school-set re-working of Cyrano, an awkward but imaginative pupil helps the handsome but spectacularly dim school-hero pursue the fiery daughter of a visiting French teacher.
Director: Toby MacDonald | Stars: Alex Lawther, Jonah Hauer-King, Pauline Etienne, Denis Ménochet
Votes: 1,416
37. Pour vivre heureux (2018)
88 min | Drama, Romance
-Brussels, 2018. Amel and Mashir, 17 and 22 years old, live a secret love story which, under the weight of family traditions, threatens brutally to collapse. Without breaking the balance of... See full summary »
Directors: Salima Glamine, Dimitri Linder | Stars: Sofia Lesaffre, Christopher Zeerak, Atiya Rashid, Arsha Iqbal
Votes: 73
38. Psychobitch (2019)
109 min | Drama
Generation Achievement meets impossible love. Frida is different; Marius, on the other hand, is the most popular boy in class. When they must work together at school, a turbulent and challenging relationship commences.
Director: Martin Lund | Stars: Jonas Tidemann, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne, Saara Sipila-Kristoffersen, Bethina Nærby
Votes: 1,234
39. Koko-di Koko-da (2019)
89 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
As a couple goes on a trip to find their way back to each other, a sideshow artist and his shady entourage emerge from the woods, terrorizing them, luring them deeper into a maelstrom of psychological terror and humiliating slapstick.
Director: Johannes Nyholm | Stars: Leif Edlund, Ylva Gallon, Katarina Jacobson, Peter Belli
Votes: 2,804
40. Luz (II) (2018)
70 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Luz, a young cabdriver, drags herself into the brightly lit entrance of a run-down police station. A demonic entity follows her, determined to finally be close to the woman it loves.
Director: Tilman Singer | Stars: Luana Velis, Johannes Benecke, Jan Bluthardt, Lilli Lorenz
Votes: 2,845
41. The Nightshifter (2018)
Not Rated | 110 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Stênio, the nightshifter of a morgue, has the ability to communicate with the cadavers that are brought to him every night.
Director: Dennison Ramalho | Stars: Daniel de Oliveira, Fabiula Nascimento, Bianca Comparato, Marcos Kligman
Votes: 2,546
42. Song Without a Name (2019)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama
Georgina's newborn daughter is stolen at a fake health clinic. Her desperate search for the child leads her to the headquarters of a major newspaper, where she meets a lonely journalist who takes on the investigation.
Director: Melina León | Stars: Pamela Mendoza, Tommy Párraga, Lucio Rojas, Ruth Armas
Votes: 1,150
43. Chained for Life (2018)
91 min | Drama
A beautiful actress struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur's English-language debut.
Director: Aaron Schimberg | Stars: Jess Weixler, Adam Pearson, Stephen Plunkett, Charlie Korsmo
Votes: 899
44. End of Season (2019)
92 min | Drama
A troubled family spends some time at the beach before their formation changes forever.
Director: Elmar Imanov | Stars: Kamala Israfilova, Rasim Jafarov, Mir-Movsum Mirzazade, Zulfiyye Qurbanova
Votes: 59
45. Fugue (2018)
102 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a two-year disappearance, free-spirited Alicja is reunited with her parents, husband and young son despite having no memory of them. A dizzying psychological puzzle. Mesmerizing from the jaw-dropping first frame to the last.
Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska | Stars: Gabriela Muskala, Lukasz Simlat, Malgorzata Buczkowska, Piotr Skiba
Votes: 1,159
46. The Gasoline Thieves (2019)
TV-MA | 93 min | Drama, Thriller
An innocent crush propels fourteen year old Lalo's descent into the criminal underworld of illegal gasoline extraction. What begins as a fast track for the latest smartphone quickly veers into a deadly fight for his life.
Director: Edgar Nito | Stars: Eduardo Banda, Regina Reynoso, Fernando Becerril, Leonardo Alonso
Votes: 312
47. In Search of Echo (2019)
Drama
An actor in the twilight of his career returns, with his wife, to the small island where they first met. Will this journey be home to a new chapter in his life?
Director: Chi Zhang
Votes: 33
48. Nocturne (I) (2019)
80 min | Drama
On the very eve of shooting his debut film, a harried young director struggles to balance fiction and reality as he spends one fever dream of a night searching for the inspiration that eludes him.
Director: Viktor van der Valk | Stars: Vincent van der Valk, Reinout Scholten van Aschat, Simone van Bennekom, Tom Dewispelaere
Votes: 182
49. Pause (2018)
96 min | Drama
Trapped in the misery of an oppressive marriage, a middle-aged woman finds refuge in a fantasy world of vindictive violence. Soon, reality and fantasy start to blur.
Director: Tonia Mishiali | Stars: Stella Fyrogeni, Andreas Vasileiou, Popi Avraam, Marios Ioannou
Votes: 761
50. A Shelter Among the Clouds (2018)
85 min | Drama, Romance
Besnik is a lonely shepherd and devoted Muslim, haunted by unfulfilled love. He is the son of a Catholic mother and formerly Communist father whom he takes care of in an Albanian village in... See full summary »
Director: Robert Budina | Stars: Osman Ahmeti, Arben Bajraktaraj, Suela Bako, Helga Boshnjaku
Votes: 142
51. Tehran: City of Love (2018)
102 min | Drama
Three disenchanted characters: an ex-champion bodybuilder, an overweight beauty clinic secretary and a dispirited religious singer, yearn for love and connection in Tehran.
Director: Ali Jaberansari | Stars: Forough Ghajabagli, Mehdi Saki, Amir Hessam Bakhtiari, Behnaz Jafari
Votes: 542
52. The Last Tree (2019)
98 min | Drama
After a happy childhood in the countryside, a teenager moves to London, where he must navigate an unfamiliar environment on his road to adulthood.
Director: Shola Amoo | Stars: Nicholas Pinnock, Denise Black, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Samuel Adewunmi
Votes: 1,248
53. Kader Postasi (2019)
104 min | Drama, Romance
The separation from her first love makes Zeynep into a lonesome woman; trying to find her lost love in letters she writes to prison inmates, she is led to one sentenced to life in prison.
Directors: Çigdem Bozali, Elif Akarsu Polat | Stars: Boncuk Yilmaz, Benian Dönmez, Sahin Ergüney, Rana Kayaçan
Votes: 123
54. Görülmüstür (2019)
96 min | Drama
In the heart of Istanbul's prison, Zakir controls the letters prisoners receive. His average day is spent between the censorship office, his colleagues and his evening writing class. For a ... See full summary »
Director: Serhat Karaaslan | Stars: Berkay Ates, Saadet Aksoy, Ipek Türktan, Füsun Demirel
Votes: 1,227
55. Güvercin Hirsizlari (2018)
82 min | Drama
A rogue teenager who is a pigeon thief aids an 8-year-old child who is trying to complete the house foundation from his father by doing the job he knows best.
Director: Osman Nail Dogan | Stars: Seyit Nizam Yilmaz, Mert Bugra Tataroglu, Kutay Sandikçi, Gökhan Yikilkan
Votes: 201
56. Girl with No Mouth (2019)
97 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In a war-torn post-apocalyptic region, a bunch of kids, who suffer from deformed limbs due to a toxic explosion, embark on an adventure.
Director: Can Evrenol | Stars: Denizhan Akbaba, Elif Sevinç, Özgür Civelek, Kaan Alp Dayi
Votes: 433
57. Saf (2018)
102 min | Drama
The Fikirtepe district of Istanbul. Urban transformation is sweeping away the poor communities and Syrian refugees take shelter in deserted buildings. Kamil and his wife Remziye risk losing... See full summary »
Director: Ali Vatansever | Stars: Erol Afsin, Saadet Aksoy, Onur Buldu, Nazli Cetinel
Votes: 525
58. The Element of Crime (2019)
81 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
The subject of the film drawn inspiration from a true story: two young men living in a house examines the life and system in Turkey with an early morning police raid on waking.
Director: Süleyman Arda Eminçe | Stars: Burak Sarimola, Bülent Çolak, Enis Aybar, Altug Elveris
Votes: 297
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