Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly insists on telling stories from his hometown Gaza sharing his own experiences and perspectives, not accepting the boundaries imposed by international politics and rigid bureaucracy. Stuck in the cold and dark arctic of Northern Norway, only able to connect to his family online, he manages to activate his own creativity and the support from his friends to keep up his motto LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

Andreas und Daniel teilen nicht nur eine lebenslange Freundschaft, sondern auch ihre Ausbildung zum Automechaniker in der pittoresken Garage von Herisau. Doch während Andreas in der Welt der Motoren aufblüht, fühlt sich Daniel in seiner Ausbildung gefangen. Sein wahrer Traum ist es, als Influencer die Welt zu erobern. Um spektakulären Content für seine Follower zu kreieren, lässt er sich von Andreas bei waghalsigen Stunts filmen.

Doch in ihrem Streben nach dem nächsten aufregenden Moment verlieren die beiden Freunde den Bezug zur Realität. Auf der Jagd nach dem ultimativen “Thrill” stürzen sie sich in gefährliche Situationen und verfallen immer mehr dem Sog von Drogen. Die Grenze zwischen ihrem eigenen Leben und den inszenierten Abenteuern verschwimmt zusehends.

Inmitten des Rauschs und der sich überschlagenden Ereignisse kommt es zu einem tragischen Zwischenfall, der nicht nur ihre Freundschaft auf die Probe stellt, sondern auch ihr gesamtes Leben auf den Kopf stellt. Während die beiden nach Antworten suchen, erkennen sie, dass ihre Suche nach Extremen nicht nur ihren emotionalen, sondern auch ihren physischen Zustand auf eine harte Probe gestellt hat. Eine Geschichte über Freundschaft, Selbstfindung und die gefährlichen Abgründe, die sich auftun, wenn man die Realität aus den Augen verliert.

1980, Abadan. The capital of the Iranian oil industry is resisting an Iraqi siege. Fourteen-year-old Omid has braved the siege and stayed in the city with his grandfather, waiting for his elder brother to return from the front line. Along with Omid, a gallery of unusual characters have all remained in the city for their own reasons, and each resists in his or her own way. But the noose is tightening as Omid tries to save his loved ones, by embarking them on an abandoned boat he finds in Abadan’s port, that will become his ark.

In a near future, the Japanese government programme “Plan 75” encourages older people to die voluntarily in order to combat the ageing of society. A senior citizen who can no longer live independently, a pragmatic “Plan 75” salesman and a young Filipino caregiver face a life-or-death decision.

Chie Hayakawa’s PLAN 75 is a wonderfully humanistic story that imaginatively uses Japan’s ageing crisis as a template for a dystopian narrative. But PLAN 75 is not all gloom. By following Michiko, Maria and Hiromu on their journey, director Hayakawa celebrates life and all its everyday, small pleasures. The centrepiece within this triptych of stories is Michiko, embodied by the formidable Chieko Baisho, an independent senior citizen who turns to “Plan 75” as her last option.

Jury Statement

Our big partner: GINMAKU FILM FESTIVAL ZURICH

There are jobs without which society would not function. Who are those caretakers, the people who keep everyday life going, who keep the homes clean, provide food, and make it possible for the rest of us to live and work comfortably even during a pandemic?

In Switzerland, there is a basic lack of social recognition for these frontliners. Before, many of them were largely invisible. That has changed. Society today is aware of the value of their work. But what has really changed? And how do these hard workers feel about the attention they suddenly got? Why do they stay in their jobs and what would they change?
The film gives a voice to those that usually remain silent and invisible: a single mother, a young nurse, a sales manager and mother of three, a politically active child care worker and a Portuguese immigrant working as restaurant manager. In a very fine and silent way, harsh realities are addressed and the big topics of these frontliners become close and clear.

Solothurner Filmtage