The Tower of Crossed Destinies

From 22nd to 25th July, Fiona Lutjenhuis’ The Sisters will also be on show.

However, I’ve never been a fan of rules and doctrines and from those many lessons, where we were told to repent (and really, what do children know about sin and repentance?), I only retained the sense of wonder. What stayed with me wasn’t the religious guilt, but the sense of marvel that years later I would find in cinema: an altar of lights, catchy songs, divas instead of saints and the tension between what is seen and unseen, the magical, the supernatural and the material.

Every culture around the globe has stories of magical beings, fables, and legends that have travelled through centuries, adapting but never fading. These stories echo forgotten ways of seeing the world: forests as places of transformation, lost paths as metaphors of self-discovery, and flight as symbols of courage. Enchanted beings and scary creatures are reminders that there’s more beyond what meets our eyes, and that imagination has long been used as an act of survival, transformation, resistance and disobedience.

Spanning across decades and regions, the featured filmmakers, such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Juanita Onzaga, Vashti Harrison and Vojtěch Jasný, have been drawn to these traditions for different purposes – whether responding to social and political agitations of the time, reconnecting with their ancestors’ legends, or inventing new mythologies – but always bringing a new perspective to ancient stories.

To give a brief example of what to expect, for instance, in Field Notes by Vashti Harrison, the filmmaker explores Caribbean ghost stories and folktales as told by her family members. Structured as a field guide to the spirits and jumbies living in the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, the short film it’s a good example of how folk tales are passed down orally from generation to generation. Field Notes is part of the Return of the Spirits special, where stories are deeply connected to both people and the land, and where the natural and supernatural collide, inviting us to reconsider folk tale roles in today’s society.

At the same time you can expect to watch whimsical tales inspired by fairytales, such as The Cassandra Cat, a rediscovered Czech New Wave cult classic, as well as Strange Creatures by Cristina Rubio Sitja and Cristóbal León (half of The Wolf House’s directing duo León & Cociña) explores themes of solidarity and resistance, but more importantly both films are a gentle reminder of the interconnectedness between living beings, and of the incredible imagination and empathy of children – something we could learn from now and then. Revolving around the idea of children’s imagination is also Pan’s Labyrinth. Del Toro’s film presents itself as an adult fairytale, and showcases what happens when we lose the ability to imagine as we grow up.

Alongside the film screenings, on the first day of the programme, there will be a live storytelling performance by Guus Møystad, inviting us to step even deeper into our connection with the world of folktales, intuition, and imagination. As well as tarot reading sessions by Safa Mirror, in case you want to have a glimpse into your future, past and present. On the 25th of July, Amsterdam-based collective Maison Dante is going to surprise us with a culinary tribute to Duvidha, mirroring the film’s rich tapestry of themes and textures.

Folklore was born when humans had a deep connection with animals and nature. It was the art of the people before art was named. As we grow more and more disillusioned as a society, cynical, and losing hope because of the many tragedies and genocides unfolding before our eyes, and as we enter a new era of fascism, I believe that we have to do everything in our power to not let fear take hold in our hearts. Because that’s what they want: to make us feel small, scared and powerless. Instead, we must channel our imagination and the many ways we can go beyond the singular oppressive reality. I invite you to take a step back in order to move forward, and to see what generations before us imagined, created and resisted.

In the meantime, I leave you with this poem by Chandra Livia Candiani, from the book titled Sogni del fiume (Dreams of the River), a fairytale book for disillusioned adults, which one of my best friends recommended a few years ago. I leave it here as a reminder for the moments when you get lost in this scary and sometimes enchanted forest called life.

I hope to see you at the screenings, un abbraccio <3.

It is told that the River
while running towards the sea
tells itself some fairytales
to keep itself company
and to be less afraid
of the moment when
it’ll become immense

Si narra che il fiume
correndo verso il mare
racconti a se stesso delle fiabe
per farsi compagnia
e per avere meno paura
di quell’attimo in cui
diventerà immenso

© Chandra Candiani, Sogni del fiume, Einaudi Editore, 2022