September

Taciturn thirtysomething Anna lives in a small flat with her dog Manu, who means everything to her. After a distressing incident which disrupts her carefully guarded, secluded life, the solitary woman attaches herself to Sofia and her family, a happily married woman and mother of two children. Anna’s attempts to communicate her pain and loneliness gradually grow into the obsession of an individual persistently demanding love and acceptance. Penny Panayotopoulou, a writer-director noteworthy for combining exceptional sensitivity with the masterful execution of all filmmaking elements, distances herself from words in her latest film, focusing instead on intense visual portrayal. She avoids dramatic accents in the traditional sense, with everything fundamental taking place as if off-camera. And if not for the excellent performances by Kora Karvouni and Maria Skoula, the viewer wouldn’t feel the powerful inner tension. After an absence of ten years, this vivid variation on the theme of solitude and the fragility of human relationships heralds the return to Karlovy Vary of the renowned Greek creator of Hard Goodbyes: My Father. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)