Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

MSPIFF returns April 2-13 to The Main Cinema and other venues around the Twin Cities. As the largest annual celebration of international cinema in the region, MSPIFF44 promises another exciting lineup of 200+ films from around the world, plus an exciting array of parties, panels, visiting filmmakers, and special guests.

Film Schedule

April 4, 2025

Andrea Gets a Divorce

Dir. Josef Hader

93 min

Andrea is a cop in rural Austria and she wants out of her empty marriage. At a raucous party, Andrea confronts her drunken husband, takes his car keys away and makes him walk home. However, walking home on a dark country road drunk also carries its own hazards. In an unlikely turn of events, Andrea unwittingly rids herself of her husband and gets stuck in a very complicated lie.

Time: 9:40 pm

Venue: The Main 2

Beloved Tropic

Dir. Ana Endara

108 min

Ana María is a pregnant home health aide and Colombian immigrant in Panama City, whose status is in limbo and who carries a secret. She becomes the caretaker for Mercedes, a wealthy and mercurial woman with encroaching dementia that sets off a delicate dance of isolation and dependance. But the two forge an unexpected bond in Ana Endara’s sensitive and atmospheric fiction debut.

Time: 11:15 am

Venue: The Main 4

Brooklyn, Minnesota

Dir. Jessica Blank, Erik Jensen

96 min

Filmmakers attending.

Teenage Maise is a punk-loving girl who takes after her late mother, Carolyn. She lives in Brooklyn with her artist-dad Kurt, where they’ve created a comforting life for themselves. But when Kurt’s father dies it’s a surprise to Maise, since he told her that his old man was already dead as a promise to Carolyn, who hated his abusive dad. With this news, the pair embark on a journey to rural Minnesota.

Time: 7:00 pm

Venue: The Main 2

By the Stream

Dir. Hong Sangsoo

111 min

The latest from prolific Korean director Hong Sangsoo, By the Stream sees Jeonim, an artist, and her uncle Chu, a film director, working together at a local university, confronting old memories and examining what it means to be truly human. Director Hong Sangsoo, whose charming films are MSPIFF favorites, creates another delightful comedy of manners.

Time: 11:10 am

Venue: The Main 5

Flicka

Dir. Brian Staufenbiel

74 min

Frederica von Stade and filmmakers attending.

Flicka is the inspiring documentary about the incredible career and post-retirement life of Frederica von Stade, one of our greatest opera singers. A remarkable mezzo-soprano, she forged a career as a freelance opera singer, who, after she left the stage, focused on bringing musical training to underprivileged students and even to the unhoused in her community.

Time: 11:30 am

Venue: The Main 1

Four Mothers

Dir. Darren Thornton

89 min

Edward, an Irish novelist who lives with his elderly mother, finally finds himself on the brink of literary success. With pressure to go on a US book tour mounting, the last thing he needs is his friends jetting off to Spain for an impromptu Pride holiday, leaving their mothers on his doorstep, so he must feed and care for four eccentric, combative, and wildly different ladies. An Irish twist on the 2008 Italian film Mid-August Lunch, this combination of uplifting comedy and tender drama takes an unlikely found family on a journey to embrace life. Variety reviewer Guy Lodge praised the “very warm, very sweet story,” calling it “a comedy with surprising reserves of wisdom and sadness and praising its perceptive grasp of queer identity.” Collectively, the mothers’ differing views on marriage, child-rearing and their sons’ queerness amount to a thoughtful snapshot of a country in generational transition, which will resonate with many. –AS

Time: 5:20 pm

Venue: The Main 1

Ghost Trail

Dir. Jonathan Millet

105 min

Powered by a pair of blazing performances, this tense, stirring, expertly judged thriller about Syrian exiles in France, including a secret group pursuing the Syrian regime’s fugitive leaders, is a work of visceral intensity and formidable control, pulling you into a tight grip and holding you there. Best of all are the two fascinatingly matched feats of acting at the movie’s center: the stealthy emotional wallop delivered by lead Adam Bessa (Extraction) and a spine-chilling supporting turn from Tawfeek Barhom (Cairo Conspiracy). Bessa has a soulful movie-star magnetism that he modulates flawlessly here. Director Millet knows how to crank up the tension, assisted by Yuksek’s churning electro-infused score and the deft layering of ambient campus noise — whispers in the hallway, chairs creaking, the shuffling of papers — with Hamid’s own throbbing heartbeat. A gripping manhunt movie that packs a stealthy wallop. –AS

Time: 9:40 pm

Venue: The Main 3

Grand Tour

Dir. Miguel Gomes

128 min

Edward is a British factotum in colonial Burma, who is on the run–not from the authorities, but from his fiancée, Molly! Terrified at the thought of marriage, he flees around the globe, with Molly in hot pursuit. Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes’ delightful Grand Tour is a dissection of character, colonialism and untenable personal pursuits.

Time: 1:30 pm

Venue: The Main 3

Happy Holidays

Dir. Scandar Copti

124 min

The lives of four people intersect in Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Scandar Copti’s kaleidoscopic film. Cast with non-actors, we see the relationships between Palestinians and Israelis, some intimate, some distant, collide in a country riven by conflict.

Time: 2:00 pm

Venue: The Main 5

I, The Song

Dir. Dechen Roder

112 min

Nima is a schoolteacher in rural Bhutan. When an inappropriate video surfaces that appears to include Nima, she is fired from her job and abandoned by her boyfriend. With nothing left to lose, she sets off on a journey to find her doppelganger, who has not only vanished but is somehow embodied in Nima herself.

Time: 4:15 pm

Venue: The Main 3

Lost Ladies

Dir. Kiran Rao

124 min

Set in 2001, this entertaining Hindi comedy of errors follows two young brides who wind up in the same Indian cross-country rail car, with their faces hidden behind identical red marital veils. When tired groom Deepak (Sparsh Shrivastava) accidentally grabs the wrong covered woman and gets off the train, he doesn’t even realize his mistake until he gets her home and finds Jaya (Pratibha Ranta) instead of his beloved Phool (Nitanshi Goel). Meanwhile, Phool finds herself at another train station, without any resources or even her parent-in-law’s address. Afraid to go to the police, she finds succor from an enterprising beggar boy and the brash woman (Chhaya Kadam) who operates the station tea stand. Although initially helpless, Phool soon learns that she is not without skills. Jaya, on the other hand, appears far more resourceful as she takes advantage of Deepak’s mistake to escape her arranged marriage to a true villain. –AS

Time: 3:15 pm

Venue: Edina Theatre

LUZ

Dir. Flora Lau

102 min

In Chongqing, Wei is estranged from his daughter Fa; in Paris, Sabine is the terminally ill stepmother of Ren. Neither relationship is healthy. These disparate stories come together in virtual reality, aided by a mystical deer, in Flora Lau’s mind-bending cinematic spectacle.

Time: 7:20 pm

Venue: The Main 5

The Property

Dir. Dana Modan

108 min

In this romantic dramedy, Regina (Rivka Michaeli) and her granddaughter Mika (Sharon Strimban) embark on a journey to Poland to reclaim their family property seized during World War II, but their quest quickly unravels. Regina unexpectedly decides to abandon the mission entirely, leaving Mika lost and confused. To complicate matters further, an irritating distant relative reappears at every turn. Just as Mika finds herself falling for a charming tour guide, Regina seizes the opportunity to pursue her own hidden agenda: finding her long-lost love, from whom she was separated seventy years ago. Based on the graphic novel by the director, Dana Modan’s sister, Rutu Modan, The Property was nominated for 4 Israeli Academy Awards. –AS

Time: 1:45 pm

Venue: The Main 4

Quisling: The Final Days

Dir. Erik Poppe

140 min

Both a bold historical drama and a penetrating psychological study of a delusional authoritarian, Quisling serves as a bookend to director Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice, about the first three days of Germany’s invasion of Norway in 1940. Quisling, set in 1945, revisits the period of Occupation and its aftermath through the story of Vidkun Quisling (Gard B. Eidsvold) the war-time puppet head of government and Nazi collaborator. In a fresh and provocative approach, Poppe and his screenwriters view the era through the lens of Quisling’s prison meetings with pastor Peder Olsen (Anders Danielsen Lie), whose mission from Oslo’s bishop is to lead Quisling toward contrition and absolution. With its terrifyingly topical look into the complicated mind of an autocratic leader, tour de force performances by the two leads along with a sterling supporting cast, striking cinematography and notable period production design, this is a gripping cinematic experience that should be seen on the big screen. –AS

Time: 4:30 pm

Venue: The Main 1

Regretfully at Dawn

Dir. Sivaroj Kongsakul

116 min

Yong is an ex-soldier raising his granddaughter Xiang in a bucolic Thai village. When a worldly young teacher sees potential in Xiang, Yong is forced to grapple with letting go and doing what’s best for Xiang.

Time: 4:40 pm

Venue: The Main 5

Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo

Dir. Khaled Mansour

102 min

An endearing, audience-friendly drama, Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo follows Hassan, a taciturn security guard whose best friend is the canine of the title. Life in the Cairo working-class neighborhood where Hassan, his mother and Mr. Rambo live takes an unexpected turn when their greedy landlord Karim demands an increase for their ramshackle apartment, hoping that he can evict them and expand his car repair business. As Hassan’s mother fights back through the courts, Karim turns his wrath on Hassan. When, to defend his owner, Mr. Rambo bites Karim in a sensitive place, the landlord declares a death warrant on the dog. In order to save his beloved pet Hassan is forced out of his comfort zone and into the nocturnal underbelly of his chaotic city. In the process, he confronts his fears and regains his self-respect. –AS

Time: 7:10 pm

Venue: The Main 4

The Shameless

Dir. Konstantin Bojanov

114 min

Renuka is on the run after killing an abusive policeman and seeks shelter at a rural brothel in the north. There she meets Devika, a 17-year-old devadasi, a low-caste Hindu woman which temples use as sex workers for upper-caste men. The two fall in love in Konstantin Bojanov’s queer thriller.

Time: 1:50 pm

Venue: The Main 1

Shorts: Back & Forward

84 min

My Brother’s Keeper 21 min

dir: Dominic Howes

Forever marked by the loss of his beloved older brother in Vietnam, a man embarks on a quixotic journey to find solace on the open road.

Love, Birds 27 min

dir: Angel Morris & Elliiott Kennerson

A breakthrough discovery of homosexuality in seagulls changes the field of science and the LGBTQ+ movement in America.

Chasing Time 40 min

dir: Sarah Keo & Jeff Orlowski-Yang

A follow up to the award-winning film Chasing Ice, photographer James Balog reflects on his years documenting glaciers around the world.

Time: 4:25 pm

Venue: The Main 2

Sister Midnight

Dir. Karan Kandhari

110 min

Uma is trapped in an arranged marriage in Mumbai. Bereft of virtually every skill a housewife is supposed to have, and with a milquetoast husband, Uma is slowly coming undone, and finally unleashes her pent-up anger, and boredom, to transform into a feral creature in Karan Kandhari’s visionary black comedy.

Time: 9:50 pm

Venue: The Main 3

Speak.

Dir. Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman

103 min

Special guest attending.

Speak. is a rousing documentary that follows five high school students from around the country, competing for the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) Original Oratory championship. Past competitors include Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt, and these young men and women are fighting for their own shot at glory. Featuring Apple Valley’s own Mfaz Mohamed Ali and Moorhead’s Sam Schaefer. Directors Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman follow these devoted teenagers as they battle for the top prize, and whose future as fighters for a better world seems all but assured.

Time: 7:00 pm

Venue: Edina Theatre

The Surfer

Dir. Lorcan Finnegan

99 min

In the psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan, a man (Nicolas Cage) returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.

Time: 10:00 pm

Venue: The Main 1

Viet and Nam

Dir. Truong Minh Quý

129 min

Vi?t and Nam are lovers, coal miners who steal brief moments of intimacy at work. But when Nam expresses his desire to seek a better life in another country and plans a dangerous escape in a shipping container, Vi?t is at a loss to what his future holds. Truong Minh Quý’s award-winning film was banned in Vietnam.

Time: 11:00 am

Venue: The Main 2

Village Rockstars 2

Dir. Rima Das

108 min

Dhunu is back and she’s still playing her guitar and dreaming of becoming a rock star. But Dhunu’s not 10 anymore–now 17, she’s discovering that adulthood has a way of pushing back, in Rima Das’ highly anticipated sequel to Village Rockstars, which was a festival favorite at MSPIFF 2018.

Time: 11:05 am

Venue: The Main 3

Wind – Surveying the Great Ocean of Air

Dir. Alexander Riedel

92 min

Director Alexander Riedel attending.

The documentary film Wind - Surveying the Great Ocean of Air explores the significance of wind over the course of six episodes. We travel with the wind and feel the expansive freedom it provides across the globe. We experience its powerful forces and its gentle hugging, its terrifying violence and its ability to move.

Time: 1:40 pm

Venue: The Main 2

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Date: April 2 - 13, 2025