Zizotek

After his compelling drama Black Field (2010), Greek director Vardis Marinakis returns to Karlovy Vary with his sophomore effort about nine-year-old Jason, whose mother abandons him at a folk festival. The unusually independent boy takes refuge in a cabin in the middle of the forest belonging to a mute loner named Minas. Although at first the man, who has a questionable profession, won't take him in, a series of circumstances eventually leads them to form a family - something both of them have lacked for a long time. This touching tale of mutual harmony and the yearning for intimacy captivates audiences with its dreamlike atmosphere, subtle emotions, and poetic depiction of nature as a refuge for those rejected by the people around them. —Natalia Neudacina (KVIFF)