THE DAUGHTER / DOTCH Directed by: Alexander Kasatkin, Natalya Nazarova, Russia 2012, 110 min. A mysterious series of murders targeting young girls keeps a Russian small town on tenterhooks. The parish priest knows who is the murderer and is torn in a moral conflict between seal of the confessional and thoughts of revenge. This disturbing portrait of life in the province readdresses the issue of guilt and atonement. DREAMING THE PATH / SAPNUOJU, KAD EINU Directed by: Jokubas Vilius Turas, Lithuania 2012, 85 min. The diary of a journey to the self: The director undertakes a pilgrimage along the Road to Santiago and covers the distance of 4,417 kilometres between Vilnius and Santiago de Compostela in 199 days. He takes us along on his path, telling us about personal blows of fate and mistakes in a manner free of pathos, but with quite a degree of wit and plenty of traffic noise. THE HORDE / ORDA Directed by: Andrei Proshkin, Russia 2012, 128 min. The year 1357: The Mongolians rule over Asia and a large part of Europe. The fate of the Christian world now depends on the success of a single man. Saint Alexej, Metropolitan Bishop of Moscow, is ordered to the Khan's court. An epic history spectacle, told from the point of view of the Russian Orthodox Church. HOW ARE YOU, RUDOLF MING? / KA TEV KLAJAS, RUDOLF MING? Directed by: Roberts Rubins, Latvia 2010, 62 min. Young Rudolf draws with felt pens on plastic bags and then uses these to create animated films, usually bloodthirsty horror stories. The parish priest of his home town asks him to create an animated film based on a story from the Old Testament and to screen it in the church. A subtle deliberation about growing up in the province, far away from sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. IN THE NAME OF THE DEVIL / W IMENIU DIABŁA Directed by: Barbara Sass, Poland 2011, 115 min. Traumatic experiences made young Anna join a monastery. Together with other novices, she now lives a life of peace in unity with God – until the Reverend Mother and the new priest Franciszek introduce strange new rituals. A parable about religious delusion and demagogy audiences will find it hard to resist the force of. IVETKA AND THE MOUNTAIN / IVETKA A HORA Directed by: Vít Janeček, Czech Republic 2008, 84 min. A hut on Zvir Mountain in eastern Slovakia: This is where in the 1990s, two girls repeatedly experienced visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The film tells the story of one of the girls, Ivetka, and of her growing up between life in a monastery and a secular life. LOVELESS ZORICA / CRNA ZORICA Directed by: Radoslav Pavković, Hristina Hatziharalabous, Serbia, Poland, Cyprus, Greece 2012, 80 min. Zorica is the first girl in her village to have been born without a beard. As if haunted by a curse, all her lovers die the very moment they declare their affection for her. The village therefore persecutes here as "Black Zorica": A persiflage about superstition, prejudices and distrust in the Serbian province. MERCY / ŁASKA Directed by: Eliza Subotowicz, Poland 2012, 18 min. Weronika is a single mother and fights for her material existence. When she is offered a job abroad, she asks her brother for a favour. Because he is a priest, her path takes her into a church. A short film about how close to and, at the same time, how very far removed the Church is from problems of a secular nature. THE MOON IS JEWISH / KSIĘŻYC TO ŻYD Directed by: Michał Tkachzyński, Poland 2011, 45 min. Football is his religion, violence in the stadium and on the streets his ritual. At least until, at the age of 22 years, Paweł finds out that his family is of Jewish origin and he turns from being a hooligan to being an Orthodox Jew. The film reveals insights into an unusual biography and, by the bye, tells us about Jewish everyday life in Poland today. MY AUSTRALIA / MOJA AUSTRALIA Directed by: Ami Drozd, Israel, Poland 2011, 100 min. Poland, in the middle of the 1960s. The brothers Tadek and Andrzej join a right-wing extremist youth gang. When their mother finds out, she announces she will emigrate to Australia with them. Yet the real destination is Israel, for she is Jewish – a fact, she has hitherto kept silent about because of fear. NARROW IS THE GATE Directed by: Kersti Uibo, Estonia 2002, 65 min. Kosovo in 2000. The hatred between the ethnicities is omnipresent, also in the Serbian monastery Gračanica, one of the Orthodox sanctuaries in the "Cradle of Serbia". Watched over by KFOR soldiers, this is where the nun Teodora lives. The fun-loving old lady tells about her isolation within her own country. POPIELUSZKO – FREEDOM IS WITHIN US / POPIEŁUSZKO. WOLNOŚĆ JEST W NAS Directed by: Rafał Wieczyński, Poland 2009, 148 min. The Church in opposition to the communist state: This is the role attributed to her especially in Poland. Jerzy Popiełuszko, the "Solidarność Priest", who was murdered by the Polish state security service in 1984, became a symbol of the resistance movement. In Poland, the feature film about his life attracted an audience of more than 1.3 million people. PRETTY VILLAGE, PRETTY FLAME / LEPA SELA, LEPO GORE Directed by: Srđjan Dragojević, Serbia 1996, 125 min. At the beginning of the war in Bosnia: The Serb Milan and the Bosnian Halil were best friends, but now they meet again as enemies – in the very tunnel, where they often had played during their childhood. A controversial film, narrating the dark period of the war with a good deal of black humour. THIS IS THE DAY Directed by: Kersti Uibo, Estonia 2011, 65 min. Kosovo 2011: The Serbian monastery Velika Hoča. Without a single comment, the camera observes the everyday life of the monks, amongst them Father Miron from NARROW IS THE GATE (2002, Cottbus 2012). Yet hidden behind the simple beauty of religious rituals and secular chores lurk the wartime traumata.