“Combining gentle comedy, social criticism and sentimentality into an enjoyable and surprisingly spiky whole, Carlos Iglesias’s debut Crossing Borders is a traditional heartwarmer with contemporary edge. Built around the true-life journey of two luckless Spaniards to Switzerland in search of work, the picture features exuberant performances, particularly from TV actor Iglesias himself” (Jonathan Holland, Variety). It’s Madrid, 1960. Franco’s Spain is in the midst of a painful economic restructuring, and downtrodden mechanic Martin (Iglesias) and wife Pilar (Nieve de Medina), who live in a miserable basement flat, find their dreams of a better life dashed. Martin and best buddy Marcos (Javier Gutiérrez) decide its time to seek their fortunes in Switzerland — where, they hear, one Swiss franc is worth 14 Spanish pesetas. Landing in a postcard-perfect Alpine village, the two pals are in paradise — all the more so because of the fetching blonde (Isabel Blanco) who runs their boarding house. A brief period of bachelor freedom comes to an abrupt halt with the arrival of Martin’s wife and little son. “Martin and Marcos are an engaging comic tandem ... The script is alert to the dangers of its own clichés, and a darker final reel enriches everything that precedes it ... [This Spanish] tale’s universal charms could see it crossing borders” (Holland). Colour, 35mm, in Spanish and Swiss German with English subtitles. 96 mins.

Three very different people are drawn together by their desire to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in this poignant, well-performed comedy-drama from Finnish writer-director Timo Koivusalo. “The affable but behaviourally disturbed Johannes, whose progressively worsening condition leads to him being admitted to a psychiatric clinic, is terrified of not being able to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa before it collapses. And so he builds his own wooden leaning tower in the clinic grounds. It catches the eye of a little girl whose grandmother is a former ballerina. The elderly lady would love to show her granddaughter the places in Italy that she saw in the course of her career — including the Leaning Tower. When the three set out together for Italy, the little girl’s mother, who just happens to be Johannes’s nurse, has to head south and look for them ... This [is a] touching film that tells of dreams and of understanding the existential necessities of life” (Nordic Film Days, Lübeck). Seela Sella, in the role of the grandmother, won the 2007 Jussi Award (the Finnish Oscar) for Best Supporting Actress. Colour, 35mm, in Finnish with English subtitles. 96 mins.