Movie buffs to discover movies beyond Europe and the United States

In his Twitter bio, Ikisabi tells that he grew up in a video store. He exaggerates, but not so much either: “I was 3 years old when my parents founded the family business, a video store. They would put a chair for me in front of the television and I would watch movies non-stop when I didn't have soccer or they couldn't take care of me at home, ”he tells Verne by email. He also helped in the teen business: "I loved recommending movies, even though I hadn't seen that many back then." Although the video club has already closed, Ikisabi (alias Juan Antonio Tormo junior, Mallorcan born in 85) continues to watch movies and recommend titles and authors on his YouTube and Twitter accounts, where he organizes them in extensive thematic threads: by country of origin, by genre, by themes ...

In one of the latter, he recommends films from countries that are not especially known for their cinematographic production, thus approaching productions such as The Red Phallus (2018, Bhutan), Mongol (2007, Kazakhstan), Central Station (1958, Egypt) and Timbuktu. (2014, Mauritania), among many others (the full thread is at the end of the article).

Movies from countries you didn't even know existed (movies, not countries I hope 😂).

And it is that cinema is produced practically all over the globe, although most need co-production and visibility at film festivals. We will do the same from home ⬇️

Tormo says that he is a great fan of Asian culture. He started watching movies from “countries like Japan, China, South Korea or India due to their high volume of productions and because they are more accepted in the West, they are more accessible. But my curiosity led me to search and browse other nationalities ”. He looks at the premieres at festivals and is attentive to those that come to cinemas, DVDs or digital platforms: "It is not impossible to find them, although the catalog is sometimes limited depending on your cinephile appetite."

In his opinion, more and more people want to “watch movies of other nationalities. Cinema can be a window to the world where you can learn and discover other cultures ”. In this regard, remember the phrase of Bong Joon-ho, director of Parasites, during the Golden Globes award ceremony: "If you overcome the one-inch-high barrier that is subtitles, you are going to discover many more incredible films" .

Precisely one of his most shared threads was the one dedicated to the cinema of South Korea, which he shared shortly before Parasites won four Oscars, including the best film: “It was an amazing and very important step for the Oscars, and a moment historical that even moved me (I voted in my pool for it). I don't think Bong Joon-ho's movie is the best Korean movie out there, in fact it's not even his best movie in my opinion. It had a great reception at the box office and much-deserved criticism and I am sure that in part the Academy took into account the hidden aspects of Korean cinema all these years ”.

KOREAN FILM THREAD: ESSENTIAL FILMS.
I would like to highlight the films in this country that have most impacted me in one way or another. It is back in fashion for Parasites, but surely you still have many jewels to discover.

LET US BEGIN! pic.twitter.com/7RT4ch2TGC

Among his favorite directors he cites "Hitchcock, Kubrick, Kurosawa, Lynch, Miyazaki, Scorsese, Wilder, Eastwood and Chaplin, among many others, like most of them". But he also likes to talk about other lesser-known ones, such as Kenji Mizoguchi, Satyajit Ray, Yasujirō Ozu ... "I think happiness is in variety," he says. No matter the nationality of the film, the era or the genre, you can always find real gems. ” Deciding on one subject or another depends, he says, on his state of mind, nostalgia and, as in the case of Korean cinema, today.

BOLLYWOOD FILM INITIATION. 🇮🇳

This is what their popular Bombay cinema is called in India. Millions of fans idolize their movie stars as well as deities and more movies are made than in Hollywood annually. Where to start?

LET'S START! 😀 pic.twitter.com/Rj2U6JD1en

In fact, he also watches superhero movies: “Of course, you have to see everything. I enjoy Marvel movies and I love science fiction movies. At 9 years old I thought Independence Day was the best movie I had ever seen and would see in my life. "Although he confesses that he was" totally wrong, "he says he still enjoys it when he sees it again.

Everything has its moment, he says. For example, he explains that he has not always been a fan of Asian cinema: “Like many, I got started thanks to anime and Ghibli films, with the occasional Tiger and dragon type exception . However, most Asian countries and especially Japan or China have a vast film library and produce dozens or hundreds of films a year (not counting India, which surpasses Hollywood) and have a characteristic time to adapt to enjoy it. I think that this type of cinema must be oneself that really interests you to discover it ”. Incidentally, the name of his Twitter profile comes from the union of two Japanese words: ikigai , the reason for living, and wasisabi, the search for beauty in imperfections.

JAPANESE FILM THREAD: ESSENTIAL FILMS XX CENTURY.
Come and see the wonders that the Japanese cinema has bequeathed to us. A great variety of master craftsmen who turned their eyes around the world. Let's continue enjoying his movies. I exclude anime. pic.twitter.com/yv5b4cFhvn

JAPANESE FILM THREAD: ESSENTIAL FILMS XXI CENTURY.
I would like to highlight the films in this country that have impacted me the most in one way or another. Impossible to put them all, so I EXCLUDE ANIME, Ghibli needs his own. AND SIGLOXX for another thread.
LET US BEGIN! pic.twitter.com/nbdOSrhYGD

CHINESE FILM THREAD 🇨🇳 HONG KONG 🇭🇰 TAIWAN 🇹🇼

Chinese culture has left behind a great legacy and cinema could not be less. Here is a list of the films that have most impacted or considered me relevant. I leave it open to fill in.

LET US BEGIN! Pic️ pic.twitter.com/V8UYCpRbjr

Back to the cinema

During confinement, you are missing your family, friends, and coworkers. But also the cinema, of course: “Although right now it is not a priority among my thoughts, as soon as they are opened I will be one of the first to come. For me, as for so many, cinema is not simply going into a closed space and being told a story. Going to the movies is a social event, I love going with my partner or my friends, and commenting on the movie when going out or having dinner in a restaurant. ”

The Mallorcan assures that he watches one or two movies a day - "now, in quarantine, more," he says - and also follows series. And do you recommend a movie for these days? "Do you know what happens next with the listings? They are lazy and you end up forgetting them ”. He proposes to recover his time as an employee in the family video store: “I will leave a tweet posted on my profile with the following question: What type of film do you want to see? And as soon as I receive the answer to this question, I will formulate several personalized proposals ”.

100 directors and 300 films.
Three of my favorite director movies. Some have a huge filmography to discover. I leave a lot of directors and movies but if I really like I will do a second part. #THREAD #cine pic.twitter.com/kcr58Kc7nN

In the meantime, we leave your thread here with recommendations from countries with little-known film production:

Movies from countries you didn't even know existed (movies, not countries I hope 😂).

And it is that cinema is produced practically all over the globe, although most need co-production and visibility at film festivals. We will do the same from home ⬇️

The Red Phallus (2018, Bhutan 🇧🇹)
The movie that inspired this thread. It follows the story of a young woman tired of her monotonous life and ashamed of her father's profession who is dedicated to making Falos, good luck charms. In addition to a relationship with the village butcher. pic.twitter.com/A0FCSv1vCs

Before the Rain (1994, Macedonia 🇲🇰)
The film is structured in three stories with war as a background. Two located in Macedonia and one in London. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. pic.twitter.com/pK1rlY9Cw2

Mongol (2007, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿)
Narrates the life of the legendary and fearsome Genghis Khan from his slavery until he conquered half the world, including Russia (1206). pic.twitter.com/8d5WW4x1Nb

Bol (2011, Pakistan 🇵🇰) Revolves
around a Pakistani family. The patriarch wants to have a son, since only the men can support the family financially. But despite 14 births, the last hope does not bring you congratulations. pic.twitter.com/le5EOoVDKZ

Omar (2013, Palestine 🇵🇸)
Omar is a young Palestinian in love with Nadia, her secret love. But when one day he is captured after an action of resistance, a lethal game of cat and mouse begins with the military police. pic.twitter.com/CN4VZHe3AB

Central Station (1958, Egypt 🇪🇬)
A crippled newspaper vendor lives among the platforms and carriages of the Cairo train station, and is drawn to an attractive soft drink vendor. pic.twitter.com/s75xQMk97h

Rigorously watched trains (1966, Czechoslovakia 🇨🇿)
During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, young Milos works at the local train station alongside the womanizer Hubicka, the insane and hypocritical stationmaster Zednicek, and the beautiful telegraph operator Zdenka. pic.twitter.com/f9Xmn0pfsk

Timbuktu (2014, Mauritania 🇲🇷)
Year 2012, the Malian city of Timbuktu has fallen into the hands of religious extremists. Kidane lives quietly in the dunes with his wife Satima, daughter Toya and Issam, a 12-year-old shepherd boy. pic.twitter.com/2toWdaWyV9

Flower in the Pocket (2007, Malaysia 🇲🇾)
Tells the story of two children: Ma-Li Ah and Ma-Li Ohm. They grow up motherless, and their father, Sui, is a workaholic who locks himself up in their world. The boys' quest to reach their father leads them to adopt a cub. pic.twitter.com/qubrDckPLP

And now where are we going? (2011, Lebanon 🇱🇧)
A procession of women go to the cemetery, Muslim and Christian. They all share the same pain, the consequence of a fatal and useless war. With ingenuity, they will try to distract the attention of the men so that they forget the resentment. pic.twitter.com/gAJYdDDO9M

Captain Abu Raed (2007, Jordan 🇯🇴)
Abu Raed is a lone member of the cleaning team at Amman International Airport. He has always wanted to travel the world, but since he cannot make his dream come true, he lives it through books and short talks with a traveler. pic.twitter.com/JTH2YKflI5

Noura's Dream (2019, Tunisia 🇹🇳)
While her husband is in prison, Noura meets Lassad. They love and want to live together, but Jamel is released from prison and, forced by law, Noura must resume her daily life with him. Second feature film by its director. pic.twitter.com/lQLewZHH83

In the Fog (2012, Belarus 🇧🇾)
World War II, 1942. On the Russian border, partisans of the Belarusian resistance are fighting hard against the Nazi occupation. Adaptation of the homonymous novel by the prolific Belarusian writer Vasiliy Vladimirovich Bykov. pic.twitter.com/MDx8xHjKWT

The Green Bicycle (2012, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦)
Wadjda is ten years old and lives in a society so traditional that certain things like riding a bicycle are totally prohibited. She is a fun and enterprising girl who always skirts the line between what is authorized and what is prohibited. pic.twitter.com/KwLDb5aXEO

The Lost Image (2013, Cambodia 🇰🇭)
Documentary centered during the Pol Pot communist regime in Cambodia (1975-1979). Panh searched for images from this heinous period, but found nothing. He then created missing images using clay figures and dioramas. pic.twitter.com/Ev4uBnOzpx

Goat's horn (1972, Bulgaria 🇧🇬)
17th century, land dominated by the Turks. A couple living in a town near the mountains have a young daughter. One day the father, who is a shepherd, climbs the mountains with his flock, while tragedy befalls his family pic.twitter.com/ak1KSntbgl

Atlantique (2019, Senegal 🇸🇳)
One night, Souleimane and his companions disappear into the sea. Soon after, they return to torment their old neighborhood by taking possession of the girlfriends they left behind. pic.twitter.com/VEW0pACVak

Z. (1969, Algeria 🇩🇿)
In a country governed by a corrupt democracy, where the government uses the Police and Army to eradicate any leftist threat, an opposition deputy is assassinated in the middle of the street when he had just presided over a rally of pacifist character. pic.twitter.com/OrcX4R2EJN

Giant Heart (2015, Iceland 🇮🇸)
At 43, Fúsi is a misfit, overweight, who never had a girlfriend and whose only interest is the battles of the 2nd GM. One day she receives a coupon to go to a dance school, where she meets Sjöfn. pic.twitter.com/O9FbUy03af

Defosaenfosa (2006, Slovenia 🇸🇮)
In rural Slovenia, a sensitive and intelligent thirty-year-old lives very close to death: his job is to write and deliver funeral speeches at his city's funerals. pic.twitter.com/bLFtpung5Z

Tangerines (2013, Estonia 🇪🇪)
In 1990, war broke out in a Georgian province seeking independence. Ivo, an Estonian, decides to stay, unlike the rest of his compatriots, to help his friend Margus with the mandarin harvest. pic.twitter.com/yfPnJ43P7j

Insiang (1973, Philippines 🇵🇭)
A young woman from a humble family lives with her mother and her father's relatives, who abandoned them. She is in love and wants to get married and escape the misery in which she finds herself. But the Zone bully won't make it easy for him. pic.twitter.com/NHgLOVa1ZT

Tremors (2019, Guatemala 🇬🇹)
Pablo is a “good man”: a 40-year-old practicing evangelical Christian with two wonderful children. But one day Pablo falls in love with Francisco and decides to abandon his devoted evangelical family. pic.twitter.com/IhjIKu5aAk

The death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Romania 🇷🇴)
Mr. Lazarescu is a widower and lives alone in an apartment with his three cats. One night he feels bad and calls an ambulance. They take him to a hospital, and from there to another and another, but in none can he be seen ... pic.twitter.com/EXoP2PzWvr

7 boxes (2012, Paraguay 🇵🇾)
a 17-year-old truck driver needs money. He then receives a rather unusual proposal: to transport seven boxes whose contents are unknown in exchange for $ 100. With a borrowed mobile phone Victor begins the journey. He doesn't know what awaits him. pic.twitter.com/FHQJ9xs6Kl

The death of a bureaucrat (1966, Cuba 🇨🇺)
An exemplary worker is buried with his work card in recognition of his merits, but his widow cannot collect the pension without that document. The nephew of the deceased lives amazing adventures to retrieve the card from the grave. pic.twitter.com/NTyA2KvOFq

Harmonies of Werckmeister (2000, Hungary 🇭🇺)
A traveling show comes to town promising to showcase the world's largest whale. A mysterious and unpredictable figure called "the Prince" also arouses great curiosity ... pic.twitter.com/X4a57MantU

Waltz with Bashir (2008, Israel 🇮🇱)
Animated documentary about the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Chatila (Lebanon). Folman (The director) does not remember anything from that period of his life. He decides to talk to old friends and old colleagues scattered around the world. pic.twitter.com/OFbwXn84Qh

The smell of green papaya (1993, Vietnam 🇻🇳)
Mùi is a 10-year-old peasant girl who leaves her peasant house to go to work in Saigon. In this house he learns to cook and the various household chores next to the old maid Ti. pic.twitter.com/8szKApZy3g

Bad Day to Fish (2009, Uruguay 🇺🇾)
A former world wrestling champion still believes he is the strongest man in the world. His manager, who organizes clandestine exhibitions and combats, convinces him that he can return to the past and win back an important title. pic.twitter.com/GIL0vChOaj

Black Cat, White Cat (1998, Yugoslavia)
A gangster seeks compensation for a job poorly done, by marrying his sister and his partner's son. pic.twitter.com/6rDODpG86z

Winter Sleep (2014, Turkey 🇹🇷)
Aydin, a retired actor, runs a small hotel in Central Anatolia with the help of his estranged wife and sister. In winter, as the snow covers the steppe, the hotel becomes your refuge. pic.twitter.com/2PPS7QuYvP

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