Movies: Essence Film

Animals in War is a poignant anthology film inspired by true stories of animals impacted by the war in Ukraine. A collaboration between Ukrainian and international artists — including actor and activist Sean Penn — the film is a haunting yet captivat...

Elaha, 22, believes she must restore her supposed innocence before she weds. A surgeon could reconstruct her hymen but she cannot afford such an operation. She asks herself: why does she have to be a virgin anyway, and for whom?...

Alan, Jan and Liya, born in Kurdistan, raised in Stuttgart, want to grant their deceased mother her final wish: to be buried beside her husband, who died in the war, in their home village in Kurdistan. The clan objects, but the three set out anyway. ...

Johanna believes to find happiness and security in her family live with husband and daughter. But facing her unfulfilled desire disturbs Johanna's serenity....

Countries appear and disappear— we could have just been one of them. Caught between visibility and obscurity, Kosovo’s underground music scene is the voice of a post-war generation grappling with isolation in a half-recognized nation....