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The ‘Essay’ section celebrates films that reject conventional, mechanized approaches to cinema. It showcases works that integrate diverse contexts through subjective, poetic, and irrational perspectives, deliberately eschewing the completeness and unity of traditional storytelling. This section honors documentaries that adopt a mystical perspective, challenging our senses and igniting creative thought. Defying categorization by a single tendency or style, these films reflect the meandering currents of intellect, multiplying the entrances and exits to their chosen material. They push the boundaries of definition, creating true 'meaning' by subverting fixed interpretations. This year's selection features works that explore single topics through long, intricate streams of thought. Steve McQueen's Occupied City juxtaposes the Holocaust's history with Amsterdam's landscape, while Romuald Karmakar's The Invisible Zoo explore the depths of Zurich Zoo. In these films, images connect obliquely—through detour, analogy, or metaphor—rather than in direct succession. These works approach the essence of art, defying medium conventions and venturing towards new conceptual territories.