Silvio refuses to fight for the fascists and joins the resistance with Elena. After the war, his vitriolic newspaper articles cause him to be sentenced to imprisonment.

In 1966, John Harlin II died while attempting Europe’s most difficult climb, the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland. 40 years later, his son John Harlin III, an expert mountaineer and the editor of the American Alpine Journal, returns to attempt the same climb.

Lora Meredith, a white single mother who dreams of being on Broadway, has a chance encounter with Annie Johnson, a black widow. Annie becomes the caretaker of Lora’s daughter, Suzie, while Lora pursues her stage career. Both women deal with the difficulties of motherhood: Lora’s thirst for fame threatens her relationship with Suzie, while Annie’s light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane, struggles with her African-American identity.

Brought together by their shared love of music, ten years on Liam and Natalie are at breaking point. In their case opposites attract but don’t necessarily work long-term. Making the difficult decision to separate, they must split their prized music library. But the soundtrack that defined their relationship keeps pulling them back together.

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters’ life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

The feature documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff is the story of Donald Rugoff, who was the crazy genius behind Cinema 5, the mid-century theater chain and film distribution company. Rugoff was a difficult (some would say impossible) person but was also the man who kicked art films into the mainstream with outrageous marketing schemes and pure bluster. Rugoff’s impact on cinema culture in the United States is inestimable, and his influence on the art film business-from the studio classics divisions to the independent film movement to the rise of the Weinsteins-is undeniable. Yet, mysteriously, Rugoff has become a virtually forgotten figure. The story is told through the eyes of former employee Ira Deutchman, who sets out to find the truth about the man who had such a major impact on his life, and to understand how such an important figure could have disappeared so completely.

After the death of General Franco, the Leguineche family leaves their estate of Los Tejadillos, where they have remained for decades in voluntary exile, with the purpose of returning to Madrid to actively participate in the social events of the aristocracy and to get closer to the closest circle of the Spanish monarch. The obsession of the old marquis is centered on getting in touch with the most illustrious surnames, to ascend socially and to resume the pomp and courtly life that his family lost a long time ago. To this end, he decides to move into an old palace he owns, located in the center of the capital, but not before overcoming the difficulties posed by his wife, who deeply hates both her husband and her son. To regain control of the palace, the Marquis of Leguineche tries to handicap his wife, arguing an incurable mental illness, and then undertake a reform of the place in order to adapt it to aristocratic life.

An autobiographical film taken from the experiences of writer-director Rob Moretti, CRUTCH is a coming-of-age tale about a young man’s struggle with family problems and substance abuse. Behind a facade of suburban middle class perfection, David’s home life is falling apart. As he tries to cope with the impossible situation, the troubled and impressionable teenager falls under the spell of Kenny, a georgous, thirty-something, has-been actor turned theatre coach. When Kenny’s “support” escalates into seduction, David slowly decends into an abyss of drinking and drug addition from which he must escape if he is to survive. CRUTCH is a dramatic tale of the confusion of youth and the difficulties in finding oneself.

For his project under the lauded First Feature Film Initiative programme, director Ka Sing-fung tells the heartrending journey of a woman whose life is forever changed by the children she takes in as a temporary foster carer. In a career-best performance, Sammi Cheng stars as Mei, a woman trying to get over the death of her young son through the children she welcomes into her home. Each ward offers Mei a different challenge and a newfound appreciation for the difficulties of motherhood, but when her dedication to the job causes her marriage to turn sour, Mei is forced to make a choice.

When a peace agreement between the FARC rebel movement and the Colombian government looks like it will put an end to half a century of conflicts, 30-year-old Yira visits her mother in Colombia after spending 10 years in exile in Cuba. Yira has herself become a mother and wants to give her daughter the family she never had. She confronts her mother, Ruby, with a neglected childhood in the shadow of her parents’ political struggles and persecution. She wants her mother to join her in exile in Canada, so that they can finally be together in safety. But Ruby can’t let go of her political ideals and choose her family instead. It is not just Yira’s childhood that has been sacrificed. She has also sacrificed her own life and safety to such an extent that she has to drive around in an armoured car, constantly protected by armed guards. As the peacetime death toll continues to rise, Ruby is faced with a difficult dilemma. If she chooses her daughter, she gives up on her people.

A salaryman faces a major life change as his firm undergoes financial difficulties. To add to his troubles, a man claiming to be his long-estranged father shows up at his house requesting shelter. One of the best of Somai’s seriocomic studies of the messiness of family life.

Michael Palin discovers the story of 17th-century Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. He unearths not only her paintings, but a complex and difficult life.

In Marseille, Rosa, 60, dedicated her life to family and politics with the same sense of duty. Everyone considers her unwavering, until the day she falls in love with Henri. For the first time, Rosa is afraid to commit. Between the pressure of his family, politics and a desire to indulge in her feelings, the conflict is difficult to sustain.

Sukhpreet ‘Sukhee’ Kalra, a 38-year-old Punjabi housewife, goes to Delhi to attend her school reunion. Sukhee relives the 17-year-old version of herself whilst going through a plethora of experiences in a span of just seven days, coming out rekindled, reborn and making the most difficult transition in her life – from being a wife and a mother to being a woman again.

As an aspiring actor, Yu Cai (David Chiu) has found the film industry to be far more difficult than he ever imagined. Struggling to make a name for himself, Yu Cai is thus far, completely unknown. Living his life in complete obscu…

It’s 1988 and, at the height of the Iran-Iraq War, Tehran is bombed relentlessly. The days that pass are full of foreboding, and yet, love, affection, hope and life itself manage to sweep away the fear of death from those surrounded by it. Love may often be difficult to comprehend, but death is a horrible certitude. ‘Bomb, A Love Story’ shows how, even when faced with the darkness of death, love and hope will find a way.

Days after her baby is stillborn, Robin’s breasts begin to produce milk. Unable to throw it away, she decides to donate the milk. As her quest for a place to donate is more difficult than she anticipated, more and more milk starts to crowd her freezer and life.

Jesus and María are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.

Tommy Cooper was a national comedy institution whose catchphrases still remain in the language today. This bumbling giant with outsized feet and hands, whose mere entrance on stage had audiences erupting with uncontrollable laughter, was born in Caerphilly in 1921, where a statue is now erected in his honour – unveiled by Sir Anthony Hopkins. This programme looks at the life and art of the man in the fez, whose clumsy, fumbling stage magic tricks hid a real talent as a magician. His private life was complicated and often difficult, but as far as his audiences were concerned, he was first and foremost a clown whose confusion with the mechanisms of everyday life made for hilarious viewing.

Three longtime girlfriends from elementary school, very different women, have one thing in common: they are in the fall of their lives and they all feel how ruthless old age can be. Marie is abandoned by her husband on Christmas Eve, and her entire identity as part of a happy family crumbles. Berling is the eternal “bachelor” who outwardly denies her age and lives the sweet life, but in the backdrop she is affected by a complicated relationship with her daughter. Vanja lives in the memories of her late husband and has difficulty moving on. The three travel to Italy together to attend a food course in Puglia, where they each have an opportunity to redefine themselves.

The Czech romantic comedy hit “Love is Love” tells the story of Maruska, a blind girl and student at the Conservatory of Music who dreams of love and having a family despite her blindness. Her dream guy has curly blonde hair and blue eyes but she ends up falling in love with the dark eyed, swarthy Marek. Maruska lives with her overly protective grandfather whom is preocupied with his long-lost love. Maruska’s neighbor and best friend is constantly struggling with his headstrong mother as she refuses to accept that her son is gay. She blames everyone else – even her husband – for her son’s “deviation.” The fate of all main characters is unexpectedly intertwined and told through humorous and touching situations laced with subtle irony and hyperbole. Just as in life, with its funny situations and difficult tests, unexpected revelations and surprising twists, all characters will experience times when they behave blindly and forget to listen to their hearts.

After his wife passed away, Altan created a small world with his son Can, where they could withstand life’s difficulties. Even in the toughest situations, he could turn it into a game and make those around him laugh, even in the most tragic moments. Altan works as a garbage collector for the municipality and lives with his son Can in a shantytown neighborhood adjacent to Istanbul’s wealthy districts. Can’s entire world revolves around comic books. One day, Can is diagnosed with stage four heart failure, which shatters Altan’s world. Can’s only chance is a heart transplant, and finding a donor for a child his age is extremely difficult. From then on, the only thing Altan can do is keep Can happy and maintain his spirits. Altan finds the way to make Can happy through comic books.

An exciting and motor-filled ride through life’s difficulties, achievements and activities of one of the most popular Polish influencers: Kamil Labudda, known on the Internet as “BUDDHA”. This is a film about how to create effectively on the Internet, how to make money on social media and what amounts are hidden in this industry.

Set in 1973 and inspired by true events, ‘Wild About Harry’ follows the havoc wreaked in a teen girl’s life when she discovers that her widowed father is gay. Alternately comic and tragic and anchored by an impressive ensemble cast, the film captures both the freedoms and the homophobia of the time – all set against the backdrop of small town America on Cape Cod. British widower Harry Goodhart decides to make a fresh start and moves with his teenage daughters to Cape Cod in 1973. But Harry can’t leave behind the secret that threatens to tear his family apart. Adjusting to their new lives proves difficult for the girls when they discover that the connection between their dad and his partner is more than just a working relationship.

The vampire countess is trying to bring her master Dracula back to life and create a new kind of immortal creature – the doppelganger. But for this, she needs innocent blood obtained voluntarily, and this is a very difficult task.

Maleika tells the incredible story of a cheetah mother and her six cubs: Martha, Malte, Mirelèe, Marlo, Mia and Majet. Set in the magnificent landscape of the Masai Mara natural reserve, the cheetah family experiences adventurous, difficult and funny moments in their fight for survival. Having accompanied her for 3 years, the artist, photographer and devoted conservationist Matto Barfuss allows his audience to take an unusually intimate look into the life of this extraordinary cheetah family.

Mortal World 2 tells the story of the Mermer family, who now continues their lives as outlaws, struggles with their own problems. Serhan has difficulty adjusting Begüm, who is pregnant, to their new life. While Serhat is now missing a woman in his life, Gazanfer struggles to keep his family together against the organization. However, Zafer’s fall into the hands of the organization turns everyone’s lives upside down. Looking for a way to reach Zafer, Gazanfer finds the solution by asking for help from an old friend. This time, the Mermer family will have to make one last heist to reunite with their children.

Maja and Janne move to the barren and remote island of Stormskerry, where survival is a daily struggle. Growing up in a world of old values, Maja becomes aware of a new era: a woman can be an equal partner instead of a mere bystander. The couple have children, and life is good until trouble sets in: war arrives on the island, Janne is forced to flee from the English troops, and Maja and the children are imprisoned. The family also faces many financial difficulties and death. Years pass, but Maja remains strong and stays in Stormskerry despite all the hardships and difficulties.

Retired taxi driver Faruk is still working into his 60s. Having lost his wife ten years earlier, he leads a monotonous life. His only wish is to learn English, for which he is sometimes ridiculed and sometimes appreciated. His life will change a lot as he meets people throughout that difficult process, as learning a new language brings new experiences.

After a dangerous sea crossing and a stay in a camp in Malaysia, the young Vietnamese Tinh and her family are accepted as refugees in Canada and arrive in Montreal where they begin their new life. But for Tinh, adapting has its share of difficulties.

Growing up as an orphan and a child without parents, Dandik has faced various problems throughout his life and managed to solve each one on his own. One day, when he encounters his childhood love Aslı, whom he lost years ago, his life changes. Dandik is determined to pursue his love, but at that moment, he faces an unexpected enemy. While trying to defeat this bad guy, he encounters various difficulties and obstacles, but he never even thinks of giving up on his love for a moment. Dandik’s only wish is to build a happy life, and his only helper on this path will be his best friend Fiko.

Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he’s worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.

This romantic drama by Michelangelo Antonioni follows the love life of Vittoria, a beautiful literary translator living in Rome. After splitting from her writer boyfriend, Riccardo, Vittoria meets Piero, a lively stockbroker, on the hectic floor of the Roman stock exchange. Though Vittoria and Piero begin a relationship, it is not one without difficulties, and their commitment to one another is tested during an eclipse.

Robert is a young writer passing through a difficult time in his life. He decides to return home into his native village for the first time since his mother passed away three years ago. In more than 10 years, he paid only few visits to his parents and this fact is reflected by the distant relationship Robert has with his father. As it happens, he meets two former classmates: Petrica – his old best friend, now married with children and Paula- his teenage sweetheart. She is divorced after an unhappy marriage and is now working at a local store. She doesn’t seem to be engaged in a relationship…

Tiny Soviet village by the sea, in the years before the Second World War… A very young girl, Vera, falls madly in love with an older military officer who is visiting from out of town. She leaves her home and family to live with him in various military posts where he serves with the army. Through the difficulties of army life, and years of war, her love for this older man survives, and she gives herself completely without reservation. This film is about friendship, loss, survival, loyalty, and the wonderful gift of unconditional love, which is only given to a few.

1899, the Christmas-time St.Petersburg. Ice-covered rivers and canals of the capital seethe with festive activities. On the eve of the new century those who should not be destined to meet, come together. They are people from different worlds: Matvey, the son of a lamplighter, whose only treasure is his silver-plated skates; Alice is the daughter of a high-ranking official dreaming of science. Each of them has his own difficult life-story, but having accidentally met they rush forward together in pursuit of their dreams.

Beth Bradfield (Patty Duke) is a housewife with what appears to be a stable life in an American village. One day, her 24-year-old daughter Lori (Tracey Gold), who is married to Jesse Molina (Maurice Benard) and recently gave birth to his daughter Molly (Laura and Megan Jaime), unexpectedly collapses and is hospitalized. After several tests, she is diagnosed with leukemia. Her doctor (Erick Avari) reveals to Beth that Lori is in urgent need of a donor, though her rare blood type makes finding one a difficult task.

Lexi, a 19-year-old girl, poor, with a life full of difficulties, writes lyrics and music in a notebook. Before an important meeting that can change her life and in which her notebook would play a crucial role, Lexi loses the notebook.

A successful talent agent enjoys the good life until his wife leaves him. Moving in with his friend and igniting an affair with the man’s wife, he also acquires a difficult new client whose public image must be preserved at any cost.

This film is very much a docudrama which portrays the difficulties of Italian life circa 1963 due to the absence of a divorce law. Five scenarios with different actors portray realistic situations where divorce is clearly warranted but, because marriage was strictly in the purview of the Catholic Church at that time, which strictly forbade divorce, these people are shown to suffer the consequences in their daily lives. Italy got its first civilian divorce law in 1970.