It’s San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society’s reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.

In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger’s Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston’s The African Queen and King Vidor’s War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.

It’s the day before Christmas, the day before John’s 21st birthday. He’s a prostitute on Santa Monica Blvd in L.A., and he wants to spend that night and the next day at the posh Park Plaza Hotel. He’s ripped off a local drug dealer to pay the bill, but as he’s sleeping that morning, someone steals his shoes right off his feet, with the money in them. Meanwhile, Donner, a lad new to the streets, wants John to leave the city with him for Camelot, a theme park in Branson, MO, where they’ll work as lifeguards. John spends the day trying to hustle the money for the hotel, avoid Jimmy the Warlock, keep his girl friend placated, and figure out how to deal with Donner’s friendship.

Witness the incredible rise, fall, and resurrection of Steve Madden, the entrepreneur who launched a billion-dollar fashion empire with $1,100, and whose branded shoes are now in the wardrobes of millions of women and men around the world. The film provides intimate access to Madden as it explores how he repeatedly nearly destroyed his life through drugs, through alcohol, and through a single-minded determination to build his business no matter what the cost to his personal life, and even to his freedom. Here is the man behind the myth depicted in the Martin Scorsese film “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Throughout it all, Madden has maintained an uncanny charm, clever wit, endless creativity, and a keen instinct that has shaken the fashion world to its core.

Widely recognized as the planet’s worst film director, Uwe Boll embarks on a quest to conquer Hollywood and take vengeance upon the film fanatics striving to destroy him. Filmed over three years on and off the set, ‘Raging Boll’ is a walk in the shoes of a man people love to hate.

Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon (Satoshi Ohno, of idol group Arashi) is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s (Satomi Ishihara of Shin Godzilla, Attack on Titan) demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or nation. A longtime JAPAN CUTS favorite known for his offbeat dramas, Yoshihiro Nakamura (Fish Story, Golden Slumber) takes on the jidaigeki epic with his signature sense of play featuring a jazzy soundtrack and fantastical ninja tricks. -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film

Zohre’s shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes, Ali’s. School awaits…

A disturbed single mother confronts a mysterious stranger and the echoes of her past to protect her home.

The Watcher Self is an unsettling psychosexual chiller written and directed by Matt Cruse about one woman’s descent into hell. Cora (Karen French) begins her day facing the consequences of a nightmare. Struggling to maintain a normal routine, she engages in a series of emotionally detached encounters and experiences a confusing psychological connection with the strange and elusive Van (Julian Shaw). Then echoes from the past threaten to derail her tenuous state of mind, and Cora becomes increasingly dislocated from her surroundings. Is she going insane, or is it something else? The Watcher Self is about what remains when the layers of sanity are gradually stripped away… and what may or may not be real.

“In 1946, my great-grandfather murdered a black man named Bill Spann and got away with it.” So begins Travis Wilkerson’s critically acclaimed documentary, DID YOU WONDER WHO FIRED THE GUN?, which takes us on a journey through the American South to uncover the truth behind a horrific incident and the societal mores that allowed it to happen. Acting as narrator and guide, Wilkerson spins a strange, frightening tale, incorporating scenes from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, the music of Janelle Monáe and Phil Ochs, and the story of Rosa Parks’ investigation into the Recy Taylor case, as well as his own family history, for a gripping investigation into our collective past and its echoes into the present day.

For the thirtysomething Sheng Ruxi, whose surname unmistakably echoes the slang term “sheng nu” (leftover women), the wait for a perfect partner is growing more despairing by the day. With an ultra-anxious mother who would rather die than see her daughter stay single, Ruxi is further annoyed by the doctor she’s fixed up with. Could her new colleague, the dashing 25-year-old Ma Sai, offer last-minute salvation?

Father Eion O’Donnell is unambiguous about the need to use violence to force Britain out of Ireland. He influences a young impressionable boy, Antaine to fight in the 1916 Rising. Fifty years later Antaine arrives in Derry as an experienced gunman. This appearance throws Eoin back to the cause of his breakdown in 1916. Eoin’s influence on young Antaine echoes in Antaine’s dark influence on an Altar boy, Feidhlim.

As Christmas approaches, a department store worker whose life lacks fulfillment meets her guardian angel, who offers her a chance to change her circumstances by magically transporting her to Christmases past whenever she tries on a new pair of shoes.

A modern day version of The Prince And The Pauper where one man from a poor background ends up taking over another mans life from the entirely opposite end of the spectrum. Jamie Poulton – lead singer of tribute act ‘Dive’ – gets the opportunity to replace the iconic Donny Martin from the boy band group D5 with ever gripping twists and turns. This British film asks the question could one man live in another mans shoes and actually get away with it!?

Unlike the former Philippine First Lady, Imelda is indifferent towards shoes. To her, they are fraught with the bittersweet nostalgia of childhood, one that was marred by a difficult relationship with her shoe-maker father, Romeo. Growing up, all of hers were handmade by him. Now a mature woman, she takes a pivotal call from the morgue, spurring her search for the perfect pair of shoes for her dead father. The deeper she searches for the perfect shoes, the more she finds herself.

In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel, “Deep Throat,” starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film’s star.

In Seoul, the paths of two men and one woman intersect and move apart from one another, centering around their love for cinema. A suicidal student meets a young woman who decides to follow him in his fatal gesture. Coming out of a cinema, Tongsu, an unsuccessful filmmaker, spots a beautiful young woman, and recognizes her : she is the main actress in the film he has just seen. The life of this wavering and distressed young man strangely echoes the one of the young man from the beginning…

On Skeet’s twelfth birthday his older brother Randy buys him his first surfboard. Suddenly his summer turns to the endless search for the perfect wave, wild times and beach parties and eventually, finding his own daring adventures when Randy’s attention turns to a girl. Beyond his wildest dreams, Skeet is taken under the wings of surfing legend Jim Wesley who gives Skeet first-hand lessons in hot-dogging. Meanwhile, Randy, still dealing with the loss of his father and trying to fill his shoes, is jealous of Jim’s influence on Skeet and isn’t thrilled when Jim begins a relationship with their single mom. Tangled by the conflict between his brother and his newfound father figure, Skeet retreats to his room while longing to surf.

The hero, Hyakkimaru is a wandering “demon hunter” whose extra body parts — 48 to be exact — were grafted onto his head and trunk by a herb doctor who discovered him as an infant, in a process that echoes “Frankenstein” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” His warlord father gave the originals to 48 demons in exchange for power. When Hyakkimaru kills a demon, he wins back a body part. He is spotted in one of these battles, with a giant spider demon, by Dororo, a scrappy female thief who is fascinated by not only Hyakkimaru’s prowess with the sword blade poking out of his arm but the new leg he grows after dicing his opponent. Is he a man — or a monster? After hearing his story from an old minstrel, she decides to join him on his travels and find out for herself.

Larry the Reindeer thinks he can fill Santa’s shoes, but he’s about to get more than he bargained for! When Mighty Bunion, the wicked wizard, casts a spell causing Larry to switch places with Santa, the future of Christmas rests on one simple-minded reindeer’s hooves! Santa’s number one elf, Benny, and three of his trusty reindeer fleet – Tinker, Terry, and Barry – set out to search for their missing boss and rescue their favorite holiday from disaster! With the clock ticking down to Christmas Eve, these North Pole heroes brave a snowy wonderland of friends and foes alike in a race against time to rescue the world’s most famous sleigh-driver!

One-hour animated special surrounding a surly deli owner Murray Weiner, who is forced to step into Santa’s shoes for one Christmas and bumbles his way into doing a great job.

Underneath Times Square, there’s a strip club filled with beautiful women. Behind the club’s bathroom door is Shoes, a bathroom attendant. For three years, Shoes gives advice, compliments or a sympathetic ear to his visitors, getting occasional tips. But on the night of his three-year anniversary at the club, Shoes’ customers and coworkers start to make him look into his own life.

Marcel Marx, a former bohemian and struggling author, has given up his literary ambitions and relocated to the port city Le Havre. He leads a simple life based around his wife Arletty, his favourite bar and his not too profitable profession as a shoeshiner. As Arletty suddenly becomes seriously ill, Marcel’s path crosses with an underage illegal immigrant from Africa, who needs Marcel’s help to hide from the police.

Twelve severed feet in running shoes found on the shores of Western Canada have baffled Police. A videotape is leaked anonymously from the authorities. This paranormal thriller may solve the mystery of the severed feet.

Star Wars meets Shakespeare in this timely nod to both the 40th celebration of Star Wars release and the recent 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death. Hamlet’s famous soliloquy is presented as the inner voice of a Stormtrooper, demonstrating the way Shakespeare’s language still echoes down to us through the centuries and remains as relevant today as ever—not to mention as well in a galaxy far, far away…

An in-depth, exclusive look inside the high-stakes world of protecting the President. The two-hour special echoes one of National Geographic’s core missions, to take viewers places few others have been. The special reveals unexpected stories of trepidation and triumph along with a broader understanding of the significant and serious matters the agency must contend with everyday.

Food Stamped is an informative and humorous documentary film following a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget. Nutrition educator Shira Potash teaches nutrition-based cooking classes to elementary school students in low-income neighborhoods, most of whom are eligible for food stamps. In an attempt to walk a mile in their shoes, Shira and her documentary filmmaker husband embark on the food stamp challenge where they eat on roughly one dollar per meal. Along the way, they consult with food justice activists, nutrition experts, politicians, and ordinary people living on food stamps, all in order to take a deep look at the struggles low-income Americans face every day while trying to put three-square meals on the table.

Crank up the 8-track and flash back to a time when platform shoes and puka shells were all the rage in this hilarious retro-sitcom. For Eric, Kelso, Jackie, Hyde, Donna and Fez, a group of high school teens who spend most of their time hanging out in Eric’s basement, life in the ‘70s isn’t always so groovy. But between trying to figure out the meaning of life, avoiding their parents, and dealing with out-of-control hormones, they’ve learned one thing for sure: they’ll always get by with a little help from their friends.

The most coveted new sneaker goes on sale at 8am and sneakerheads across the country are camping out overnight to get them. RONNY, a young Filipino-American and die-hard sneakerhead, has been dreaming of these shoes for months, but his quest to get in line is hindered when a fast food cashier’s racist joke offends his sister JUSTINE. Ronny’s night takes a turn for the worst when he sees the same cashier in the sneaker line. Racial tensions among the sneakerheads intensify and Ronny’s fear of not getting his beloved sneakers is quickly replaced with the fear that he and Justine are in serious danger.

Homeless children in the slums of Rio are driven out of their temporary shelters by ruthless gangsters in this somber drama. The kids survive by shining shoes, stealing, and cutting the strings of the kites to sell them later to others. Tired of life on the streets, one boy turns himself over to the police in hopes he will be sent to reform school in a last desperate attempt to survive. This feature from acclaimed Swedish director Arne Sucksdorff appeared at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.

With a tour in Afghanistan behind him, war-torn Chris Jensen struggles to assimilate back to life in California. Drifting and living out of his car, he soon discovers that few are willing to deal with the remnants of a damaged career military man. Chris is self medicating; desperate to silence the echoes from the front lines. When an opportunity finally presents itself, he makes the hard decision to employ his most coveted talents honed in special ops. A job is a job and Chris knows civilian life can be just as cut-throat as time on active duty. But just how close does he have to get to Andrew Warner to secure the kill?

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. And amongst them, the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.