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Every city has its legends and this city’s legend is the ‘Ferryman’. It is said that a person who takes on this role can help eliminate pain and sorrow from the world. Chen Mo, a bar owner, and his partner Guan Chun may seem foolish but in reality, they are an embodiment of this legend. As long as one makes a reservation, there is no problem either are incapable of solving. A young woman, Xiao Yu, makes such a reservation for her idol Ma Li, but as Chen and Guan begin to assist Xiao they begin to encounter and reckon with the sorrow hiding within themselves.
Mom and Me takes a look at tough guys and the even tougher women who raise them. Set in Oklahoma City, apparently voted the manliest city in the United States, this creative documentary from Irish director Ken Wardrop (“His & Hers”) chronicles the relationships between ten sons and their mothers.
Kanami (Satomi Kobayashi) is a TV director. Her pet Natsu recently died due to a disease. Kanami begins to shoot a film about dogs after her movie director friend suggests the idea. For her movie, she visits an animal shelter and a shelter for dogs rescued from the area around Fukushima. She is touched by the people who work diligently to save the animals.
In a country famous for its success in international beauty pageants, three young women are fighting to participate in their nation’s most celebrated cultural institution. But obtaining a place in the Miss Venezuela contest is no easy task. Women must endure grueling diets, consent to intensive plastic surgery, and find the resources necessary to transform themselves from ordinary citizens into famous and illustrious Misses. To Be a Miss is a character-driven documentary that takes the viewer through the inner workings of Venezuela’s renowned beauty factory, revealing the risks and rewards associated with this multi-billion dollar industry while exposing what nationalism, personal ambition, and the influence of mass media has meant for women in the country.
Toby is a smaller than average dog who dreams of leading Santa’s sleigh. After sneaking on to his sleigh one night, he’s accidentally left behind and finds himself joining forces with two kids to find his way back to the North Pole.
Directed by Rachel Viollet, and featuring interviews with soccer legends; Sir Alex Ferguson, Bryan Robson, Denis Law, Nobby Stiles and Paddy Crerand, this inspiring documentary showcases the life of Manchester United and Busby Babe legend Dennis Viollet.
In a godforsaken Kazakh village four adolescent teenagers try to find their place in the world…
A pained cry pierces the heart of a rustic mountain town in Larry Yang’s remarkable second feature Mountain Cry. When La Hong (Yu Ailei) dies in an accident involving an explosive badger trap, naïve Han Chong (Wang Ziyi) obeys village decree and takes the responsibility of caring for La Hong’s mute widow Hong Xia (Lang Yueting) and their children. But as they start to form an emotional bond, suspicions arise concerning La Hong’s death. A melodrama condemning intolerance, it is also a love story of remarkable credibility and emotional depth.
Screenwriter Leo is searching for the wolf in the south of France. During a scouting excursion he is seduced by Marie, a free-spirited and dynamic shepherdess. Nine months later she gives birth to their child. Suffering from post-natal depression and with no faith in Leo, who comes and goes without warning, Marie abandons both of them. Leo finds himself alone, with a baby to care for.
In the 1950s, Tab Hunter was number one at the box office and number one on the music charts and was Hollywood’s most sought-after young star. Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds and Sophia Loren were just a few of the actresses he was romantically linked to. He was America’s Boy Next Door and nothing, it seemed, could damage Tab Hunter’s career. Nothing, that is, except for the fact that Tab Hunter was secretly gay. Now, the secret is out.
In the midst of the wedding princess Miroslava is kidnapped by a dragon and carried away into his castle on the remote island. Mira left everything behind in the past – family, friends and groom. Now the only things she had were a stone cage and a mysterious young man named Arman … but who is he and what is he doing on that island? Miroslava will know the truth too late: loving a dragon will reveal the bitter truth – love is scary.
J. Kessels is the story of the bizarre road trip taken by a French literary pulp writer with his favourite character J. Kessels. The journey takes them from Tilburg to the Hamburg Reeperbahn in Kessels’ old American ‘Kamikaze’ clunker as they seek out cheating dealer. When they get there they find a corpse in the trunk of the Kamikaze: easy to find, but how do you get rid of it?
An unflinching look at how women are treated in the USA today examining issues such as workplace harassment, domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. It shows how discriminatory attitudes still prevail and influence society and argues for the need to improv laws that claim to protect women
Vidya Sinha (Vidya Balan) has only one obsession in life. She wants to see her teenage daughter Mini, who is paralysed waist-downwards, walk again. But, is this scenario as obvious as it seems? Or is Vidya an impersonator of Durga Rani Singh from Kalimpong, who is wanted for kidnapping and murder?
Music and politics collide when international music star, Pras Michel of the Fugees, returns to his homeland of Haiti following the devastating earthquake of 2010 to mobilize a presidential campaign for Haiti’s most controversial musician: Michel Martelly aka Sweet Micky. The politically inexperienced pair set out against a corrupted government, civil unrest, and a fixed election. When Pras’s former bandmate, superstar Wyclef Jean, also enters the presidential race, their chances seem further doomed. But with the help of a few friends, including Ben Stiller and former president Bill Clinton, they never give up on their honest dream of changing the course of Haiti’s future forever
Documentary about the two big resources in the North Atlantic, fish and oil, and the impact of their exploitation on the environment in various countries on both sides of the Atlantic.
On a night of April 1957, Albertine, a brillant and rebel 19-year-old girl, jumps from the wall of the prison where she’s serving a sentence for a holdup. In her fall, a bone from her ankle breaks: the astragal. She is rescued by Julien, a justice fugitive, and so is born a burning passion between them. He takes her to Paris and hides her. But while he leads his gangster life here and there, the young woman struggles for her freedom and against the wounds inflicted by Julien’s absence, and writes poetry.
Yallah! Underground follows some of today’s most influential and progressive artists in Arab underground culture from 2009 to 2013 and documents their work, dreams and fears in a time of great change for Arab societies. In a region full of tension, young Arab artists in the Middle East have struggled for years to express themselves freely and to promote more liberal attitudes within their societies. During the Arab Spring, like many others of this new generation, local artists had high hopes for the future and took part in the protests. However, after years of turmoil and instability, young Arabs now have to challenge both old and new problems, being torn between feelings of disillusion and a vague hope for a better future.
Down-on-his-luck single dad Harvey Fowler gets a much needed boost when he meets children’s author Mandy Simpkins, author of the Marvelous Mandy storybooks that his daughter loves. Their beautifully vivacious relationship seems like it couldn’t get any more perfect, until Harvey gains some disturbing insights into her fractured mental state. When cracks start to show through her dreamlike personality, Harvey learns who she really is- and just how vicious she’ll become to maintain the illusion of her perfect life.
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?
Four exceptional astronomers celebrate 50 years of work and friendship on a return road trip in the southwestern United States, recapturing youthful adventures and recounting each other’s influences on the most exciting period in astronomy’s history. Roger the instrument-maker, Donald the theoretician, Nick the visionary, and Wal the observer. Together they represent the most productive period astronomy has ever had. They helped build the world’s biggest observatories and made revolutionary discoveries about the evolving universe, discoveries that have the power to change the way humanity sees itself. Alison Rose’s film is a funny, insightful, humbling and intimate portrait of friendship, as the men reflect on how their profound work on the universe has reflected back on the individual, affecting their sense of religious faith, how life may have purpose, and what is knowable and unknowable.
Daisy and Viola are siamese twin sisters on the verge of turning 18 living in the suburbs of Naples. They are blessed with beautiful voices and thanks to their performances at weddings, communions and baptisms, they get the livelihood for the whole family. Kept isolated from the rest of the world by their own father who just exploits them in order to make money, their life turns upside-down when one of them falls in love for the first time and they discover that they can be separated.
King of Mahjong centres on the decade-long feud and eventual reunion of Wong Tin Ba and Ah Fatt. 20 years later, Wong Tin Ba, who is now a world-acclaimed mahjong champion and magnate, shows up in Ipoh to challenge Fatt to a final showdown – The World Mahjong Championship. Despite Wong’s insistence, Fatt declines to join the competition as he is determined and contented to lead the life of a commoner. In a bid to force Fatt into the showdown, Wong abducts Fatt’s wife, Ramona, and threatens her to be on his alliance. Fatt has no choice but to join the championship as Wong holds his wife hostage. On the mahjong table, Fatt and Wong compete as the finalists; Master Ru’s secret legendary mahjong move and the truth comes to light as the winner emerges…
Two strangers meet in a hospital where their respective partners lie in a coma. Their meeting sees them start to re-examine what they want to do with their lives as they deal with their grief and sadness.
Jane and Simon are two young police officers leading a routine investigation following the discovery of hidden video equipment in an abandoned house by a night watchman. But the first filmed images go way beyond a simple holiday movie. The two investigators realize that they have to move quickly if they are to find out what has become of Steven, Stephanie, Olivia, Sam, and Sebastien… before it’s too late.
A couple (Jian RenZi and Andrew Lin) who has been unsuccessfully trying to have a child for a few years, and decides to resort to an old Chinese fertility ritual, that of the “primer”: to temporarily adopt a child, who will open the way for their own progeny. They adopt a quiet 7-year-old girl (Wang Yifei) at an orphanage whose supervisors (Hui Shiu Hung and Pat Ha) are obviously not telling them everything. The adopted child is silent, asocial and constantly draws disturbingly dark pictures of her previous family. It doesn’t help that her new mother is beset with strange visions that threaten her sanity.
Following the journey of an Evangelical minister trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America. Reverend Rob Schenck, anti-abortion activist and fixture on the political far right, breaks with orthodoxy by questioning whether being pro-gun is consistent with being pro-life.
Story about five people who wanted something so badly that they’ll do anything, even to deal with the devil. As they finally get what they want, no one has mentioned that their dream will cost them their lives.
A respected documentary maker hears from a friend that his long term depression has been helped after watching a video entitled “Food matters” and following a nutritional protocol involving high doses of vitamins, as outlined by a featured speaker in Foodmatters, by the name of Andrew W Saul. Beatie visits Saul and is given an outline of Orthomolecular Medicine, the protocol envisaged by Nobel prize winners and eminent scientists.
Mumford and Sons are a band that have never stayed still. An innate desire to travel, to meet people and to do the unexpected has become a calling card of sorts as fans the world over join their community and fall in love with their consistently evolving music. The documentary follows the band and their latest set of collaborators as they travel across uncharted territory, playing the major cities of South Africa with an eclectic mix of musician friends. They explore the craft of song writing and the people, events and influences that dictate that. The film showcases the band at their most open and collaborative as they relish the excitement of playing to crowds in new cities who’ve never seen them before. Along the way they set a fresh challenge for themselves; taking their collaborative culture one step further as they attempt to write and record a mini album in just two days, with the other musicians on tour. The filming of this process not only lifts the lid on the art of song….
Three stories intertwine as different people deal with the challenges of living through times of crisis. An evicted mother, a banker with a conscience and a police officer who has to do his job no matter what, sing and dance in this Brechtian musical drama about the economic crisis, people’s struggle with daily life, solidarity and hope.
Telling the incredible life story of one of Britain’s most successful athletes and arguably our country’s greatest ever Olympian, Mo Farah opens the doors to his home and gives us a personal insight into his life, enabling us to see a side of him never seen before. Join Mo, his family, and his team in the build up to and throughout the Rio Olympic Games, looking back over his career and remarkable personal journey from Somalia to four-time GB Olympic Champion. Mo reflects on the most memorable, emotional and impactful moments of his life, with contributions from his closest family, friends and sporting peers including Usain Bolt, Thierry Henry, Lord Sebastian Coe, Halie Gebreselassie, Alberto Salazar and Tania Farrah.
An intimate portrait of a group of very different suicide bombers working for Al Qaeda in Syria. From the Saudi who loves singing and fried chicken, to a 26-year-old white British convert who worries a lot about his new wife, this remarkable film embeds with an unlikely bunch of “martyrdom seekers”, each waiting for their turn to go on a final mission, known by Jihadis as ‘Dugma’.
Its Halloween 1989, best friends Sam and Josh are trying to enjoy what’s left of their final Devil’s Night before graduating high school. But trouble arises when the two pals and a group of friends take a detour on their way to a rock concert, finding an old abandoned barn and awakening the evil inside. Now it’s up to Sam and Josh to find a way to protect their friends and defeat the creatures that lurk within “The Barn”.
Looking for a successor to his leadership of a Lao Qiang shaddow puppet theatre places Shao in a dilemma; only sons with blood ties can become apprentices.
Girl Power is a documentary that presents female graffiti writers from fifteen cities – from Prague to Moscow, Cape Town, Sydney, Biel, Madrid, Berlin, Toulouse, Barcelona and all the way to New York. The graffiti community is predominantly a man’s world, and men often share the view that graffiti – namely the illegal kind – is not for girls. And yet women have become increasingly more emancipated in recent years; there are female graffiti shows, magazines and websites. Girl Power captures the stories of ladies who have succeeded in the male graffiti world.
Mostly Sunny is a documentary that tells the remarkable story of Sunny Leone, the Canadian-born, American-bred adult film star who is pursuing her dreams of Bollywood stardom.
Documentary about humans dealing with changing technology, the basic concepts of communication, cinema, and Akerman’s mother, seen in her Brussels apartment.
Marking Out is a comedic documentary that follows a group of grown men as they try to figure out why they can’t seem to let go of professional wrestling. Travel with them as they meet with wrestlers (including EC3, Eric Young, and the stars of Chikara and Olde Wrestling) and wrestling fans in an attempt to either rekindle their love of the business or put it behind them forever.