When tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin dies in 1953, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweebish Georgy Malenkov, the wily Nikita Khrushchev and Lavrenti Beria – the sadistic secret police chief. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains – just who is running the government?

Taxi driver David, who’s doomed after a terminal cancer diagnosis, accidentally kills hotel owner Patrick in a car crash. Patrick’s girlfriend takes over his hotel by a lake in Hong Kong, which is soon plagued by serial suicidal incidents.

A woman’s hopes of reviving a 10 year love affair are shattered a piece at a time. The new Mark Savage film is always a special event at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. It features a cameo from Ron Jeremy and is an erotic adventure that will pervert and entice.

This documentary film examines the transformative power of lyrics in the world of hip-hop music. Through dynamic archival footage, in-depth interviews and excursions with artists like Nas, Tech9, J Cole, Rapsody and Anderson. Paak, the film explores the many dimensions that hip-hop poetics occupy.

Jin-seok, 21-year-old, moves into a new house with his family. He suffers from a slight schizophrenia but he carries an ordinary life under the warm care of the family. His older brother Yu-seok is a decent college student, a mentor, and role model for Jin-seok. One night, his beloved brother is kidnapped by unidentified assailants before Jin-seok’s eye. Jin-seok can’t recognize their faces, but can remember only the VIN that matches with no car. After long silence of 19 days, suddenly Yu-seok returns home, but remembers nothing which had happened in the meantime. And soon Jin-seok feels Yu-seok is a total stranger…

Julia, an online vlogger from Germany, comes to the US to visit her cousin Hannah. Upon her arrival, Julia falls fatefully ill, prompting Hannah’s suspicion of the strange and sudden illness. When unusual happenings start taking place in her home, Hannah begins a relentless internet search to discover the cause. She comes across Julia’s vlog entries and finds herself immersed deep in the web – too deep – in a place where terror knows no end.

Samir, a lanky crane operator in Montreuil, falls madly for Agathe. As master swimmer at the pool Thorez he decides to take swimming lessons with her. But the lie does not last three lessons – Agathe hate liars. Chosen to represent the Seine-Saint-Denis, Agathe flies to Iceland for the 10th Congress of the International Masters Swimming. Samir has no choice but to fly in turn also.

One night, a shooting star appears, whizzing through outer space towards the moon. Moon Man seizes his chance, grabs the speeding comet by the tail and hitches a ride to earth. This ‘attack from outer space’ sets the alarm bells ringing in the Presidential Headquarters. While escaping the President and his soldiers, Moon Man sets off on a long journey and marvels at the many wonders the earth has to offer – and he realizes how much children love and need him.

Benjamin is meant to be a great doctor, he’s certain of it. But his first experience as a junior doctor in the hospital ward where his father works doesn’t turn out the way he hoped it would. Responsibility is overwhelming, his father is all but present, and his co-junior partner, a foreign doctor, is far more experimented than he is. This internship will force Benjamin to confront his limits… and start his way to adulthood.

A normal class, ordinary children and a regular school teacher. Or not. The lives of the children in Mr Frans’ class are turned upside down when they discover that he sometimes turns into a frog. And Sita is so fond of her teacher that she wants to protect him at all costs from all those dangerous animals… Based on the novel by bestselling Dutch author Paul van Loon.

Elle Marja, 14, is a reindeer-breeding Sami girl. Exposed to the racism of the 1930s and phrenological examinations at her boarding school, she starts dreaming of another life. To achieve this other life she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.

A couple on the run find themselves dealing with the hidden cameras that have been installed at the bed-and-breakfast where they choose to hide out.

When nice-guy Jeremy Martin puts on mysterious virtual reality glasses at the mall, he suddenly loses his “inside voice” and starts spouting every thought he has out loud. Making matters worse, Jeremy is running for student council president against his classmate Milly, who is full of great ideas to improve the school. Desperate to get back to normal, Jeremy and his sister Victoria must figure out how to convince his brain that he can speak up for himself.

All the people in this countryside area, can count on Jean-Pierre, the doctor who auscultates them, heals and reassures them day and night, 7 days a week. Now Jean-Pierre is sick, so he sees Natalie, a young doctor, coming from the hospital to assist him. But will she adapt to this new life and be able to replace the man that believed to be irreplaceable?

Chris Rock takes the stage for his first comedy special in 10 years, filled with searing observations on fatherhood, infidelity and American politics.

This in-world short film takes place in the year 2036 and revolves around Jared Leto’s character, Niander Wallace. In this short, directed by Luke Scott, Wallace introduces a new line of “perfected” replicants called the Nexus 9, seeking to get the prohibition on replicants repealed. This no doubt has serious ramifications that will be crucial to the plot of Blade Runner 2049.

“2048: Nowhere to Run” takes place one year before the events of Blade Runner 2049. The short film focuses on Sapper, a man who is trying to make it through life day-by-day without turning back to his old ways. We’re introduced to both the gentle nature of Sapper and the violence he’s capable of when set off.

Los Angeles police officers embark on an innovative program mentoring promising students from the harsh, gang-infested Watts neighbourhood.

An innocent discovery of a well-preserved mummified Emperor from 200 BC China unearths a 2000 year old nightmare – a secret that should have remained buried.

1920, rural Ireland. Anglo-Irish twins Rachel and Edward share a strange existence in their crumbling family estate. Each night, the property becomes the domain of a sinister presence (The Lodgers) which enforces three rules upon the twins: they must be in bed by midnight; they may not permit an outsider past the threshold; and if one attempts to escape, the life of the other is placed in jeopardy. When troubled war veteran Sean returns to the nearby village, he is immediately drawn to the mysterious Rachel, who in turn begins to break the rules set out by The Lodgers. The consequences pull Rachel into a deadly confrontation with her brother – and with the curse that haunts them.

Yan Jian, a young Chinese IT engineer who volunteers to go to North Africa and help the company he works for to win a competition. The winner can own the right to control the communication between south and north. French spy Michael works for the West. His boss ordered him to go to the North Africa and win the competition, and they can control the great mineral resources of Africa. He hired the best mercenary in Africa whose name is Lauder and a former general Kabbah to help him. Yan has discovered their conspiracy, he is the only one who can stop them.

Based on true events an epic story of one man’s struggle for survival. Jussi Ketola, returns to Finland from the great depression struck America only to face growing political unrest. One summer night of 1930, nationalist thugs violently abduct Ketola from his home. Beaten and forced to walk the Eternal Road towards a foreign Soviet Russia, where cruelty seems to know no end, his only dream is to return to his family cost it what it may. Hope dies last.

Helen tries to cope with the recent death of her husband, a scientist who killed himself right when he was on the verge of successfully completing the invention of a time machine. One day, she receives a phone call, and a voice suspiciously resembling her own voice warns her that she’s in danger. Is it possible Helen has time travelled? And what could have led her to do something like that?

When Bob Hart, a widowed police detective trying to raise a rebellious teenage daughter, inherits a Montana horse ranch, he jumps at the opportunity to leave Los Angeles for the open range. Soon after arriving, Bob accepts the position as county sheriff and discovers that the seemingly bucolic countryside is far from tranquil. His problems include wolves who attack his stock, ruthless developers trying to take over the town and a female veterinarian with a chip on her shoulder, while trying to build a new home.

Yuan Shuai, a debt-ridden animal-breeder, tries to get out of his financial predicament by finding a wealthy girlfriend through matchmaking dates. He unexpectedly meets and fall in love with the fox demon, Bai Xianchu, who has arrived to the mortal realm to repay her gratitude. However, the head of the Demon tribe Yun Zhonghe forbids a love relationship between a demon and a human; and takes Bai Xianchu away. To seek his lover, Yuan Shuai bravely crashes the demonic world.

When a local park ranger warns a group of friends to stay out of the woods they can’t resist. Soon they learn just how dark some secrets can be.

Bird, a smart level-headed tween, and her immature stoner mom gracelessly navigate the arrival of Bird’s first period, which she gets on the last day of school… in front of the entire class.

The story of a father, his 23-year-old daughter who goes back home one day because she has just been dumped, and his new girlfriend, who is also 23 and lives with him.

The Backlot Murders is a campy horror film starring Jaime Anstead, Priscilla Barnes, Charles Fleischer and Corey Haim. A killer in an Elvis mask murders the cast and crew of a rock band video shoot.

When an accidental death takes the life of a young boy, the family moves to a country home for a fresh start, only to discover there is something much worse than than their memories and guilt living in the attic.

A routine run for a truck driver turns into a nightmare he can’t escape in this psychological drama from filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa. Georgy (Viktor Nemets) is driving a load of freight into Russia when, after an unpleasant encounter with the police at a border crossing, he finds himself giving a lift to a strange old man (Vladimir Golovin) with disturbing stories about his younger days in the Army. After next picking up a young woman (Olga Shuvalova) who works as a prostitute and is wary of the territory, Georgy finds himself lost, and despite asking some homeless men for help, he’s less sure than he was before of how to make his way back where he belongs. As brutal images of violence and alienation cross the screen, Georgy’s odyssey becomes darker and more desperate until it reaches an unexpected conclusion.

Peter Rabbit’s feud with Mr. McGregor escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door.

Danielle makes a deadly discovery when she inherits a house from her grandmother. Something mysterious from the past is lurking deep within the shadows.

A group of American tourists heading down an African river make a brief stop at Snake Island, an island that has been virtually abandoned for years. When they end up getting trapped on the island overnight, they find thousands of deadly snakes intent on reclaiming the tropical island for themselves.

In the final days of World War II, occupying Japanese forces in the Philippines face resistance from the local population and the American offensive. The dwindling Japanese soldiers attempt to survive through the horrors of war.

Some of Europe’s leading horror filmmakers unite to bring you a collection of terrifying horror stories.

An alcoholic cop experiences blackouts and starts turning into a werewolf when the full moon appears in the sky.

In this erotic thriller, Heather Leighton (former Playboy Playmate Lisa Boyle) is on the cusp of a hot modeling career in Boston when her luck takes a brutal turn. After witnessing a murder, Heather is on the run from a group of dangerous criminals. With her boyfriend Jamie (Christopher Roblee) in tow, Heather tries to escape Boston’s frightening underworld with her life and career intact.

The Independent is a mockumentary comedy film made in 2000, directed by Stephen Kessler, starring Jerry Stiller as an independent film maker, who makes little-known B movies with titles like Twelve Angry Men and a Baby. The film spoofs independent directors and independent film. The film features Janeane Garofalo, Max Perlich, and cameos by Anne Meara, Ron Howard, Roger Corman, Peter Bogdanovich, John Lydon, Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Fred Dryer, Jonathan Katz, Fred Williamson, Karen Black, Nick Cassavetes, Julie Strain and adult film actress Ginger Lynn. The fictional career of Morty Fineman (Stiller) is said to have made 427 films. It is not specified as to whether he directed them all, or if it refers to films produced or written by the Fineman character.

In the year 1600, a battle determines the future ruler for Japan and the beginning of the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate.