Mommie Dearest

Renowned actress Joan Crawford, at the height of her career, adopts two orphans — Christina and Christopher — to fill the lonely gap in her personal life. However, as her professional and romantic relationships sour, Joan's already callous and abusive behavior towards Christina intensifies.

Niente è come sembra

Freedom & Independence

Against the backdrop of an unfathomable megalopolis, in a story that follows the associative qualities of a dream logic, the protagonists quote from concepts of neo-liberal elitism, and a mix of religious delusions and hallucinations of the apocalypse. The film begins in a sacral space, where Randi, a figure that references Ayn Rand, transforms a parapsychological medium into two digital clouds and sends them on a journey through a megalopolis in full growth. There they materialize as two bodies, which go by the names of Mr. Freedom and Ms. Independence.

Happy Endings

Filmmaker Nicky offers to track down the son that Mamie gave up for adoption nearly two decades before. Meanwhile, Mamie's stepbrother (and the father of her child), Charley, along with his boyfriend, Gil, try to find out what became of the sperm Gil donated to a lesbian couple. Finally, singer Jude becomes entangled in a love triangle with androgynous drummer Otis and his conservative father.

The Best Two Years

Two pairs of Mormon missionaries from America live in a beaten-up apartment in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Their personalities are distinctly different. Elder Johnson is the District Leader and oversees their efforts. His companion, the vain Elder Van Pelt, seeks to become the assistant to the mission president (the top post available) as soon as possible. The capable Elder Rogers has become disillusioned and inattentive to his duties ever since a previous missionary companion returned to America and married Elder Roger's girlfriend. The three meet Elder Roger's new companion, Elder Calhoun, in the train station. This new elder is a nerdy but enthusiastic "greenie" that has just arrived from the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Utah. Unfortunately, his training did not give him much fluency in the Dutch language. But as luck would have it, the first person he approaches to proselytize is a fellow American named Kyle.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.

Leap of Faith

Jonas Nightengale is a fraudulent Christian faith healer who makes a living travelling around America holding revival meetings and conducting 'miracles' with the help of his friend and manager, Jane, and their entourage.

The Saviour

A young Church elder struggles with his faith when the married woman he has been seeing breaks off their relationship.

A Man Escaped

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

Holy Smoke

While on a journey of discovery in exotic India, beautiful young Ruth Barron falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru. Her desperate parents then hire PJ Waters, a macho cult de-programmer who confronts Ruth in a remote desert hideaway. But PJ quickly learns that he's met his match in the sexy, intelligent and iron-willed Ruth.

Peaches

This is the story of teenage girl Steph, who is brought up by her fiery aunt Jude after her pregnant mother Jass and Vietnamese father are killed in a car crash. The arrival of her late mother's diary reveals the colorful, sexy secrets of Jude and the foreman Alan that allow Steph to reinvent her vision of the world.

Ascent

Through a grey blanket of clouds, we barely discern the contours of Mount Fuji, a volcano with many faces. 4,500 exceptional and diverse photographs from the past 150 years form the basis for Ascent. Made entirely with stills, it is a filmic experiment balancing between documentary and fiction, photography and film, where an English woman and her deceased Japanese partner, Hiroshi, lead the way. As Mount Fuji is climbed across geographical, temporal and cultural divides, the narrative unfolds, exploring unexpected paths.

Heaven-Bound Travelers

Heaven-Bound Travelers (circa 1935) was discovered among the rolls of film in the Gist collection at the Library of Congress by S. Torriano Berry during the recent restoration of Hell-Bound Train. Eloyce Gist takes a central role onscreen as a wife and mother who is wrongfully accused of adultery by her husband and is left to fend for herself and their daughter in the world. As she struggles to sustain them, the husband becomes riddled with guilt and struggles with his decision, and the social realism of the drama shifts to an allegorical struggle between the devil, appearing to tempt humanity to sin, and the angels. The film does not exist in complete form but the fragments show a project of ambitious scope. Presented with a score composed and performed by Dr. Samuel Waymon.

Haridas

Haridas (Thyagaraja Bhagavathar) is a vain individual who spends his life in luxury and lust ignoring his wife (Vasanthakokilam). But when his wealth is appropriated by a courtesan (T. R. Rajakumari), he realizes life's realities, reforms and spends the rest of his days serving his parents and God.

Miraculum

Sometimes, we're just waiting for a miracle. A nurse who is a Jehovah's Witness, grows fond of the miracle survivor of a plane crash. Two sexagenarians, a bartender and a parking lot attendant want to explore their forbidden passions. A conservative, well-off couple drown their disappointments in booze and gambling. And a man does his utmost to make amends for an irredeemable action, bringing us to a plane bound for Cuba. An ensemble film where every character affects the lives of others.

Wet Dog

Based on a provocative autobiography, this story — set in a largely Muslim neighborhood in Berlin — follows a teenage gang member who is caught between hiding his Jewish identity and saving his life.