films

When Briony Tallis, 13 years old and an aspiring writer, sees her older sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner at the fountain in front of the family estate she misinterprets what is happening thus setting into motion a series of misunderstandings and a childish pique that will have lasting repercussions for all of them. Robbie is the son of a family servant towards whom the family has always been kind. They paid for his time at Cambridge and now he plans on going to medical school. After the fountain incident, Briony reads a letter intended for Cecilia and concludes that Robbie is a deviant. When her cousin Lola is raped, she tells the police that it was Robbie she saw committing the deed when in fact it was a visitor to the estate.

François is a young French teacher in a difficult school .
He does not hesitate to confront Esmeralda, Souleymane, Khoumba and others using challenging word games, as if language itself was a real challenge. But learning democracy might have real risks sometimes.

This journey to the heart of Africa, beyond the shadows of tragedy and war, is a hymn to life just like the untamable vegetation that enshrines the river’s shores. During the different stages of the journey, images from the banks tell of a people’s joys and suffering, of the celebrations and tragedies, which punctuate the lives of canoeists, fishermen, merchants, travelers, military men, rebels, child soldiers, Mai Mai militia and raped women… An entire people in search of light and dignity.

A Dutch film critic and a poor Russian vagabond make for a very odd couple.
Bob, an intellectual film critic and screenwriter visits an obscure film festival in Kiev, where he meets the poor but engaging vagabond Duska. “Whenever you’re in Holland, do not hesitate to visit me,” the over-enthusiastic Bob suggests, knowing for sure that Duska will never leave Kiev. He is therefore stunned when, a few months later, Duska is standing at his door. The timing couldn’t be worse. Since Bob is finally meeting the girl he was longing for: the attractive cashier from the movie theatre across the street. Bob and Duska start living together. Duska tries his very best to be nice, but Bob becomes increasingly annoyed. Normal communication is impossible, because Duska only speaks Russian and a genuine war threatens to break out between the two men. Finally, Bob wrestles Duska out of his life. But when he’s gone, he misses him deeply and so he travels back to Kiev to find his one and only true friend.

Aïcha, a high-school student, is a passionate kung fu fighter. Her Turkish parents expect her to get good grades so she can get into medical school, like her brother Ali. But school doesn't inspire her. Defying her family, Aïcha starts secretly training at a professional, co-ed kung fu club.
A boy, Emil, helps Aïcha train for the club championship and they fall in love. But the rules of life are not as simple as the rules of kung fu, and Aïcha is forced to decide who she is and what she wants.

Fourteen kilometers is not only the distance separating Africa from Europe, it is also the boundary separating the dreams of millions of Africans who see the West as their only escape route from hunger and misery. Along with three young Africans – Violeta, Buba and Mukela- we make a long, dangerous journey through the Sahara to find out about things the media never show us. We have seen the television pictures of boats arriving on the Canary Island coast so often that we have grown hardened to a drama that is only the tip of the iceberg. These pictures of exhausted faces are ample proof of the grueling journey that begins thousands of kilometers away and may last for years. This film is a tribute to the ones who have succeeded and to the ones who failed, to those who survived and to the many who died trying. For all of them, our admiration and respect.

As cows graze under an open sky, raging heavy metal music erupts from bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Grave Digger, Raise Hell, Death Angel and Sodom. This is surely the stuff cultural showdowns are made of. In fact, the world’s biggest heavy metal festival, where northern German farmers from a Holstein village rub shoulders with international hard-rock fans, is peacefulness personified. Bizarre? Definitely. Enlightening? Purely incidental. Funny? From beginning to end.

The Guardian's Son is an engaging dramatic comedy, about the illusion, secrets and lies of four young people set in an abandoned mountainous area in Greece. Markos, an ambitious young journalist of a local TV channel finds himself in a very difficult position. During the filming of a demo (A La Candid Camera) for Markos' TV show, one of the unsuspecting “victims” of the show, Ilias, takes with him a revolver, which was used as “bait”, and disappears.
In desperate attempt to find Ilias, Markos reaches his mother's village, and an emotional story with unexpected developments has just begun.

The film depicts the everyday lives of political outcasts in a convict labour camp – intellectuals and small businessmen sent there for ‘re-education’, as they were considered unfit and threatening for the new regime, and female prisoners jailed for trying to flee the country, which has become a major criminal offence after the communist putch.
But the beauty of life, friendship and love can still be found in the depth of every human being, even on a metal scrap yard, under the ever-present eyes of guards and communist executives.

Azad loves competing in the high jump and his greatest hero is the champion Kajsa Bergqvist. Along with his brother Tigris, he is separated from his family and ends up as a hostage in Sweden. Although they try to make friends in their new country, they never give up the hope of meeting their family once again.

Gianni is a middle-aged man living in Rome with his imposing and demanding elderly mother. His only outlet from her and the debt into which they are sinking are the increasingly frequent quiet sessions at the local tavern. As an Oriental saying goes, 'Moments of crisis are moments of opportunities'. These appear during the celebration of the holiday of Ferragosto on 15 August. That's when everybody leaves town to have fun. Opportunity knocks on Gianni's door in the most unexpected way.

There is only one planet and it has its limits. During our recent history, our planet has undergone tremendous changes, mainly caused by the exploits of mankind. This film takes the viewer to the places in the world where you most clearly can get a picture of a future we should do everything to avoid. We are guided by many of the world’s best respected environmental scientists. They give us a comprehensive picture of the dangers faced by the planet, but also hope for the future. This is not science fiction, and it’s not only about global warming. It’s about the entire earth system being shaken.

Ramim offers a recap on current environmental issues in Jordan, following 50 years of environmental degradation. From the slums of Zarqa to Abdali’s flee market; this documentary explores attitudes and actions towards their habitat, offering a better way forward.

Ricky is a ten-year-old boy who likes to play drums. He lives in an apartment building with his aunt Serena Rapper, a telemarketer, and dreams of performing live one day. Serena, on the other hand, dreams of Lennart Lindberg who lives downstairs. A girl named Nelly Butterfly moves into their building, and Serena encourages Ricky to get to know her, but Ricky is too shy. He does not understand how he could make friends with a girl. Serena writes a love letter to Lennart Lindberg, but the letter ends up in Nelly´s hands. The letter is signed by “your friend from upstairs,” and Nelly thinks Ricky has sent the letter. Nelly thinks Ricky is an idiot and writes an abusive letter to the “friend from upstairs.” When Ricky finds out about the misunderstanding, he wants to disguise himself.  

In a globalised market, a small fish shop would not seem like a good investment to fulfill the aspirations of the two brothers, Kurt and Martin- but it will offer an opportunity to redefine their relationship on new grounds.
Gradually, they realize that they are not so different after all, but rather complement each other. However, as they decide to leave behind them complex family issues and believe they have found a common goal, it is too late. Each brother must first liberate himself from the burden of his father’s heritage in order to make a new, independent beginning.

The life of Imre Nagy is one of the definitive stories of 20th century history. He was the first communist leader to become the symbol of a national revolution, a prime minister, a denouncer of the Warsaw Pact, and an advocate of multiparty democracy. The film makes an attempt to throw light on the life of the martyr prime minister from a different angle, and to present his story through a subjective point of view, starting from the events of 1956, going on to his execution and finally the events subsequent to his story until today.

Juliusz Machulski, one of the favorite Polish directors, the maker of the well known film Va Bank, shows in his film Vinci, that he still hasn't lost his touch and remains in the cohorts of the Polish living classics. Vinci is a typically Polish comedy, with excellent Slavic humor, twisting plot and hilarious characters. The plot seems to be so simple - some crooks want to steal a Vinci picture and then there are so many other criminals who also want to lay their hands on the work of art. What is great here is the vivid performance of Machulski in the role of an old but still effective thief, who can do everything to fool other crooks down and to get his share of money. The picturesque views of Krakow, excellent playing, funny dialogs all add to the picture. Do not search for the sky-high sense or extremely serious ideas. This is entertainment in its clearest sense. But what a clever work!