"Beginnings are rare and fleeting. All we are left with in life is a long and unavoidable journey to the end. Describe the burdens you carry with you on this journey." I sent the above prompt to friends and colleagues and asked for any artistic response. I received numerous poems, songs, short stories, etc. I took all of the responses and stitched together the verses, stories, and emotions into a narrative following the protagonist through a day in his life. My goal was to give a snapshot of the mental health of those around me and remind everyone that they are not alone in their sadness.
"REM" is an Afrikaans Sci-Fi Drama about a grief-stricken father, Dehan, who becomes obsessed with the memory of his late wife, Lena, through the use of a high-tech, dream-altering device, the REM. This unhealthy obsession leads to Dehan struggling to reconnect with his young son, Erich, who survived the car accident that caused Lena's death. Dehan must decide to face and to confront his grief, reconnecting with his son, or to become so immersed in his fantasy dream-world that he loses touch with reality, and Erich, altogether.
At a college in Rome, a professor, nicknamed "Dodo" is in a deep depression. His stunningly beautiful wife has just left him for another man. Dodo wants her back very badly and has erotic daydreams about her. A beautiful young student in his class asks him for a ride home and seduces the lucky man, but still he wonders about his wife and her lover.
Haunted by the ghosts of his past and his angst of his future Roman is determined to prove himself as a boxer. For this dream he is willing to give up on everything: his friends, his health, even his own self.
Ariel goes to therapy and talks to his psychologist. In the course of the session he talks about his mother and his ex-boyfriend, whom he last saw due to an argument in which Ariel didn't recognize him as his boyfriend in front of his mother.
One night, the Nohara family were enjoying a pleasant dream, when suddenly a big fish appeared in their dreams and ate them. The next morning, Hiroshi read in the newspaper that everybody in another town had the same nightmare as him, but it seemed to have ended. But Hiroshi also heard the same dream from Misae, Shinnosuke, Himawari and even Shiro. They were surprised and thought if the same thing is happening in Kasukabe too. In kindergarten, on telling others about his nightmare, Shinnosuke was surprised to know that everybody too had the same dream. Then a mysterious girl named Saki was transferred to Futaba Kindergarten and joined Shinnosuke's class. Everyone in the class, including the rather inactive Bo-chan, were all excited and happy on seeing her. But Saki had a cold attitude and didn't get along well.
A woman named Kit moves back to her parent's house, where she receives a mysterious invitation that would fulfill her childhood dreams.
A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
Two estranged brothers, one a drug addict, the other, a schizophrenic, struggle to face their demons in the streets of Baltimore.
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.
Six months after the events depicted in The Matrix, Neo has proved to be a good omen for the free humans, as more and more humans are being freed from the matrix and brought to Zion, the one and only stronghold of the Resistance. Neo himself has discovered his superpowers including super speed, ability to see the codes of the things inside the matrix and a certain degree of pre-cognition. But a nasty piece of news hits the human resistance: 250,000 machine sentinels are digging to Zion and would reach them in 72 hours. As Zion prepares for the ultimate war, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity are advised by the Oracle to find the Keymaker who would help them reach the Source. Meanwhile Neo's recurrent dreams depicting Trinity's death have got him worried and as if it was not enough, Agent Smith has somehow escaped deletion, has become more powerful than before and has fixed Neo as his next target.
The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.
Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Annie Wilson, young widow and mother of three, makes her living foretelling others' futures—though her own has become cloudier than even she can see. Threatened by a client's violent husband and plagued by visions of a missing local woman, Annie finds herself pulled into a thicket of lies and deception in which her extraordinary gift may ultimately get her killed.
Suffocating memories dominate the mind of a young woman living alone on a houseboat. Ruled by her own fantasies, she lingers to the sound of old cassette tapes and smoldering cigarettes, while visions drive her deeper into the trauma and guilt that threaten to burn her.
An unemployed dry alcoholic and former smoker longs to escape his shadows in a small abandoned village. Triggered by a mysterious meeting with his neighbour, he must face temptation, hallucinations and nightmares as he searches for his own fulfillment (in form of a cake).
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams.
We came from dust and we'll eventually return to it. Just like stars, at one final moment we'll meet our imminent collapse, then why turn against it when we can easily accept it as an old friend? The world is a chaotic and random event, the part we play in it is to live. Supernova is a short film made by a queer and brazilian independent filmmaker, that challenges the viewer into a collected and nostalgic journey of self-discovery, friendship, religion, mental health, family support, while challenging the lenghts of photography and graphic design. Avaliable on YouTube.
A comical animated opera. A chicken leaves to get birch branches for sauna while the rooster stays to warm the sauna. On her way she sees a clear-watered well, a tired cow and other creatures that sing along "Finland's best animal actress" Elina Salo and a child choir to some songs composed by M.A. Numminen.