Torn Sails(1920)

Destiny(de)

As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers.

The Castle of Sand(ja)

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

The Black Tulip(nl)

In 17th century Holland, a faction of royalists is scheming to restore the monarchy and jail the De Witt brothers, who control the Republic. At the same time Tulip Fever is raging, and bulb-grower Cornelis van Baerle tries to obtain the secret of black tulips. Van Baerle will soon find himself threatened by radical royalists and rival bulb-grower Isaac van Boxtel.

Winning Ticket(fi)

Eevi works in a beauty parlor, leading a humdrum life in the suburbs of Helsinki with his husband Kari, a wannabe rocker. After the jackpot, the couple agrees to carry on with their lives as before, without telling anyone about the stroke of luck. But the money is burning holes in their pockets and that’s hard to hide. Their opinions about themselves and their relationship are put to the test. Everyone seems now to have a strange attitude towards them – although they try to pretend to be the same people as before. Do the millions bring happiness after all?

I am the Secret in Your Heart(zh)

In school, Wang Hsiao-hsia and her childhood friend Yuzu are seen as a couple, but Hsiao-hsia secretly longs for the transfer student Cheng Yih. Cheng Yih, admired for his exceptional grades, talent, and fighting skills, captivates her heart. Despite her poor academic performance, Hsiao-hsia tries various methods to win his affection, but nothing works. Unbeknownst to her, Cheng Yih harbors feelings for Hsiao-hsia as well. Meanwhile, Yuzu, fiercely protective of Hsiao-hsia, is wary of anyone trying to get close to her. As summer arrives, a fragrant first love begins to bloom among the three of them, reminiscent of lemongrass.

Samsara(xx)

Darta, a man from an impoverished family, is rejected by the wealthy parents of the woman he loves. Desperate, he strikes a bargain with the Monkey King, performing a dark ritual to gain wealth. However, in doing so, he accidentally curses his wife and child to a life of suffering. Rooted in Indonesian mysticism, this universal narrative explores the insatiable hunger to become something one is not and the boundaries one is willing to cross to achieve it.

Shining Boy and Little Randy(ja)

Tetsumu, an introverted youth, realizes he has a natural ability of communicating with elephants. This prompts him to leave for Chiang Mai in Thailand to become Japan's first elephant trainer. Having found his place in the world, Tetsumu develops into a strong, confident young man. He returns to Japan with the dream of building a green "paradise" for his ivory-tusked friends. Meanwhile, he starts a career as an elephant trainer for touring shows. He meets Emi, a woman seven years his senior and falls in love.

Nicholas Nickleby(en)

Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.

The Winter War(fi)

Russia attacked Finland in late November 1939. This film tells the story of a Finnish platoon of reservists from the municipality of Kauhava in the province of Pohjanmaa/Ostrobothnia who leave their homes and go to war. The film focuses on the farmer brothers Martti and Paavo Hakala.

La Bête Humaine(fr)

Returning by train to the French port of Le Havre, Jacques Lantier, a tormented railwayman, meets by chance the impulsive stationmaster Roubard and Séverine, his wife.

S.F.W.(en)

An alienated and misanthropic teenager gains sudden and unwanted celebrity status after he's taken hostage by terrorists where his indifference to their threats to kill him makes news headlines.

The Face of Another(ja)

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.

The Magician(en)

A young woman, Margaret Dauncey, is caught between the forces of a charlatan magician, Oliver Haddo, whom she is unable to resist, and the love of a handsome surgeon, Arthur Burdon, who has saved her from being a helpless cripple by performing a delicate operation on her spine.

The Ambiguous Focus(zh)

Torn by betrayal, Zhang Nan and Zhe must face the past and decide if their love can survive—or if it’s time to walk away for good.

One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing(en)

Escaping from China with a microfilm of the formula for the mysterious "Lotus X", Lord Southmere, a Queen's Messenger, is chased by a group of Chinese spies.

North Dallas Forty(en)

A semi-fictional account of life as a professional football player. Loosely based on the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s.

Thalapathi(ta)

Surya, a courageous man who was raised in the slums, fights for the rights of the poor and befriends Deva, who hires him as his commander and changes his life completely.

Chuck Chuck Baby(en)

Helen's mundane life at the chicken factory takes an unexpected turn with Joanne's return. They were each other's secret teenage passion. As they fall in love, Helen's zest for life returns but Joanne faces something darker from her past.

Song of Triumphant Love(ru)

Hermitage(it)

Hermitage, defined by Bene as "a rehearsal for lenses", beyond any literal rendition - its narrative trace comes from one of his anti-novels, Credito Italiano V.E.R.D.I - displays his immediate attitude to thinking a cinematic language completely based on actor's movements and actions, and more specifically, on his presence and his schemes. Camouflaged or naked, still or moving, his body seems to play and be played at the same time, shifted by objective and subjective tensions, both metaphorically and visually speaking.