The film follows five years in the life of a young girl as she struggles against an onslaught of good intentions. From her first encounter with the social care system, through a range of foster placements, to a haunting climax, we are challenged to question how it is that so many well-intentioned people can do so much unintended damage. And how it is that the £4bn a year that people in the UK spend on children in care has failed to break the cycle of abuse, addiction and abandonment. Written by Tim Kemp
Frank Castle
Aimee Collins
Aimee (at 16)
Mary Schoeman
Nastalia is too young to have experienced many things in life, but as an abused child she has already experienced the darkest side of it. Now a young teen she takes it upon herself to change her life for the better, but the torment that is so interlaced with her childhood will haunt her every step forward.
One day Sammy and his younger sister Ellie happen upon a cabin where Alice, a young, partially deaf girl with epilepsy is being kept by her abusive stepfather. The three soon become friends and hope to get Alice an education and help her escape from the torture she undergoes daily. However, Alice's stepfather soon finds out about the friendship Alice has struck up and punishes her brutally. This story of friendship and youth shows that everyone is human and deserves to be treated so, no matter their disability or weakness.
After her mother comes back from an extended hospital stay, a young girl begins to envision an ominous monster lurking in her home.
Substance-addicted Hollywood actress, Suzanne Vale is on the skids. After a spell at a detox centre her film company insists as a condition of continuing to employ her that she live with her mother, herself once a star and now a champion drinker. Such a set-up is bad news for Suzanne who has struggled for years to get out of her mother's shadow, and who still treats her like a child. Despite these and other problems, Suzanne begins to see the funny side of her situation, and also realises that not only do daughters have mothers—mothers do too.
A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Achim Bornhak's movie focuses on the restless life of Uschi Obermaier, the icon of the 1968 movement in Germany and groupie. At the age of 16, Uschi is bored by her job in a photo lab, but soon becomes the "it girl" of Munich's club scene. When she gets to know Rainer Langhans, they move to Berlin and live in "Kommune 1", the first politically-motivated commune in Germany. While the other occupants claim she isn't political enough, Uschi just wants to have fun, works as fashion model and leads international music stars in temptation.
Homer is an orphan who was never adopted, becoming the favorite of orphanage director Dr. Larch. Dr. Larch imparts his full medical knowledge on Homer, who becomes a skilled, albeit unlicensed, physician. But Homer yearns for a self-chosen life outside the orphanage. What will Homer learn about life and love in the cider house? What of the destiny that Dr. Larch has planned for him?
This gritty inner-city film follows various people living in a troubled New Jersey setting, most notably Nick Rinaldi, a disillusioned contractor who has been helped along his whole life by his wealthy father. Other characters in this ensemble drama about urban conflict and corruption include Asteroid , an unstable homeless person, and Wynn, an idealistic young politician.
Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.
After her drug pusher boyfriend overdoses on heroin, a cabaret singer finds refuge from the authorities in a convent for fallen women.
Paris, France, 2001. Octave Parango, a young advertiser working at the Ross & Witchcraft advertising agency, lives a suicidal existence, ruled by cynicism, irresponsibility and debauchery. The obstacles he will encounter in developing a campaign for a new yogurt brand will force him to face the meaning of his work and the way he manages his relationship with those who orbit around his egotistic lifestyle.
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
Reared by an abusive, pill-popping mother and an absentee playboy father, six-year-old Valentina must fend for herself. She does what she can to craft the illusion of normalcy: makes herself lunches that look just like the ones her classmates tote, dresses and grooms herself expertly, and lies to cover up for her mother Anita's erratic behavior.
An adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
Danielle, a vibrant young woman is forced into servitude after the death of her father when she was a young girl. Danielle's stepmother Rodmilla is a heartless woman who forces Danielle to do the cooking and cleaning, while she tries to marry off the eldest of her two daughters to the prince. But Danielle's life takes a wonderful turn when, under the guise of a visiting royal, she meets the charming Prince Henry.
On New Year's Eve, inside a police station that's about to be closed for good, officer Jake Roenick must cobble together a force made up cops and criminals to save themselves from a mob looking to kill mobster Marion Bishop.
Seven-year-old Adrian is growing up in the underground drug scene of Salzburg, usually famous for culture and classical music. His mother Helga is torn between her drug addiction and her love for her son. Despite this, Adrian has a happy childhood, the best of all worlds. But it is tested to the limit when the authorities and child welfare services find out about Helga's addiction.
Seitz has been abusing his underage daughter for years and is the father of her first child. He is a brutal perpetrator of violence and has several relevant criminal records. When Tanja confides in her new boyfriend, he persuades her to go to the police. Seitz is sentenced and threatens to beat Tanja to death while still in court. Tanja and her boyfriend have long been married and have children of their own when, after seven years, fate catches up with them again: they are terrified of Seitz, who is soon released from prison and threatens revenge. Tanja and her family turn to the authorities in vain. They can only intervene if there is a concrete threat. But then it will be too late, Tanja fears. Too late for her children and herself. Together, the family gets a rifle...