

Each of the three short films in this collection presents a young gay man at the threshold of adulthood. In "Pool Days," Justin is a 17-year old Bethesda lad, hired as the evening life guard at a fitness center. In the course of the summer, he realizes and embraces that he's gay. In "A Friend of Dorothy," Winston arrives from upstate for his freshman year at NYU. He has to figure out, with some help from Anne, a hometown friend, how to build a social life as a young gay man in the city. In "The Disco Years," Tom looks back on 1978, the year in high school that he came out of the closet after one joyful and several painful encounters

Waiter (Pool Days)
Kissing Couple (Pool Days)
Weightlifter (Pool Days)
Nadia (The Disco Years)
Steamroom Guy (Pool Days)
Dad (Pool Days)

Each of the three short films in this collection presents a young gay man at the threshold of adulthood. In "Pool Days," Justin is a 17-year old Bethesda lad, hired as the evening life guard at a fitness center. In the course of the summer, he realizes and embraces that he's gay. In "A Friend of Dorothy," Winston arrives from upstate for his freshman year at NYU. He has to figure out, with some help from Anne, a hometown friend, how to build a social life as a young gay man in the city. In "The Disco Years," Tom looks back on 1978, the year in high school that he came out of the closet after one joyful and several painful encounters
1994-09-30
4.615
Three Tales of Love, Lust & Liberation
5.0Tom Peters looks back to 1978, the year in high school that he came out of the closet. Tom's mom is both sweet and intrusive, urging him to take out girls. She also drags him to her disco-dancing lessons. His friendship with Matt becomes his first love, and then Matt turns on Tom with homophobic venom. Later, Matt and Matt's new girlfriend trash the classroom of an effeminate teacher with more vicious homophobia. At first, Tom joins in heaping scorn on the teacher, then he has to decide if it isn't time to open the closet door. A crisis of sorts ensues with his mom, and disco proves to be a balm.
5.9At the end of September 1941, Soviet artillery troops in besieged Leningrad realize that pretty soon they will fire their last shot, and after that the defense of the city will be doomed. The film is based on a true event: a small group of fearless soldiers transported a large supply of gunpowder through enemy lines to Leningrad.
5.2After Italian capitulation in WW2, German forces are rushing to take control of the Dalmatian coast, forcing thousands of people to take refuge. One partisan boat, filled with refugees, tries to reach a safe area, but because of a storm it must stop near a small island. While the crew tries to repair it, a German gunboat comes from nearby.
7.7With input from actor and writer Jan Hlobil, director and cinematographer Rene Smaal presents a film in the true surrealist tradition, in the sense that only 'found' elements were used, and that it defies interpretation based on ordinary cause-and-effect time sequence.
5.7Aïcha, 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.
7.0A man babysits his girlfriends kid, and after a short while screams come from her room. Apparently she believes there's a monster under her bed.
10.0A group of people inside an underground complex which possesses high tech computers which tracks world events consider all options as nuclear war is at hand, air supplies may last only eight days and Biblical prophesy unfolds.
5.0Demobbed from the army Nat, Norman and Dan get new jobs, solve a crime and stage a concert party.
6.0Rooftop is a 1-minute experimental short film that captures the final summer night of a young boy as he confronts the silence before his suicide. Set entirely on a rooftop, the film explores themes of isolation, emotional stillness, and the quiet unraveling of the human spirit. Through minimal dialogue and expressive visuals, Rooftop offers a poignant meditation on fleeting time and internal struggle. Starring Kamran Ahmad and directed by Hosh-e-Ruba (Kamran Ahmad) and Khwaabgari (Khizer Zaman), with story by Khwaabgari, the film is set to Max Richter’s haunting composition On the Nature of Daylight.
5.7Local police are alerted to a notorious gangster's whereabouts, and they will not enter the apartment because it is haunted by Buppha Rahtree and a knife-wielding mini-Buppha.
4.4A businessman charters a flight to Tibet to pick up a monk. On the way back, the plane is hijacked, and the monk ends up in a war zone where he has to convince the bandits to change their evil ways.
1.5Funny character "Cumali Ceber" goes to a vacation with his unclever friends. The fun saga continues during the holiday.
7.4A documentary film depicting five intimate portraits of migrants who fled their country of origin to seek refuge in France and find a space of freedom where they can fully experience their sexuality and their sexual identity: Giovanna, woman transgender of Colombian origin, Roman, Russian transgender man, Cate, Ugandan lesbian mother, Yi Chen, young Chinese gay man…
6.0Installed at the heart of Japanese society when the country was in a state of collapse after World War II, and then launched on a frantic course to achieve modernity, over a period of 60 years, Michiko followed an unexpected path: that of encouraging the Japanese people to indulge in greater introspection in order to build a united, peaceful and enlightened Japan.
3.4Sonia, the daughter of a prominent publisher, is about to fulfill her lifelong dream of marrying Rosendo, a promising writer with homosexual tendencies, who pines for his fiancee far less than he does for the brand new literary award launched by his future father-in-law. The wedding shindig will bring its share of unexpected surprises. This is a film is part of the DOGME 95 Movement, described as follows: 'the goal of the Dogme collective is to purify film-making by refusing expensive and spectacular special effects, post-production modifications and other gimmicks. The emphasis on purity forces the filmmakers to focus on the actual story and on the actors' performances. Given these restrictions the story and the action of DIAS DE BODA ('WEDDING DAYS') seem much more immediate and the lapses in fluidity of the story can be forgiven - to a point.
6.9After World War II, Antonia and her daughter, Danielle, go back to their Dutch hometown, where Antonia's late mother has bestowed a small farm upon her. There, Antonia settles down and joins a tightly-knit but unusual community. Those around her include quirky friend Crooked Finger, would-be suitor Bas and, eventually for Antonia, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter who help create a strong family of empowered women.
6.6In the beginning of the 19th century, Johannes Elias Alder is born in a small village in the Austrian mountains. While growing up he is considered strange by the other villagers and discovers his love of music, especially rebuilding and playing the organ at the village church. After experiencing an "acoustic wonder", his eye color changes and he can hear even the most subtle sounds.
7.8Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
7.2A woman’s lover and her ex-boyfriend take justice into their own hands after she becomes the victim of a rapist. Because some acts can’t be undone. Because man is an animal. Because the desire for vengeance is a natural impulse. Because most crimes remain unpunished.
5.7Upon helping her friend audition for their all-girls high school's production of Romeo & Juliet, freshman Sun-wha is unexpectedly cast as Juliet. To her surprise Romeo is played by the über-cool and stunning senior Ha-nam, whom all the girls seem to have a crush on. As the two would-be thespians grow closer, Ha-nam takes Sun-wha under her wing in more ways than one. However this sparks the jealousy of the play's director, Su-yeon, whom, it turns out, is more than friends with Ha-nam.
5.1A comic study of 20th-century history, reconstructing the life of writer, creator and professional prisoner Tulse Luper. Born in 1911 Newport and last heard of in 1989, Luper’s life is pieced together from the evidence found in 92 suitcases scattered across the globe. In the first of three parts, we follow Luper through three distinct episodes: as a child during the First World War; as an explorer in Mormon Utah; and as a writer in Belgium during the rise of fascism.
4.6A comic study of 20th-century history, reconstructing the life of writer, creator and professional prisoner Tulse Luper. Born in 1911 Newport and last heard of in 1989, Luper’s life is pieced together from the evidence found in 92 suitcases scattered across the globe. In the second of three parts, we follow Luper as he works in a cinema, giving him ample opportunity to cross paths with virtually every artistic device and dramatic character known to man.
4.9A comic study of 20th-century history, reconstructing the life of writer, creator and professional prisoner Tulse Luper. Born in 1911 Newport and last heard of in 1989, Luper’s life is pieced together from the evidence found in 92 suitcases scattered across the globe. In the final installment, Luper continues his adventures as a professional prisoner during the later years of the Second World War and the Cold War.
5.3A comic study of 20th-century history, reconstructing the life of writer, creator and professional prisoner Tulse Luper. Born in 1911 Newport and last heard of in 1989, Luper’s life is pieced together from the evidence found in 92 suitcases scattered across the globe. A Life in Suitcases condenses the six-hour trilogy into a single two-hour feature, and in doing so, accentuates the project as a filmic essay in multiple narratives, listings, sidebars, footnotes, commentaries and anecdotes; a project for an Information Age ready to understand that there never is a phenomenon called History, there can only be Historians, gatekeepers to vested interests.
7.5Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.
0.0Three separate short stories by Jan Drda from the collection The Dumb Barricade: The Dynamite Watchman, Hatred and Traces.
7.0Thomas, a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli married man who has frequent business visits in Berlin. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking for answers regarding his death. Under a fabricated identity, Thomas infiltrates the life of Anat, his lover’s newly widowed wife, who owns a small Café in downtown Jerusalem. Thomas starts to work for her, creating German cakes and cookies that bring her Café to life. Thomas finds himself involved in Anat’s life in a way far beyond his anticipation. To protect the truth he will stretch his lie to a point of no return.
7.4Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandoned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.
6.4Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.
4.6Thaddeus Mackenzie, a wealthy lawyer, learns that he is dying and decides to sell all of his property and visit his old friend Allen Hayden. Allen is a struggling artist with a passion for life who once survived by working the streets, but now is romantically involved with Eva, a wealthy European gallery owner living in L.A. Thaddeus implores Allen to find Jamie, a young street hustler that Thaddeus had once tried to rescue. Allen returns to the streets to face the dark corners of his past where he must choose between what he left behind and the uncertainty that lies ahead.
5.9When the mastermind behind New York's infamous Studio 54 disco plucks young Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, he not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar — and a front-row ticket to the most legendary party on the planet!