Verbena(1941)

May God Save Us(es)

Madrid, summer 2011. Economic crisis. 15-M movement and 1.5 million pilgrims waiting for the Pope’s arrival live side by side in a Madrid that’s hotter and more chaotic than ever. In this context, detectives Velarde and Alfaro must find what seems to be a serial killer. Their against-the-clock hunt will make them realise something they’d never imagined: neither of them are so very different from the killer.

Battle of the Year(en)

A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.

The Ages of Lulu(es)

Fifteen-year-old Lulu has never known any affection from her family. But when she goes to a rock concert with Pablo, a friend of the family, he introduces Lulu to her first sexual experience. Years later, Pablo and Lulu have married; Pablo has created a sheltered, private world for Lulu, into which nothing intrudes. However, Lulu tires of her cloistered existence, and begins hanging out in shady bars, looking for vicarious thrills and danger.

The Good Neighbor(en)

A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.

The Barefoot Contessa(en)

A washed-up filmmaker gets a second chance at stardom when he discovers stunning peasant Maria Vargas dancing in a Madrid nightclub. Goaded by his producer, the director convinces Maria to screen test for, and then star in, his next big picture. But as the producer's possessive nature and the realities of stardom weigh on Maria, she seeks a genuine lover with whom she can escape.

The Outsiders(es)

A couple on the verge of getting married gets mixed up with a gang of thugs in this routine crime drama that underscores the Socio-economic disparity in the Mexican culture. The upper-class couple rides along with outsiders who go club-hopping and resort to petty thievery. After their adventure, the couple questions whether or not they are right for each other.

November(es)

Impelled by a spirit which still preserves a patina of idealism, Alfredo arrives to Madrid with the intention to create "a performance that is free, straight from the heart, capable of making people feel alive". His concept of what acting should be begins beyond the stage, out in the streets face to face with the public. Outdoors, in any town square, in a park or in the city's most commercial street, Alfredo and his troupe November start the show; demons to provoke passers-by, displays of social conscience, actions taken to the extreme to put the forces of law and order on full alert. There are no limits, no censorship; only ideas which are always valid so long as the public ceases to be the public and becomes part of the show swept by surprise, fear, tears or laughter. Theater as life, life as theater… there is no longer any difference.

Mirage(es)

During a mysterious thunderstorm, Vera, a young mother, manages to save a life in danger, but her good deed causes a disturbing chain of unexpected consequences.

XOXO(en)

XOXO follows six strangers whose lives collide in one frenetic, dream-chasing, hopelessly romantic night.

Straight from the Barrio(es)

A young drug dealer falls in love while facing disruption among the men in his gang, and being offered a career as a Reggaetón singer.

Sky High(es)

A commentary on Spanish society dressed as a thriller about the misadventures of a gang of young petty criminals after the real estate crash.

Point Blank(en)

A nurse is forced to spring a wounded murder suspect from the hospital when the man’s brother kidnaps his pregnant wife and wants to make a trade.

Impossible Things(es)

After the death of her abusive husband, Matilde finds her new best friend in Miguel, her young, insecure, and disoriented neighbor.

Barrio(es)

Bored 15-year-old school chums Rai Manu and Javi dream of sexual adventures and exotic resorts while the well-off population of Madrid flock to the beaches on a summer holiday. The youths hang around the concrete wasteland killing time by reading the sex classifieds and pushing their luck. They masturbate, thieve, fight with their families and get involved in a drug bust. Finally Rai, the most daring and restless of the trio - gets shot while trying to steal stereo gear from a car. Each adolescent faces a dreary home life but when they get together they enjoy each other's company to the full. The film is an engaging mixture of comedy drama and the pathos of life in a Madrid neighborhood.

Imperial Dreams(en)

A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.

Bad Education(es)

When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.

Canon (Fidelidad al límite)(es)

Mariana and Julian are a couple that have been happily married for many years. They have two kids: Juan Maria and Bibiana. They are in love and are very successful in their professional lives. They have a wonderful sex life and in the foreplay that they enjoy in privacy, he tells her that she can have sex with other man if she tells him everything in detail.

Advantages of Travelling by Train(es)

After interning her insane husband in a remote psychiatric hospital, book editor Helga Pato returns home by train, where she meets a mysterious man who identifies himself as a psychiatrist.

Girl in the Box(en)

The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.

Navajeros(es)

A chronicle of the life of Jaro, the leader of a juvenile delinquent gang, depicting his rise from street urchin to outlaw anti-hero on the way to his inevitable end.

September(fr)

Judith attempts to work out why her partner appears not to be that interested in her, whilst other men appear to care more.

Fragments(en)

Chloe, a straight talking film director, tries to convince her friend Sam to be an actor in her next short film. Just after finding out that he once again didn’t get into medical school, Sam meets Alex, a hypochondriac 18 year old. A love triangle forms in these self-reflexive, humoristic fragments filled with sex talk , set in New Orleans.

Homesick for St. Paul(de)

A pop singer who has been successful on Broadway, is homesick and returns.

Das Herz von St. Pauli(de)

Due to a lack of money, Hamburg pub owner Jonny Jensen brings two partners on board. As soon as the contract is finalized, the ex-sea bear is almost struck by a blow: the shady duo want to turn his quaint harbour bar "Herz von St. Pauli" into a demimonde pub with lingerie shows. Jonny can't let that happen!

Parent's Night(en)

When a new pupil arrives at a comprehensive school, he decides to take his video camera to film the bullies at work.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg(fr)

This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher, a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery, an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant.

Ceremony(fa)

A family is preparing a wedding for one of their family members, and despite having many material problems and having a father in hospital, they are planning to buy coins. To give their families their return as a wedding gift in order to preserve honor in front of the bride's family ...

Sympatico(en)

In the dystopian 2040, a performance artist shots himself dead in front of a live audience. While the extreme act shocks the society, his friend is kidnapped and interrogated as a murder suspect; he has to prove his innocence to survive.

Clothes & Blow(en)

An American voice-over artist in London finds himself questioning his life of hookups and emotional avoidance when he receives an unexpected visit from his mother.

The Stranger(ja)

Ice(en)

An enigmatic, existential enforcer for a small-time local crime boss does not suffer fools gladly. Unfulfilled and compromised by his life and the pointlessness that surround him, he detaches -- and methodically explores life's transitory nature in a surprising way. ICE is not a brooding film -- with flashes of humor and quirkiness -- it is a film about hope.

The Clown(en)

A man chooses his ambitions and dreams over a future with a family and later finds himself trying to repair the mistakes of his past.

Summer Romance(ja)

This delightful short is a world away from Tomomatsu's later works. It's a lovely story, told well. The reason that I tracked it down is because I'm quite a fan of Alice Sailor's music. She fronts new wave band Amaryllis and I was curious to see her acting. She has frequently supplied theme songs and other music to several of Tomomatsu's films. Indeed, the most disturbing sequence in this movie is accompanied by a psychotic Amaryllis track, 'Haha', and the closing piece is another Amaryllis song, 'Usagi'. This rip comes from the 'Eat The Schoolgirl' DVD, where it was one of the extras. Having just watched the main feature from that disc, I can say with some certainty that I found this tale far more enjoyable.

Übermut im Salzkammergut(de)

Birgit is a model from the city and sweetheart of the farmer's son Rolf. Incognito she takes a job as a maid on their farm.

Conséquent(es)

Line(ja)

A scheming office janitor devises a plan to have her husband steal from the safe in the president's office. Hiroyuki Nakao directs.

The Sparkling Amber(ja)

The bobbed-head Ryoko is a shy middle school student. She has been living with her dad, just the 2 of them ever since her mother died of an illness. It was in this Aizawa household that 3 months ago, suddenly, that the Kansai dialect wielding Michiko with her hair fastened tightly above her head came in. This is the story of amber of the three whom were like a family and yet not.

One Night Only(en)

A romantic drama about two couples shifting sexual dynamics over one night in a music bar.

Face in the Crowd(en)

A woman on a journey through a crowd grapples with private and public revelation, repulsion, fear, personal safety, and the desire for basic human interaction.

Come Swim(en)

COME SWIM is a diptych of one man's day; half impressionist and half realist portraits.