The Shadowless Pagoda(1957)

The Wedding Day(ko)

Master Maeng is very proud that an influential family will soon be his esteemed in-laws when his loving daughter, Mi-yeon, marries their son. A few days before the wedding Maeng hears a rumor that his future son-in-law has a cripple leg. Regretting that he can't give his lovely daughter to a cripple, he decides to marry his maid to him instead. Unexpectedly the future son-in-law shows up at the wedding hall and he is not a cripple, but a healthy and handsome youth. Feeling embarrassed, there is no way but to wed the maid to him. The Wedding Day is a recreation of A Happy Day of Jinsa Maeng, a comical play by Oh Yeong Jin. The first Korean film to win an international film award, the Best Comedy Award at the 1957 edition of the Asian Film Festival (now Asia Pacific Film Festival).

Face(en)

Ray is an aging ex-socialist who has become a bankrobber after seeing the demise of socialism in 1980s Britain. Teaming up with a gang of other has-beenish crims, he commits one bank job too many. The gang dissolves in a murderous flurry of recriminations.

The Reich Underground(de)

In 2004, director Michael Kloft (The Goebbels Experiment) accompanied government historians and surveyors as they inspected various underground tunnels, bunkers, and silos built by the Nazis between 1940 and 1945. Some, mainly in Germany and occupied Poland, were built as shelters to house high-ranking Nazi officials like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Martin Bormann. Others, in the northern coast of occupied France, were constructed by Armaments Minister Albert Speer to serve as massive missile silos to launch V2 rocket attacks against London and, eventually, the United States. Interviews with surviving slave laborers and SS officials tell the story of how and why these tunnels were built. (from dvdverdict.com)

The Making of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea(en)

With rare behind-the-scenes footage, a detailed look at the making of Walt Disney’s adaptation of the Jules Verne novel 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

Junior Rodeo Daredevils(en)

Old-timer Billy Slater organizes a rodeo for kids.

Shadow Hunters 2: Echo of Destiny(ja)

The great Daimyo enlists the aid of the three Shadow Hunters in ensuring the delivery of an illegal cannon in this sequel to Toshio Masuda's bloody adaptation of the manga by Takao Saito. Despite the Shadow Hunters's remarkable skill, this mission is no walk in the park, and in order to survive they must face a relentless army of ninjas and female warriors willing to sacrifice their lives to disrupt the delivery and claim the cannon for themselves.

The Arbors(en)

It's the last bus ride of the school year. Walker, recovering from a recent traumatic event, meets a deeply troubled kid named Noah. The two form a unlikely friendship that eventually leads to something dangerous.

Land of Darkness(en)

During the Mexican Revolution, a young and idealistic priest is forefuly recruited into the army where he faces the realities of war.

Πράκτορες 005 Εναντίον Χρυσοπόδαρου(el)

The Shinjuku Love Story(ja)

Ichijoji is a street punk who stumbles across Mari and her cat. Mari and Ichijoji immediately fall in love but are chased by both yakuza and corrupt cops.

Dance of the Seven Veils(en)

Russell’s composer biopics were usually labours of love. This was the opposite: he regarded Strauss’s music as 'bombastic, sham and hollow', and despised the composer for claiming to be apolitical while cosying up to the Nazi regime. Strauss is depicted in a variety of grotesquely caricatured situations: attacked by nuns after adopting Nietzsche’s philosophy, duels with jealous husbands, literally batters his critics into submission with his music, and glorifies the women in his life and fantasies.

Lost Records(pt)

A documentary that follows a middle-aged Azorean record obsessive who has lost the vinyl collection of his youth, and so seeks to reconnect with it through talking with the fellow island collectors he grew up with about the music scene of their wilder years.

Il prezzo dell'Anima(it)

Four(th)

Introducing to you a new kind of horror and scary storytelling with the 4 thrills, 4 surprises, 4 emotions, and 4 enjoyable stories.

Law of the Underworld(en)

A respected citizen with secret ties to the local mob is faced with revealing his criminal connections to save two innocent people from execution

Neurosi5(en)

NEUROSI5 is a short film animation about the dark future of the mankind, driven through violence and sex, and how the existence of androids has been reduced only to meet the basic and primitive needs of the society.

The Dinner Parting(en)

Susan and Henry are hosting a dinner party, while trying to make good on a lie concerning the recent death of their father. Unexpected guests arrive, causing the night to unravel despite Susan's best efforts.

Hygiène de l'assassin(fr)

Part police thriller and part exploration of the dark side of men's attitudes about women, Hygiene de l'assassin concerns a young female journalist, Nina (Barbara Schulz). Nina has scored a plumb assignment, an interview with Tach (Jean Yanne), a well-known but reculsive novelist who rarely speaks to the press. After he passes along his less-than-charitable views about women (including the belief they should be killed in childhood, before they start to menstruate), Nina concludes the interview, but soon finds herself interrogated by police when Tach is found dead and she is the key suspect.

Bless Their Little Hearts(en)

Charlie Banks, chronically unemployed, struggles to find dignity and a meaning for life in the impoverished Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.

Miracles of Luang Pu Suk(en)

About the merits of Luang Pu Suk, a Buddhist monk who lived from 1847-1923.

The Terminal(en)

Viktor Navorski is a man without a country; his plane took off just as a coup d'etat exploded in his homeland, leaving it in shambles, and now he's stranded at Kennedy Airport, where he's holding a passport that nobody recognizes. While quarantined in the transit lounge until authorities can figure out what to do with him, Viktor simply goes on living – and courts romance with a beautiful flight attendant.

The Way of Hwarang(ko)

His parents captured by the Baekje armies, prince Eo-jin infiltrates the enemy castle alone to seek revenge. His plot is ruined when he falls in love with a princess there and is forced to choose between betraying his parents and nation or the woman he loves.

The King and I(en)

Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.

The Bell Tower(ko)

An elderly bell maker reminisces about his life filled with tragedy.

The Steel Helmet(en)

A ragtag group of American stragglers battles against superior Communist troops in an abandoned Buddhist temple during the Korean War.

Battlefield Heroes(ko)

This story unfolds 8 years after 'Battle of Hwangsanbeol', which destroyed Baekjae, when Silla-Tang Dynasty union attacks Goguryeo.

An Artisan's Legacy: Tsunekazu Nishioka(ja)

In-depth look at the twilight years, spent training apprentices, of temple builder Nishioka Tsunekazu, who was called the "devil" as he devoted his life to temple architecture. His insistence on the gargantuan timescale of linking life to the next millennium emerges from people who knew him. Remarkable as well for showing the unknown backstage of temple architecture. Nishioka, known as "the last temple carpenter," handled the major Showa-era repairs of Horyuji temple, and in 1990 was at the scene of the reconstruction work for Yakushi temple.

Prince in Yam Clothes(ko)

Prince Kim Chu, last prince of the Silla Kingdom, falls in love with an enemy princess. Because this is not allowed, he must renounce his heredity and retire to Mt. Chiaksan.

Conflagration(ja)

Learning of his family's collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.

Fancy Dance(ja)

Yohei, a punk rocker, becomes a Buddhist monk in order to inherit a mountain temple. Though initially rebelling against the tough monastic discipline, he learns to adjust. Then his girlfriend shows up, enticing him to return to his rock 'n' roll roots.

Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield(ko)

Set in the 7th century AD during the Korean peninsula's division into three perpetually warring kingdoms, Once Upon A Time In A Battlefield focuses on the Shilla's king Kim Choon-chu efforts to conquer his rivals: Koguryo and Baekche. To achieve this goal, he allies with mainland China's Tang empire, the superpower of the era, and together the two polities plan to attack first the weakest Baekche at its main fortress of Hwangsanbul, guarding the only easy access to the mountainous interior. But the fortress commander General Kye Baek (Park Joong-hoon) will be resisting to the end...This comedy relays on clash between ancient time and modern language combined with irony and distance to the war.

Deep in the Valley(ja)

Deep in the Valley interlaces a story of young romance set in Yanaka (part of old downtown Tokyo) with a Japanese period drama based on Five-Story Pagoda, a classic literary work by Rohan Koda. In the contemporary story, Kaori, a young woman working for a non-profit organization that restores home movies, learns that there used to be a five-story pagoda in the middle of Yanaka Cemetery. It burned down in 1957, and rumor has it that someone has an 8mm film of the fire.

Come Come Come Upward(ko)

This story of two Buddhist nuns is an exploration of the Korean experience of the relationship between hardship and religious salvation. Trainee Soon-nyeo is forced to confront her True Path by walking among the people, while venerable Jinseong must pursue enlightenment through her inner practice.

Buddha Wild: Monk in a Hut(en)

Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a full-time vocation. Controversies swirling within modern monastic Buddhism are examined, from celibacy and the role of women to racism and concerns about the environment.

The Best Thing I Ever Done(en)

Hailed as the “godfather of Brooklyn pizza,” for forty five years Domenico DeMarco, Italian émigré and father of seven, has been slinging pizzas in his legendary corner shop, Di Fara. Employing five of his children, Dom works tirelessly from morning until night hand crafting each and every pizza himself while his kids take orders and manage the mob of devoted pizza aficionados. The Best Thing I Ever Done is a portrait of DeMarco and his beloved pizzeria, an exploration of his rise to fame and an ode to pizzaioli who take their time to 'make it right.'

Legend of the Evil Lake(ko)

A thousand years ago, an evil spirit was kept imprisoned in a lake by the first emperor of the Chilla empire. Now unleashed, it possesses the body of Ja Woon-bi, the wife of general Biharang, with the aim to bring down the very dynasty that destroyed his people. Biharang is torn; to kill the spirit, he has to also kill his wife.

Takumi: A 60,000 Hour Story on the Survival of Human Craft(en)

There is a popular theory that it takes at least 10,000 hours of focused practice for a human to become expert in any field. In Japan, there are craftspeople who go far beyond this to reach a special kind of mastery. These people are called Takumi and they devote 60,000 hours to their craft. That's 8 hours a day, 240 days a year, for over 30 years. It's an almost superhuman level of dedication to a life of repetition and no shortcuts. This film asks the question: Will human craft disappear as artificial intelligence reaches beyond our limits?

From one gompa to another(fr)

Bhutan: Following in the Footsteps of Matthieu Ricard(fr)

Buddhist monk and photographer Matthieu Picard as he returns to the Asian country in the Himalayas where he spent a decade after seven years away, revisiting breathtaking landscapes and experiencing local traditions.