Piggy(2012)

A(ja)

Roughly chronological, from 3/96 to 11/96, with a coda in spring of 1997: inside compounds of Aum Shinrikyo, a Buddhist sect led by Shoko Asahara. (Members confessed to a murderous sarin attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995.) We see what they eat, where they sleep, and how they respond to media scrutiny, on-going trials, the shrinking of their fortunes, and the criticism of society. Central focus is placed on Hiroshi Araki, a young man who finds himself elevated to chief spokesman for Aum after its leaders are arrested. Araki faces extreme hostility from the Japanese public, who find it hard to believe that most followers of the cult had no idea of the attacks and even harder to understand why these followers remain devoted to the religion, if not the violence.

way(en)

San Francisco filmmaker Konrad Steiner took 12 years to complete a montage cycle set to the late Leslie Scalapino’s most celebrated poem, way—a sprawling book-length odyssey of shardlike urban impressions, fraught with obliquely felt social and sexual tensions. Six stylistically distinctive films for each section of way, using sources ranging from Kodachrome footage of sun-kissed S.F. street scenes to internet clips of the Iraq war to a fragmented Fred Astaire dance number.

V/H/S/94(en)

After the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police SWAT team launches a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.

The Devil Conspiracy(en)

A powerful biotech company has breakthrough technology allowing them to clone history’s most influential people with just a few fragments of DNA. Behind this company is a cabal of Satanists that steals the shroud of Christ, putting them in possession of Jesus’ DNA. The clone will serve as the ultimate offering to the devil. The Archangel Michael comes to earth and will stop at nothing to end the devil’s conspiracy.

Little Dixie(en)

Erstwhile Special Forces operative Doc Alexander is asked to broker a truce with the Mexican drug cartel in secrecy. When Oklahoma Governor Richard Jeffs celebrates the execution of a high-ranking cartel member on TV, his Chief of Staff and Doc inform him about the peace he just ended. But it’s too late, as Cuco, the cartel’s hatchet man, has set his vengeful sights on Doc’s daughter Dixie.

Project Gemini(en)

After depleting Earth's resources for centuries, humankind's survival requires an exodus to outer space. An international expedition is quickly formed to find a suitable new planet, but when plans go awry, the crew is suddenly stranded without power on a strange planet, where something unimaginable lies in wait.

Prey(en)

A young couple is compelled to leave their Christian missionary station in the Kalahari Desert after being threatened with death by an extremist militant gang. After crashing their aircraft they must battle man and beast for their lives.

The Holdovers(en)

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.

Demon City(ja)

Framed for his family's murder and left for dead, an ex-hitman will stop at nothing to exact revenge on the masked "demons" who have taken over his city.

Box(ro)

Box is a story of two people who meet at a crossroad. Two different destinies, two different lives, face to face in a game of sweat, blood and tears. Rafael (19) is a young boxer who dreams to conquer the world; Cristina (33) is a single mother who lost her balance. Two lives; one running very close to the earth, the other trying to fly high up, too high.

Huesera: The Bone Woman(es)

Valeria's joy at becoming a first-time mother is quickly taken away when she's cursed by a sinister entity. As danger closes in, she's forced deeper into a chilling world of dark magic that threatens to consume her.

Anatomy of a Fall(fr)

A woman is suspected of her husband's murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness.

Zola(en)

A waitress agrees to accompany an exotic dancer, her put-upon boyfriend, and her mysterious and domineering roommate on a road trip to Florida to seek their fortune at a high-end strip club.

OSS 117: From Africa with Love(fr)

1981. Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, aka OSS 117, is back. For this new mission – more delicate, more dangerous and more torrid than ever – he is forced to team up with a young new colleague, the promising OSS 1001.

Gangs of Lagos(en)

A group of friends who each have to navigate their own destiny, growing up on the bustling streets and neighborhood of Isale Eko, Lagos.

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End(es)

When a kind of rabies that transforms people into aggressive creatures spreads across the planet, Manel isolates himself at home with his cat, relying on his wits to survive; but soon they must go out in search of food, by land and by sea, dodging many dangers.

Orphan: First Kill(en)

After escaping from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Leena Klammer travels to America by impersonating Esther, the missing daughter of a wealthy family. But when her mask starts to slip, she is put against a mother who will protect her family from the murderous “child” at any cost.

Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill(en)

In a night of killer comedy, Bill Burr hosts a showcase of his most raucous stand-up comic pals as they riff on everything from COVID to Michael Jackson.

Unhappily Ever After(es)

María José and Alfredo are about to celebrate their 20th anniversary and their children give them a trip to the hotel where they celebrated their honeymoon, but a spell will make them repeat the same day.

I'm Still Here(pt)

In 1971, military dictatorship in Brazil reaches its height. The Paiva family — Rubens, Eunice, and their five children — live in a beachside house in Rio, open to all their friends. One day, Rubens is taken for questioning and does not return.

A Grand Day Out(en)

Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

The Wrong Trousers(en)

Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno pants created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

A Close Shave(en)

Wallace's whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and Gromit is framed for sheep-rustling in a fiendish criminal plot.

The Battle for Miggershausen(de)

This technically quite well-made cartoon from pre-war Nazi Germany is a commercial (or propaganda piece) for Volksempfänger ("people's receiver"), inexpensive radios. First we see agricultural statistics: the far-away village of Miggershausen is quite below standards in milk and egg production. An anthropomorphic radio undertakes the long voyage by express train, steam train, hay carriage to Miggershausen to advertise its services. It is not well received. Then, it collects and leads an army of radios to try again. They flood all the farmhouses and seem to be more convincing that way - at day, they spread agricultural knowledge to bring milk and egg production up to standards; later, they just play music and illustrate how various people enjoy various kinds of music.

Down by the Old Mill Stream(en)

It's apple time, and all the strange little Fleischer bugs waste no time getting the apples to ferment so that they can immediately get drunk.

Reducing Creme(en)

Willie Whooper, doused in reducing creme, shrinks to the size of a mouse and is chased by a cat throughout a house. Finally Willie returns to normal size and angrily covers the cat in reducing creme. The cat now shrinks to mouse size, and gets a black eye from the mouse he habitually torments.

Solar Plexus(en)

Noah battles to overcome his grief at the death of his mother, a journey that takes him from his flat to beyond the stars. An animation in stop-motion and oil paint.

The Little Soul(pl)

A dead body became stuck by a river bank. Its decaying insides still hide a human soul - a miniature of the deceased. Rotting organs part and a tiny creature gets out. Standing on the river bank, it says goodbye to the corpse and sets off on a journey through the post-mortem land.

Jean(fr)

Jean, a well-known but casual actor, arrives on set freshly shaved while his director had asked him to come with a four-day beard. This innocuous gesture is a disaster for the filming and, for Jean, an opportunity to finally pay attention to the world that surrounds him.

The Prince and the Pauper(en)

Long ago in a land with an ailing king, there was a pair of boys who looked exactly alike, a pauper called Mickey and the other, the Crown Prince.

Partly Cloudy(en)

Everyone knows that the stork delivers babies, but where do the storks get the babies from? The answer lies up in the stratosphere, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life. Gus, a lonely and insecure grey cloud, is a master at creating "dangerous" babies. Crocodiles, porcupines, rams and more - Gus's beloved creations are works of art, but more than a handful for his loyal delivery stork partner, Peck. As Gus's creations become more and more rambunctious, Peck's job gets harder and harder. How will Peck manage to handle both his hazardous cargo and his friend's fiery temperament?

Violet, Fisher of the Black Sea(es)

Violeta loves best fishing into the darkest depths.

Penelope's Condition(en)

A reinterpretation of the Greek legend of Penelope, ”the most faithful of wives”, who waited 20 years for her husband Odysseus to return from The Trojan War. In this animation, the two of them are presented in a more modern setting. While Odysseus is busy exploring the universe in his space rocket, Penelope is stuck at home, taking care of the children, showing how traditional gender roles say men should work, while women stay at home.

More Sex & Violence(en)

Twelve skits in six minutes: the first one and the final three are about sex, in between are sketches of blood, death, murder, truck crashes, a tough day on the toilet, a slip on a banana peel, and an omnivorous Elvis. In several vignettes, Plympton draws on the essentially comic image of men wearing jackets and ties in a world gone awry. Women, who don't appear all that often, cheerfully participate in the sex and don't hang around for the violence.

Father Christmas(en)

Classic animation based on Raymond Briggs' book. What does Father Christmas do with himself for the other 364 days of the year ?

Dug's Special Mission(en)

Dug is sent on foolish missions by Alpha, Beta, and Gamma so they can hunt for the Bird of Paradise Falls by themselves. Dug may find that where he belongs is not where he's been looking.

Le pont de Mauves(fr)

Attaque nocturne(fr)

The film existed only in Jacque’s memory because all that remained were the two cardboard thief characters. Jacques called upon his memories to recreate the decor and the characters with a decorator. The operator then filmed frame by frame to reconstruct the film.

Night Light(en)

This is a classing Jordan animation, primarily in B/W, with touches of color. Actually, the engraved art work was film on color negative, so that subtle variations in tone are recorded. The mood--enhanced by John Davis' original music--is dream-like. It is both lyric and crackling, producing a kind of anticipatory tension. The scenes, in the usual Jordan manner, follow the surreal principle of placing objects and people where the ought not to be, and making movements that in the waking world are impossible. Each scene is a kind of drama from another world.

See Saw Seams(en)

An artistic short film directed by Stan Vanderbeek.