Smoke gets in your eyes(2021)

The District Councillor(zh)

The year 2003 is a rather turbulent period for Hong Kong – the economy was in recession, the government constantly implemented futile policies, the SARS outbreak, and, on July 1st, 500,000 people went on strike opposing the adoption of Article 23 of the Basic Law. It was against this political atmosphere that YIN Zhao-Jian gave up his social worker job, a 10 year long and steady career, and joined the political circle and participated in the district councilor election, which he had no idea about.

My Avatar and Me(da)

is a creative documentary-fiction film and a film that might expand your sense of reality. It is the story about a man who enters the virtual world Second Life to pursue his personal dreams and ambitions. His journey into cyberspace becomes a magic learning experience, which gradually opens the gates to a much larger reality.

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.

Capturing Avatar(en)

Capturing Avatar is a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Avatar. It uses footage from the film's development, as well as stock footage from as far back as the production of Titanic in 1995. Also included are numerous interviews with cast, artists, and other crew members. The documentary was released as a bonus feature on the extended collector's edition of Avatar.

GCW: Fight Club Houston(en)

On July 9th GCW presents Fight Club Houston straight from Premier Arena in Houston, Texas. The lineup is almost completed, check it below: AJ Gray vs Bryan Keith Nick Gage vs Sadika Joey Janela vs Dante Ninja Mack vs Jack Cartwheel Effy vs Gino Jimmy Lloyd vs Carter Lucha Scramble .... more to be added soon!

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.

12(en)

12, is a comic parody about an office's obsession with the television show 24 as the their obsessions kick into high gear with the shows season finale approaching. Part The Office part 24, the short film mash-up introduces a novel send-up of these pop culture staples.

A Royal Date for Christmas(en)

Bella Sparks, owner of Bella’s Boutique, takes on a demanding new client named Stefan, who needs to be outfitted for a week of high-stakes meetings and events after his luggage goes missing. Imagine Bella’s reaction when she accidentally discovers Stefan is actually Stefan William Francis Brown, the Duke of Tangford.

Carrossel 2: O Sumiço de Maria Joaquina(pt)

The children are invited by a Brazilian music star to one of his shows. But the trip turns into a nightmare when the villains Gonzales and Gonzalito, recently released from prison, decide to kidnap Maria Joaquina.

Cine Gibi 8: ...Tá Brincando?(pt)

There are eight episodes in stories full of adventure and play in the neighborhood of Limoeiro, with a new car ride, lost treasure, art exhibition in the square, puppet theater, an unexpected escape from Cascão (again?), Characters Saltimbancos and a lot more.

A(en)

A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.

The Price We Pay(en)

After a pawn shop robbery goes askew, two criminals take refuge at a remote farmhouse to try to let the heat die down, but find something much more menacing.

Retando A La Muerte(es)

Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare(ja)

On a dark night, the Japanese police is raided by a spy. Different countries' intelligence agencies - such as England's MI6, Germany's BDN, and America's CIA - as well as the FBI's secret files are going to be taken, but public safety officers lead by Tooru Amuro arrive just in time. The spy steals a car and escapes. The spy and Amuro are then locked in a dead heat on the highway, and just as it is about to cause an accident with multiple cars, the spy's car is hit by FBI agent Shuichi Akai's rifle bullet and falls of the roadway. The next day, Conan and his friends go to a newly-remodeled aquarium in Tokyo. Under the main attraction, a Ferris wheel, Conan finds an attractive woman alone and injured. Her left and right eyes are different colors.

Meet the Barbarians(fr)

The municipality of a small Breton village has decided to welcome a family of Ukrainian refugees. To their surprise, they receive Fayad family – coming from Syria. They thwart all the clichés that the French expected: they are friendly, refined, educated… So much so that, in this small, humming village, it is no longer clear which side the barbarians are on…

The Jurassic Games(en)

In the near future, 10 death row convicts are forced to compete in a virtual reality game that pits them against dinosaurs and each other.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Windmasters(ja)

After an old wizard is freed from a mysterious tomb, Doraemon, a robotic cat, along with Nobita Nobi, a pre-teen boy, goes to the Wind Village in order to prevent any mishaps there.

Like Father(en)

When a workaholic young executive, is left at the altar, she ends up on her Caribbean honeymoon cruise with the last person she ever expected: her estranged and equally workaholic father. The two depart as strangers, but over the course of a few hilarious adventures, a couple of umbrella-clad cocktails and a whole lot of soul-searching, they return with a renewed appreciation for family and life.

Scooby-Doo! and the Pirates(en)

Splash into action with seafaring sleuths Scooby-Doo and the Mystery, Inc. gang as they collide with a mystery ship and try to uncover clues from a vanished crew in Hassle in the Castle! Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are then captured by Redbeard the Pirate in Go Away Ghost Ship. Zoinks! If the case isn’t solved soon, somebody’s going to walk the plank! And when Scooby and friends get lost in a swamp, they meet up with the Harlem Globetrotters and Redbeard the Pirate – again! – for a swashbuckling adventure worth a treasure chest full of Scooby Snax!

Child's Play 2(en)

Chucky is reconstructed by a toy factory to dispel the negative publicity surrounding the doll, and tracks young Andy Barclay to a foster home where the chase begins again.

Have a Good Night(zh)

Xuan is a young man working in the film industry in Beijing. To make a documentary film that he wants to present at international festivals, he decides to take advantage of the holidays of the Day of the Dead to return to Chengdu, his hometown located at the other end of the country. The documentary he is about to make is about his relationship with his own lover. He leaves for Chengdu, accompanied by another man, Bo, the cameraman of the film. The two men take the train to Chengdu where Hong, Xuan's lover, is waiting for them. From the first moment of their arrival at the station, Xuan and Bo begin to turn with their camera, Xuan having already explained to Bo what he wanted to film and that Hong would always be "playing", Bo then trusting in Xuan. But Hong is more and more opposed to this camera and the presence of Bo.

My Milk Cup Cow(zh)

The father tells his daughter Nunu a lie that there is a cow in her milk cup. She believes it and drinks up milk, but there isn't any cow. Her father tells her a variety of lies, which Nunu finds increasingly difficult to believe.

Call If You Need Me(zh)

Gentle, easy-going Or Kia moves from the countryside to Kuala Lumpur to work for his cousin and best friend Ah Soon, a mid-level gangster and enforcer. While Or Kia works hard to put a sister through school, Ah Soon cares for an unstable girlfriend prone to mysterious disappearances. As they both sink deeper into a nocturnal world of debts, drugs, and betrayal, Or Kia's loyalties are strained when Ah Soon falls out of favor with the bosses and tries to escape the business.

Wolf(zh)

Poet Wolf (Lang) chose to starve himself to death, in a beautiful flower blossoming Spring. This is a poetic, aesthetic and brutal film that adapted from the true stoy of Poet Wo Fu's suicide.

The Other Half(zh)

Working as a secretary for a legal office, Xiaofen records clients detailing the sordid aspects of their lives: divorce cases, medical malpractice suits, financial corruption and old-fashioned personal revenge. Xiaofen starts to question her own relationship with her boyfriend (Deng Gang), fresh out of prison and looking to get into trouble again with his gambling habit. While Xiaofen deals with the overwhelming social malaise surrounding her, rumors spread of a disaster at the local chemical plant, threatening to poison the entire city.

Capture Ghosts(zh)

Four college students from Shandong University of Technology planned to make a documentary about the folk culture of ghosts and spirits. They went to a village in Heze City, Shandong Province, and made some interviews with local villagers. During the interviews, they heard a lot of local weird tales. The shooting of the documentary went smoothly, and that night, they chose to stay in the village. At this point, strange things, however, began to happen...

The Gone Buddha(zh)

His father was sick, and the boy Xia Tong was always surrounded by strange dreams about girls while he was taking care of him. Grandma's answer made him disagree. To find out the truth, when the flame rose from the bottom of the river, he stepped on the train from the clouds.

Boys(zh)

Due to his history of theft in the past, Lin Kuan is falsely accused of stealing from his high school classmate. To prove his innocence, Lin enlists his friend Xiao Bing to make a plan that will clear his name. However, heir seemingly perfect plan takes a turn that pushes Lin to a dangerous edge.

Blossom in Midnight(zh)

The film is about a woman from a rural area and works in a small restaurant as a cleaner with very low pay. As she has to support her family (mother and daughter), she has no money for herself for better makeup or dress up. She has low esteem. She later was fired by the boss. Because of no money and no home, she goes to the massage parlor and works there a sex worker. It happens that the first customer is the chef of previous restaurant. She has admired him for a while. In this first sex exchange, she is well satisfied both emotionally as well as economically. She starts sex work this way and becomes more confident.

Condolences(zh)

Burial Rites become the mise-en scene in which politicians, the media, a monk and an infuriated neighbour vividly portray the aftermath of an accident.

Raised from Dust(zh)

Xiao-Li is a devoted housewife and an active member of her local Catholic church in the farmlands of southern China. Her faith is put to the test when her husband is hospitalized with respiratory illness caused by unsafe working conditions.

Rainclouds Over Wushan(zh)

A policeman investigates an introverted signal-station manager suspected of raping a hotel clerk.

Waiting for Love(zh)

Three scenes about three couples with each portraying maybe the turning point of their relationship. First scene, Lim & Amelia are a couple who had been together for almost five years. While he works as a salesman and trying to save up for marriage, the girl are not sure if he’s the one she wants to marry. One day he confronts her about a letter from her admirer. Second scene, Pete & Bernice are a couple who had been together almost ten years. They’re not married because he doesn’t believe in marriage. While she tags along, one day she might realizes this may not be the man she wants to end up with. Third scene, we see Amy & Lai are a pair of secret lovers. This maybe their last meeting or maybe not. They may had loved each other in the past they may not now in this scene. This is the third and final part of James Lee's Love Trilogy which takes offers a glimpse of the life of three lovers.

Things We Do When We Fall in Love(zh)

The movie follows two unfortunate secret lovers who are constantly looking for a solution to their situation. Both of them are always arguing over their relationship. One day they went to a trip out of the city, into the outskirt. They hope they can solve their problems or at least escape them temporarily. They don’t have a solution, and they don’t understand why they are together. One thing that keeps them together is their love and care for each other. This is the second part of James Lee’s Love Trilogy which takes another look at unfaithfulness or rather faithlessness.

Before We Fall in Love Again(zh)

It has been a month Chang's wife Ling Yue has been missing. With no reasons one fine day she went to work as usual and then never returns. No one knows where she went or what had happened to her. Chang could not figure out why she disappears out of the sudden. She left no message of whatever kind or clues. One day a man named Tong shows up and claims to be Ling Yues lover. Apparently Tong is looking for Ling Yue too. In a turn of event both men formed an uneasy alliance in order to find Ling Yue

Yumen(zh)

Set in a quasi-ghost town that once thrived with oil in China's arid northwest, Yumen is a haunting, fragmented tale of hungry souls, restless youth, a wandering artist and a lonely woman, all searching for human connection among the town's crumbling landscape. One part "ruin porn", one part "ghost story”, and entirely shot on 16mm, the film brings together performance art, narrative gesture, and social realism not only to play with convention and defy genre, but also to pay homage to a disappearing life-world and a fading medium.

A Dog Barking at the Moon(zh)

Coming back to her broken family, pregnant writer Huang Xiaoyu and her French husband, Benjamin, finds herself trapped between her cult brainwashed mother, Li Jiumei, and her secretly homosexual father, Huang Tao.

Taking Father Home(zh)

A 17 year old boy from a village in the Sechuan province leaves for the big city looking for his father, who left 6 years before and has not been heard of since. The fact that his mother still receives money his father does nothing to tame his anger. He his not looking for a warm reunion, it is unconcealed revenge that drives him. Totally lost, he roams the big city with his basket of ducks on his back...

If It's Not Now, Then When?(cn)

If It’s Not Now, Then When? mostly takes place in an apartment inhabited by three members of a family (though never at the same time): mother Pearlly Chua (from Tsai Ming-liang’s I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone), daughter Tan Bee Hung and young son Kenny Gan. Their father seems recently to have died. The mother leaves early and returns late, out on long walks in the park with a lover whom the daughter and her best friend try to spy on. The daughter pecks away at a computer at work and has a desultory affair with her married boss, which he carries on between his business and family phone calls. And the son breaks into cars and “recycles” the electronics he finds.

The Love Dog(zh)

Originally conceived as the film for government propaganda but couldn't pass the censorship. Five punks found Dong Jianguo, a millionaire wearing the dog chain being trapped in the trunk. They kidnapped the millionaire and started to konw the love story between Dong Jianguo and a woman called Bobo.