The First Day of the Rest of Your Life(2008)

A Taste of Ink(fr)

Vincent, still of tender age, has already tattooed most of his body and hoarsened his voice with his post-hardcore band – his way of venting his frustrations and desires. Ever since his mother died, he shares his time between Porte de Clignancourt and Bastille, between a piercer job he is unhappy with and his fishmonger father, Hervé, who is trying to start a new life with a younger woman named Julia. Vincent is initially appalled by the woman, with whom his father has ‘betrayed’ his mother, but the more they get to know each other, the more he becomes intrigued by the beautiful and empathetic woman. Unlike his father, she shows interest in him, even attending one of his gigs. What starts out as a potential way of reconciling with his father soon implodes.

Intimate Strangers(fr)

Because she picked the wrong door, Anna ends up confessing her marriage problems to a financial adviser named William Faber. Touched by her distress, somewhat excited as well, Faber does not have the courage to tell her that he is not a psychiatrist. From appointment to appointment, a strange ritual is created between them. William is moved and fascinated to hear the secrets no man ever heard.

The Merry Widow(fr)

Anne-Marie lives an easy life with Gilbert, a rich plastic surgeon: a beautiful house, a doggy, a cleaning lady, expensive furniture, the lot. Not so easy in fact when she thinks twice. She does not get on with her husband any longer. She gets on his nerves and he does not attract her any longer. She feels good only when she jogs on the beach and ... when she is the arms of her lover, Leo. One day, Gilbert gets killed in a car accident. Good news, since she will be able to live with Leo. The trouble is her well-meaning family settle at her villa with a view to supporting the "poor widow" morally. Anne-Marie just cannot admit she is not distressed at all, especially to her son Christophe. She is now even more of a prisoner than when Gilbert was alive...

The French Revolution(fr)

A history of the French Revolution beginning from the decision of the king to convene the Etats-Generaux in 1789 in order to deal with France's debt problem. Part one spans the event until August 10, 1792 (when the King Louis XVI lost all authority and was imprisoned). Part two carries the story through the end of the terror in 1794.

It All Starts Today(fr)

In a mining town which has been blighted by economic downturns, an elementary school headmaster struggles to obtain social services on behalf of his students.

Rumba(fr)

Teachers in a rural school, happy couple Fiona and Dom have a common passion: Latin Dancing. One night, after a glorious dance competition, they have a car accident and see their lives turn upside down. Rumba or how optimism and humour can overcome fatality!

Wonderful World(en)

Ben Singer is a failed children's folk singer, a career proofreader, a less-than-extraordinary weekend dad, and perhaps the most negative man alive. Floundering in all aspects of his life, Ben's only comfort comes from regular chess games and friendly debates on game theory with his Senegalese roommate Ibou. When Ibou is suddenly struck ill, Ben's pessimistic worldview seems unequivocally confirmed. It takes an extended visit from Ibou's sister Khadi for Ben to realize that cynicism may be all a matter of perspective.

Restless(fi)

Ari, a paramedic, is a chronic womanizer; he makes it a point of pride to never sleep with the same woman twice, and his nights are a long series of brazen one-night stands. But when Ari meets Tiina, something unexpected happens – he falls in love.

Angels in Fast Motion(da)

The unflinching tale of Maria, Allan and Steso, who are struggling for survival. Maria is a pusher frau, wandering restlessly among addicts, abusers and bikers in a relentless search for love. Allan has just returned from an ill-fated trip across the Pacific and must reclaim his life and stay clean, but ghosts from his past return to haunt him. Steso, the intellectual, god-forsaken and prophetic cynic, does his utmost to unite the two polar opposites that give meaning to his life: his girl and drugs. All three try desperately to make some sense of the madness, but how do you find meaning in the chaos that is life? And how do you find love if you can't recognize it?

The Straight Line(fr)

Leila is released from prison after five years of confinement. She will meet Yannick, a young athlete who became blind after an accident. This last practice race despite his disability, but to run it must be connected by a wire to guide a person called. It offers Leila to be his guide. Through this project, they will learn to rebuild.

Caught in the Act(en)

After de-bunking her philandering spouse's deceptions, Jodie Colter accidentally stumbles onto the murder case of a former homecoming queen. She quickly finds that her natural snooping skills, honed on catching her cheating husband, can be put to even better use by bringing a killer to justice. With her children in tow, she pieces together the clues that prove the homecoming queen's canny lawyer husband is a murderer.

Lost and Found(fr)

Franck wants a quiet life and a fresh start. After 15 years of a failed theatre career, he finds a seemingly perfect job: museum guard. But that is before he meets Sybille, his neurotic colleague.

The Discreet(fr)

There is an author who has been dumped by his girlfriend and has no inspiration for a next novel. In an attempt to find a solution to both crises, he, along with his publisher friend, decides to seduce a young woman with the singular purpose of keeping a diary of the seduction and then dump her before publishing the book about it. Unfortunately he falls in love with her.

A Happy Event(fr)

She drove me into a corner, then forced me to go beyond my limits. She made me confront the absolute: love, sacrifice, tenderness, abandonment. She dislocated me, transformed me. Why didn't anyone warn me? Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this?" Un heureux événement, or an intimate view of motherhood, sincere and with no taboos.

The Nun(fr)

Suzanne Simonin describes her life of suffering in letters. As a young woman she is sent to a convent against her will. Since her parents cannot afford the dowry required for a marriage befitting her rank they decide she must instead become a nun. Although a kind and understanding Mother Superior helps her to learn the convent’s daily routine, Suzanne’s desire for freedom remains unabated. When the Mother Superior dies, Suzanne finds herself faced with reprisals, humiliation and harassment at the hands of the new Abbess and the other Sisters. For many years, Suzanne is subjected to bigotry and religious fanaticism. (Berlinale.de)

Des lendemains qui chantent(fr)

Olivier and Leo, two brothers that are moved to Paris and that life has separated ... If the first sees himself as a journalist without concessions, the second is an ambitious and opportunistic communication adviser. Noémie, a charming presidential adviser, can not, over the years, choose between them. To the amusement of Sylvain, their childhood friend, who made his fortune in Pink Minitel, their destinies intersect over 20 years, are intertwined, in a funny epic, tender and nostalgic, in the 80 / 90.

21 Nights with Pattie(fr)

During the height of summer, Caroline, a forty-year-old Parisian and mother, arrives in a small village in the south of France. She must hastily organize the funeral of her mother, a flighty lawyer, whom she barely used to see. Caroline is welcomed by Pattie, who likes to talk about her love affairs with the local men to anyone who'll listen. Then, while the whole valley gets ready for the traditional mid-summer dance, Caroline's mother's corpse mysteriously disappears...

Untouchable(en)

The inside story of the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein reveals how, over decades, he acquired and protected his power even when scandal threatened to engulf him. Former colleagues and accusers detail the method and consequences of his alleged abuse, hoping for justice and also to inspire change.

The Names of Love(fr)

Bahia Benmahmoud, a free-spirited young woman, has a particular way of seeing political engagement, as she doesn't hesitate to sleep with those who don't agree with her to convert them to her cause - which is a lot of people, as all right-leaning people are concerned. Generally, it works pretty well. Until the day she meets Arthur Martin, a discreet forty-something who doesn't like taking risks. She imagines that with a name like that, he's got to be slightly fascist. But names are deceitful and appearances deceiving.

I Do(fr)

Life is easy for 43-year-old Luis, a happy single guy, fulfilled in his job of star nose with a perfume creation company, cosseted by his mother and five sisters. It could have lasted for a whole life, but fed up with mollycoddling and helping him, his mother and sisters decide it's time he got married, and the sooner the better!

Meiyazhagan(ta)

Twenty-two years after losing his home, Arulmozhi Varman returns to his native Thanjavur to attend his cousin's wedding. Amidst the celebrations, Arul is reintroduced to an upbeat man whom he cannot recall. With the help of the unknown man, Arul reconnects with his past.

Bridget Jones's Diary(en)

Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a man, and her various imperfections. As a New Year's resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. The fireworks begin when her charming though disreputable boss takes an interest in the quirky Miss Jones. Thrown into the mix are Bridget's band of slightly eccentric friends and a rather disagreeable acquaintance into whom Bridget cannot seem to stop running or help finding quietly attractive.

Lost Highway(en)

A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.

The Story of the Weeping Camel(mn)

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

Ghosts(de)

Nina, an end-of-teenage orphan with mental problems, starts a new job as a garden cleaner when she meets Toni. They fell in love with each other, but soon Toni starts betraying Nina. In the meantime, Francoise is picked up at a psychic department of a Berlin hospital by her husband, Pierre. After seeing Nina, Francoise believes that she has found her kidnapped daughter Marie, but neither Toni nor Pierre believe her. Nina is unsure about what to think...

The Prestige(en)

A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.

The Good Shepherd(en)

Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded OSS. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.

Don't Worry, I'm Fine(fr)

A 19-year-old searches for her twin brother after he runs away from home, following a fight with their father.

Jules and Jim(fr)

In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim and both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.

Crash(en)

In post-Sept. 11 Los Angeles, tensions erupt when the lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple converge during a 36-hour period.

Freedom Writers(en)

A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

Mississippi Mermaid(fr)

A tobacco planter on Réunion island in the Indian Ocean becomes engaged through correspondence to a French woman he does not know. The woman that arrives does not look like the picture he received, but he marries her anyway.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Him(de)

What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

The Cave of the Yellow Dog(mn)

The little nomad girl, Nansal, finds a baby dog in the Mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend - against all rejections of her parents. A story about a Mongolian family of nomads - their traditional way of life and the rising call of the City.

Greed(en)

A lottery win of $5,000 forever changes the lives of a miner turned dentist and his wife.

Lovers of the Arctic Circle(es)

Otto and Ana are kids when they meet each other. Their names are palindromes. They meet by chance, people are related by chance. A story of circular lives, with circular names, and a circular place where the day never ends in the midnight sun. There are things that never end, and Love is one of them.

Tarnation(en)

Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.

The Virgin Suicides(en)

A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.

Fathers(th)

A gay couple faces personal challenges and society's expectations when their adopted son starts grade school and notices his family's unique dynamic.

Zwischen Nacht und Tag(de)