Hood Shenaniganz: Mania(2019)

Knock on Any Door(en)

An attorney defends a hoodlum of murder, using the oppressiveness of the slums to appeal to the court.

The Damned Don't Cry(en)

Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.

Each Dawn I Die(en)

A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.

Cry of the City(en)

Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?

House of Bamboo(en)

Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.

The Truth About Emanuel(en)

A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.

The Glass Key(en)

A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.

Framed(en)

Truck driver Mike Lambert is a down-and-out mining engineer searching for a job. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he happens upon a venomous seductress. When her boyfriend robs a bank, they intend to frame Lambert.

Chief of Station(en)

After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.

The Quiller Memorandum(en)

After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.

The Perfect Weapon(en)

Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.

The Blue Gardenia(en)

Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.

The Assault(en)

After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase(en)

Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set out to solve the mystery, make new friends, and establish their place in the community

Witness to Murder(en)

A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.

Plunder Road(en)

A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.

The Unholy Three(en)

Three sideshow performers form a conspiracy known as "The Unholy Three" - a ventriloquist, midget, and strongman working together to commit a series of robberies.

Little Caesar(en)

A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?

The Web(en)

A brash young lawyer takes a short-term, high-paying job as bodyguard for a slick business exec being threatened by a former partner, and quickly realizes he may be in over his head.

The Public Enemy(en)

Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.

I Feel Good(en)

A doctor's mysterious pill offers solace to a teen plagued by an unknown disease. As he uncovers the chilling truth behind his affliction, he is tormented by the dark and twisted side effects of his treatment.

The Alchemist Cookbook(en)

Self-made chemist Sean, a recluse living in an old trailer in the woods, suffers from pill-popping delusions of fortune. When his manic attempts at cracking the ancient secret of alchemy go awry he unleashes something far more sinister and dangerous.

Maniamies(fi)

A young man sets out to challenge the world and himself after a hard partying. Along his manic journey, he encounters his Sancho Panza, the party guests who have come to see him, the royal court and the conclave.

Mistakes(en)

Two codependent siblings document their unraveling through daily video messages to their absent mother, only to discover that their shared devotion has curdled into possession, paranoia, and a violent war over memory, blame, and control.

Strasbourg 1518(en)

Inspired by a powerful involuntary mania which took hold of citizens in the city of Strasbourg just over five hundred years ago, this film is a collaboration in isolation with some of the greatest dancers working today.

Camera aur room(en)

This short sequence (or film) is my submission for the imagistic/abstract shot breakdown exercise at Whistling Woods International (film school). As direction students, the objective was to do a shot breakdown and then present a sequence of shots to finally make something that can be distinctly expressed via film and no other art form in terms of its effect.

I Love You, I Leave You(pt)

After more than twenty years, Swiss musician Dino Brandão travels to Angola to give a concert in his father's home country. Confronted with his family's past and questions about his own identity, Dino is triggered into a manic episode.

Hard Coffee(xx)

A straight 8 film by the Forest of Black

MANIA(en)

In 2020 / 2021, I suffered from severe Bipolar mania. This is a reflection on my encounter with Bipolar mania and back.

Dochinpira 6(ja)

Urged to quit the gigolo life, Jin sets out to prove he’s still got it. But his pride gets him into increasingly risky situations, including a disastrously public tryst. While fleeing a group of Yokohama punks, he hides in a car and meets Akiko, a fierce, beautiful woman who immediately becomes his new obsession. There’s just one problem: Akiko is the leader of a rival biker gang. And when Jin seduces the girlfriend of the opposing gang’s boss, he becomes the target of a dangerous vendetta. To make things worse... Ranko is kidnapped!

Ishara(hi)

A love triangle blossoms amidst class divides when a wealthy young man falls for a poor girl, only for a traditional arranged marriage to disrupt their lives and expose the harsh realities of societal expectations.

Becoming Human(km)

Thida, the spirit guardian of an old cinema facing demolition, must confront her existence as a ghost and the choice of rebirth. When she meets Hai, a living human with whom she forms a deep bond, their connection forces her to face not only her spiritual destiny but also the realities of a country undergoing profound economic and social change.

The Night Burns(it)

Massimo and his friends live in the suburbs of Rome. They have a dangerous hobby: stealing from rich young people in discos. One night something goes wrong. Panic spreads and the crowd goes crazy, trampling some people. One guy ends up in a coma. The hunt for those responsible starts. Maximus, on the other hand, goes on with his life as if nothing had happened, among petty theft and new love affairs.

Bojovník(cs)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof(en)

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

The King of Comedy(en)

Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.

Lili Marleen(de)

The story of a German singer named Willie, who while working in Switzerland, falls in love with a Jewish composer named Robert, whose family is helping people to flee from the Nazis. Robert’s family is skeptical of Willie, thinking she could be a Nazi as she becomes famous for singing the song “Lili Marleen”.

Contempt(fr)

A philistine in the art film business, Jeremy Prokosch is a producer unhappy with the work of his director. Prokosch has hired Fritz Lang to direct an adaptation of "The Odyssey," but when it seems that the legendary filmmaker is making a picture destined to bomb at the box office, he brings in a screenwriter to energize the script. The professional intersects with the personal when a rift develops between the writer and his wife.

Live Flesh(es)

When Victor attempts to seduce Elena, all he gets for his trouble is a one-way, six-year ticket to prison, where he concentrates on strengthening his mind, his body... and his desire for vengeance on the man who put him there. After his release and still madly in love with her, Victor will stop at nothing to win her over even if means revenge, for Elena has married David, the cop who sent him to prison!

Batman(en)

Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known as 'The Joker' seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale.