XConfessions 10[2017]

And Then Came Lola(en)

A talented, but distracted photographer, Lola, on the verge of success in both love and work, could lose it all if she doesn't make it to a crucial meeting on time. But, as usual, Lola is late. With her job and girlfriend on the line, she has three chances to make it right. In a desperate race through the streets and back rooms of San Francisco, time grows short-will Lola make it? Will she come at all? With a pop sensibility that mixes live action, animation and still photography, And Then Came Lola explores love's age old question in a fresh new way, "If you try, try again, will you finally get it right?" (Written by M. Siler and E. Seidler)

This Year's Love(en)

The big-screen debut from Scottish stage director David Kane, This Year's Love is a comedy about the romantic misadventures of six young people in Camden, North London. The marriage of tattoo artist Danny (Douglas Hanshall) and dressmaker Hannah (Catherine McCormack) gets off to a less-than-inspiring start when Danny finds out Hannah has already been fooling around with a friend's husband, so Danny takes a walk and Hannah splits with a friend to get drunk. At the airport, where the newly-weds were supposed to leave for a honeymoon, Danny meets a cleaning woman named Mary (Kathy Burke) and is immediately infatuated, while Hannah is picked up by a scruffy artist named Cameron (Dougray Scott). Elsewhere, Liam (Ian Hart), a geeky comic-art enthusiast who shares an apartment with Cameron, finds romance with Sophie (Jennifer Ehle), a single mother and full-time neurotic.

After.Life(en)

Following a terrible car crash, a woman awakes to find an enigmatic mortician preparing her for burial.

Metro... In Dino(hi)

Follows interconnected stories of several different couples, each facing a crossroads at different stages in their lives and relationships.

Ripley Under Ground(en)

After his friend, a hot young artist, is killed, a resourceful American man living in London covers up the crime and tries to keep the friend's name alive in order to exploit his legacy and reap millions in the process.

The Vintner's Luck(en)

A fantasy romance set in 19th century France. The film revolves around Sobran, a young peasant winemaker, and the three important figures in his life - his beautiful wife Celeste, baroness Aurora de Valday and an angel named Xas.

The Black Pimpernel(en)

The story about Swedish ambassador in Chile - Harald Edelstam - and his heroic actions to protect the innocent people from the execution during and after the military coup on September 11th 1973.

Artemisia(fr)

The story of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), one of the first well-known female painters, including her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi.

Dirty War(en)

After years of meticulous planning, a terrorist operation is reaching its final stages. The authorities have received no intelligence; they are in a race against time but don't yet know it. As the operation unfolds, we see the working lives of men and women directly affected by terrorism. Among them: a firemen worried about the increasingly dangerous conditions he and his men are expected to work under; the head of the anti-terrorist branch whose responsibility it is to protect London and a female Muslim detective brought into Scotland Yard to investigate another suspected terrorist cell. But it is too late to stop the attack.

The Tree(sl)

A family finds itself in a dead-end situation. They are only safe behind the walls of their own house and yard. As time vanishes from their home, the shelter slowly turns into a prison. However, nothing can keep the children from dreaming and yearning to be free and the urge to make a decision seems inevitable.

Genius Party(ja)

The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, brings his distinctive and deceptively simple graphic style and dream-state logic to the table with “Happy Machine,” his spin on a child’s earliest year. Shinji Kimura’s spookier “Deathtic 4,” meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a child’s imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamura’s “Limit Cycle” conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyama’s "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with “Shanghai Dragon,” takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride.

Eyes of a Thief(ar)

Tareq is released from an Israeli prison and returns to his hometown in Palestine, a place transformed by drastic changes and filled with secrets, to find his daughter. As secrets are uncovered, light is shed on the stifling nature of contemporary Palestinian society, while revealing Tareq’s hidden past. Inspired by true events.

Religion(hi)

The story is based in Banaras and is about a Hindu Priest Chaturvedi who follows the scriptures to practice Hindu religion. When a child is abandon by a woman and brought in his house by his daughter - after initial hesitation but due to requests from his wife - the family adapts the child; only to know after 4 years that the child is a Muslim. The family gives away the child and Chaturvedi engulfs himself in the purification process to cleanse his body, mind and soul due to contact with a Muslim soul. By the time, Chaturvedi thinks he is fully purified – the child reappears – seeking refuge, due to Hindu- Muslim riots. This is the time Chaturvedi finally realizes that the true religion is - religion where humans help humans – humanity.

Eros(en)

A three-part anthology about love and sexuality: it features three different tales of passion. In "The Hand," young tailor Zhang (Chen Chang) is attracted to high-priced prostitute Miss Hua (Gong Li). Next is "Equilibrium," in which stressed businessman Nick (Robert Downey Jr.) explains his problems to unhelpful therapist Dr. Pearl (Alan Arkin). Finally, "The Dangerous Thread of Things" examines the relationship problems of Christopher (Christopher Buchholz) and Chloe (Regina Nemni), a couple on vacation in Tuscany.

O mužoch, ženách a deťoch(sk)

Free the Nipple(en)

An army of passionate women launch a revolution to "Free the Nipple" and decriminalize the female body. Based on a true story, this mass movement of topless women, armed with First Amendment lawyers, graffiti installations and national publicity stunts, invade New York City to protest the backwards censorship laws in the USA.

Villa 69(ar)

Hussein is a terminally ill yet charming architect who enjoys a solitary routine in his old family home, and a variety of female visitors. Not realizing his past is about to catch up with him, Hussein's sister and her grandson move into the house, disrupting a well-established lifestyle, and forcing him to re-examine his ideas about life, love, and family.

Toe to Toe(en)

Out on the lacrosse pitch, wealthy but troubled Jesse and poor but driven Tosha form an easy and deep bond, but their relationship is threatened once they enter the hallways of an elite prep school they attend in Washington, D.C. There, they must work to overcome racial and other tensions in their classmates, and in themselves, if they hope to keep their friendship alive.

Boys Life(en)

Each of the three short films in this collection presents a young gay man at the threshold of adulthood. In "Pool Days," Justin is a 17-year old Bethesda lad, hired as the evening life guard at a fitness center. In the course of the summer, he realizes and embraces that he's gay. In "A Friend of Dorothy," Winston arrives from upstate for his freshman year at NYU. He has to figure out, with some help from Anne, a hometown friend, how to build a social life as a young gay man in the city. In "The Disco Years," Tom looks back on 1978, the year in high school that he came out of the closet after one joyful and several painful encounters

Low Visibility(en)

"Low Visibility" finds a man wandering alone on a snowy mountain roadside, waving his arms and shouting at the sky. The enigmatic Mr. Bones, an apparent amnesiac, is unable or unwilling to explain what has happened to him.