When a high school tutor discovers a painful secret about her favorite client, she is quickly triggered by a similar darkness from her own past.
Singer is a deaf-mute whose small world brings him in contact with a young girl, Mick, who cherishes a seemingly hopeless dream of becoming a concert pianist. At first hostile, Mick soon becomes friends with Singer, hoping to enlarge his small world. Three other central characters come to Singer for help also, each of them seeing in him a powerful force.
A lonely spearmint unsuccessfully tries to connect with others. The plant gets picked up by a person going through a rough patch, isolating himself and dwelling οn the past.
A young man prostitutes himself in the parks of Madrid while he is looking for his father, who abandoned him when he was a child.
Two freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.
Nastalia is too young to have experienced many things in life, but as an abused child she has already experienced the darkest side of it. Now a young teen she takes it upon herself to change her life for the better, but the torment that is so interlaced with her childhood will haunt her every step forward.
Clifford Peach, an easygoing teenager, is finding less than easy to fit in at his new high school, where a tough-talking bully terrorizes his classmates and extorts their lunch money. Refusing to pay up, Clifford enlist the aid of an overgrown misfit whose mere presence intimidates students and teachers alike. But their "business relationship" soon turns personal as Clifford and the troubled loner forge a winning alliance against their intimidators - and a very special friendship with each other.
Six young black men from Akron, Ohio, enter college, determined to redefine society's images and low expectations. Despite their confidence, the stark reality of being away from home brings a series of crises. Well trained in critical and metaphorical thinking, and unusually articulate about their inner lives, each of the protagonists guides us to his core. Since sixth grade, they have been part of an innovative mentoring program called 'Alchemy, Inc.' that uses mythological stories, drumming and writing. In the twice-yearly reunion workshops everyone speaks of his trials and his triumphs with authenticity, intelligence, honesty and heart. In turns quiet, thoughtful and exuberant, the six protagonists grow before our eyes, whether navigating racial provocations, or seeking support with new friends, estranged fathers and wise grandmothers.
Eleven-year-old Monica Shah is a brainy schoolgirl whose science fair project about growing raspberries becomes a touching emotional crusade. After her dad leaves and her mother falls into a funk, Monica decides it's her job to rescue the family.
A drifting Chinese American cam girl struggles to navigate an increasingly toxic relationship with one of her clients while rekindling her relationship with her dying estranged father.
For Billie and Nico, life with their father is a roller-coaster ride of playfulness and unease. When he is in the grip of alcohol, tears flow and their apparently idyllic family life collapses. Their mostly absent and irresponsible mother is not much help either. But their friendship with Malik, a boy of Billie’s age, frees them from their shackles. Together they embark on a journey full of intense moments of freedom. The colourful, emotional world of the three young people is depicted in kaleidoscopic black and white imagery, which opens space for their own notions of childhood. Alexandre Rockwell's tale portrays a profound sense of solidarity and deep love: for cinema and Billie Holiday, and also for risk and adventure.
As a fan of Albert Camus and Jean-Luc Godard, teenage Nick Twisp is definitely out of his element when his mother and her boyfriend move the family to a trailer park. When a pretty neighbor named Sheeni plays records by French crooners, it's love at first sight for frustrated and inexperienced Nick. Learning that she is dating someone, Nick launches a hilarious quest to find his way into Sheeni's heart -- and bed.
A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.
Asthmatic teenager Barry Gabrewski is a daydreamer. Troubled by bullying, he escapes into a fantasy world where he is the sidekick to his martial arts hero, Chuck Norris, in a series of high-octane adventures taken right out of his movies. With help from his teacher's wise old uncle, Mr. Lee, Barry learns the finer points of martial arts and enters a karate championship.
In 1996 Scotland, a group of Catholic schoolgirls get an opportunity to go into Edinburgh for a choir competition, but they're more interested in drinking, partying and hooking up than winning the competition.
Jay Parini finds himself stuck in a Morris Minor, chauffeuring the brilliant, blind Jorge Luis Borges through Scotland. Quiet and conservative, 23-year-old student Parini dreams of becoming a writer but is at a loss to make sense of the wild, irrepressible 70-year-old Borges. As the journey takes a surreal turn, their differences magnify until, in the tradition of a classic road trip, the two ultimately find common ground.
A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".
Two college roommates have 24 hours to make the ultimate choice as they finalize arrangements for a black market abortion.