Loose Thread

Second Encounters(da)

In this tale of second chances, two ex-lovers run into each other in a restaurant. Both are with new partners. Both are unhappy. Both are still in love with the other. Dormant feelings rush to the surface and the opportunity to rekindle the past presents itself. Will the outcome be different?

Beached(en)

BEACHED tells the surreal story of two days in the lives of Paul and Angela. Together for years, Angela longs for Paul to pop the question but Paul doesn't believe in marriage. Angela persuades herself he doesn't believe in them and leaves him. In his drunken quest for solace, Paul begins a journey of self-discovery - with a little help from two talking mannequins and a relationship-counselling panda - to try to overcome his fear of commitment. Question is: will it be in time? Shot on 35mm anamorphic on location in Swansea and the Gower Peninsula in the spring of 2007 by Welsh director Hefin Rees and producer Ben Pickering, BEACHED screened at the Cannes Short Film Corner and the Strasbourg International Film Festival in 2009. It features the final screen appearance of the late Welsh rugby legend Ray Gravell.

High Fidelity(en)

After his long-time girlfriend dumps him, a thirty-year-old record store owner seeks to understand why he is unlucky in love while recounting his "top five breakups of all time".

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(en)

Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.

Naked(de)

The story of three couples, one of which just broke up, one that seems to be about to, and one perfectly okay. They are all friends, and from time to time, they gather to talk about everything. One time, they gather for dinner at the second couple's "mansion“— the husband became rich with his business. We see each couple as they prepare themselves for the party and learn a lot about their relationships. At the dinner, they get to talking about recognizing each other's peer with closed eyes and decide to try it, naked.

The City(sh)

Three stories (Love, Heart, The Hoop) set in the urban, alienated world of a big city. It tells how thin is the line between melancholy and depression.

Goddess of the Fireflies(fr)

Catherine is a teenager going through adolescence just as her parents are getting a divorce. Her social life is no better as bullies and boys add to the pressure of growing up in the chaotic '90s.

Spanglish(en)

Mexican immigrant and single mother Flor Moreno finds housekeeping work with Deborah and John Clasky, a well-off couple with two children of their own. When Flor admits she can't handle the schedule because of her daughter, Cristina, Deborah decides they should move into the Clasky home. Cultures clash and tensions run high as Flor and the Claskys struggle to share space while raising their children on their own, and very different, terms.

Pulsar(en)

Half Past Ten(en)

An alcoholic married man discovers he has fallen out of love with his moody wife.

Blues(de)

Apart(pt)

Catarina and Marcela are going through the end of their relationship. In the course of one night, they struggle with the difficulties of having to end a stage of their lives.

8 Years(es)

How to overcome true love? Jose considers David the man of his life, but when he suddenly breaks up with him after 8 years together, Jose is haunted by memories of their past relationship, which bring home to him that their life together wasn't as ideal as he once thought.

Juliet, Naked(en)

Annie is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan – an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe. When the acoustic demo of Tucker's hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its discovery leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself.

Angst(de)

Oskar Roehler's drama Der Alte Affe Angst (Angst) is about the dissolution of a couple. Robert (Andre Hennicke) and Marie (Marie Baumer) have little in common other than their sex life. Since Robert is going through a bout with impotency, they are having a very rocky time. Robert learns that his father, whom he is estranged from, has died. This disturbs Robert so much that he visits a prostitute, and is able to engage in sex with her. Marie discovers the infidelity, and the prostitute has a surprise of her own. Angst was screened at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival.

Anything Else(en)

Jerry Falk, an aspiring writer in New York, falls in love at first sight with a free-spirited young woman named Amanda. He has heard the phrase that life is like "anything else," but soon he finds that life with the unpredictable Amanda isn't like anything else at all.

Gripsholm(de)

Kurt and Lydia are planning a relaxed vacation at the Gripsholm castle in Sweden . What Lydia does not know is that for Kurt, a well-known publicist, the journey is actually a flight from encroaching fascism and a direct threat from the Nazis.

Big Girls Don't Cry(de)

Kati and Steffi have been best friends since they were six. Now they're both 17 and enjoying the ups and downs of becoming adults together. While Kati's parents are religious and conservative, but argue constantly, Steffi comes from what appears to be a harmonious and liberal family. But the girls discover how quickly their attractive world can fall apart when, at a hip nightclub, they happen to see Steffi's father in the arms of another woman. Steffi is shocked, her trust in her small perfect world shaken to the core. She can only think of one thing: revenge.

Human Traffic(en)

For Jip, Lulu, Koop, Nina and Moff, the dead-end jobs they endure during the week just kill the time until Friday night. That's when they cut very loose and get on the rollercoaster ride that takes them right through to Monday morning.

The Swimming Pool(fr)

Set in a magnificent villa near a sun-drenched St. Tropez, lovers Jean-Paul and Marianne are spending a happy, lazy summer holiday. Their only concern is to gratify their mutual passion - until the day when Marianne invites her former lover and his beautiful teenage daughter to spend a few days with them. From the first moment, a certain uneasiness and tension begin to develop between the four, which soon escalates in a dangerous love-game.