MERMAID

The same things happening to me all the time, even in my dreams(en)

A girl wakes up to find herself in a dream world. She gets a call that warns her not to answer the next phone call.

Boydem(he)

This particular summer, at an age that falls between childhood and young adulthood, while their grandparents are taking their afternoon nap, Keren and Noam play games in the attic ("Boydem" in Yiddish) that introduces them to a new level of intimacy.

Whale Rider(en)

On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

Lonely Hearts(en)

In the late 1940s, a murderous couple known as the 'The Lonely Hearts Killers' kills close to a dozen people. Two detectives try to nab the duo who find their targets via the personals in the paper.

Notes on a Scandal(en)

A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.

In His Island(tl)

A small fishing community struggles amidst an oil spill. Meanwhile, part of that community is a prepubescent and cheerful young boy struggling with his identity who finds comfort in his dreams of becoming a mermaid.

Mami Wata(en)

In the oceanside village of Iyi, the revered Mama Efe acts as an intermediary between the people and the all-powerful water deity Mami Wata. But when a young boy is lost to a virus, Efe’s devoted but rebellious daughter Zinwe and skeptical protégé Prisca warn Efe about unrest among the villagers. With the sudden arrival of a mysterious rebel deserter named Jasper, a conflict erupts, leading to a violent clash of ideologies and a crisis of faith for the people of Iyi.

An Aspirational Space(en)

After her relationship abruptly ends, a woman isolates herself in a new apartment and becomes obsessed with a self-help book.

The Pretty Girl(en)

In a reverie, a young woman (the pretty girl) puzzles out why no one is smiling at her the way they did, except for some women, and those smiles seem different. A male voice narrates. She thinks back to Saturday night. She wore her red dress, a dress smaller than a dress anyone else in town can wear. She went out dancing; she danced and drank and smoke and flirted. She was the last to leave, walking home alone, as usual, by way of the beach. That's the nicest part of the evening, and the nicest part of the nicest part is removing the dress, swimming, and putting the dress on again while still dripping wet. She walks the rest of the way home. What changes things?

Dead Shadow(pl)

Blood Positive(en)

Two sisters track down and torture a man which they suspect is their estranged father.

Five Minutes a Day(pt)

Working in a small security kiosk, two men take advantage of the shift change to get to know each other and forge a touching bond.

Polaroid(it)

Giuseppe, 33, is still struggling to build his life in a small Italian town where he has to hide his homosexuality. With a Polaroid in hand, he decides to leave for Berlin to find Peter, a summer love he has never forgotten. The shock of a cosmopolitan city is nothing compared to the moment he realizes that the German artist has a "normal" family. For him this represents the possibility of 'losing' himself and meeting Marco, who takes him around all night to arrive at dawn to the conviction that love is the only strength to find one's identity. "Polaroid" is one of five short film segments in an omnibus feature titled "A Quintet".

Cold Snap(en)

A boy in a forest, trapping animals for a living. The woman next door, planning a fresh start. As a desolate winter sets in, their lives begin to intertwine.

Colors & Boots(pt)

Joana has the same dream as all young Brazilian girls in the 80s: she wants to be a Paquita, a dancer on Xuxa's TV show. Her family is wealthy, and will support her. However, there is a problem; she is black and Xuxa never had a black Paquita on her team.

The Room(es)

Mariana must sacrifice her dog Frida after violently beating it for having destroyed her recently deceased son's toys. The pet's death helps Mariana accept and overcome the loss of her son.

Absence(es)

Carlos, a man haunted by his past, plunges into an existential crisis that leads him to day-to-day apathy due to the loss of a child, an act that condemns a declining marriage and continuous desolation.

The Kiln(es)

At her young age, Juana has two great responsibilities: preventing her older sister from fleeing the house and passing on the secret of making bricks to her younger sister.

Cristeros and Federals(es)

In 1929, during the Cristiada, Ranulfo, captain of the Cristero army, kept a federal prisoner, whom he tortured and threatened. At another time, Eugenio, captain of the federal army, rebukes and mocks the faith of a group of Cristeros peasants who are weak but not defenseless.