Science Friction

Shannon Amen(en)

Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith. A loving elegy to a friend lost to suicide.

Rendezvous in Space(en)

This documentary, the final film directed by Frank Capra, explores America's plans for the future of space exploration. It was produced by the Martin-Marietta Corporation for exhibition in the Hall of Science at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

How the Lion Cub and the Turtle Sang a Song(ru)

The Tortoise composed a song and the Lion cub learnt it by heart and they sang it together.

Gauche the Cellist(ja)

This is essentially a highly condensed remake of the famous 1982 Isao Takahara release. It tells the story of Gauche, a struggling cellist in a provincial orchestra. He is visited by four talking animals - a cat, a cuckoo, a tanuki, and a field mouse - on successive nights They help him to improve his playing, just in time for orchestra’s concert performance of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.

Rubato(en)

A street musician who lives in poverty and loneliness. After an encounter with a stray dog, his life is about to take another turn.

Clocky(fr)

A little clock is eager to ring for the first time. Will it arrive on time?

Countries(en)

Deep in the frozen winters of Siberia, the world's greatest weapon is discovered -- a golden Sharpie which grants its country ultimate power. The only question: which country?

Functional Block Diagrams(en)

A synthesis of sound and movement; colourful characters dance and move in repetitive patterns to percussive and melodic elements. A combination of motion and music that is hypnotic and beautiful. At first it feels structured and orderly but as more elements are added becomes quixotically expressive.

Every Star(en)

A mysterious boy from the country side collects stars and sends them to every city child who is unable to see the stars through the foggy urban sky.

Fighter(fr)

In Mexico, two grandparents do their shopping. Small bickering and old grudges will they lead them in the ring?

The Dream Merchant(en)

A dance of eclectic objects. A play of demented dolls, wheels, and geriatric clocks.

Beast(fr)

A lonely fisherman's wait. Over the horizon against the expanse of the sea, time passes. Something gradually overwhelms the waiting man. We then discover that he's unstable, fragile and sadly violent. As he suffocates from within, colors appear on his skin. And then everything comes to a halt : a woman arrives like an apparition in the water.

Spin(en)

A complex choreography of re-animated miniature soldiers moving to the exquisitely synchronised command of a master manipulator. Toy soldiers against toy soldiers in the satirical animated short Spin

Mr Bear's Christmas(en)

A heartwarming festive tale of friendship and love. Set in the corner of the forest, Mr Bear and his best friend Mouse excitedly share their joy of Christmas as they plan a party for all their friends with plenty of festive treats.

Half a Life(ar)

After a traumatic encounter, a young gay Egyptian joins the LGBT rights movement. When his safety is jeopardized, he must choose whether to stay in the country he loves or seek asylum elsewhere as a refugee. "Half a Life" is a timely story of activism and hope, set in the increasingly dangerous, oppressive, and unstable social climate of Egypt today.

We Are Men!(uk)

The collection of miniatures. The first is called "Glasses" and it deals with how a man with poor eyesight once ordered the glasses at his wife’s insistance. His sight came back to him, and with it the ability to see what dowdy and ugly his wife is and how uncomfortable their house is. In such a situation, he chose not to wear glasses. Thumbnails "Othello" and "Big and small" are also about the relationship between men and women.

One Small Step(en)

One of humankind’s greatest achievements has been to walk on the moon. It was marked in history as a phenomenal success. What if that first step had turned out a little differently? As Neil Armstrong is about to take his first step on the moon, something catches his eye in the distance. Naturally curious, he leaps out into the unknown territory to investigate. What he finds will forever change the course of human history.

Clé à molette & Jo(fr)

A Family Portrait(en)

A family portrait session goes horribly wrong, as secrets and jealousy bubble to the surface under the photographer's watchful gaze.

Cocoon: From the Girls of Summer(ja)

San and Mayu are two schoolgirls living in Okinawa during the closing months of the Pacific War. Together with their classmates, the two friends are drafted into the war effort as nurses for wounded soldiers. When ordered to die for their country, the remaining members of the group escape only to face the harsh environment of a tropical paradise that has become a hellish battlefield.

Musangwe: Fight Club(en)

The first rule is that there are no rules. For the bare-knuckle combatants competing in Musangwe fights, anything goes - you can even put a curse on him. The sport, which dates back centuries, has become a South African institution. Any male from the age of nine to ninety can compete. We follow a group of fighters as they slug it out in the ring. Who will be this year's champion?

Fight Club: Members Only(hi)

Four friends head off to Bombay and get involved in the mother and father of all gang wars.

Le Plaisir(fr)

Three stories about the pleasure. The first one is about a man hiding his age behind a mask to keep going to balls and fancying women - pleasure and youth. Then comes the long tale of Mme Tellier taking her girls (whores) to the country for attending her niece's communion - pleasure and purity. And lastly, Jean the painter falling in love with his model - pleasure and death.

Alice(en)

Alice Tate, mother of two, with a marriage of 16 years, finds herself falling for a handsome sax player, Joe. Stricken with a backache, she consults herbalist Dr. Yang, who realizes that her problems are not related to her back, but in her mind and heart. Dr. Yang's magical herbs give Alice wondrous powers, taking her out of her well-established rut.

Twin Peaks(en)

An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks. (This standalone version of the series pilot was produced for the European VHS market and has an alternate, closed ending.)

An American in Paris(en)

Jerry Mulligan is an exuberant American expatriate in Paris trying to make a reputation as a painter. His friend Adam is a struggling concert pianist who's a long time associate of a famous French singer, Henri Baurel. A lonely society woman, Milo Roberts, takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, but is interested in more than his art.

Equinox Flower(ja)

Wataru Hirayama's outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter declares that she is in love with a coworker and is adamant to live life her own way, instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage. Outwitted by his female relatives, Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat.

Love at First Fight(fr)

Arnaud, facing an uncertain future and a dearth of choices in a small French coastal town, meets and falls for the apocalyptic-minded Madeleine, who joins an army boot camp to learn military and survival skills to prepare for the upcoming environmental collapse. Intrigued and excited by Madeleine’s wild ideas, Arnaud signs up for the boot camp himself. They soon realize that the boot camp is harder than they’d imagined, but the experience nonetheless cements them together as the couple continues to explore their young love.

Slacker(en)

Austin, Texas, is an Eden for the young and unambitious, from the enthusiastically eccentric to the dangerously apathetic. Here, the nobly lazy can eschew responsibility in favor of nursing their esoteric obsessions. The locals include a backseat philosopher who passionately expounds on his dream theories to a seemingly comatose cabbie, a young woman who tries to hawk Madonna's Pap test to anyone who will listen and a kindly old anarchist looking for recruits.

Girls Fight Club(en)

The best women's wrestling competition of all time...and if you think it's fake you're in for a big surprise See LEGENDARY Mixed Martial Arts fighters coach their teams to victory in the cage! aka Chuck Lidell's Girl's Fight Club

Buena Vista Social Club(en)

In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.

Saboteur(en)

Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane flees across the United States after he is wrongly accused of starting the fire that killed his best friend.

The Gendarme Takes Off(fr)

The whole clique of Cruchot's police station is retired. Now he lives with his rich wife in her castle - and is bored almost to death. He fights with the butler, because he isn't even allowed to do the simple works. But when one of the clique suffers from amnesia after an accident, all of the others reunite and kidnap him, to take him on a tour to their old working places and through their memories. In their old uniforms they turn St. Tropez upside down.

At Five in the Afternoon(fa)

Nogreh is a young Afghani woman living with her father and her sister-in-law, Leylomah, whose husband, Akhtar, is missing. Beyond the issue of Akhtar, Leylomah is most concerned with how to feed her baby. She cannot provide milk for her baby as her own hunger is preventing her from lactating. Nogreh, however, aspires toward a life in a western styled democracy. Although the Taliban are no longer in power in Afghanistan, traditional forces are still active in the country. Nogreh often displays signs of rebellion, such as wearing a pair of white pumps instead of the traditional slipper beneath her burqa. But mostly, Nogreh wants to be educated. Without her father's knowledge, Nogreh is attending a secular girls school. Ultimately, she wants to become President of Afghanistan. With the help of a Pakistani refugee who likes her as a woman, Nogreh tries to understand exactly what forces led to current world leaders being elected, those forces which she wants to emulate.

Iris(en)

IRIS pairs legendary 87-year-old documentarian Albert Maysles with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades. More than a fashion film, the documentary is a story about creativity and how, even in Iris’ dotage, a soaring free spirit continues to inspire. IRIS portrays a singular woman whose enthusiasm for fashion, art and people are life’s sustenance and reminds us that dressing, and indeed life, is nothing but an experiment.

Paranormal Activity 2(en)

Just as Daniel and Kristi welcome a newborn baby into their home, a demonic presence begins terrorizing them, tearing apart their perfect world and turning it into an inescapable nightmare.

Die Hard: With a Vengeance(en)

New York detective John McClane is back and kicking bad-guy butt in the third installment of this action-packed series, which finds him teaming with civilian Zeus Carver to prevent the loss of innocent lives. McClane thought he'd seen it all, until a genius named Simon engages McClane, his new "partner" -- and his beloved city -- in a deadly game that demands their concentration.

Koyaanisqatsi(en)

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

The Pilgrim(en)

The Tramp is an escaped convict who is mistaken as a pastor in a small town church.

The World of Apu(bn)

Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.