American Folklore

El Duende Sátiro(es)

Legend tells of a girl named Palmira. A teenager, becoming a beautiful woman, her normal small town life took an unexpected turn. A demon expelled from paradise falls in love with her, causing great misfortune; only one can defeat him.

Santera(es)

About a mysterious and troubled black woman, a former practitioner of the Santería religion, who must comes to terms with her background whilst in a Caracas jail.

The Mother(pt)

The Mother is one of Monteiro’s first essays on the universe of Portuguese oral culture, folktales and obscure colloquialisms. The plot revolves around a traditional tale about theft, greed, an ubiquitous mother, and the links between the worlds of the living and the dead.

A Story of the Forest: Mavka(uk)

Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The Spirit of the Forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.

Meet Me in St. Louis(en)

Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family up to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Natsume's Book of Friends: The Waking Rock and the Strange Visitor(ja)

The film will be made up of two stories: "Ishi Okoshi" and "Ayashiki Raihousha." In "Ishi Okoshi," Natsume meets a small youkai called Mitsumi in a forest. Mitsumi is entrusted to wake up the divine youkai "Iwatetsu" from its deep slumber. Mitsumi weighs on Natsume's mind, so he sets out to help Mitsumi with his task. In "Ayashiki Raihousha," a mysterious visitor appears in front of Tanuma. Nearly every day, the visitor visits Tanuma, talks to him a little, and then leaves. Natsume, who knows the visitor is a youkai, worries for Tanuma, but Tanuma enjoys these exchanges with the youkai. The youkai means no harm, but Tanuma's health slowly starts to deteriorate.

The Commons(en)

A group of teenagers go out to a den in the woods for a night of drinking, unaware that their behaviour touches on issues of ritual, folklore, mysticism and UFOs.

Jeremiah(en)

An Asian-American high school football player is forced to confront his deepest fears after a strange encounter with a mysterious figure.

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets(en)

A portrait of the lives of a disparate group of patrons and employees at an American watering hole today.

Balada o Vojtovej Marine(sk)

November(et)

In a poor Estonian village, a group of peasants use magic and folk remedies to survive the winter, and a young woman tries to get a young man to love her.

Opera ve vinici(cs)

Perumthachan(ml)

It is based on Perumthachan of the Parayi Petta Panthirukulam, a legend in the Kerala folklore. The problems caused by the generation gap are explored through the relationship between a skilled carpenter and his tradition-breaking son.

One-Eyed Likho(ru)

The plot is the embodiment of everyday belief about the impact of a certain evil force on a person. The action develops in a peasant environment.

21 Days(pt)

"21 Days" illustrates a love triangle starring Bete, her boyfriend, Jonas and Agatha, a childhood friend of Jonas. Told from three different points of view, the narrative was inspired by the songs "cardigan", "august" and "betty", from the album "folklore" by singer Taylor Swift.

Child of Kamiari Month(ja)

A year after losing her mother, a young girl learns that she must journey across Japan to the annual gathering of gods in the sacred land of Izumo.

It's a Big Country(en)

Comprised of eight unrelated episodes of inconsistent quality, this anthology piece of American propaganda features some of MGM Studios' best directors, screenwriters and actors; it is narrated by Louis Calhern. Stories are framed by the lecture of a university professor. In one tale a Boston resident becomes angry when the census forgets to record her presence. Another sketch chronicles the achievements of African Americans while still another pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to Texas.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves(fr)

Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil(eu)

Basque Country, Spain, 1843. A police constable arrives at a small village in Álava to investigate a mysterious blacksmith who lives alone deep in the woods.

Green Book(en)

Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.