The Arbor

The Satanic Verses Affair(en)

Twenty years ago, novelist Salman Rushdie was a wanted man with a million pound bounty on his head. His novel, The Satanic Verses, had sparked riots across the Muslim world. The ailing religious leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini, had invoked a little-known religious opinion - a fatwa - and effectively sentenced Rushdie to death. This film looks back on the extraordinary events which followed the publication of the book and the ten year campaign to get the fatwa lifted. Interviews with Rushdie's friends and family and testimony from leaders of Britain's Muslim community and the Government reveal the inside story of the affair.

Walls(en)

A teenage boy named David is afraid of being transparent. When David's best friend, Johnathan, notices his abuse at home, David must overcome his fear of rejection in order to embrace his friend's support.

Takeaway(it)

A racewalking athlete Maria runs a petrol station with a takeaway shop in a desolate mountain village, she is almost 30 years old, she may have little chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of success but at what cost?

Annaluise & Anton(de)

Luise, called Pünktchen, and Anton are closest of friends. Being the daughter of a wealthy surgeon, young Pünktchen lives in a great house. Her mother, who always travels through the world more for public relation reasons than for the social tasks she pretends to fulfill, is never available to her as a mother. Anton, son of a single and sick mother in financial trouble, does his best to help her out of it by working late. Pünktchen decides to help her only friend (as nobody else would anyway) and starts singing in public places. Trouble arises when Anton can't resist stealing a golden lighter and Pünktchen's secret life is discovered by her parents. Two troubled families finally can see the need for actions to be taken.

Sleepless in Seattle(en)

After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up on a date. Across the country, an engaged woman becomes convinced that they belong together, despite their never having met. Will their paths collide despite the odds?

The Color Purple(en)

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

The Woman of Wrath(zh)

A woman, married off to an abusive butcher, is overpowered by the twin forces of patriarchy and tradition in Taiwan during circa 1920 to 1945.

Superbusen(de)

Gisela involuntarily ends up studying in the cosmopolitan city of Chemnitz. There she meets her friends Jana, Fred and Meryam, with whom she spends her nights out, fights with Nazis, eventually founds the band Superbusen and, through music, hopes to find answers to all the problems life throws at her.

Michael(en)

Tabloid reporters are sent by their editor to investigate after the paper recieves a letter from a woman claiming an angel is living with her.

Valley of the Dolls(en)

Lured by their dreams of fame and fortune, three ambitious young women enter the world of show business and discover how easy it is to sink into a celebrity nightmare of ego, alcohol and pills — the beloved "dolls."

Yerma(es)

Yerma is desperate to have children, so when a psychic advises her to look outside her marriage to conceive, what can she say but yes?

Les ludions(fr)

PUSH(en)

A restless, bored, and pregnant woman gives a defiant 12-year old boy a ride home and pushes him over an emotional line he did not know he was crossing that day.

Till(en)

The true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14 year old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi.

Beggars and Noblemen(ar)

In June 1945, during the final days of WWII, former university professor Gohar meets a young prostitute in a brothel and kills her in a moment of frenzy. Police Detective Noureddine takes on the murder case and tracks down Gohar, hoping to confront him and get a confession to the murder from him. However, both the detective and the killer face startling facts that change the way they think.

In Paris Parks(en)

This short film displays the dynamic movement of people as they enter and exit parks in Paris.

Sticky Notes(en)

The story of an emotionally detached backup dancer named Athena, who must return home to Florida to help care for her estranged father, Jack, after he gets diagnosed with cancer. There, she must contend with Jack’s irresponsible lifestyle, while looking after six year old Honey Bunny, who is only beginning to grasp the err in Jack’s ways.

The Lovers on the Bridge(fr)

Set against Paris' oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, while it was closed for repairs, this film is a love story between two young vagrants: Alex, a would be circus performer addicted to alcohol and sedatives and Michele, a painter driven to a life on the streets because of a failed relationship and an affliction which is slowly turning her blind.

American Splendor(en)

An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.

An Angel at My Table(en)

Based on the autobiographical work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, this production depicts the author at various stage of her life. Afflicted with mental and emotional issues, Frame grows up in an impoverished family and experiences numerous tragedies while still in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Portrayed as an adult by Kerry Fox, Frame finds acclaim for her writing while still in a mental institution, and her success helps her move on with her life.

The Selfish Giant(en)

A hyperactive boy and his best friend, a slow-witted youth with an affinity for horses, start collecting scrap metal for a shady dealer.

Arctic Tale(en)

Arctic Tale is a 2007 documentary film from the National Geographic Society about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs, in a similar vein to the 2005 hit production March of the Penguins, also from National Geographic.

Lucky Chan-sil(ko)

With the death of her long-time director, Chan-sil, a film producer, is now unemployed. While working as a cleaning lady at an actress' house, she meets a young man. Attracted to him, Chan-sil realises old anxieties are about to emerge: her already gone-youth, messed-up love life, and broken career.

Monkey Business(en)

Research chemist Barnaby Fulton works on a fountain of youth pill for a chemical company. One of the labs chimps gets loose in the laboratory and mixes chemicals, but then pours the mix into the water cooler. When trying one of his own samples, washed down with water from the cooler, Fulton begins to act just like a twenty-year-old and believes his potion is working. Soon his wife and boss are also behaving like children.

American Beauty(en)

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

Joker(en)

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

Titanic(en)

101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.

Back to the Future(en)

Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.

The Psychic(it)

A woman with psychic powers has a vision of a murder that took place in a house owned by her husband.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood(en)

Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…

Pierrot le Fou(fr)

Pierrot escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.

The Year of Living Dangerously(en)

A young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.

Take the Money and Run(en)

Virgil Starkwell is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he is completely incompetent.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion(it)

Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey(en)

Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later(en)

Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael Myers. Laurie now lives in Northern California under an assumed name, where she works as the headmistress of a private school. But it's not far enough to escape Myers, who soon discovers her whereabouts. As Halloween descends upon Laurie's peaceful community, a feeling of dread weighs upon her -- with good reason.

The Great Beauty(it)

Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.

The Breakfast Club(en)

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid(en)

Wayne Szalinski is at it again. But instead of shrinking things, he tries to make a machine that can make things grow. As in the first one, his machine isn't quite accurate. But when he brings Nick & his toddler son Adam to see his invention, the machine unexpectedly starts working. And when Adam comes right up to the machine, he gets zapped along with his stuffed bunny.

Rambo III(en)

Combat has taken its toll on Rambo, but he's finally begun to find inner peace in a monastery. When Rambo's friend and mentor Col. Trautman asks for his help on a top secret mission to Afghanistan, Rambo declines but must reconsider when Trautman is captured.