University of Laughs

Kids Return(ja)

Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.

Linda Linda Linda(ja)

Only three days before their high school festival, guitarist Kei, drummer Kyoko, and bassist Nozomi are forced to recruit a new lead vocalist for their band. They choose Korean exchange student Son, though her comprehension of Japanese is a bit rough! It's a race against time as the group struggles to learn three songs for the festival's rock concert—including a classic '80s song by the Japanese punk rock band The Blue Hearts called "Linda Linda".

The Raspberry Reich(en)

Gudrun has modeled her amateur German terrorist group after the 1970s Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Gang). She attempts to imitate her heroes by kidnapping the son of a wealthy industrialist and hopes to negotiate leftist demands from the father. When Gudrun’s not spouting leftist verses (including during a hilariously brilliant fuck session), she’s trying to convince her all-male gang to abandon their heterosexuality, which she believes is the result of mass delusion.

RO Theater: De Gelaarsde Poes(nl)

Television adaptation/registration of the theatre program by the Dutch children's theatregroup RoTheater. The play is a comical adaptation of the fairytale of Puss in Boots.

Casting(de)

For her first television film, director Vera wants the perfect cast. But the first day of shooting is fast approaching and the numerous casting sessions have yet to find a suitable actress to play the leading role. Although the producer and crew are getting ever more exasperated with Vera, Gerwin is happy about the extra work, as he earns his money as an audition reader, delivering the lines of dialogue to the starry candidates at the various castings. When the male lead suddenly has to back out, Gerwin thinks that this might just be his chance.

Gintama(ja)

In an era where aliens have invaded and taken over feudal Tokyo, a young samurai finds work however he can.

Battle Royale(ja)

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

The Naked Island(ja)

A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.

Throne of Blood(ja)

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Kikujiro(ja)

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.

Visitor Q(ja)

In a dysfunctional family where the mother is a heroin addict and prostitute, beaten by her son, and the father is an ex-TV reporter, sleeping with his daughter and filming his son being beaten up, ‘Q’, a complete stranger enters the bizarre family, changing their lives for the better, finding a balance in their disturbing natures.

Ikiru(ja)

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

Dawn of the Felines(ja)

A story of three escort girls living in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. They work at the same escort service while feeling lonely in their urban lives.

Rhapsody in August(ja)

An elderly Nagasaki hibakusha spends a summer caring for her four grandchildren, whose curiosity about the 1945 bombing stirs buried memories and moral questions. When an American nephew from Hawaii visits, the family confronts grief, guilt, and the possibility of reconciliation across generations.

La Dame de chez Maxim(fr)

Hana(ja)

In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.

Sakuran(ja)

Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.

Le buzz ou comment devenir un vrai people !(fr)

Ma Belle-Mère, Mon Ex et Moi(fr)

Grosse chaleur(fr)

On vacation in the Luberon, a high ranking civil servant, in love with the good old fashioned thinking, has to put up with a bunch of troublemakers in his haven of tranquillity and prevent them from watering in circles. Wife, child and mother-in-law in the front row, brother-in-law and sister-in-law as bonus gifts. Add to that a terrible heat wave and a mother left alone in her apartment in Paris... The cocktail is boiling, even explosive... with this heat it will be hard to keep it cool.

...All the Marbles(en)

A two-bit promoter tries to take a women's wrestling team to the top.

Memories of Matsuko(ja)

While combing through the belongings of his recently deceased aunt, Matsuko, nephew Sho pieces together the crucial events that sank Matsuko's life into a despairing tragedy.

Death by Hanging(ja)

A Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but somehow survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next.

Code 3(en)

A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit.

SubUrbia(en)

A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.

Somewhere in Queens(en)

Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.

Family Weekend(en)

A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.

Landline(en)

A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.

Hooking Up(en)

Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.

Don't Think Twice(en)

An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.

In the Soup(en)

An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.

Almost Friends(en)

A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets(en)

In the emotionally charged, wild and humorous world of sixteen year old James Whitman, his struggle to overcome anxiety and depression involve seeking advice from Dr. Bird - a giant imaginary pigeon therapist.

Achilles and the Tortoise(ja)

Machisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he always remains trying to be successful. His wife Sachiko keeps supporting him, despite all setbacks.

CQ(en)

A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.

A Dog Year(en)

Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?

About Alex(en)

When a group of old college friends reunite over a long weekend after one of them attempts suicide, old crushes and resentments shine light on their life decisions, and ultimately push friendships and relationships to the brink.

Small Apartments(en)

When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.

My Own Love Song(en)

A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.

Hard Sell(en)

Senior Hardy Buchanan struggles to keep up at an elite private school while caring for his unstable mother and raising money for surgery to save their beloved family dog. Desperate for cash, he teams up with a mysterious runaway to run an unconventional scheme targeting wealthy classmates. But as the plan spirals and Hardy’s feelings for classmate Lake deepen, he’s forced to decide what kind of person he wants to be.