Passages(2023)

Boy and Bicycle(en)

A teenage boy plays truant from school, and spends the day riding around the town and the deserted beach on his bicycle, letting his mind wander as he imagines he is the only person in the world...

Fear(it)

Irene Wagner, the wife of the prominent German scientist Professor Albert Wagner, had been having an affair with Erich Baumann. She does not disclose this to her husband, hoping to preserve his innocence and their "perfect marriage". This fills her with anxiety and guilt. However, Johanna Schultze, Erich's jealous ex-girlfriend, learns about the affair and begins to blackmail Irene, turning Irene's psychological torture into a harsh reality.

Safe Place(hr)

A traumatic event – a sudden suicide attempt – opens a gap in the everyday life of a family of three. Their lives change fundamentally, as if they've been pulled into a war invisible to everyone else. The plot is limited to the most acute, a short period of time and a situation that boils down to the most important thing – to save a loved one. The film was based on the personal experience of the director, who also plays the leading role.

Colombina Star y su baile del terror(es)

Black Night(tr)

Ishak, a wandering musician from a small mountain town. A lynching he was a part of 7 years ago comes back to haunt him as he returns to his town to say farewell to his dying mother. Facing the other five perpetrators--his childhood friends—as well as the community and government officials supporting them, Ishak struggles with the guilt weighing upon him. However, the bigger the crime is, the stronger the silence gets since everyone has blood on their hands.

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures(en)

Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.

Patagonia(it)

After spending his entire life in a small town with his elderly aunt, 20-year-old Yuri escapes with Agostino, a children's entertainer who lives on the road in a motor home. Yuri is caught in a whirlpool of love and dependence with Agostino.

Medusa Deluxe(en)

Talented and cutthroat hairstylists at a competition find one of their own murdered before judging can begin. Winding through neon-lit halls, competitors unspool long-simmering resentments and lies as they search for the killer among them.

Time to Love(tr)

On the Princes’ Islands to the south of Istanbul, the days are rainy and full of longing. Poor but proud painter Halil gets a job in one of the island’s villas, where he encounters the photograph of a beautiful woman and falls in love with her image.

Reality+(fr)

Vincent, a young Parisian uncomfortable with his appearance, installs a brain chip named Reality+ which allows users to see themselves and fellow users with their dream body. However, Reality+ only works over 12-hour intervals, proving infuriating for Vincent as he falls for Stella, another user.

Spoor(pl)

A story about Janina Duszejko, an elderly woman, who lives alone in the Klodzko Valley where a series of mysterious crimes are committed. Duszejko is convinced that she knows who (or what) is the murderer, but nobody believes her.

I Hired a Contract Killer(en)

After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract killer to do the job. Then, while awaiting his demise, he meets a woman and promptly falls in love.

The Humans(en)

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare.

About Endlessness(sv)

A reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendor and banality, guided by a Scheherazade-esque narrator. Inconsequential moments have the same significance as historical events. Simultaneously an ode and a lament, presents a kaleidoscope of all that is eternally human, an infinite story of the vulnerability of existence.

Limonov: The Ballad(fr)

A revolutionary militant, a thug, an underground writer, a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. But also a switchblade-waving poet, a lover of beautiful women, a warmonger, a political agitator, and a novelist who wrote of his greatness. Eduard Limonov’s life story is a journey through Russia, America, and Europe during the second half of the 20th century.

Valley of Shadows(es)

Quique, Clara and little Lucas are vacationing in northern India. One night, sleeping outside during a storm, they are brutally attacked. Hours later, Quique is rescued by a native and taken to a remote isolated village in the mountains.

The Match Factory Girl(fi)

Iris is a shy and dowdy young woman stuck in a dead-end job at a match factory, who dreams of finding love at the local dancehall. Finding herself pregnant after a one-night stand and abandoned by the father, Iris finally decides the time has come to get even and she begins to plot her revenge.

Bellissima(it)

Film director Blasetti is looking for a little girl for his new movie. Along with other mothers, Maddelena takes her daughter to Cinecittà, hoping she’ll be selected and become a star. She is ready to sacrifice anything for little Maria.

Temporal Fate(en)

A time traveling trans woman turns back time to save the woman she spent the night with from death.

Last Ferry(en)

When a young gay lawyer arrives on Fire Island to explore his sexuality, he becomes witness to a murder after being drugged. A stranger helps him to safety, but he soon discovers his saviour is friends with the killer.

Ladyboy(da)

Kristian, who is a transvestite, still lives at home with his mother Emma, because she loves him just the way he is. Life as a transvestite offers many humiliations from the outside world, but with his mom, Kristian feels that he can be himself. Until one day when Emma meets the alcoholic Søren, who does not have the same tolerance...

Vice and Virtue(es)

A shy and romantic girl of sixteen spends the summer holiday in a lavish mansion with her widowed mother.

The Affair(tl)

An ex-seminarian slash communist runs a hotel in Baguio. He then meets a handsome upcoming lawyer. A once-a-year trip to Baguio by the lawyer and conversations with the hotel owner develop into an affair which encompasses decades of socio-political changes in the country.

Boys On Film 19: No Ordinary Boy(en)

As Boys On Film reaches the end of its teenage years, we take a look at those unique boys who go one step further, who excite, invigorate, and always impress, who break boundaries, shape their worlds and are more than what they appear. Volume 19: No Ordinary Boy includes ten complete films: Scott T. Hinson's "Michael Joseph Jason John" also starring Eric Robledo; Abhishek Verma's animated "The Fish Curry"; Ben Allen's "Blood Out Of A Stone" starring Alex Austin and Oisín Stack; David Färdmar's "No More We" starring Jonathan Andersson and Björn Elgerd; Jannik Splidsboel's "Between Here & Now" starring Francesco Martino and Peder Bille; Amrou Al-Kadhi's "Run(a)way Arab" also starring Ahd and Omar Labek; Dean Loxton's "Meatoo" starring Calum Speed and Warren Rusher; Jake Graf's "Dusk" starring Elliott Sailors, Sue Moore, and Duncan James; Leon Lopez's "Jermaine & Elsie" starring Marji Campi and Ashley Campbell; and Marco Alessi's "Four Quartets" with Laurie Kynaston.

The Private War of Joseph Sargent(en)

Porn Star Grayson Lange along with Addison Graham and Robby Valls star in a film about two mercenaries on a secret mission in the jungles of South America. Once captured, their last night together will reveal dark secrets and create sexual tensions. So much so that it will cause unforeseen collateral damage that stretches well beyond the jungle. This highly provocative and erotic film was part of Eroddity(s) 2. Now re-worked as a stand-alone short the film seems to take on new meaning.

Love in Thoughts(de)

A posthumous look at the last days of Guenther's life as he, his best friend, and his sister let loose on a four-day binge of alcohol, drugs, and sex.

A Friend of Mine(de)

An introverted insurance executive at a car rental service is annoyed by his hyperactive, garrulous coworker, but the two end up becoming friends.

Alexander(en)

Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.

Fools Rush In(en)

After a one night stand with Alex, Isabel realizes that she is pregnant and they decide to get married. However, along with the marriage comes compromise of one's own cultural traditions.

Live and Become(fr)

In 1980, the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.

Paranoid Park(en)

A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".

The Last Mistress(fr)

Secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy.

Kebab Connection(de)

In Hamburg, Ibrahim "Ibo" Secmez, of Turkish descent, wants to direct the first German kung-fu movie. For now, he makes commercials for his uncle's kebab restaurant. Titzie, an aspiring actress and Ibo's German girlfriend, finds she's pregnant. Ibo is uncertain about fatherhood - compounded by his father's disowning him for getting a German girl pregnant - so Titzie sends him packing. He makes attempts at getting it right, but as the birth approaches, he's still not ready. In the background are three thugs in search of good tripe soup and a Capulet-Montegue feud between the kebab joint and a Greek taverna across the street. Can Ibo be the glove upon that hand?

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days(ro)

Two college roommates have 24 hours to make the ultimate choice as they finalize arrangements for a black market abortion.

Aphrodite(fr)

Harry is a young millionaire on holiday; he takes his yacht to a Greek island, and stays in the mansion of his friend...

Moonstruck(en)

37-year-old Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini believes she is unlucky in love, and so accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Johnny, even though she doesn't love him. When she meets his estranged younger brother Ronny, an emotional and passionate man, she finds herself drawn to him. She tries to resist, but Ronny, who blames his brother for the loss of his hand, has no scruples about aggressively pursuing her while Johnny is out of the country. As Loretta falls for Ronny, she learns that she's not the only one in her family with a secret romance.