The Art of Belonging (2024)

I Am So Happy

Fragments of a Saturday winter day. The Vittenzein brothers are alone at their family house. Mateo stops by to pick up Bruno and Camilo and drive them to the country house where their mother awaits. A sudden break slam brings them into the intimacy of a waste land.

Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Jamie is 16 and lives on a council estate in Sheffield. Jamie doesn't quite fit in. Jamie is terrified about the future. Jamie is going to be a sensation. Supported by his brilliant loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight. Sixteen: the edge of possibility. Time to make your dreams come true.

The Flintstones

Modern Stone Age family the Flintstones hit the big screen in this live-action version of the classic cartoon. Fred helps Barney adopt a child. Barney sees an opportunity to repay him when Slate Mining tests its employees to find a new executive. But no good deed goes unpunished.

The Lost Boys

In a youth correctional facility, Joe is preparing his return to society. But William’s arrival turns his desire for freedom into desire of another kind. Behind fences and cell walls, passions begin to play havoc with the need for liberty.

Everybody's Fine

When all four of his children cancel their yearly visits, a widower travels to the far corners of the country to see them and discovers the hidden sides of their lives.

The Color Purple

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.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.

The Woman of the Century

Beth, a young transgender woman, is taken to times and places afar. Run-ins with a powerful spirit and a growing bond with another lost girl will take our heroine on a journey to finding her place in this big strange world of ours.

Girl Picture

Best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö support each other unconditionally. They want to live adventurous lives, loaded with experiences and passion. Emma on the contrary has given her whole life to figure skating. Nothing gets between her and success. But when the girls meet, life opens whole new paths, and they all rocket in new directions. While Mimmi and Emma experience the earth moving effects of first love, Rönkkö is on a quest to find pleasure. Three Fridays is all it takes to turn their worlds upside down.

My Best Friend

A short film inspired by the book "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets" of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.

Elf

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

Soft

Sam - 16, queer, and falling in love - struggles to untangle himself from his abusive martial arts coach.

On the Roof

A group of Spanish boys take advantage of a high roof to ogle a sunbathing woman, but the presence of an adjacent male nude complicates matters.

White Oleander

A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.

Secrets & Lies

After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to a working class white woman, Cynthia.

Ema

Ema is a magnetic and impulsive dancer in a reggaeton troupe. Her toxic marriage to choreographer Gastón is beyond repair, following a decision to give up on their adopted child Polo. She sets out on a mission to get him back, not caring who she’ll need to fight, seduce or destroy to make it happen.

Northeast

An accidental meeting between a French woman who goes to South America to adopt a baby and an Argentinian woman who with her small son leaves their hopeless village in search for a better life changes both of their lives forever.

My 13

Jonathan is in love with Julie, the most beautiful girl of his school... However, Julie doesn't even know him. He becomes friend with Charles, Julie's brother. One day, he sneaks in Julie's room to steal her diary. Back home, he finds in the diary a drawn heart, with the quote "I love Jonathan"... Back to his new friend Charles' home, he realizes that the diary belongs to Charles, himself...

Message Sent

Message Sent is the story of Michael Collins, a teenager struggling to find himself. Michael lives what most would call a perfect life. He has perfect friends, an amazing girlfriend, and a future. But he also has a secret. A secret that has been eating away at him for years.

Juno

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, sixteen year old high-schooler, Juno MacGuff, makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.

Two Belles in Love

She smells her fragrance, she sees her talent... The ancient love story of Cui Jianyun and Cao Yuhua. The plight of these two women is told as they fall in love due to the admiration for each other's stunning beauty and literary craft. Adapted from the Kunqu opera & story by Li Yu, "Fragrant Companion/Lianxiang Companion", this short film includes a parallel between the play and "reality." The ending has been altered from the original play.

Running with Scissors

Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.

A Fragile Bond

Mina was adopted from Ethiopia by Judith and Lionel, a married couple who already were the parents of a biological daughter. Though she was abandoned by her mother as a baby, it didn't really seem to have much of an impact on her. But when Mina turns thirteen, an identity crisis takes a hold of the girl. She is caught between two worlds - and feels nowhere at home. Mina snaps and descends into a destructive downwards spiral. Jealous of her non-adopted sister, she starts acting out, pitting her father and mother against each other and thereby dividing the entire family. Judith and Lionel don't know what to do. Will their parental love and kindness be enough to heal Mina's wounds?

The Sand Pebbles

Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat USS San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution-torn 1926 China. His iconoclasm and cynical nature soon clash with the 'rice-bowl' system which runs the ship and the uneasy symbiosis between Chinese and foreigner on the river. Hostility towards the gunboat's presence reaches a climax when the boat must crash through a river-boom and rescue missionaries upriver at China Light Mission.

Indochine

Set in colonial French Indochina during the 1930s to 1950s, this is the story of Éliane Devries, a French plantation owner, and of her adopted Vietnamese daughter, Camille, set against the backdrop of the rising Vietnamese nationalist movement.

Wrong Way Driving

Police received a distress call that the daughter of a real estate tycoon was kidnapped, but it turned out to be a prank call.... or so it seemed! Unexpectedly the daughter came into real danger and now the Police are scrambling to uncover this mystery. With their best agent on the case, he soon discovers there's more to the story and works vigorously to unravel this web of secrets, lies & deceit.

Room Closet

Dan and Rafael are hanging out in Rafael's room and trying to figure out what to do. They get interrupted.

...And God Created Woman

Juliette Hardy is sexual dynamite, and has the men of a French coastal town panting. But Antoine, the only man who affects her likewise, wouldn't dream of settling down with a woman his friends consider the town tramp.

December Boys

For many years, four teenage orphans at an Australian outback convent have watched their younger comrades find new parents, and realize that they may never be adopted. The Reverend Mother sends the four boys away on a seaside vacation, where they meet Teresa and Fearless, a couple who would make perfect parents. The youths compete with one another to be the one Teresa and Fearless decide to adopt.

Empire of the Sun

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

Stuart Little

The adventures of a heroic and debonair stalwart mouse named Stuart Little with human qualities, who faces some comic misadventures while living with a human family as their child.

Fist of Fury

Chen Chen returns to his former school in Shanghai when he learns that his beloved instructor has been murdered. While investigating the man's death, Chen discovers that a rival Japanese school is operating a drug smuggling ring. To avenge his master’s death, Chen takes on both Chinese and Japanese assassins… and even a towering Russian.

Kiss Me Softly

17 year old Jasper lives in a very grey, small town. In his family, he cannot be himself. Jasper's dad is a singer, named Lukkie Luk. All the attention in the family goes to his career. Jasper searches a way to handle this and is faced with the typical questions in the life of an adolescent. Questions that will not be answered when he stays in his own routine.

House of Hummingbird

14-year-old Eun-hee moves through life like a hummingbird searching for a taste of sweetness wherever she may find it. Ignored by her parents and abused by her brother, she finds her escape by roaming the neighborhood with her best friend, going on adventures, and exploring young love.

Mirrors

Julian is a melancholic teenager on holiday at the family cottage. His holiday gets a twist when a mysterious neighbor confuses him. A summertime coming-of-age drama.

Holiday Camp

At a meeting of the game "Truth or Dare?" two young boys, Matthew and Maximus, are challenging to embrace. The kiss will cause them some excitement. From that time, teens who witnessed this scene are allusions more or less directly to the possible homosexuality of Maxim. A revelation will then destabilize the group.

Nelly Don the Musical Movie

Nelly Don the Musical Movie is a true Kansas City story about Nelly Don, a trailblazer who ignited a fashion revolution in the early 1900s to become a global sensation. Yet on the coattails of her success, drama ensues from an abusive husband and affair with a US Senator to the fake adoption of her biological son and her mobster-linked abduction. History comes alive with music, propelling the sensational story of her meteoric rise to fame in the fashion industry.

Red

Red is the story of three teens in rural Pennsylvania who are torn apart by the closet. James and Lizzy's seemingly normal relationship is shattered by Aaron, the guy James hooked up with and who is unable to bear their secret and confronts James.

The Way He Looks

Leonardo is a blind teenager dealing with an overprotective mother while trying to live a more independent life. To the disappointment of his best friend, Giovana, he plans to go on an exchange program abroad. When Gabriel, a new student in town, arrives at their classroom, new feelings blossom in Leonardo making him question his plans.

Whole New Thing

Socially isolated by his parents, an androgynous teen enrolls in high school and develops a crush on his male teacher.

Odd Sock

Eileen has something important to discuss with her teenage son, Stephen. But on the day she decides to talk to him, Stephen has his own surprise in store for her.

Mommie Dearest

Renowned actress Joan Crawford, at the height of her career, adopts two orphans — Christina and Christopher — to fill the lonely gap in her personal life. However, as her professional and romantic relationships sour, Joan's already callous and abusive behavior towards Christina intensifies.

Bride Flight

A romantic drama that charts the lives of three women from different backgrounds, forever changed when they emigrate to New Zealand as war brides.

Dust

The short drama film Dòst tells the tough coming of age process of best friends Alko and Björn in a small rural village community. Between agricultural weekend work and partying, dealing with other adolescent boys and girls, one kiss can make a big difference. The urge to fit in, to uphold image, and peer pressure makes the boys both having to make choices that will affect their friendship.

Lost Time

Anto travels to the depth of his most beloved memories with Julián. He must cross the threshold of the loss of a loved one.

Tommy Trips

Glass keeps breaking every time Thomas gets too close to his favorite classmate, Quentin. If he comes out to him will more than glass be shattered?

October Boy

14-year-old Thomas moves to the city. In school he meets Mads and Emma, who are interested in him for different reasons.

Lilo & Stitch

As Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a faraway planet, wreaks havoc on the Hawaiian Islands, he becomes the mischievous adopted alien "puppy" of an independent little girl named Lilo and learns about loyalty, friendship, and ʻohana, the Hawaiian tradition of family.

Show Me Love

Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.

Women's Script

Being educated and knowing how drink, A-Ni is seen as the town's madwoman. Yulu is entranced by her.

Blushing Snow, Bright as Cherries

A perfumer and a little tyrant... these two women learn together what courage and justice is.

Marvin & Tige

Marvin, a heavy-drinking widower meets Tige, an 11-year-old orphan. With nowhere else to go, Tige moves in with Marvin and they develop a close friendship. Marvin wants to adopt Tige but knows that he is too poor to give him a good home. Then he discovers who Tige's father is a rich suburbanite who doesn't even know Tige exists. Should Marvin, and can he, give up the boy he loves, and who loves him, in favor of a stranger with the right genes and bank balance?

Adoption

A teenage girl finds a VHS with the word "Adoption" written on it. Her brother and her will try to find the truth and discover which one of them is adopted, even if the truth means realizing that the life they know isn't what they tought.

My Mother's Lovers

Luisa has a habit of bringing her dates home, irritating her son, Cesar. When Cesar invites his best friend Pablo over for a sleepover, Luisa's flirtations become too much to bear, especially as Cesar has his own feelings towards Pablo.

I Wish You All the Best

A non-binary teen is kicked out of their North Carolina home after coming out to their ultra-religious parents. As a result, they move in with their estranged sister and her husband. Though the two are welcoming, they continue to struggle with anxiety further exacerbated by their parents' rejection. As such, they try to keep a low profile at school. However, after they meet a proudly bisexual classmate, their life begins to look a little more hopeful.

Woman of the Year

Rival reporters Sam and Tess fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.

Hurricane Bianca

A teacher from New York moves to a small town in Texas, gets fired for being gay, and returns disguised in drag to get revenge on the people who were nasty to him.

Twitches

Twins separated at birth, Camryn and Alex meet by chance for the first time on their 21st birthday and discover they're witches with the power to save their homeland of Coventry from the evil that threatens it. But when Camryn leaves Alex to face the darkness alone, will Coventry be doomed? Or will the sisters multiply their magic by standing together?