The Hard Way (2024)

CHORUS

After missing his wife's phone call goodbye on the morning of September 11th, a now listless and brokenhearted music teacher must harmonize with his increasingly desperate fourteen-year-old son.

Black Belts

KJ, an offbeat middle schooler and martial arts movie nerd from Compton, challenges the top dojos in South LA, wearing his uncle’s old black belt. But when his former fighter dad gets too involved, both learn there’s more to life than keeping your guard up.

Project CC

A brilliant child scientist must join forces with her sister when a cloning experiment goes awry.

Infinito

Silence is absolute and time dilates as we lose ourselves in an unpredictable space among non-existent places.

Us Again

In a vibrant city pulsating with rhythm and movement, an elderly man and his young-at-heart wife rekindle their youthful passion for life and each other on one magical night.

uNomalanga and the Witch

uNomalanga and the Witch, which follows newlywed Nomalanga, who moves into a new neighborhood with her husband and finds herself intrigued by a mysterious widow who everyone suspects killed her late husband

Imbued Life

A young woman’s connection with the life force of nature. Using her taxidermy talents to “return” the animals to their natural habitat. But the true search for answers begins when she finds a roll of undeveloped film in each of the animals that she treats.

La Jetée

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

Brick

A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

Rubber Band Pistol

Jūzō Itami's debut short film, concerning a group of unique young people in the high economic growth period who are into games with rubber band pistols.

Debut

A short film about Philip who dreams of becoming a model. At a casting he gets the chance to be photographed with the well-known model Sebastiaan; they fall in love. During the photo shoot, Philip pushes his limits more and more in order to keep the photographer's interest. Philip and Sebastiaan lose control of the situation when Philip is doing everything he can just to be able to stay in front of the camera.

After-School Special

A man and a woman have an awkward encounter at an indoor playground.

1992

It's 1992. Martin is 17 and he films his daily life with his Hi8 camera. He films anything and everything—his room, the world around him... But never his father, the thought doesn't occur to him. One day he meets Dominique. He's 23 and works as a student monitor at Martin's high school.

Precipice

A grieving woman discovers an app that offers an unconventional method for alleviating her pain.

12 Weeks

In a public mall bathroom, Lilly, François, and their 6-year-old daughter bid farefell to an unborn family member.

The Class

Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.

The Bicycle Man

"After crossing paths with a terminally-ill mad scientist who's supposedly discovered the key to switching bodies, a suicidal call center agent must decide whether or not to shorten his life." From Cleveland State University's School of Film & Media Arts, this 30 minute Dark Comedy/Science Fictional story was first conceptualized by Cinematographer, Greg Pace, during the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Wanting it to come to fruition, Greg handed off the script to Chan Cunningham, who would then become the Writer, Director, and Co-Producer of the student lead thesis project. CO-PRODUCED BY: Greg Pace, Chan Cunningham & Lex Speer In Association With: Cheddar Studios & Paceham Productions.

Gloss

When a new "love drug" is released, two seemingly compatible people decide if dating is worth the risk to find true love or if all their problems can be solved in one little pill.

Aloof

Yariv is a shy photographer charged to take photos at a family birthday. The photographs he takes highlight his problematic relationship with his brother, and increasingly intertwine to his extreme sexual experiences at the gay sauna.

A Girl, She Is 100%

A man ran into a woman on a street. She was not attractive, but was a perfect girl for him. After missing the chance to talk to her, he contemplates on how he should have approached her.

Just Ask Him

Just Ask Him is a romantic LGBT short film about an out high school kid gathering the courage to ask his soccer jock crush to a dance.

Knight of Fortune

The loss of a loved one, the grief, the risk of yellow skin, and a coffin, that is too much for Karl to face. Then it's much easier to fix a broken lamp. Karl meets Torben, a destined brother. An absurd, humorous, and melodic meeting between two old men captured by grief.

Out of My Mind

Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator notices her student's untapped potential and Melody starts to participate in mainstream education, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.

Hotel Chevalier

In a Paris hotel room, Jack Whitman lies on a bed. His phone rings; it's a woman on her way to see him, a surprise. She arrives and the complications of their relationship emerge in bits and pieces. Will they make love? Is their relationship over? (A prequel to The Darjeeling Limited, 2007.)

Bag of Worms

A Halloween party turns south when the issue of race comes up amongst friends.

Controle

Plot unavailable

Anu

When a recent widow moves to New Zealand from India, she's forced to confront her grief by completing an ordinary ritual in an extraordinary circumstance: quarantine.

Common Causes for a Clinical Condition

María rehearses Antigone the same way as she criticizes the government's actions; Ismene listens fearfully just as Irving reluctantly accepts the official version of a lie. Love only has consciousness in its disappearance; in the end the causes will be known, and only the memory of those who refuse to forget will be left with no consequence.

Into the Blue

Thirteen year old Julija and her mother flee their abusive household to find refuge on an idyllic Croatian island where Julija grew up. Emotionally scarred, Julija is desperate to reconnect with her best friend, Ana. But Ana is in love with a boy and Julija is no longer a priority.

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.

At Sea

AT SEA is a visceral and poetic short film that blends docu-style realism with narrative fiction, following a group of faceless sailors navigating the unpredictable seas of Greece. Through the fragmented memories of an unreliable narrator, the film weaves together a non-linear story that shifts in mood with each chapter, offering a fresh perspective on the sea. Based on true events… almost.

Hope

In the aftermath of a global pandemic, two grieving souls find solace in one another and attempt to recover what was once lost.

Daddy

After the death of his wife, an 80-year-old man checks into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate their first anniversary apart, hiring a male escort to take her place.

Bathroom Rules

A 10-year-old, gender non-conforming student navigates his way through the school, in search of a safe washroom.

Whistle

Whistle depicts the dreary off-hours of an ultra-technological hit-man who becomes 'involved' in the life of one of his victims. The hit-man's wife is not only fully cognizant of her husband's day job but she is also the cold-blooded contact with his bosses when the conscience crisis sets in!

Echo

A reframing of the classic tale of Narcissus, the director draws on snippets of conversation with a trusted friend to muse on gender and identity. Just as shimmers are difficult to grasp as knowable entities, so does the concept of a gendered self feel unknowable except through reflection. Is it Narcissus that Echo truly longs for, or simply the Knowing he possesses when gazing upon himself?

A Shade of Grey

A peaceful life on a family farm. A cold, clear winter day. Nine-year-old Noémy is about to leave the carefree world of childhood behind.

The Beautiful Leukanida

Two insects fight over the hand of a beautiful lady.

Miss Fortunate

If luck is a lady, grief is a bitch. A young woman loses her mother and finds herself.

Negative Space

Even though Sam's father is hardly ever home because he is often away on business trips, he is able to connect with his son by teaching him how to pack a suitcase.

Perfect Roast Potatoes

William comes to Los Angeles to celebrate Christmas only to find his mother has died, but his sister insists they still have Christmas dinner, corpse and all.

Xutaj

A confrontation between Ignacio and Xutaj, who are father and son, at the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic confinement in Mexico. Together they must learn that seeing life in different ways does not reduce their love for each other.

Almost Famous

In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band, Stillwater.

Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy

A quiet teen's life is shaken up when she's forced to be her arrogant neighbor's slave. He loves her, but they both have a lot to learn about trust.

By the End of the Night

Karim, 30, drives every night. One day at dawn, he drives his last client - a foreign artist, the same age than him. Karim feels irresistibly attracted towards this young man. What he feels will start questioning who he thought he was.

Lonely Water

Warning children not to play near 'dark and lonely' water, a horror film style look and voice-over is used in this film to highlight the dangers.

The Great Artist

A gifted artist finds himself in a broken balance between creating world class art and the all too silent struggle of self care as his life begins to unravel because of his Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Kidulthood

A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London.

A Tale of Yearning

This is a sad tale of a noble lady who is entranced by an opera singer. Hoping to get closer to the singer, the lady takes up lessons with her. Despite their affection, they must face obstacles.

A Search Through Nine Lifetimes

For love to travel for thousands of years, they will eventually meet.