Esprits Libres (2024)

Gasping for Air

When his sister disappears after leaving their home in hopes of singing stardom, Luis tracks her down and discovers the grim reality of her whereabouts.

Moscow

Moscow, the 90s ... A city without a past and without a future. A city that doesn't forgive mistakes. Showing Moscow bohemia, the criminal business: nightlife, easy money, excitement and confusion form the surface of this life. The main characters of the film are businessman Mike and his friend and partner in smuggling Lev, a psychiatrist Mark and his school friend Irina who became the mistress of a nightclub, her two daughters - a crazy Olga working in the same club as a singer, and Masha - the “Moscow Princess” on the threshold of her thirtieth birthday. Love stories smoothly flow into a crime drama.

Hunt

After a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy, known as Donglim, who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy begins leaking top secret intel that could jeopardize national security, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other.

Sometimes I Think About Dying

Fran likes to think about dying. It brings sensation to her quiet life. When she makes the new guy at work laugh, it leads to more: a date, a slice of pie, a conversation, a spark. The only thing standing in their way is Fran herself.

House

An experimental short film by Walerian Borowczyk and Jan Lenica.

Old Man Junior

Morbius Jr, now an OId Man, is nearing the end of life, when he finds the last hope for all Morbkind. However, as he fights to protect the future of Morbheads, he finds himself facing off against an unlikely of enemy... HIMSELF.

Hello

An emotionally unavailable flight attendant meets a potential love interest and later finds out that her "perfect guy" has ulterior motives. As the clock ticks down on New Year's Eve, she must fight to keep her murdered ex-boyfriend's secrets or find herself dead.

Living with Michael Jackson: A Tonight Special

Martin Bashir conducts a rare interview with Michael Jackson and is given unprecedented access to the reclusive performer's private life over a span of eight months, from May 2002 to January 2003.

An Ideal Father

Michel, the jovial owner of the only café in a small Normandy town, sees his life turned upside down when his teenage daughter is murdered. The community has his back but soon rumor spreads and Michel is singled out. From the ideal father, he becomes the ideal culprit.

One, Two, Three

C.R. MacNamara is a managing director for Coca Cola in West Berlin during the Cold War, just before the Wall is put up. When Scarlett, the rebellious daughter of his boss, comes to West Berlin, MacNamara has to look after her, but this turns out to be a difficult task when she reveals to be married to a communist.

Theorem

A wealthy Italian household is turned upside down when a handsome stranger arrives, seduces every family member and then disappears. Each has an epiphany of sorts, but none can figure out who the seductive visitor was or why he came.

Go West

With little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker tries work in the country and eventually finds his way leading a herd of cattle to the West Coast.

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, this film is constructed in a form that allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South - trumpeting the beauty of life and consequences of the social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming.

Just the Two of Us

When Blanche meets Grégoire, she thinks she has found the one. The ties that bind them grow quickly, and a passionate affair ensues. Together, they relocate. For Blanche, far from her family, from her twin sister, Rose, a new life begins. But little by little, she finds herself caught in the grip of a deeply possessive and dangerous man.

A Short Film About Killing

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.

Born Free

At a national park in Kenya, English game warden George Adamson and his wife, Joy, care for three orphaned lion cubs. After the two larger lions are shipped off to a zoo in the Netherlands, the smallest of the three, Elsa, stays with the couple. When Elsa is blamed for causing an elephant stampede in the nearby village, head warden John Kendall demands the young lion either be trained to survive in the wilds of the Serengeti or be sent to a zoo.

By the Grace of God

Alexandre, a man in his 40s living in Lyon with his wife and children, discovers that the priest who abused him decades ago continues to work with children. He joins forces with others victims of the priest, to bring justice and “lift the burden of silence” about what they endured.

Son of Godzilla

Reporter Goro Maki stumbles upon scientists conducting weather experiments on Sollgel Island in the South Seas. He discovers the island is inhabited by giant mantis and a woman named Saeko who's been cast away since the death of her father. The pair soon find a helpless infant monster that Godzilla must adopt and learn to raise as one of his own.

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

Jigen Daisuke

Feeling unhappy with his gun, Jigen is looking for the world’s best gunsmith. He finally finds out that Chiharu, who runs a watch shop, is the person he’s been seeking. Then, Jigen meets Oto, who comes to Chiharu’s shop looking for a gun. Jigen finds out about Oto's secrets and the mysterious organization that’s after her. After Oto is kidnapped, Jigen gets into a desperate battle to save her.

Never Gonna Snow Again

Zenia is an industrious Ukrainian migrant worker in Poland who makes house calls as a masseur to the needy and aspirational residents of a middle-class gated community near Warsaw. He is privy to all of their problems, anxieties and secrets – and something of an unwitting guru figure. Zenia’s grounded spirituality, apparent healing powers and broad shoulders make him an object of lust for many of the lost souls in the community.

Santiago, Italia

After the coup d'État of the Democratic government of Allende, the embassy of Italy in Santiago played a major role in helping the opposers of the regime, and extradited many of them to Italy.

Star!

Gertrude Lawrence rises to stage stardom at the cost of happiness.

The Avenger

Aeneas leads escapees from the Trojan war to new land in Italy, and must deal with new threats to his people.

Black Widow

Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.

A Walk in Time - The Adventure Continues

The back-in-time misadventures of Walter and Ascanio are not finished. The defective time-travel machine will bring them from prehistory all the way to outer space, in a funny, light-hearted trip across the time.

New York Stories

Get ready for a wildly diverse, star-studded trilogy about life in the big city. One of the most-talked about films in years, New York Stories features the creative collaboration of three of America's most popular directors, Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola, and Woody Allen.

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.

A Great Friend

Vincent is a famous successful entrepreneur. One day, a car breakdown on a mountain road temporarily interrupts his frantic lifestyle. Pierre, who lives apart from the modern world in the middle of sublime nature, comes to his aid and offers him his hospitality. The meeting between these two men, who are opposites will upset their respective beliefs and they will find themselves laughing. The question is...deep down, are they really each living the lives they want to live?

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The classic tale of a loveable, outcast hunchback and the gypsy girl he adores is transformed into a musical, warmhearted animated classic in this delightfully updated version of a stirring masterpiece.

Two Night Owls in Paris

Near the oldest bridge in Paris, the Pont-Neuf, Camille, a second-hand bookseller, crosses paths with Paul, an Eiffel Tower trinket seller. Over the course of one night, these two young souls give in to the captivating rhythm of the City of Light.

The Heretics

Four couples in crisis attend a multi-faith Conjugal Love retreat. Each participant carries a very clear idea of what she hopes to achieve. However, the strange tasks ordered by the monitors continually disrupt personal plans. The confusion increases when the same monitors stop hiding their conflicts, forcing each participant to assume an unexpected responsibility despite the consequences.

FELIPE

The Argentine crisis of 2001 is about to explode. Felipe, 13, sees how his family environment is cracking due to the economic and political pressures. Misunderstood, he falls in love with Lucía, the neighbor next door and for a moment he stops feeling alone. But when external violence becomes a real danger, Felipe escapes with her, fed up with the lies of his parents, leaving behind his innocence.

Lapse

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Talvez o Vento Saiba seu Nome

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The light years

An astrophysicist (Marion) and an extraterrestrial (Thomas) are in love. Tomorrow, they must say goodbye. It's the price they must pay to free Thomas from the horrible affliction he is suffering from on Earth. Thomas will leave our world and return to his planet. Marion accompanies him to the point of no return.

Omniscient

Ravi, a progressive schoolteacher in a small village helps fight an epidemic by getting his students inoculated. He incurs the wrath of local witchdoctor in the process.

PALOMA

Paloma is a young adult who finds herself living in automatic mode, following every imposed social norm, already working in an office and living alone in a studio apartment. Her daily life passes fleetingly and with little taste, until one night, after a long day of work, she receives an email titled FOR MY FUTURE SELF, which prompts her to change her life.

Neutre

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Cora

2064. Cora, a Danish woman, finds an unfinished documentary in which Benjamim, her Brazilian father, attempted - fifty years earlier - to investigate the story of his own parents: Teo, who, afflicted by insanity, died when he was still a child, and Elenir, a mysterious woman he’d barely heard of. In the course of his investigation, Benjamim discovers that both characters are part of a complex family puzzle, filled with traumas and taboos, and starts seeing himself as an important piece in the puzzle. The footage found in Benjamim’s documentary is reorganized by his daughter, Cora, in an attempt to understand her family’s lost past.

AfterSex

Bathed in the gentle embrace of a rainstorm, Nathan, stirred by an intimate moment with Alex, finds himself compelled to voice the currents of his inner discontent. Amidst the flickering city lights, their souls diverge—one yearning for a love that transcends the physical, the other finding solace in the realm of corporeal passion. Can they navigate the intricate labyrinth of their desires and break free from this cyclical discord, or are they fated to bring a sorrowful conclusion to their tumultuous relationship?

The Fishbowl Girl

Wei, a young lesbian, goes to Thailand on a graduation trip. After witnessing an intimate interaction between the girl she fancies and a male friend, she goes to a Thai massage parlour, but the experience isn't as beautiful as she envisioned.

Born In Summer

A filmmaker plays with diary-docu and fiction as his camera joins his ventures into a phone dating club. Bored to death, hormones running, and desperately wanting to talk to someone his own age (preferably a girl), he walks into a local phone dating club. Can he hook up with someone? Borrowing the form of a diary-movie, the director unfurls an unpredictable and imaginative look into his own persona. 8mm experimental film by Murakami Kenji, the film that made his name.

24h01

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Punk à chien

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Gallop

Jacques

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On Way Ginette

Ginette dreams of becoming an actress and sees an opportunity when she hears about Louis’ project, a young filmmaker who wants to shoot a tender cannibal romance. Louis spots Virgile, a young butcher, to play the lead role, unaware that he is also Ginette’s casual lover. When the three meet on set, things don’t go as planned, blurring the lines between reality and fiction, and turning the shoot into unexpected chaos.

Una mano bajo la nieve y otras historias

An anthology of 7 Mexican short films, all created by 5 up-and-coming independent filmmakers, with a common thread: to explore themes of human relationships. In order, A Hand Beneath the Snow (Una mano bajo la nieve), Friendship (Amistad), The View from Up Above (La vista desde arriba), The Short Film (El cortometraje), Silvestre (Silvestre), Cocktails For Two (Cóctel para dos) and When I Hear You Sing, I Forget (Cuando te escucho cantar, olvido).

Pamplemousse

Cléo and Oscar are a couple that seems perfect in every way. During an evening with friends, the lovers end up committing an irreparable crime. They will have to maintain their appearances to face the consequences of their actions.

Trop Tard

Plot unavailable

Imani

2030. In response to climate migration, the government has set up a program to receive refugees. Imani, originally from the sunken island of Sao Tome and who is stateless and traumatized, is recognized as a climate refugee in Seine-Saint-Denis. She joins the Green Fugees program, which will enable her to obtain French nationality provided she overcomes her trauma: will she manage to swim again?

Hollywood's Master of Myth: Joseph Campbell - The Force Behind Star Wars

Documentary charting the contribution to Hollywood movies made by writer Joseph Campbell, whose ideas about mythic structure helped shape Star Wars.

De Dana Dan

Lakshya, a police constable gets some extra ordinary powers in his body after he is saved from a blast.

Jan Kounen - Intégrale courts métrages

All Shorts film of Jan Kounen Director

Zabardast

Pushkar finds a magic coat that fulfils wishes once someone wears it. Using it, he decides to impress the girl he loves and enter a dance reality show with her.

Ritual de Beleza

Isabel ritually invokes dark forces to keep herself the prettiest and disfigure anyone who threatens her superiority. A date becomes a bloody feast. Moved by, Isabel poisons a friend and makes her whole body burn. These are just some of Isabel's victims on this self-centered journey.

Another Stardust

A woman comes to terms with her life on her last day in town.

Mad Dog

Johanie, the single mother of a dysfunctional family, takes a dim view of the arrival of Ian and his dog in the neighborhood. Like a trench dividing the two camps, the back alley becomes the witness of a rivalry where prejudice, fascination and frustration mingle slyly with the sound of barking.

Bad Bear

Noah Holiday lives his life being constantly reminded of a tragic event that occurred while he was a baby in 2004. During his rough times alone, Noah rediscovers his long lost childhood teddy bear; however, what once brought him great joy now has a mind of his own and has sinister plans in store for him.

Junket

Chaos ensues as a gay actor and his female costar fake being a couple as they try to save the press junket for their new television show.


El sueño

In an apartment, a party is in full swing. Sitting on a sofa, Perez is hypnotized by a group of four girls facing him.

J'ai grandi ici

Breki, a 20-year-old man, returns to the neighbourhood where he grew up to make a documentary film about his own childhood.