When Jesse Was Born (2005)

Making Luck

Two boxers meet for a fight in a closed gym. With one boxer well prepared for the fight ahead the other tries making his own luck to better his opponent.

Naptha

Faraz’s quiet life working at an isolated petrol station is turned upside down when his ageing father Malik begins to speak in a long-forgotten language and insists on returning back home.

Community Gardens

A grown-up son goes on a countryside trip with his ageing parents in the hopes of reigniting the relationship, but there is nothing left to reignite. This story of familial dysfunction is set against the picturesque backdrop of a dacha community (instantly recognisable to every post-Soviet native), rendered by Vytautas Katkas with irony and a rare sympathy for his hapless subjects.

Lucia in Limbo

Sixteen-year-old Lucia wants to get rid of two things more than anything: her lice & her virginity.

Tuesday From 8 to 6

Névine, a secondary school monitor, is fully committed to her somewhat thankless day job, dealing with teachers, administration and students. Logan, a pupil she is found of insists on getting a cap back from lost and found. She has no idea of the consequences of her gesture.

The Owners

Two friends have recently broken up with their lovers. While taking a walk in a forest in Seoul, they find a bag on a bench. After some time, they travel to Gangwon-do to have their fortunes read. Someone appears out of the blue and yells that the bag is hers.

Dusk Shall Come

Greta's parents have decided that the three of them are going back to their hometown. Greta has to tell them that she won't return with them.

Golden Door

The story is set at the beginning of the 20th century in Sicily. Salvatore, a very poor farmer, and a widower, decides to emigrate to the US with all his family, including his old mother. Before they embark, they meet Lucy. She is supposed to be a British lady and wants to come back to the States. Lucy, or Luce as Salvatore calls her, for unknown reasons wants to marry someone before to arrive to Ellis Island in New York. Salvatore accepts the proposal. Once they arrive in Ellis Island they spend the quarantine period trying to pass the examinations to be admitted to the States. Tests are not so simple for poor farmers coming from Sicily. Their destiny is in the hands of the custom officers.

Wake

A chance encounter between two women on the Mersey ferry leads to an exploration of the loss they both carry and how they navigate life and memories in its wake.

Erection

Can Dean get an erection in time to save his relationship?

The Marvelous Misadventures of the Stone Lady

Tired of being a banal architectural ornamental, a sculpture runs from the Louvre to confront real life on the streets of Paris.

Olla

After answering an ad on a dating website for Eastern European women, Olla leaves Ukraine and heads to French suburbia to move in with Pierre, who lives with his elderly mother. However, the suburbia cannot temper her desires, and nothing goes as expected.

Son

August has to put up with quite a lot. Ever since his parents separated, his father no longer seems to have any time for him. To console him, his Dad gives him a sweet little dog. But his mother refuses to have the animal in her house and before long there are shouting matches on the phone again. August can hear them arguing through his bedroom door – it's something he seems to have become used to. When his mother remains adamant about not having the dog, August packs his bags to move in with his father. But there’s no place for him in his father’s new family either. And so the boy makes up his mind to create a drastic wake-up call. Told from the boy’s perspective, this coming-of-age drama describes the situation for children who are caught in the middle when their parents decide to separate.

The Dam Keeper

In a desolate future, one small town has survived because of a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out pollution. The dam's operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning and protect the town, despite abuse from classmates and an indifferent public. When a new student joins Pig's class, nothing will be the same again.

Becoming Jane

A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.

I, Adonis

Nicky's whole world revolves around fitness, with the goal of getting bigger and stronger. By constantly monitoring his food consumption and weight, he seems to have his body and entire life under control. But when hidden childhood memories emerge, Nicky starts losing control and his body obsession sets off to an unhealthy direction.

La Ceremonie

Sophie, a quiet and shy maid working for an upper-class French family, finds a friend in the energetic and uncompromising postmaster Jeanne, who encourages her to stand up against her bourgeois employers.

Fathers and Daughters

A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own.

Herrmann

Herrmann is a leftist Thirty Something, who is still politically active, despite beginning to live the usual life of having a girlfriend and a child. On the way to his weekly political meeting he is kidnapped.

Land of empty promises

Plot unavailable

Aftermath

In a new, predatory ice age, two brothers search for a place to call home.

Filip

Seven-year-old Filip admires his older brother Sebastian most of all. They fool around, watch movies and play football together. One evening Filip happens to see something unexpected between Sebastian and his best friend and Filip doesn't know how to handle it.

A Naked Boy

A forty-five-year-old history teacher, Jin-tae, has hallucinations about one of his students.

The Roof

After being sent to stay with his grandfather, a Cheyenne teen uncovers a connection to his family and community in a way he never thought possible.

Brad's Status

Although Brad has a satisfying career, a sweet wife and a comfortable life in suburban Sacramento, things aren't quite what he imagined during his college glory days. When he accompanies his musical prodigy son on a university tour, he can't help comparing his life with those of his four best college friends who seemingly have more wealthy and glamorous lives. But when circumstances force him to reconnect with his former friends, Brad begins to question whether he has really failed or if their lives are actually more flawed than they appear.

The Diary of Anne Frank

The true, harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.

David

A distinguished military leader whose reign was touched by great scandal, shocking betrayals and rousing victories. A simple shepherd boy chosen to be king, under the watchful eyes of prophet Samuel.

Nell

In a remote woodland cabin, a small town doctor discovers Nell — a beautiful young hermit woman with many secrets.

Sequoia

A young man meets a 23-year-old cancer patient on the way to the park and disrupts her plan to commit suicide.

After Mother

A son struggles with his father’s violent tendencies while his late mother attempts to help him.

Man of Conflict

Young man comes home to get ready to take over the family company, only to find that his father has been corrupted by power. In addition, he falls for the daughter of one of his father's poverty-stricken workers.

One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Thousand

Nearly one in ten Czechs over the age of 15 face some form of distraint, under which their property is seized because of money they owe. Every day, more and more people fall into the debt trap, but Karel is on the other side of the barricade – it is his job to collect their debts.

Undress Me

Mikaela has undergone gender reassignment and is now a woman. One night at a bar, she meets a guy and takes him back to her place.

Songs From the Sky

After Phyllis discovers that her daughter Cecilia can read, she’s torn between abiding to her slave owner’s commands or encouraging her daughter that reading is a pathway to their freedom.

Paris, Texas

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

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.

Helium

A young boy, Alfred, is dying, but through the stories about Helium, a magical fantasy world, told by the hospital's eccentric janitor, Enzo, Alfred regains the joy and happiness of his life, and finds a safe haven away from daily life.

Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?

A comedy about a chaotic morning in a family with kids, and a mother who is determined that it's best to take care of everything herself.

Imperfect

Last letter from a serial killer in distopic Istanbul...

The Straight Story

A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.

Summer '04

Sommer ’04 is a character study of a family on vacation. German director Stefan Krohmer examines the emotional abyss and problems behind the seemingly nice facade of an intact family as they experience guilt, love and jealousy.

Bend It Like Beckham

Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

Immortality

Six families in different compartments of a train, moving through a rainy night. In a single, 145-minute take, the film depicts the families and how their lives are interwoven with each other. Vacillating between dream and reality, each story builds on the one before and leads into the next. Each destiny is influenced by the other one on board, and all hurtle to the same destination.

What Bitch?

An argument between two families in a thrift store erupts into a full-scale brawl.

Second Thought

Chris and Art lead parallel lives, starting their day with similar routines in different locations. Both go to Provincetown, a welcoming haven for the LGBTQ+ community, where their paths cross on a dating app. A steamy encounter follows their first meeting, but a dramatic turn occurs when one blocks the other the next day.

Równonoc

Plot unavailable

Fathers

A gay couple faces personal challenges and society's expectations when their adopted son starts grade school and notices his family's unique dynamic.

In Seventh Heaven

Sofiane lives in a high-rise block at the edges of Paris. A violent young man, he tries to be like his gang of friends. However, Sofiane is attracted to guys. Through his contradictions, he embodies the confusion of today's idle young people who have lost their bearings and live withdrawn into themselves.

The Glutton

Gulosus (the glutton), is an alluring yet disturbing view of gluttony in contemporary culture. The film is in stop motion, with one photo being taken every 6 seconds, and contains over 130 individual sound effects and foley sounds. The piece draws from the compositions of traditional vanitas paintings and photography. It was also heavily influenced by a genre of youtube called 'Mukbang' (korean for 'eating show'), where people consume mass amounts of unhealthy and idealistic foods for viewers to watch. All of these elements came together to form an opinion on greed and vanity through a relatable but confronting menu. Influencing artists: PES Jan Svankmajer Reynold Reynolds Chen Fei Achievements: BUFTA Bond University awards - nominated best overall film - nominated best director - winner best experimental - winner best sound design Artexpress exhibitions at - Margaret Whitlam gallery - virtual gallery VX - Maitland regional art gallery

Coming Back

Great Britain voted to leave the EU. While euphoria and disappointment are mixed among the population, William decides to go to visit his parent discovering that love could be hidden in unexpected choices.

Jeremiah

An Asian-American high school football player is forced to confront his deepest fears after a strange encounter with a mysterious figure.

Alien

Reonghee and I are illegal aliens. Yesterday, Reonghee died while running away from the Immigrant Office Agents. The company we worked for is only concerned about covering up the mess. I'm going to find Reonghee, whose body the company has hidden somewhere, and give her a funeral that she deserves.

Arcángel

Archangel is a fifty year old peasant facing accelerating vision loss. Before total darkness overtakes him, he needs to find a nursing home for Patrocinia, an elderly woman from his community that is totally dependant on him.

B-167-980-098

The bodies of two young men are found in a small town in Northern Mexico, along with a AR15 weapon, which as we will follow back in time will see where it came from, the USA.

What Did They Say?

A 1-minute film about the experience of young immigrant children having to translate for their parents. Presented by NextShark.