Pigeons Should Fly Freely In the Sky (2010)

J'ador

Rome. Claudio is 15 and wants to be part of the clique. He admires the 18-year-old leader Lauro. If he wants to fit in, he has to lose his little boy smell and learn to smell like a man.

The Plague

Rosa's father escapes from a nursing home and comes back to his former house. He hides a secret, and he's not coming alone.

Ends

A bickering mother and father take their daughter to visit her estranged grandmother. Isolated, the grandmother has grown ill; suffering from a worsening paranoia of imminent alien invasion. The young girl and the grandmother form a bond as the parent's fight about how best to handle the situation.

"BUDKA" by George Alshevskij-Jones

Shot entirely on a webcam and guided by the Imperfect Cinema philosophy, this film captures the drunken drift of a man reaching for connection in a cold, indifferent city. What unfolds is either a dream, a dying vision, or both. Then — reality returns with a quiet whimper. Life moves on. Raw, lo-fi, and unapologetically rough, this is a meditation on how easily the world forgets. Meaning is left open; interpretation belongs to the viewer.

For a Few Moments

A troubled corrections officer pays a visit to a man he’s never met to request he cook a last meal for his ex-girlfriend on death row; one that will kill her before her execution the following morning.

My Baby

When the double wedding takes two daughters away from the old man at once, the youngest, now the only one left, in outraged spirit promises never to leave her father, but soon she too is departing for a new home. Then comes a cold hard fact of life. The son-in-law claims his right to make a home alone for his wife. In his bitterness and anger, the father denies them both the house. Several years later the lonely old man meets at the gate a babe in arms. When he learns whose baby it is, heart hunger craves another sight, and sought, brings with it the only natural result.

Kernel

When the world has been pushed past breaking point, an aging neurobotanist collects and preserves what little of value remains.

Judgement

At the identification of a dead body, a couple and a morgue employee both claim to be related to the deceased, and therefore the rightful recipient of an indemnity of at least 520,000.

A Family Portrait

When Sergio’s little sister asks him for the definition of sex, he revisits a memory from years ago, in which he discovers a secret in his family.

Broken

Jani Budi, 60s, after serving a sentence, was released from prison in Ancona and embarks on a ship to return to his country of origin, Albania. Arriving in Tirana he discovers the shocking truth: his wife died shortly after his arrest, and his son, Andi, has become politically corrupt. The film is a combination of drama and comedy that scans Albania today and human relations.

Blind Rain

A poetic story about the first love of boy Sanya to girl Lena.

Old Man

A man in his 30s visits a Soviet school to try to hook up with a young teacher there, and meets one of her students, whom he enlists to help introduce him to his romantic interest. While he waits for the student to free up, he observes the absurd Soviet culture, most evident within the school system, especially among the younger children.

Beau

Beau, an emerging artist is about to unveil her latest installation. Her lover Paloma, is a devoted supporter. Her final breakthrough hinges on the success of this piece and soon this pressure causes a rife in the two women's relationship.

Vincent Before Noon

A father pays his son a visit after years of conflict and turns up in the middle of his house move. The son, Vincent, reacts violently to that intrusion. Emotionally weakened, the father involuntarily reveals the true reason of his visit, which revives the tension between them. Within a few minutes, the anger, the memories and the crossed looks move the two men deeply.

Steam is Steam

Montreal 1952, teenager Samuel brings his friend Julien to the neighbourhood steam bath for his weekly routine with Dad. Julien’s first time will be a day to remember.

After the Winter

Después del invierno (After the Winter) is a modern fable. We discover through three characters in extreme situations the human ability to succeed in any situation.

No Word of Goodbye

Sin decir adiós (No Word of Goodbye) is the story of the encounter between Alex and Marina. The ghosts of the past that separated them a year ago will be present in this meeting.

Meet Me in Holmsund

Sabina has travelled from Romania to Holmsund in northern Sweden to find a job with her brothers. Elin has just finished school and is enjoying the first day of the summer holidays. That evening they meet, and it's a meeting that lasts forever.

Gaze in Silence

Yun Fei’s twisted curiosity turns critical when Yan Xin’s life is threatened. Will he stay in the shadows—or act?

Ascenso

Plot unavailable

En passant

Andor is a young chess player, who even calls his pet turtle Kasparov. “Do you think I will succeed? - the boy asks her before the decisive tournament. "If I win, he will never come back." Who is Andor talking about and why is he either afraid of this return, or wants it?

Final Exams

Four friends are waiting for their final exam results... and their lives to begin. In the mean time, Lang-Vonh is worrying about his Asian heritage, Cédric is struggling to come to terms with being gay and Gaëlle and Chloé are trying to forget about everything until the results are in.

Èvanescence

Plot unavailable

17 Minutes with Nora

Nora is worried because she’s performing in a play at her school, but being bullied by her classmates make her face something much more important: being accepted by her dad. The following 17 minutes will change their relationship forever.

Gaby’s Hills

No-one wants to play football with Gaby now that she has breasts. Like every other year, the 13-year-old is spending the summer with her dad on a small island off the Canadian coast – and she is not about to pretend that she’s suddenly a different person.

Madden

To Madeleine, the muddy road to the nearby town in front of her family’s farm seems like a threshold to another world. A mystical coming-of-age story in which the teenager experiences glimpses of the unknown as feelings of longing and loyalty collide.

My Ira

The true story of a young mother sitting in a tree, while a rope languishes around her neck.

Je ne te dirai plus oui, Endy

Plot unavailable

The Grey Zones

At the age of 21, Nicolás decides to get his first HIV test. The uncertainty about the disease will affect the relationship with his family and his sexual life during the weekend he awaits the results.

State of Matter

A troubled filmmaker struggles to watch his own film in a cinema inside his head, along with a made-up audience that negatively reacts to his film, State of Matter.

Meat Puppet

Oz, an irresponsible man baby, nearly misses his girlfriend’s Graduation because he’s too busy playing with toys. Before he can make amends, a mysterious package arrives containing a mangy old hand puppet. Despite the pressing need to be there for his girlfriend, Oz can’t resist trying on the puppet first and instantly has his soul imprisoned in its soft foam body. Oz is left to contemplate the sorry state of his life choices while his human body dies before his eyes. If he’s to have any hope of saving his relationship, and surviving, he’ll have to do the one thing he’s always avoided: grow up.

Jedo's Dead

During the social and political turmoil of 9/11, a young girl and her brother intimately confront loss when they discover their dead grandfather’s body.

Slope

Living in a village full of slopes can drive you mad. Those who have climbed them in the old-fashioned way are fully aware of that. What they don’t know is that their souls might have stuck around.

No Law, No Heaven

A man's life in three vignettes as he grapples with identity amidst tradition in Hong Kong's notorious Kowloon Walled City.

Stockholm Daybreak

At the break of dawn, teenagers Axel and Love are on the way home after a night out partying. As the sun rises, they start to see each other in a whole new light... Elin Övergaard's remarkably tender portrait of the struggle to say what you mean to the person you care for the most packs a considerable emotive punch in only just a few minutes.

He

A story told in four parts, "He" explores the swell of poetic love and the breathless aftermath of its heartache.

Debut

Ivan has just scored a goal and rushes to kiss Marko.

The North-Ming Fish

Short film from Taiwan.

The Moirologist

An egocentric professional mourner reaps the consequences of his ambition.