Beyond the Board (2025)

The Seventh Seal

When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.

Stalag 17

After two American prisoners are killed by guards in the act of escaping from a German POW camp in World War II, barracks black marketeer J.J. Sefton is suspected of being an informer.

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.

The Tree of Life

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

Europa

Just after World War II, an American takes a railway job in Germany, but finds his position politically sensitive with various people trying to use him.

The Dark Horse

One-time Maori speed-chess champ, Genesis Potini, lives with a bi-polar disorder and must overcome prejudice and violence in the battle to save his struggling chess club, his family and ultimately, himself.

Endless Rain

Young-ho doesn't have any dreams for his life. He has been studying for three years to enter a university. He decides to send a letter to his childhood friend So-yeon. But her younger sister So-hee receives the letter instead of her sick sister. So-hee writes back to Young-ho, pretending to be So-yeon. Meanwhile, So-hee takes care of her sick sister and also runs a secondhand bookstore with her mother.

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?

Nouka no Mikata

Shindo Yuya quits his job and joins the agriculture and forestry division of Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture which is tasked with the regional revitalization of the local agriculture industry.

Searching for Bobby Fischer

A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.

Evan's Gambit

Two brothers, raised by a chess master, must battle head to head in the world's most competitive chess tournament.

Queen to Play

Hélène, a housekeeper at a ritzy hotel in Corsica, is devoted to her family but lacks any passion in her own life. When she sees a handsome couple play a passionate game of chess, she becomes inspired to play herself. Hélène's working-class husband and spoiled daughter are soon bewildered by her obsession with chess. They also grow suspicious of Hélène's close relationship with Dr. Kröger, her eccentric American expat tutor.

Fresh

Death and violence anger twelve year old drug courier Fresh, who sets his rival employers against each other.

Critical Thinking

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

The Mulligan's Island Invitational

6 Competitors face each other and themselves in this adrenaline-filled rush of a golf competition.

Keeper of the Flame

Famed reporter Stephen O'Malley travels to a small town to investigate the death of a national hero.

The Right to Live

A man with a broken back dies after his wife has an affair with his brother.

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies

M, a university dropout low on money and luck, volunteers to take care of his terminally ill grandmother, in the hope of pocketing an inheritance.

License to Live

Yutaka was fourteen years old when he was run over by a car and fell into a coma. Now, ten years later, he wakes up and realizes that his family is not intact anymore: father, mother and sister live at different places. Yutaka decides to re-open the pony farm that his family once ran.

Entrusted

Hoping to entrap Maria von Gall, who runs a courageous underground railroad for Jews in France, the Nazis kidnap her son Thomas, a brilliant 11-year-old chess master. An exchange arrangement goes awry and he sees her die in a hail of bullets; but he is rescued by his American father, whom he has never met before, and who plans to flee with him to Spain. However, Queen Maria had solemnly entrusted her little pawn Thomas with a precious secret and a terrifying mission, and it was time for him to move. A pawn may become an important piece by slowly, quietly advancing all the way through the enemy's ranks. Or a pawn may die trying. Retreat is what a pawn can never do.

when i leave this all behind

A student is about to move on to the next phase of his life when an incident draws him into the unknown.

everything will be ok

Contemplating about the future.

Love Unlike in K-Dramas

A surprise trip to Seoul reunites Dhea with an old flame, forcing her to face past feelings and question her current relationship.

Life is Filled with So Much of You

An aspiring painter promises to return home from Yogyakarta after his studies and marry a local woman, but a gallery owner tests his commitment.

Mendadak Dangdut

After a deadly incident involving her producer, rising pop star Naya flees with her sister and ailing father to a remote village. There, she’s forced to hide her identity and perform as a dangdut singer—while struggling to escape her past and the law closing in.

Cold Comfort

Dolores has everthing she wants for her birthday: a party, 18 glowing candles, and Stephen, the handsome stranger who's more than a guest. He's a prisoner. COLD COMFORT bristles with the suspense, passion and danger of three people caught up in a madman's game.

The Mystery of Chess Boxing

Evil Chun Shan uses chess boxing and a five-element ninja style to terrorize the martial arts world until he is challenged in a series of battles, then destroyed.

Wheel of God

Plot unavailable

The Luzhin Defence

Based upon the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a chess grandmaster travels to Italy in the 1920s to play in a tournament and falls in love.

Granada

A woman suffering silently decides to wage war on the miracle in her backyard.

Meeting My Grandad

Elliott, a lonely young man with no family, learns of a deceased grandfather he never knew. Feeling robbed of such a connection, he decides to hire an actor, Frank, to play the role of his Grandad in his daily life.

Gris

Plot unavailable

The Island Within

Seymour Tahirbekov is an international chess grandmaster from Azerbaijan. Having won the Candidates Tournament, Seymour earns the right to challenge the defending world champion Skroten Gudmonson in the World Chess Championship match. With a few weeks left before the championship match, Seymour’s psychological and emotional state deteriorates under escalating abuse and pressure to succeed by any means.

The Chess Players

In the year 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is the King of Awadh, one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British intend to control this rich land and send General Outram to clear way for an annexation. Pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political maneuvers, but the Nawab whiles away his time in pursuit of pleasure and religious practice. The court is of no help either — noblemen Mir and Mirza ignore all duties and spend their days playing endless games of chess. Based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2010.

The Good Old Days

A little boy meets an old man who shows him that life can be beautiful if you look at it from the right perspective.

Mertua Ngeri Kali

Andara, a soap opera writer, who clashes with her mother-in-law, Donda, a socialite widow who is fiercely protective of her son, Raja. Tensions arise as they move in together, but an unexpected event forces them to choose between maintaining their egos or uniting for the sake of their grandson.

King's Gambit

A surrealist retelling of Caine and Abel in a black void, where a game of chess is taking place. A boxer uses a punching bag while watching from afar.

Mothernet

Rama, a 16 year old teenager, must face reality after a tragic accident that left his mother in a coma. With the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Rama and his father try to face their new reality.

Coma

Plot unavailable

Love Dart

Yumeka (Kanon Nawata) whiles away her time making art in a studio left to her by her grandmother, though it appears she’s not attached to the art and may not find real value in it. She sleeps with men easily but seems empty of emotion in general. Even more in a shell is her university friend Tomoko (En Nakagami), a clean freak who cannot get involved with men. Yumeka suggests Tomoko have a tryst with their friend Takaya, but Tomoko is naturally less than interested. She does, however, take up Yumeka’s suggestion to take a job at a softcore porn movie theater and this sets of a chain of events the film follows. There she meets Kyoichi (Ryusuke Fujiwara), a young man who prostitutes himself. The thoroughly opposite Tomoko is intrigued.

Ricochet

Two homicide detectives find their careers - and lives - on the line when they get caught up in a case of murder and betrayal in high-society Savannah.

Girlfriend: Someone Please Stop the World

Despite the fact that Kyoko's a girl herself, approaching women on the streets and asking them to pose nude for her proves to be quite a chore. At first she accosts every pretty girl that walks by, until Miho catches her eye. Feeling that she has that certain something special, Kyoko insists that Miho pose for her. Her own life floating rudderless after the separation of her parents, Miho accepts, half entertaining the idea to get back at her father, who has gone on to form a new family and who hasn't been in touch with her in years. The two girls walk around town, Kyoko snapping pictures and listening to Miho's stories. Gradually the two young women begin to sense a mutual attraction. When the time comes to get down to the nitty gritty of the nude shots, the girls' defences come down along with their clothes.

Knight to D7

Knight To D7' is an extraordinary story of sacrifice that takes place one ordinary afternoon when Dustin Harper visits his longtime friend, Brady Collins. Their ongoing game of chess is brought to a halt when Brady reveals that his continuing battle with cancer has taken a turn for the worst. The only thing harder than saying goodbye will be honoring Brady's last request.

Strawberry Night

Shasha, a long-haired heterosexual girl, was accidentally brought into the sensory world between girls by the short-haired girl Yuzi. All of this subverted her previous cognition of herself, and began to doubt herself, followed by a series of unanswerable questions. While the two were speechless, their friend Jiang Hongyu broke the silence by accidentally breaking in. 3 people sat around listening to the sound outside the window at 4 am in winter...

The Neverending Thought

A man questions life as he contemplates suicide.

Metonimia

The story of a panic attack; of one, no, two hands dancing; of a party that does not fit everyone; of a tramp challenging the divine; of a little girl that aged a bit. The story of everybody, of somebody, or maybe the story of nobody at all, that unfolds under the eyes of an atonic spectator. The fragmented story of the myth of the common man, of their strengths and their weaknesses, of their feelings and their emotions, of their success and thier failure. In a few words, the story of the human contradiction. The story of the steps of the first and last individual, and all of those who walked in the meantime. The human life.

Tears of Faith

Anggie, a woman who is a victim of her boyfriend's violence and finds guidance after being saved by a girl who runs a mosque.

Lebih Dari Selamanya

Salim and Rifa had a marriage full of love and happiness, until Rifa passed away. Salim refuses to fall in love again and chooses to focus on looking after his daughter, Nasya. Salim's loyalty is tested when he meets Mila.

Chess Story

1938. While the Nazi troops march into Vienna, the lawyer Josef Bartok hastily tries to escape to the USA with his wife but is arrested by the Gestapo. Bartok remains steadfast and refuses to cooperate with the Gestapo that requires confidential information from him. Thrown into solitary confinement, Bartok is psychologically tormented for months and begins to weaken. However, when he steals an old book about chess it sets him on course to overcome the mental suffering inflicted upon him, until it becomes a dangerous obsession.

Blue Melody

Plot unavailable

On That Night

Minna and Leo run into each other by chance at a bar. As they walk together throughout the evening, sharing conversations and quiet moments, something begins to form between them.