Islands in the City (2021)

Isolation

A collective documentary film, from five european directors asked to witness the revolutions and dramas caused in their own countries by the pandemic. Among them, “Two Fathers”, directed by Julia von Heinz (20’). After the death of his father, Hans-Michael von Heinz, the director finds out the truth about her parent true sexual identity. In order to know more, she starts emailing persons who got to know him over the last years, among them his closest friend, director Rosa von Praunheim.

The Marriage Fool

Recently widowed after 41 years of marriage, Frank Walsh meets the outgoing Florence, sparking joy back into his life again. However, there is clear disapproval of her from his grown children, especially his eldest son Robert. As Frank and Florence grow closer in their relationship, Robert begins to change his perspective on their commitment and devotion to one another.

Australia

Friday, 11 p.m. Carla, a woman in her forties, is alone in her office. She gets a call. It's Raúl, a young guy who sells cocaine. Tonight will be the last night that Raúl works as a dealer. He wants to change his life.

Léon: The Professional

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Cockles and Muscles

Crustacés et coquillages is a fresh French comedy film with numerous surprise turnarounds and about the tolerance of a family of four. The family spend an idealistic summer vacation together where each of the family members gets involved in a new or old relationship.

The King of Escape

43-year-old Armand Lacourtade, a man who sells farm machines in the country, is getting sick of his homosexual life. When he encounters a young girl called Curly, he changes sides. Chased by her parents and the police, they brave all dangers to live this forbidden love and become an odd couple. But is it really what Armand dreamed about?

Romance on the High Seas

Georgia Garrett is sent by jealous wife Elvira Kent on an ocean cruise to masquerade as herself while she secretly stays home to catch her husband cheating. Meanwhile equally suspicious husband Michael Kent has sent a private eye on the same cruise to catch his wife cheating. Love and confusion ensues along with plenty of musical numbers.

Mr. Skeffington

A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.

I Saw the TV Glow

Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate Maddy introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

May

A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.

The Cry of the Owl

Fleeing New York City, a failed marriage and a fragile mental history, artist Robert Forrester moves to small-town Pennsylvania. There he becomes fascinated with the simple domesticity of a beautiful neighbor, watching her through the windows of her home --- until she invites him in for coffee. He is drawn into a relationship with the young woman whose boyfriend goes missing; Robert becomes a murder suspect, gradually sensing he is the target of a larger plot.

Castaway on the Moon

Mr. Kim is jobless, lost in debt and has been dumped by his girlfriend. He decides to end it all by jumping into the Han River – only to find himself washed up on a small, mid-river island. He soon abandons thoughts of suicide or rescue and begins a new life as a castaway. His antics catch the attention of a young woman whose apartment overlooks the river. Her discovery changes both their lives.

Wild Roses

A young mother returns to her village after a hospital stay and is forced to deal with an emotionally distant husband and her own simmering guilt.

An Unfinished Film

A film crew gathers in a hotel near Wuhan to resume production of a film that was interrupted ten years earlier, but an unexpected event once again disrupts the preparations.

The House of Mirth

In early 20th century New York City, an impoverished socialite desperately seeks a suitable husband as she gradually finds herself betrayed by her friends and exiled from high society.

In Your Dreams

One day, Heng saves a woman, Ms. Yip, from drowning in his school’s pool. When she turns out to be Heng’s new substitute teacher, the pair’s mutual loneliness draws them to each other.

Perfect Storm

On the wild west coast of Auckland in New Zealand we follow one man's enforced isolation. Pacing the beach, he wonders if those dear to him will ever be seen again.

Guermantes

Paris, sum­mer 2020. Actors from “la Comédie-Française”, France’s most pres­ti­gious the­ater, rehearse Christophe Hon­oré’s new play, an adap­ta­tion of Mar­cel Proust’s “The Guer­mantes Way”. When the show is sud­den­ly can­celed, the dra­ma group decides to go ahead with it any­way, in the name of art and for the joy of act­ing together.

Happiness

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

The World of If

Old lovers Man-il and Joo-hee climb the mountain to see the sunset like a long time ago. But somehow, the atmosphere around them is quite unusual.

Rosewater

A solitary man struggles to cultivate beauty in a desolate urban world. Lonely and dislocated, he drifts in and out of a dream state envisioning the promise of regeneration. ROSEWATER tells a story of hope sustained through perseverance, ritual and, ultimately, revelation.

Oldboy

With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.

Together

Elisabeth leaves her abusive and drunken husband Rolf, and goes to live with her brother, Göran. The year is 1975 and Göran lives in a commune called Together. Living in this leftist commune Elisabeth learns that the world can be viewed from different perspectives.

Little Voice

After the death of her father, Little Voice or LV becomes a virtual recluse, never going out and hardly ever saying a word. She just sits in her bedroom listening to her father's collection of old records of Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe and various other famous female singers. But at night time, LV sings, imitating these great singers with surprising accuracy. One night she is overheard by one of her mother's boyfriends, who happens to be a talent agent. He manages to convince her that her talent is special and arranges for her to perform at the local night club, but several problems arise.

An Affair to Remember

A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?

Cast Away

Chuck Noland, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.

Mail Companion

A lonely woman finds companionship during self-isolation after the loss of her partner.

Shoppen

An almost bombproof method of staying single is called "speed dating". 18 people participate in such an event. Nine men and nine women are sitting opposite each other in order to sell optimally under the pressure of time and to find a partner. They are looking for a date - and have nothing else in common. They talk about allergies, cappuccino, consumer behavior, buses and designer clothes: the list of serious embarrassments is long. Yet none of the lonely hearts has given up the hope of romance.

The Piano Teacher

Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.

Colocataires

Camille's life is ruled by the ring of the alarm clock each morning. Her well-ordered life consists of preparing her cat's meals, and hearing the familiar sound of the automatic till in the store where she works as the cashier. But one day, a man enters her home without her knowing and starts living there during the day while she's at work. Little by little, he will free her from her chains.

Killer on Board

The passengers on a cruise ship are seized by panic when a deadly virus begins killing off passengers and crew.

Andragogy

A schoolteacher's reputation is at risk when a video of her speaking up against injustice goes viral on the internet and is misinterpreted.

My Life as a Dog

A boy, obsessed with comparing himself with those less fortunate, experiences a different life at the home of his aunt and uncle in 1959 Sweden.

Just Like Heaven

Shortly after David Abbott moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Masterson, who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive.

My Blueberry Nights

Elizabeth has just been through a particularly nasty breakup, and now she's ready to leave her friends and memories behind as she chases her dreams across the country. In order to support herself on her journey, Elizabeth picks up a series of waitress jobs along the way. As Elizabeth crosses paths with a series of lost souls whose yearnings are even greater than her own, their emotional turmoil ultimately helps her gain a greater understanding of her own problems...

Afternoon

A family spends three summer days in a beautiful lake mansion close to Berlin. Together with her new lover, Irene visits her brother Alex, who still inhabits the house with Irene's writer son Konstantin. Konstantin's girl-friend pops in, too, and all of them drift away from each other more and more.

Queer

In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee, an American ex-pat in his late forties, leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton, a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

Hazegras

Under the neon lights of the prostitution area in Ostend's Hazegras district, local residents struggle with their small and big problems. Loneliness overtakes them every now and then. Yet they appear to be more connected then they think.

American Beauty

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

Solitude

An aged farmer moves to the urban city for the first time in his life. He befriends a paper delivery boy in the neighborhood and their connection changes the course of both their lives and the boy's family.

Félix and the Fish

Félix finds a young man lying unconscious on the beach and realizes he has scales on his back. Félix takes him home and takes care of him.

Ikiru

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

Escape

An experimental short film that follows a man who arrives home alone during the holidays after a long day of work. Finding himself consumed by his loneliness he looks for a way to escape.

Crevasse

A woman saves a man in turtoil, ready to jump off a building. Now, as a widower with a baby girl, Sang Hyeon welcomes Soo Min's comfort. Although they were once friends, she has becomes his best friend's wife. However, Soo Min's sympathy turns into love and then ito an obsession as deep as a crevasse.

The Falls

After having to quarantine together during COVID-19, a mother and daughter are forced to confront their personal obstacles and relationship tensions.

Grey Elephant

Follows two couples meeting together for the first time after months of being on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cruising Love Story

A junior high school teacher who happens to be a homosexual and falls in love with an extremely handsome young man he meets by chance in Hatten Park. The directorial debut of Ryuji Yamamoto.

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her

In California, a group of women struggle with personal problems as their paths intertwine in unexpected ways. Dr. Elaine Keener, the sole caretaker for her aging mother, turns to tarot card reader Christine for spiritual aid. Christine grapples with her own angst due to her lover's debilitating illness. Meanwhile, a bank manager deals with an unwanted pregnancy, two sisters pursue romantic interests and a housewife gets back into the dating game.

Man Push Cart

Every night while the city sleeps, Ahmad, a former Pakistani rock star turned immigrant, drags his heavy cart along the streets of New York. And every morning, he sells coffee and donuts to a city he cannot call his own. One day, however, the pattern of this harsh existence is broken by a glimmer of hope for a better life.

Lara

A music and a couple, the beginning and the end. After leaving his ex-girlfriend, man looks for other women.

Three's a Crowd

Harry, The Odd Fellow, is a tenement worker who lives alone in a shack alongside a warehouse and longs for the companionship of a wife and children like other men. One day he spies a pretty girl in his telescope and sends her by carrier pigeon a note that, alas, is received by the wrong party. The Girl marries and, poverty-striken, leaves her husband during a snowstorm. Harry takes her in, and minutes later her child is born. He works like a slave for the mother and child, pretending they are his own. Meanwhile, the husband finds her and comes to the shack on Christmas Eve as Harry is preparing to play Santa Claus. Not realizing the unhappiness she is causing him, The Girl thanks him profusely and leaves with her husband. Overcome, Harry sits overnight on the doorstep and the next morning is found frozen stiff except for his eyes--with amusing results.

Blijven Gaan

Five seniors, the eldest is 91 years old, train together in a gym in Rotterdam to keep fit. But the body falters and their environment is getting smaller and smaller. By doing sports, the seniors support each other: origin and social status disappear. The gym fraternizes and gives the elderly unprecedented pleasure. Despite the fanatical sports, the decline is unstoppable. This documentary also shows the seniors alone at home and the confrontational fight against the body that is becoming stiffer, with the realization that that battle is always lost in the long run.