2010s

Quote:
The film contains three Jan Werich’s fairy tales, each directed by one artist. The first story sets out to the Sumava mountains in Southern Bohemia to find out whether Ogres ever lived there. The middle tale The Hat and the Little Jay Feather concerns a king who sends his three sons to bring back a hat he left at a tavern when he was young. The third and longest fairy tale Reason and Luck is about the two virtues of the title try to prove their importance by changing the life of a pig herder named Louis. ~ imdbRead More »

Filmmaker Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics, particularly the Donald Trump presidency and gun violence, while highlighting the power of grassroots democratic movements.Read More »

“What wild and unnatural spirits exist in the depths of the forest,
possessing an ancient and eternal power far beyond our reckoning?“

Synopsis:
City doctor Panos relocates his practice to a remote village, where he falls for Danae, a young woman who lives in isolation and suffers from an unusual skin condition. Determined to find Danae a cure, Panos learns of her dark secret and that things are not what they seem…Read More »

The third feature from distinctively voiced writer-director Jenna Bass — who also co-wrote 2018’s Kenyan Cannes headline-grabber “Rafiki” — “Flatland” represents something of a feminist milestone for a national cinema where genre film in particular has hitherto been a boys’ game. Wittier and more kinetic than the predominantly solemn South African fare that has popped through on the international festival circuit in recent years, Bass’s film ought to travel widely on the strength of its crowd-pleasing story switch-ups and strikingly integrated racial and gender politics — virtues undiminished by an admittedly drawn-out last act that feels a little drunk on its own momentum. Adventurous distributors with a taste for world-meets-Hollywood cinema should investigate; international casting directors, meanwhile, should note the film’s sensational trio of female leads.Read More »

imdb:
Jean-Marc Phaneuf, an unmarried electrical engineer, travels to Burundi as a volunteer for the NGO Radio du Monde. He finds a country ruined by grinding poverty, famine, war, disease and appalling social inequality. At the same time, he meets a joyful, brave people hungry for happiness, knowledge and human dignity. The camera that becomes his personal diary also helps Jean-Marc expose the shaky, ineffective workings of NGOs. His investigations turn up a few praiseworthy examples of international cooperation, but on the whole he finds himself drawn to a terrible, inescapable conclusion: humanitarian aid is a utopian mirage. After falling victim to an attack and losing whatever ideals he still had, Jean-Marc becomes entangled in an impossible relationship. He is ultimately forced to leave Africa in disgrace.Read More »

A Tibet mountaineering school recruits qualified residents from the two counties at the foot of Mount Everest only, and trains them to be mountain guide of the Everest.Read More »

Synopsis:
Jeon Seungchul’s citizen registration number brands him as a North Korean defector. It is difficult to find a good job and it’s hard to get along with people at church. He is not an ex-convict or a migrant worker, but he is subjected to many discriminations. Like the stray dog he looks after, Jeon Seungchul is a misfit in South Korea’s capitalist society.Read More »

imdb:
A passenger filled highway coach traveling from Eastern Nepal to Kathmandu hits one delay after another, the first of those delays due to a bandh. After a lengthy stop, they are able to bypass the bandh as they masquerade as a wedding party, as bandhs unofficially allow wedding vehicles through their protests. The passengers are able fortuitously to come up with this masquerade as the one acting as the bride is indeed going to Kathmandu to get engaged. The stories of those on board, some whose the delay help, some whose it hurts, are told. The “bride”, medical student Pooja, is torn between marrying her intended fiancé Abiral, just returned from the United States and who she’s known since they were children, and her lover Ronit. Read More »

Quote:
One spring Hiromi, who is the mother of an 11-year-old girl Tomo, left home for the umpteenth time. Tomo is accustomed to such a mother and as always went to Makio’s place. He is a brother of Hiromi and has lived with Rinko, a pretty girlfriend. Actually, Rinko is a transwoman. She works as a caregiver in a nursing home where Makio’s mother Sayuri who suffers from dementia is living. Rinko makes a delicious meal and sometimes cuddles Tomo. She is a little confused, but Tomo, Rinko and Makio start to live a life together. One day Rinko teaches Tomo to knit to control her temper. Rinko was also taught by her mother at the age of puberty when she struggled with her sexuality. A daughter neglected by her mother. A gentle uncle and his transgender lover. An angsty boy who recognizes a sense of himself as a gay – A warm “knitting” reorganizes unconventional family.Read More »