2020s

A human drama that provokes contemplation on the essence of “family” and local “shops”.

Upon entering university, Haruka leaves her hometown and goes on to excel at a venture company. However, her willingness to use any means necessary to achieve her goals becomes her downfall as she is forced to resign due to accusations of harassment. Struggling with funding after attempting to start her own business, Haruko returns home following her mother’s passing and proposes selling the family’s shop. Her sister shows little interest, while her brothers vehemently oppose the idea. Haruka leans forward a plan to make her family members self-sufficient. Praised for its comedic touch and non-intrusive script, the film shines with the actors’ remarkable performances. Their collaborative efforts with the local community align well with Cinekoya’s mission. Besides the entertainment value of a family drama, the film also presents an intriguing aspect of indirectly criticizing the Japanese economy through the lens of local “shops”. It prompts us to contemplate the significance of local “shops” in our towns.Read More »

Synopsis
Simone 23-year-old studies criminal law and advocates for women’s rights and at night she performs in front of a live sex cam. One night watching a film awakens her dark impulses for a more dangerous means of sexual gratification.Read More »

The high-profile case of serial killer Ludovic Chevalier has just gone to trial, and Kelly-Anne is obsessed. When reality blurs with her morbid fantasies, she goes down a dark path to seek the final piece of the puzzle: the missing video of a murdered 13-year-old girl, to whom Kelly-Anne bears a disturbing resemblance.
An element of the film I found most intriguing were the various people who were defending Chevalier. Whether it’s the very misguided Clementine, or even his defense lawyer, its uncomfortable to hear people supporting someone who so obviously did the crime. Yet there are people out there like this, so I think its nice to spotlight them. There were a ton of parallels between Clem in particular, as the Manson followers who stood outside his trial. So there’s a bit of catharsis that reveals itself as both Clem and Kelly-Anne are forced to reckon with their feelings as more evidence is unveiled.Read More »

PLOT:
A receptionist at a suicide hotel in Taipei, Taiwan forms a fleeting friendship over the course of one night with a guest who can’t decide if she wants to live or die.Read More »

1516, Legend has it that the king of Algiers had a wife named Zaphira. When the pirate Aroudj Barbarossa arrives to liberate the city from the Spaniards, he is determined to conquer Zaphira as well as the kingdom itself. But is Zaphira willing to let him, or is she plotting for herself?Read More »

A French diplomat must escape an FSB plot in Siberia.

Based on incredible true events, Jérome Salle’s gripping new espionage thriller depicts the remarkable story of a French public servant who unwittingly finds himself in conflict with one of the modern era’s most powerful and dangerous forces: Russia’s FSB. Gilles Lellouche stars as Mathieu, a gregarious and dedicated diplomat who accepts a posting to Irkutsk as the head of Siberia’s Alliance Francaise. He hopes the change will be good for his family and struggling marriage, but before long Mathieu’s staging of cultural events and support of artistic expression sees him fall afoul of local authorities. Accused of a terrible crime, he soon realises someone has fabricated a case with Russia’s Federal Security Service – he has been framed. Arrested, imprisoned and isolated, Mathieu has nowhere to turn. Defending himself is impossible, the French authorities are helpless – it seems he has no choice: to try and escape.Read More »

Quote:
Maria Chapdelaine, a young woman of 16, lives with her family on land they are clearing near the Péribonka River in rural Québec in early 1900. True pioneers, the Chapdelaine family struggles to push back the forest. In a home where even physical exhaustion cannot diminish the warmth of family life, Maria finds herself faced with a deep dilemma. François Paradis, a free-spirited fur trapper and logger, promises Maria to return in spring to marry her, while Lorenzo Surprenant arrives at the farm offering a comfortable existence in an American city, and Eutrope Gagnon, a quiet and determined young farmer has staked a claim on the land next to the Chapdelaine’s. Thrust into the adult world, and juggling with thoughts of land, family and love, Maria will suddenly be forced to choose her future as a woman.Read More »

Mariña, Ada and Tomás form an irregular triangle of bodies, intentions and vibrations. Mariña has an intense love affair with Ada when Tomás, a mutual friend, enters the couple’s intimacy.Read More »

After his sister-in-law dies in a freak motorcycle accident in Saigon, Thien is bestowed the task of delivering her body in their countryside hometown to which he also takes his nephew Dao, who miraculously survived the crash. Amidst the mystical landscapes of rural Vietnam, Thien begins a search for his older brother who vanished years ago to hand Dao over to him – a journey which deeply questions his faith.Read More »