Secrets of the Unknown: Dreams and Nightmares

Documentary about the making of ’Spring Break Zombie Massacre.’

On August 15th, 2006, filmmaker Ryan Dacko set out to get a 30-minute meeting with a major Hollywood producer by running on foot from Syracuse, New York to Hollywood, California.

Chet Baker silently wanders through an Antonioniesque landscape in a Felliniesque state of wonderment as his improvised trumpet solos alternate between earnestly offering the obvious and mocking the artiness of the whole affair.

Little kids, big dreams and smashingly good music – Dixieland follows the amazing progress of four members of a Ukrainian children’s brass band from Kherson. Through steady practice under the wildest of conditions, Roman (12, trumpet), Polina (10, trombone, drums and many other instruments), Nikita (12, drums) and Nikita (14, piano) produce magical music with ancient, wobbly instruments. Not least due to their wit and good humor, they persevere together, helped along by their 80+-year-old conductor and a young teacher. These children of the post-Soviet provinces use American tunes to achieve their dream – to become someone in the world and make something of their lives, no matter how dire the circumstances. From the authors of an awards winning documentary film Ukrainian Sheriffs.

The small Turkish town of Gaziantep. 16-year-old Mustafa is one of many young boys who study the complex art of making baklava, the Turkish desert renowned across the world. Under the strict eye of the master Baklava makers, Mustafa’s life is one of hard work and dedication to his chosen craft. But Mustafa dreams of a life beyond the confines of the workshop. He still wants to be a baklava master: he just wants to do it on his terms. Soon, against the advice of his friends and family, Mustafa makes a move towards the big city. Will his dreams be realised or will they crumble before him? A film about the impetuousness of youth and the importance of reaching for the stars, Angelos Abazoglou’s innnovative documentary is a moving and joyful coming-of-age tale which will speak to anyone who has ever wanted to fullfill their dreams.

In the heart of Riyadh... Souq Al-Zal, between heritage and simplicity, the film depicts the dreams that simple people desire in life.

In September 1957, the philosopher Carl Gustav Jung was interviewed in Houston. Part of that interview was filmed in 16mm. After reviewing the images obtained, the footage was censored in many countries, ending up in oblivion, lost in a warehouse in Central America. Just 50 years later, after several years of searching for images around the world and a difficult reconstruction and restoration, the director Shang Solomon offers us on the big screen almost all of the interview with Jung, known as the main opponent to the theories of Freud and an eminence of the Philosophy and the History of Psychology.

In India, in the region of Gujarat, a man whose face is never shown travels through the large city of Vadodara by night and distributes a mysterious illustrated newspaper. It provokes an irresistable desire in all the street merchants and craftsmen to tell stories of ghosts and ghouls.

When facing a path with no future or precedent success, will we ever choose to stay? Cheuk Cheung’s My Way explores the Cantonese Opera tradition of male Dan performers, men who play female roles, against the backdrop of a Hong Kong society increasingly putting less value on art. Although female performers have long been part of the mainstream of Cantonese Opera, the film follows the stories of two young men who are still fascinated by the art of the male Dan, striving to find their own way to carry on the practice. A moving and searching look at the struggle for identity, My Way is a colourful, musical and moving film which offers a unique and highly personal look at perseverance in the face of a changing society.

In the aftermath of war, an extraordinary professor brings hope to children haunted by trauma-induced nightmares.

Incredible optical illusions in a story in a story in a story helps the surprised viewer finally to find out that he has been watching himself all along.

Can the dream world be a fully functional parallel reality? Joseph Gordon-Levitt and leading scientists take you to the cutting edge of dream research in this documentary produced for Christopher Nolan's "Inception."

A young accountant finally pursues her dreams of becoming a painter.

After seeking transcendence through shamanic rituals, Ana’s life is transformed overnight by an unexpected turn toward faith.

Enduring 28 days of relentless construction labor, Frank struggles to prep a house for painting amidst Phoenix's scorching pandemic summer.

18 seniors living in retirement homes get the chance to go on a holiday to Greece. In addition to old age, many suffer from diseases such as dementia, cancer and permanent lung disease, but with the help of their companions and Dimitrios "Tackis" Sahpekidis, they get to realize their dreams. In Greece, they are allowed to eat melon on the beach, dance the zorba, drink retzina on the balcony until late at night and swim in the Mediterranean. The motto is that there are no obstacles and that life should be lived all out, until the end.

In their school courtyard, several teenagers share the dreams they had the night before. Their stories open the door to conversations about school, the future, and love, revealing their hopes, their fears, and the way they see the world.

On a Summer afternoon, Pedro packs the last few boxes before having to leave his apartment in New York. 12 years ago, Pedro and Ana had arrived in America from Portugal, in search of a dream. Now, Ana's voice describes, from the other side of the ocean, that same country to which they are returning. As the rooms are emptied, Pedro bids farewell to one life, welcoming another. But the dream that brought him will remain forever in the city that never sleeps, awaiting his return.

Growing up in poverty as a child, Dylan dreamt of travelling the world on a motorcycle. Many years later he broke the shackles of a normal life and took to the road. After journeying 200,000km across four continents, the road from Panama to Colombia comes to an end, swallowed up by an impenetrable jungle. Dylan has no choice but to take to the sea, building a raft powered by his motorcycle engine in the hope of reaching Colombia's road network 700km away. He must brave strong ocean currents and storm batterings in his journey from Central to South America.—Journeyman Pictures

A small town ice hockey team fights through their first season in an upper division. The players' dreams might have changed from childhood but their love for the sport does not fade.