The Absent-Minded Waiter

The photographer sends miss Ophelia a dozen photographs of her in different poses. Selecting the best one, she presents it to her favorite boarder, Billy, who does not think much of it and who gets very indignant when it is compared with the photo of his sweetheart. Miss Ophelia goes up to her room in tears and tells her faithful maid, Belinda, that her heart is broken. Belinda goes down and forcibly tells Billy what she thinks of him. Miss Ophelia resolves on suicide, because no one seems to love her. Belinda gets back in time to prevent this and, to divert her mistress, she suggests that they go together to a beauty specialist. Arriving there, both receive attention. Miss Ophelia gets a new complexion, while Belinda gets new teeth. Both invest in new gowns and dresses and the transformation is complete. At supper time, the boarders are all astounded.

In this sophisticated romantic comedy, healing waters are the cover for an extramarital affair that “cures” the infertility problems of a childless couple.

A couple’s fight over dinner leads to spiralling domestic abuse that spreads all over town. (MoMA)

A sunny Saturday afternoon in Zurich. In the middle of a crowded square a businessman is lying on a bench, seemingly asleep. Someplace else, a teenager is longing for appreciation. A commuter is fighting the ticket machine. The film shows ten tableaux of everyday situations in the city. The people in them are confronted with small or big problems. Each one of them is a Sisyphos, endlessly rolling the little stones of daily life up the mountain.

A gay man's nightmare about aging. Constantly dancing between reality and fantasy, this fever dream has the punch of a heart attack and the heart of a punch.

A gaming company is creating a videogame for kids about the European Union. You play a national bird needing to breed and nest across borders, but you can only fly as allowed by your visa rights. We follow two game designers as they transform the European Union into pixel graphics in an effort to make Schengen catchy. The question they face: is it possible?

Shot and crewed by Riley Stearns while in quarantine, and described as "an exercise in trusting instincts and embracing limitations."

A darkly comedic look at a couple who must defuse a bomb in their apartment.

A young teacher is the victim of a cruel joke. When she enters the classroom, all her pupils are naked, standing near their bench. Their clothes are heaped up on the podium

Bourreau d'enfant

Teddy is walking home at night in the empty streets of Los Angeles, senses heightened by everything on the news about... young women walking home at night. But when she's finally home safe, she's attacked by something truly terrifying: her own psyche.

After amusements working in a restaurant, a waiter uses his lunch break to go roller skating.

A pawnbroker's assistant deals with his grumpy boss, his annoying co-worker and some eccentric customers as he flirts with the pawnbroker's daughter, until a perfidious crook with bad intentions arrives at the pawnshop.

A tailor's apprentice burns Count Broko's clothes while ironing them and the tailor fires him. Later, the tailor discovers a note explaining that the count cannot attend a dance party, so he dresses as such to take his place; but the apprentice has also gone to the mansion where the party is celebrated and bumps into the tailor in disguise…

A depressed filmmaker has an existential crisis.

This is a student film made while Adam Bertocci was enrolled at Northwestern University, but compared to many other student films I have seen, it is head and shoulders better. It has excellent writing, direction and a professional quality about it you might not normally expect--plus the film is cute as can be with a really clever story. However, given that I have seen another of Adam Bertocci's excellent short films, LOVE: THE MOVIE, I actually was expecting something special--as LOVE was a heck of a fresh and entertaining film as well. Both films, it turns out, have already received awards and I certainly am not surprised. In fact, I can't wait until Bertocci "turns pro" so to speak--in other words, moves to Hollywood and makes a bazillion bucks making more nice little films--but with bigger budgets. Keep an eye out for this guy.

Ivan has an appointment with a psychologist for his first session.

17 year old Jasper lives in a very grey, small town. In his family, he cannot be himself. Jasper's dad is a singer, named Lukkie Luk. All the attention in the family goes to his career. Jasper searches a way to handle this and is faced with the typical questions in the life of an adolescent. Questions that will not be answered when he stays in his own routine.

When a young man finds himself alone in a club after hours, he pretends he's in a martial arts movie only to be interrupted by his crush, leaving him embarrassed. But has the power of his imagination brought something dark to life?

Leo celebrates his tenth birthday. From one grandmother, he receives socks, from the other, underwear. From his Grandfather, Leo gets an old Super-8 camera and with it he tells us of his attempts to change the gifts. While doing that, he finds out that Monica Lewinsky is Jewish, that Clinton is the president of America, that the numbers in his grandparents arms are responsible for him being chubby and that this old camera is worthless.