Istokwa

It is the summer of 1984 in Schmalenstedt, in the middle of Holstein Switzerland, directly on the Baltic Sea. The 17-year-old Malte Ahrens, who calls himself Roddy Dangerblood, lives with his elderly parents in a farmhouse, is trained as a potter and has discovered for himself the punk that has made its way into Schmalenstedt with some delay.

Movie star Roxy Carmichael is abandoning the bright lights of Hollywood, Calif. and returning to her small Ohio hometown -- at least long enough to dedicate a city building. And now the whole town of Clyde is bracing for Carmichael's return, most of all her now-married old flame Denton Webb and troubled teen Dinky Bossetti. An orphan with few friends, Dinky is convinced that Carmichael is her birth mother, and that the actress will reclaim her when she returns.

Getting away, that's the only thing that's real. For Manue, here there's nothing to hope for, whereas in America everything is possible. On the next pier, a container ship is heading for Massachusetts and they're looking for sailors. Gaffia agrees to hold Manue's hand for the long voyage.

A teenage boy's infatuation with a woman he sees on the bus further complicates his already tumultuous adolescence.

“If you jerk off a 100 times, you die.” This threat rings through the ears of our main character. One day he has to choose between imminent hell and the impetuousness of adolescence.

When Kirk, a top roller-blader, discovers that he has bone cancer in his leg, his pleasant affluent life is shattered. Even though amputation provides the best chance for survival; to him, losing skating means the end of life. His friends cannot cope with his condition, but his hospital isolation is relieved by Marty - a street kid survivor who was found dying of leukemia. Marty bullies, taunts, and challenges Kirk, until he begins to climb out of his depression. Marty seems afraid of nothing and, knowing she will die, wants to experience everything.

Ras is a graffiti artist from the city of Cali who works in construction, he works during the day and paints walls at night. One day he is caught stealing cans of paint from the construction site where he works, for which he is fired. With no money, he will look for Calvin, another popular urban artist. Both will circulate through the streets without a fixed destination, spreading their art to every corner.

A teen girl is thrown into reform school for refusing to squeal on her delinquent boyfriend where she ends up meeting his ex-girlfriend and the jealous tempers fly.

Two sisters navigating the no man's land between childhood and adulthood have to deal with the consequences of their actions after one of the horses of their farm loses one eye.

The puppy love of two teenagers is set against a backdrop of adults struggling with their own lives. As a couple in love, they don't care about anything but themselves and seem totally unaware about everything that surrounds them.

In the cruel world of junior high, Edwin suffers in a state of anxiety and alienation alongside his only friend, Flake. Misunderstood by their families and demoralized at school daily, their fury simmers quietly until an idea for vengeance offers them a terrifying release.

It is the 1980s. Jens and his brothers live in a single-family house in Risskov, a suburb of Aarhus, Denmark. Here, the family's patriarch psychologist and self-appointed God, Uffe, rules the roost in his dressing gown and underwear. Changes threaten the peace when Uffe decides to write his memoirs.

You don't choose your family. You choose your friends. Vegas is the story of Thomas, Marianne and Terje - three teenagers with nowhere to go.

A Place of Our Own

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Offside

When average 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, Tracy's world is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.

This film follows a group of kids, all in various stages of puberty. The primary focus is on a girl of about twelve years old. Watch as she grows interested in sex, develops romantic feelings for a priest who teaches at her school, has a friend's father hit on her, sexually engages with a peer.

One day. One night. A group of teenagers struggles to find their way in a world that offers them few choices.

These five award-winning coming of age short films offer a glimpse of how boys and young men tackle life's difficult desires: confronting one's demons, understanding sexual relationships, gaining the respect of one's father, or simply running away from it all. This is only the start of their complex formative years, where not every question has an answer, and not every answer makes sense. The short films are: Boys [Pojkarna] (2015); Ioana (2015); Kiem Holijanda (2017); Picnic [Piknik] (2015); Tomer & Elias [Tomer en Elias] (2016).