Night Swimming

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

The fictional Father Ángel de la Cruz is based on Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel, whose long history of child abuse was not addressed until 2006 and only publicly acknowledged in 2009. But director Luis Urquiza chooses to structure his film through the largely uncomprehending, wondering eyes of 13-year-old Julián, who travels from the arms of his loving pastoral family into the austere, hallowed halls of the seminary. Singling out the boy as his intimate disciple, installing him in his palatial private quarters and redubbing him “Sacramento Santos,” Father Ángel begins Julian’s instruction into the mysteries of “perfect obedience,” whose cardinal rule is: Never question a superior’s actions.

James Dean and Donald Turnupseed, the man whose car killed Dean, meet again for the first time... at the very same intersection where the accident occurred.

While shooting a film in a small town, a famous actor puts his personal life and career in jeopardy by starting an intense affair with another man.

Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez — one of the losers that evening — the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set off on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time.

Baba, a preteen from Belleville, Paris, must deal with her mother's determination to turn her into an actress.

Gib, a beer-guzzling slob, and Alison, an uptight Ivy-Leaguer, are an unlikely duo stuck together on a cross-country trip during Christmas break. At first they get on each other's nerves but, as time passes, they find their divergent natures complement each other. Now they need to realize what they've already found before it's too late.

A young billionaire of South Asian descent is bound by the conditions set by his beloved, deceased father in order to get married.

A teenager comes to terms with his place in the world when he learns of his mother’s immoral past the day before his grandfather’s funeral.

When a burglar unexpectedly runs into a homeowner during a theft, the robbery morphs into a makeshift therapy session, with the burglar helping the homeowner process his impending divorce - all while the homeowner helps to rob his own apartment.

After being 'talent scouted' outside of an ice cream store, teen cousins Jess and Stella find themselves enslaved in the illicit world of sex trafficking.

After several years of sexual dysfunction, Ada and her boyfriend, Calvin travel to her hometown in rural Oklahoma in hopes of piecing together her fragmented childhood memories. They find their answers, but can they find their way back home?

An aspiring singer discovers the lyrics in a song written for her could lead her to the killer of the writer who wrote it.

A struggling family is attempting to deal with the consequences of a horrible catastrophe.

In the Shadowlands

Brahim is a young man, and secretly gay. At his mother’s birthday party, tensions around his unaccepted sexuality become unbearable. Brahim flees the oppressive family home into the night, where a terrible encounter awaits...

After agonizing for weeks, Valéria finally comes to terms with being in love with another woman and confesses her love for her best friend, Laurence. Short film from the series "L'@mour est à réinventer: dix histoires d'amour au temps du SIDA" ("Love Reinvented: Ten Love Stories in the Age of AIDS").

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane, answers a personal ad from Robin, a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Jane's friend Holly, who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

Sometimes the story preceding the making of a film is just as important as the work itself. Zach Breder, a young man living with a serious heart defect, had always wanted to shoot a movie and, with the aid of the Georgia Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he managed to do just that. This adventure story about a boy named Chris who, with the help of his friends, solves the mystery of his eccentric uncle, began as a “mere” dream and ultimately became a professional film which now celebrates its international premiere at the Karlovy Vary IFF.

Inspired by the short story "Harvey's Dream" by Stephen King.