#MerrittXanadu44

Five bizarre stories with no apparent connection to one another eventually become intertwined, resulting in surreal circumstances.

The Pink Umbrella Man has a cabin possessed when Bob Booze and his friends are driving up. Meanwhile detectivesMr. Dick and Mr. Head put themselves on the task of solving the mystery. 31 minutes of bugs, guts, breeze, pizza, subways, hats and other stuff.

The quasi-fictional story of transgender sex workers living in Rio de Janeiro's swampy red light district, who are joined by a group of hippies and a runaway stockbroker, "Mangue-Bangue" is the paradigmatic expression of the post-1968 spirit of desbunde, the Brazilian slang catchword for "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll".

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

French pantomimist Pierre Étaix plays an insomniac who makes the mistake of trying to read himself to sleep with a book about vampires. Short film included in the anthology film As Long as You've Got Your Health (1966).

The last day of creation. A stranger arrives in London. No one knows who he is or where he has come from. By the time he leaves, the entire universe will have been erased.

Collective experimental film by Team 8mm TENGOKU.

Events take a sinister turn one night in London, when two very different couples arrive at a double-booked apartment. Actions have consequences and not all debts are paid for with money. Leaving, it's harder than you think.

The stage emulates life and compresses it, setting free skills learned over lifetimes in brief but dazzling displays for the amusement and judgment of others. For the performers, it is the ultimate risk, and some will rise while others must fall. Nowhere is this truer than at the Seisho Music Academy, where music, dance and real weapons all come into play in the creation of the next great Star. Karen and Hikari’s destinies have been linked since a childhood promise, but their journeys here have taken very different paths. Now, after Hikari leaves, Karen must discover who she is without her opposite, while Hikari must rediscover her own course. Nor are they the only girls who must reassess and change if they want to achieve their dreams, as the dance, magic, and swordplay continue!

whydoyouhavetotakeoffyourshoesfirst ?

Darren Aronofsky’s AFI short opens with angry slacker Dave sitting in a dreary, empty junkyard. Dave stares into space, sips beer, and beats the hell out of a cracked guitar. We quickly realize the emptiness of the dump parallels the emptiness of Dave’s life which consists of smoking weed, staring at television screens and watching school children. Dave’s friend Pete is shortly introduced, along with their friend, Ari, who despite calling her pals losers, doesn’t seem to accomplishing much herself. These three are going nowhere fast. They’re the amoebas of life… protozoa….

An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

Rinko, a woman in a sexless marriage, is blackmailed by a stalker with intimate photos, forcing her into a series of erotic acts that disrupt her mundane life.

Two friends stumble upon an unusual sight: six men sensually licking the pavement on an empty L.A. street. For Ricky, this moment ruptures something. As reality grows porous and memory begins to slip, a delirious new logic takes hold.

Conor Marsh lives a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home.

An experimental short that follows a nameless Girl who wakes up every day to mysterious cards sliding into her room. These cards have one-word instructions for her to dress up for a polaroid camera and to then send the developed picture back out to a faceless viewer.

A short, experimental film that traces how two lovers (who are actually CCTV cameras) argue about love, ownership and sex in a virulently capitalist state of thought, while negotiating new terms for their increasingly anarchic relationship.

Matias is a soccer referee. He promised his dying mother never to lie. When he referees a match of the spanish national team and there is a clear penalty against Spain in the last minute of the game he has no choice and marks the foul. As a result Spain does not qualify for the world championship and Matias is forced to escape from the rage of the people. He hides in the town of his father which he hasn't visited since his childhood.

A surrealist perspective on self harm and the want for death.

Leonora Carrington, an outstanding figure of surrealism, along with Frida Kahlo, was one of Mexico's most famous painters. As the long-time partner of Max Ernst and close friend of André Breton and Jean Miró, she continually struggles with her visionary imagination, which often triggers serious psychological crises.