Deus ex Machina
In Tijuana, Mexico, Gabriel is a man who once had a normal and happy life alongside his family. He now seeks revenge for the murder of his son at the hands of a group of vampires that roam the city at night, stalking its inhabitants. Gabriel's days blur into one another as he tries to track down the murderers he calls "leeches", without knowing that his revenge will bring serious consequences for his wife and himself.
Killed in war, a man must overcome the various obstacles he encounters in limbo to save his life and thus meet his son, about to be born.
A loving mother must give the ultimate sacrifice to save her family from a supernatural force bent on tearing their world apart.
Daydream Therapy is set to Nina Simone’s haunting rendition of “Pirate Jenny” and concludes with Archie Shepp’s “Things Have Got to Change.” Filmed in Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey by activist-turned-filmmaker Bernard Nicolas as his first project at UCLA, this short film poetically envisions the fantasy life of a hotel worker whose daydreams provide an escape from workplace indignities. —Allyson Nadia Field
'All Small Bodies' is a feminist, sci-fi take on the Grimm tale of Hansel and Gretel. It occurs in the distant future among the ruins of a planetary catastrophe, revealing the abuses of history and technology. In the wake of the chaotic aftermath, there are several resilient survivors including two young girls named Z and Bub. The film follows these curious adolescents who have long been lost and alone in the haunted, other-worldly woods, as they awaken their extrasensory abilities and reclaim their autonomy from a menacing dark presence.
A young boy learns important life lessons about strangers.
After a magic bell from Tibet is stolen, a little girl and an elephant undertake a dangerous journey to bring the bell home.
CREMASTER 4 (1994) adheres most closely to the project's biological model. This penultimate episode describes the system's onward rush toward descension despite its resistance to division. The logo for this chapter is the Manx triskelion - three identical armored legs revolving around a central axis. Set on the Isle of Man, the film absorbs the island's folklore ...
Prisoners, two sisters share their life in a strange place. The mundane routine, along curiosity, will bring Prita to break the boundaries of the secure place.
"Dedication" is the story of a maid working in a hotel who uses a black magic spell in the hopes of harnessing the talent of one of the hotel's frequent guests - an eccentric writer - and passing it on to her unborn son.
Collaborating with Australian circus company Gravity & Other Myths, 2020 BAFTA Newcomer and Berlinale Talent Campus alumna Alies Sluiter crafts a disquieting, quasi-surrealist tale of bravery and grief.
The discharge of the nuclear sewage has brought great crisis to the environment. A particular mermaid becomes victim to it all.
A discontented wife is seduced by eels - the keepers of the land. The mystic encounter draws her into the eels’ realm.
At the Gaomeigu Observatory in China, the Naxi people scan the sky, convinced they are the descendants of immortal beings living there, abandoned on earth to watch them. Between astronomy and legends, Marko Grba Singh seems to compose a mysterious and polysemous tableau. From folk tales heroes such as William Tell, Prince Marko or Sanduo for the Naxi, passing by a miraculous catch, Gods besotted with each other, or the absence of walls built around a city because of the ambiguity of Chinese characters, 'Stars of Gaomeigu' dresses the bodies and contemporary images of mythological tales.
A vibrant anthology of LGBTQ+ short films and music videos that delve into the complexities of youth, identity, and desire. This diverse collection showcases a range of cinematic voices—both emerging and established—exploring the exhilaration, vulnerability, and confusion of coming-of-age through stories that celebrate queer love, self-discovery, and the breaking of societal boundaries. Blending narrative shorts, experimental visuals, and music-driven pieces, the anthology offers an evocative, multifaceted portrait of innocence transformed.
A thief who is burglarizing gets surprised by the host and commits a brutal murder. He runs away but realizes that something is following him.
A sexual reverie unfolds over the course of one ethereal night. Characters wander through an erotic maze of love and lust, blurring the lines between wet dream and lucid nightmare as a macabre, erotic stage performance sends a ripple of lustful desires through its audience and performers.
A young delivery man falls in love with a mysterious young woman living cloistered in her apartment. When he finally obtains a rendez-vous at her place, she tells him her secret ...
Vincent, an artist with unresolved inner demons, meets a mysterious girl who helps him come to terms with his creative legacy… and eventual death.