When a grieving couple go to a "rental family" agency to hire an actor to role-play their dead son, they discover that their evening of remembrance is more than they bargained for.
The death of Roberto, the canary, forces a family to come to terms with their own grief.
Into the Fire follows the story of Walter Hartwig, a lieutenant in the New York City Harbor Unit, who finally comes to terms with grief and what is really important about this life.
Irresponsible party girl Maggie is kicked out of her father's and stepmother's home—where she lives for free—and is taken in by her hard-working sister, Philadelphia lawyer Rose. After Maggie's disruptive ways ruin her sister's love life, Rose turns her out as well. But when their grandmother, who they never knew existed, comes into their lives, the sisters face some complicated truths about themselves and their family.
Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.
Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.
A woman and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.
After her husband runs off with his secretary, Terry Wolfmeyer is left to fend for herself -- and her four daughters. As she hits rock bottom, Terry finds a friend and drinking buddy in next-door neighbor Denny, a former baseball player. As the two grow closer, and her daughters increasingly rely on Denny, Terry starts to have reservations about where their relationship is headed.
Allison's life falls apart following her involvement in a fatal accident. The unlikely relationship she forms with her would-be father-in-law helps her live a life worth living.
Brothers is inspired by a true story of loss. It follows a mother and her two sons as they come to terms with the untimely death of their father. It examines what we remember about people we have lost and how we take their 'essence' with us as we move forward in life without them.
Two estranged adopted sisters are forced together by their mother's sudden death: Beatrice, an autistic Chinese high school senior who wants to learn to fly, and Talia, a queer black musician who never wanted custody of Beatrice in the first place. Starring the autistic actress the story is based on, the film blurs narrative and documentary styles and showcases a unique and underrepresented perspective on death and grief.
Isabella, the daughter of the noble York family, is enrolled in an all-girls academy to be groomed into a dame worthy of nobility. However, she has given up on her future, seeing the prestigious school as nothing more than a prison from the outside world. Her family notices her struggling in her lessons and decides to hire Violet Evergarden to personally tutor her under the guise of a handmaiden. At first, Isabella treats Violet coldly. Violet seems to be able to do everything perfectly, leading Isabella to assume that she was born with a silver spoon. After some time, Isabella begins to realize that Violet has had her own struggles and starts to open up to her. Isabella soon reveals that she has lost contact with her beloved younger sister, whom she yearns to see again. Having experienced the power of words through her past clientele, Violet asks if Isabella wishes to write a letter to Taylor. Will Violet be able to help Isabella convey her feelings to her long-lost sister?
Socially inept 17-year-old cinephile Lawrence Kweller gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager.
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
August has to put up with quite a lot. Ever since his parents separated, his father no longer seems to have any time for him. To console him, his Dad gives him a sweet little dog. But his mother refuses to have the animal in her house and before long there are shouting matches on the phone again. August can hear them arguing through his bedroom door – it's something he seems to have become used to. When his mother remains adamant about not having the dog, August packs his bags to move in with his father. But there’s no place for him in his father’s new family either. And so the boy makes up his mind to create a drastic wake-up call. Told from the boy’s perspective, this coming-of-age drama describes the situation for children who are caught in the middle when their parents decide to separate.
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.
A woman lives in Acapulco with moochers and a husband who married her for her money.
A ghost struggling with the monotony of passing finds purpose in comforting a broken-hearted man.
Claire is approached by the father of her murdered childhood friend to help investigate the haunted moor he believes is his son's final resting place.
A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.