A young ghetto kid despairs of ever getting out of that environment and making something of himself, until one day he gets a job as an assistant in a veterinarian's office, and working with all the animals begins to affect his outlook on life.
Sent to Mexico to help take care of aging Father Benito, young Father Amaro faces a moral challenge when he meets a 16-year-old girl who he starts an affair with. Likewise, the girl's mother had been having an affair with Father Benito. Father Amaro must choose between a holy or sinful life.
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.
A drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.
A Jewish ghetto in the east of Europe, 1944. By coincidence, Jakob Heym eavesdrops on a German radio broadcast announcing the Soviet Army is making slow by steady progress towards central Europe. In order to keep his companion in misfortune, Mischa, from risking his life for a few potatoes, he tells him what he heard and announces that he is in possession of a radio - in the ghetto a crime punishable by death. It doesn't take long for word of Jakob's secret to spread - suddenly, there is new hope and something to live for - and so Jakob finds himself in the uncomforting position of having to come up with more and more stories.
For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
New York's Toughest Police Precinct has six escaped felons on the loose. These dangerous criminals specialize in insurance schemes, drug-running, paid assassinations,pimping, and organized robberies. Feeling pressure from New York's top brass, the precinct elite set out to arrest these hard to get criminals by using their number one weapon... A snitch.
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
Tracy, an aspiring designer from the slums of Chicago puts herself through fashion school in the hopes of becoming one of the world's top designers. Her ambition leads her to Rome spurring a choice between the man she loves or her newfound success.
Too Fine and his friends Finny, Pushy and Rage hope to set up a successful urban underground garage...
A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of Los Angeles, where the gang culture is enforced by the colors the members wear.
A drama set in the brutal world of Africa's ghettos, Bronx-Barbes opens with an introduction to Toussaint and Nixon, two teenaged friends who are out of work and commit petty thievery in order to eat. After accidentally murdering a ganglord one night, the two are taken under the wing of a group of thugs who populate the Bronx, a tough neighborhood run by a Mafia-like organization. Toussaint is able to scale the ranks of the neighborhood hierarchy, while Nixon ends up in jail for burglary, and is only released after Toussaint raises the money to free him. Eventually, the friends move on to Barbes, an even rougher neighborhood where they find that it takes more than just friendship to survive.
In a ghetto where religion and drug trafficking rub shoulders, Dounia has a lust for power and success. Supported by Maimouna, her best friend, she decides to follow in the footsteps of Rebecca, a respected dealer. But her encounter with Djigui, a young, disturbingly sensual dancer, throws her off course.