10½

Pluto lost its status as a planet in 2006. It is no longer the ninth and last planet in the solar system, which greatly annoys Pierre-Olivier. Jérôme wants to reveal his feelings to the one he loves, Nicolas and Steve are looking for a name for their punk band, Émilie is organizing a party despite herself? An almost normal day on this little piece of the planet. Played by young people aged 15 and 16, West of Pluto follows the existence of a dozen teenagers from the suburbs over 24 hours. This crossover which mixes humor and drama reflects their concerns and their way of seeing the world. A disturbingly realistic portrait, the film plunges into the heart of adolescence, this intense and fascinating period when everyone tries to exist among others and tries to make sense of the absurdity of everyday life.

Three postal workers and their dysfunctional families interact over cups of tea and Sunday dinner.

The story takes place during the colonization of the Laurentian region in Quebec towards the end of the 19th century (approx. 1885-90), near Sainte-Adèle. An unscrupulous man, Séraphin Poudrier, dominates the small community using his wealth. Mayor of the village, he will marry Donalda Laloge, after her father, unable to repay his debt, gives her to him in marriage. Donalda, a gentle and submissive woman who was promised to the handsome Alexis Labranche, rather, he will live his life according to the wishes of this petty and contemptuous miser, but will never let his situation get him down.

A weary British spy retreats to a Buenos Aires hotel and recalls his last dirty job, complete with lover.

A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

The parents of a girl who was killed by a savage dog are granted the opportunity to spend three days with their deceased daughter.

A Chance in the World is the unbelievable real life story of Steve, a wounded and broken boy destined to become a man of resilience and vision. From the day he is five-years-old and dropped off at his foster home of the next eleven years, Steve is mentally and physically tortured by Betty (his foster mother), Willie (her husband) and his foster siblings. Desperate for a sense of family and belonging, Steve searches for his biological parents, but no one in the system can help him. No one can tell him why, with obvious African-American features, he has the last name of Klakowicz.

Author Joel Garcia breaks his neck while hiking, and finds himself in a rehab center with Raymond, an exaggerating ladies man, and Bloss, a racist biker. Considerable tension builds as each character tries to deal with his new found handicap and the problems that go with it, especially Joel, whose lover Anna is having as difficult a time as he is.

Two sisters embark on an epic quest for revenge, confronting a charged family history that pushes them to extraordinary lengths.

Mara is a law student incapable of feeling emotions. How will she react, then, when she discovers that her rapist is a redeemed and happy man? How will she compare the law with her idea of justice?

Maggie's plan to have a baby on her own with a sperm donor is derailed when she falls in love with John, an older married professor, destroying his volatile marriage to the brilliant and impossible Georgette. But three years later, married to John with one daughter, Maggie is out of love and in a quandary: what do you do when you suspect your man and his ex-wife are actually perfect for each other?

Michel is a Belgian inventor. He cares for his father, a paralysed writer, is married to a Congolese woman and is the father of an interracial child whom he reassures as to his parentage. He discovers at the age of 41 that he was adopted, actually having been born in Sainte-Cécile, Quebec. In the summer of 2000, he travels to Quebec, supposedly to sell some of his inventions. While on a near-impossible quest to find his birth family in the town where he was born, he crosses paths with Louis Legros, son of another inventor, in a meeting which will change their lives.

Four intertwined stories address different views of child sexual abuse and child pornography on the Internet.

A wandering tough biker girl aids a female delinquent gang in their battles against an all-male Seiyu group over a fixed boxing match.

Once again we focus on Nami Matsushima. This time she has a sister who goes missing and after getting too caught up in doing something about it, our innocent heroine is given a fifteen year sentence for a murder she didn't commit. She's sent to an all women prison where she's not exactly welcome. Her fellow inmates torture, humiliate and try to kill her; but the Scorpion prevails long enough to get some justice.

After many years, Julia returns to her childhood home, where as a child she was sexually abused by her recently deceased father. But inhabiting that place again will force her to face her ghosts and darkest memories.

A man gets out of prison after 15 years for stabbing his wife to death, and his social worker becomes convinced he was innocent. As she researches his case, and interviews other people who were involved, she begins to fall in love with him, as her friends warn her that he's dangerous.

At a maximum security prison, there is preparation for the annual party where entertainers and strippers are scheduled to perform. But not everyone is having fun. A man is sent to solitary, his wife has a nervous breakdown, and a convict prepares to make a daring escape.

Thirteen-year-old Kerry is repeatedly sexually abused by several adults, including at one point her mother. Her father sets her up as a prostitute. Kerry finally calls Childline and is put in a safe house, where she tries to come to terms with what has been done to her. Based on a true story, with the names changed to protect the real Kerry's identity.

Using a faceless doll criminal reenacts a brutal crime. But surprisingly he is not the one being judged. There seems to be an odd one out in the investigative group. The film premiered in the Berlinale Short competition programme.