Hedgehog

Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.

A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.

Loosely based on real life events, Gregoire follows four young adults and the choices they make when put at a crossroads of their life. As they struggle to make choices, their paths cross with one another and their choices affect not only themselves, but their friends, and their families.

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.

An overbearing mother who lives with her son in a secluded crocodile farm spirals out of control when her son sees the outside world and falls for a girl for the first time.

In his sophomore year, An faces the pressures of exams, love, and music, realizing that rock n’ roll and passion know no boundaries.

Like tears in the rain, water is the metaphor for growing pains and so much more in these four tales about young boys coming to terms with a host of emotions for the very first time. These polished productions and festival favourites are brought to you by a host of talented directors from across Germany, Denmark, France and the Netherlands. The short films are: Ocean [Océan] (2013); Go Daan Go! [Daan Durft] (2014); The Boy in the Ocean (2016); Beach Boy (2011).

Samuel is a wild-looking twelve-year-old orphan who has been placed with a nanny, Marie, for several weeks. Marie, who is struggling between her feelings and her need for money, is married to Clément with whom she has two sons, Alexis and Dimitri. Very quickly Samuel will have to get to know this new family and their possible secrets.

A young Los Angeles cinephile falls in love with a woman but has that love tested by the all-seeing eye of the Internet.

Jharia, India, one of the most dangerous places on earth. Fires rage underground, smoke and dangerous fumes belch from cracks in the ground. This is the home of Anant, an 8 year old boy who scrapes a living picking coal and selling it at the local markets to try and feed himself and his sick mother. One day, a chance encounter changes Anant's life, forever. This is a coming of age drama that casts a spotlight on a humanitarian disaster area and gives us a chance to see the world through the eyes of one of India's many child labourers.

Through the eyes of two 12-year-old boys, the sexual revolution arrives in a conservative and religious small town in Northern Finland.

Shan's crush is going to move away and they make a promise of exchanging their favorite signed baseballs. His signed ball, however, is lost because of his brother Jia, so the brothers start a journey to find the ball...

These five award-winning coming of age short films offer a glimpse of how boys and young men tackle life's difficult desires: confronting one's demons, understanding sexual relationships, gaining the respect of one's father, or simply running away from it all. This is only the start of their complex formative years, where not every question has an answer, and not every answer makes sense. The short films are: Boys [Pojkarna] (2015); Ioana (2015); Kiem Holijanda (2017); Picnic [Piknik] (2015); Tomer & Elias [Tomer en Elias] (2016).

Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.

In this sequel to Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, Alexander's story is told in both the past and the present. Alexander's parents send him away from home for being too sensitive and not helping enough on their farm. He goes to Los Angeles in hopes of going to art school, but when he can't find a job as a minor, he turns to prostitution. After being arrested, he wants to head to Arizona to marry Dawn, but he falls into a lucrative job/relationship with a gay football star.

The story of two youngster girls who became the victims of female genital mutilation.

The 12-year-old German boy, Mathias, discovers his sexuality on a sailing boat in Denmark. Surrounded by water, trapped on the boat with his parents, who still treat him like a child, his desire is to get on land to have new experiences.

Nine-year-old Daan is really excited about taking up swimming when he discovers his mother's old swimming medals in the attic. When his school teacher encourages him to join the nearest local swimming club, Daan finds out that his mother is definitely not amused. She is afraid that Daan inherited her cardiac problems. Despite his mothers fears, Daan doesn't wait and starts training behind her back.

Caleb, a South Florida teen, loves his camera, his weed and his grandmother. On the eve of his high school graduation, everything changes when he's exposed to HIV. While he waits three months for his results, Caleb finds love in the most unlikely of places.

After finding some relics in an open grave, two young siblings share an up-close experience with death at the cause of their own hand.