The Ploy

Ostia is a fascinating short film directed by Julian Cole and produced for the Royal College of Art, which reconstructs the events leading up to the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Ostia relocates the proceedings to London and stars Derek Jarman as Pasolini. The film features an evocative dream sequence which is accompanied by poignant excerpts from Pasolini’s own poetry, as read by Jarman.

A short documentary exploring the ongoing relevance and power of 'Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma'.

A documentary about Pier Paolo Pasolini and his film 'Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma'.

Philo Bregstein tells us this film looks at Pasolini's life and art to explain why he died. The film traces Pasolini's life chronologically - family roots, hiding during World War II, teaching, moving to Rome, being arrested and acquitted many times, publishing poems, getting into film, being provocative, and being murdered. Interviews with Alberto Moravia, Laura Betti, Maria Antonietta Macciocch, and Bernard Bertolucci are inter-cut with readings of Pasolini's poems and with clips from four films - primarily the Gospel According to St. Matthew - to illustrate his changing ideas and points of view. Bregstein makes a case for Pasolini's being lynched.

Portrait of Pier Paolo Pasolini and his literary and cinematographic activity in the proletarian Rome.

Behind the scenes footage of Pasolini and crew filming 'Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma'.

Talia and her childhood best friend Anderson unexpectedly reunite in a curiously familiar looking town full of Christmas spirit that restores its visitors when they need it most.

Artist Traci is a once-devout Christian who has stopped believing in God after her husband tragically died despite her prayers. As her second Christmas without him approaches, she tries going to a support group for inspiration and comfort.

When Jen gets the chance to enter a brand’s design contest, she poses as a family influencer, enlisting the help of her best friend, Max, and her baby nephew. When her video is selected as a finalist, Jen is torn on whether to go on with her perfect “family” or reveal the truth.

Four days before Christmas, Elizabeth Athens receives a voicemail from a number she doesn’t recognize. On the message, a man she doesn’t know makes one final plea to the love of his life for a second chance.

Annie Cooper has big shoes to fill when she takes over as CEO of her late grandmother’s small-town cookie company and is doing her best to help their struggling business get back on track. That task gets more daunting when her grandmother’s secret recipe is stolen during the Christmas party. As Annie tries to crack the case and uncover the culprit she works with Sam, the owner of a local bakery, to recreate the recipe in the hope of saving the company and her job. As Annie and Sam bake batch after batch in pursuit of the perfect one, they begin to learn that their lives go together like milk and cookies.

A matchmaker connects Molly and Jacob, but their new romance is put to the test when they realize that they are competing deli owners. Will a Hanukkah miracle keep them together?

Emily arrives home, hoping to visit her parents, only to discover that they are leaving on a trip of their own. As she stays at their house for the holidays, their HOA is determined to get Emily to participate in the neighborhood’s many Christmas festivities.

Under the guise of a journalist, Campbell has a chance to get to know her biological father for the first time – without him ever knowing who she really is. As she spends time with him and his family, as well as with the town’s record keeper, she realizes that families are messy, wonderful things. In the end, Campbell must decide if she’s going to keep her identity a secret or reveal the truth to her father – a decision that will change their family Christmas forever.

Liv is a photojournalist eager to make it on her own. To get a dream assignment – shooting the Chang family’s annual holiday party for a cover story – she doesn’t reveal that they are in fact, her family. When she finds herself growing close to Henry, the coworker covering the story with her, she wants to confide in him but doesn’t want to jeopardize her big break.

Ella returns to her hometown to mend fences with her fractured family. With the help of Griffin, her ex-boyfriend, she encourages her family to celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa and to heal their past wounds before it’s too late.

Ryan is an elementary school teacher, who learns that he is colorblind. Michelle, an optometrist, and mother of one of his students, helps bring color into his life in time for the holidays.

The cries of a baby drive a man going through a breakup into drug-fueled madness.