Freeload

Nomad Solitude(fr)

In their vehicle, Laurie, Kristy and Linda live alone on the American roads. Like thousands of modern American nomads who can no longer afford to pay for their housing. With no money to spare, these three sixty-year old women are fleeing, in their own way, a part of their history that has left a deep mark on them. Driving away, they try to regain some form of peace. But as the miles and seasons pass, despite their impressive temerity and resilience, their quest for a better future is challenged by unexpected events that hit a country in crisis. Will they nevertheless manage, at the end of the road, to find the serenity they are looking for, in order to become someone again?

The Shelter(fr)

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

Lead Me Home(en)

Poignant stories of homelessness on the West Coast of the US frame this cinematic portrait of a surging humanitarian crisis.

Nemesis(de)

The film explores the destruction of a unique train station in Zurich and the construction of the new prison and police centre in its place. From the perspective of the filmmaker’s window, and with testimony from prisoners awaiting deportation, the film probes how we deal with the extinction of history and its replacement with total security.

Class Divide(en)

A look at NYC’s gentrification and growing inequality in a microcosm, Class Divide explores two distinct worlds that share the same Chelsea intersection – 10th Avenue and 26th Street. On one side of the avenue, the Chelsea-Elliot Houses have provided low-income public housing to residents for decades. Their neighbor across the avenue since 2012 is Avenues: The World School, a costly private school. What happens when kids from both of these worlds attempt to cross the divide?

Comedy Confessions(en)

COMEDY CONFESSIONS takes you on a journey into the lives of three struggling comedians who have decided to pursue their dreams of careers in stand-up comedy despite the harsh realities of being homeless. For these comedians, their cars are lifesavers providing safety and shelter at night and transportation to auditions and performances during the day. Their daily struggle to avoid sleeping on the street is startlingly juxtaposed with the extravagant wealth of the opulent mansions they park in front of at night. One of them, Tiffany Haddish will achieve her dreams to become a true Hollywood movie star, the other two, Doc Jones and Steve Lolli find the lure of the spotlight takes an unforgiving toll on their hopes and ambitions. This honest and touching movie is told in their own words revealing the passions, dedication and pains that drive them.

I can't stay here anymore(en)

Jörg is one of the many homeless living near the Vatican. But there is something unusual about him: he appears and talks like a sort of holy man, prophesying, among other things, his next reincarnation as Jesus Christ. This transformation will enable him to drastically change the way things are on this Earth. However, beneath the delusions of omnipotence of a man fighting for glory and universal justice, we find a lonely and pained individual, frightened by the great mystery that awaits all of us.

Bums and Dogs(bs)

A hotel in the centre of town is a war-time home and refuge for many of Sarajevo's homeless people. Every morning they leave the hotel and wander around the destroyed city gathering again at the defunct hotel in the afternoon. This film follows their separate fates through the bitter comparing of images of the bums with those of dogs abandoned by their owners and now left et the mercy of the war ravaged streets of Sarajevo.

Streets of Plenty(en)

With the 2010 Olympics approaching, will the world get to know Vancouver's darkest secret? 'Streets of Plenty' chronicles one man's perilous journey to live in Vancouver's downtown east side ghetto. The rules of this twisted social experiment? Starting with only a pair of underwear, he must survive the harsh winter streets for 31 days. He has no money, no friends, no family, and most importantly, no home. He must navigate the institutions, policies and services alongside the thousands of people that call Vancouver's streets home.

Year-round Metal Enjoyment(en)

Year-round Metal Enjoyment explores the New England origins of North American freight train graffiti, tracing the narratives of several members of the prolific YME and Circle T crews, and giving unparalleled access into the fastest growing subculture in the graffiti movement. Challenged by the illegal nature of their passions, dangerous locales, and the pressures of a society that will not accept or understand them, these artists reveal what drives them to return, time after time, to execute their artwork on a canvas that is forever changing, moving and vanishing into oblivion. Both snapshot of a fading history and love-letter to the trains themselves, Year-round Metal Enjoyment captures the voices, faces and thoughts of artists, railfans and train-workers alike, while showcasing the unlikely beauty of the trains in their environment.

This Beggar's Description(en)

It's a sensitive, moving doc chronicling the life of Tétrault's brother Philip , a Montreal poet, musician and diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. A promising athlete as a child, Philip began experiencing mood swings in his early 20s. His extended family, including his daughter, share their conflicted feelings love, guilt, shame, anger with the camera. They want to make sure he's safe, but how much can they take?

The American Hobo: History of the Railriding Worker(en)

Documentary - Ernest Borgnine, star of the classic train movie Emperor of the North, hosts and narrates this remarkable examination of the uniquely American Hobo.

Spring Fever(en)

A glimpse into a refreshingly different sex education class in the Netherlands.

Deschutes Driftwood(en)

A "scenic picture from a hobo's point of view".

Wright's Law(en)

Every now and then, we get a teacher who doesn't just connect with us -- they make us a better person in the world. Jeffrey Wright of Louisville, Ky. is one of those teachers. He uses wacky experiments to teach high school kids about science and the universe. But it's his own personal story about his relationship with his disabled son that shows his students the true meaning of life.

Trickle Down Town(en)

Tomasz Biernacki’s thought-provoking documentary about the homeless crisis in Seattle. Deftly interweaving in-depth stories of community members who are living the crisis on the streets with interviews of political leaders and community advocates, vivid images of the current state of affairs and a poignant examination of the roots of homelessness in the region, Biernacki paints a picture of a city struggling to come to grips with an unprecedented emergency, and finds a few glimmers of hope.

Cows Knocked Up by Fog(de)

Catchy mix of farce and documentary. Portrait of a Berlin theatre company made up entirely of the homeless, alcoholics and junks. They call themselves ‘rats’ and take the film over to have a party.

Who Is Bozo Texino?(en)

"Who Is Bozo Texino?" is a film study on the 100-year-old tradition of hobo and railworker graffiti. Mostly shot on freight trips across the western US, the film includes interviews with some of the railroad’s greatest graffiti legends: Colossus of Roads, The Rambler, Herby (RIP) and the granddaddy of them all, Bozo Texino. The film also catches some of the socio-economic history of hobo subculture from its roots after the Civil War to the present day. The range of the interviews, and the film’s style deal with both the clichés and the harsh realities of tramp life.

Outside(de)

The film explores the turbulent lives of homeless persons in Cologne, Germany. Through their personal belongings the homeless share with the viewer their memories and emotions, and provide insight into the secrets of survival on the street.

Hobo(en)

John T. Davis stashes a camera in his bedroll, catches out, and rides the rails from Minneapolis to Seattle with Beargrease - a part-time hobo and full time philosopher, who narrates their way through the incredible scenery of the Northwest and gives us his views on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Along the way, the pair meet with several other men living life on the margins.

Plan 9(en)

Plan 9 is the story of Nilbog, a small town with a big story. The beginning of an invasion! However, instead of lasers, space ships, and epic force, these aliens have a different plan for the inhabitants of Earth. To resurrect their dead as their own army set with but one goal… To wipe out all mankind! Only the townsfolk on this Halloween night stand in the way of total domination. From the police department, to those trapped in a convenient store, and even those trying to stay alive in the streets, this night will decide the fates of all who walk the planet and thought they were the top of the food chain.

Die Alpenklinik(de)

After an alleged malpractice that led to the death of his brother, heart surgeon Daniel Guth took the consequences: he gave up his beloved job and retreated into the solitude of nature. At his place of refuge, the Salzburg mountains, the heiress to a private clinic is desperately looking for a capable chief physician. Daniel declines the post, although he finds the woman attractive. When a boy is seriously injured in a bus accident, he is confronted with his trauma again.

The Love Potion(da)

The pharmacist Peter Pille and Colonel Sejrsberg's beautiful niece, Inger, are in love. Unfortunately, the Colonel is against the idea of an engagement and generally detests men who court young girls. Peter Pille finds out that the Colonel's negative attitude is due to jealousy and envy, because he himself has never really had luck with the ladies. Maybe a homemade love potion will do the trick? (stumfilm.dk)

Six Reasons Why(en)

In a desolate place called the Badlands, four men stand off with guns drawn, their fingers ready at the trigger. Among them are a fugitive seeking redemption, a son out to avenge his father's murder, a loyal servant with a secret and a murderous criminal hired to kill with a vengeance. This is their story...in a place where revenge, deception and cruelty are a way of life.

Greedy for Tweety(en)

Sylvester Cat chases Tweety Bird into busy city streets as he himself is being chased by a bulldog. All three are in an accident and taken to an animal hospital, each with a broken leg.

Ballistic(en)

A homeless veteran discovers his sister's killer is back on the streets after being released from prison earlier than expected, sending him on a downward spiral of vengeance.

Romeo a Julie na konci listopadu(cs)

When sixty-year-old Karel Pluhař meets Marie, a woman who is unhappy in many ways, he feels that if he seizes this opportunity, regardless of petty interests and inhibitions, he may find himself on the threshold of new happiness.

FF(en)

A short film made “for fun” that plays with surreal and evocative imagery

About Our Astronauts(ru)

Three cosmonauts bid farewell to their loved ones and embark on a journey into space, where they encounter discoveries in uncharted territory yet to be explored by humankind.

Bardot et Godard(fr)

A documentary short following director Jean-Luc Godard on the set of Contempt.

The Wakeful Sleeper(fr)

B., a film-maker and insomniac, decides to rescue his hours of insomnia from the void by filming his quest for sleep. The insomniac asks questions about these different states of consciousness and about the difficulties humans have in synchronising their social rhythms and biological ones.

The Goal Is To Live(en)

The Goal Is To Live is an infinitely-looping assemblage constructed out of repurposed content from the popular show How It’s Made, which chronicles the factories that create everyday objects. The film takes Dina Kelberman’s practice of accumulation and recontextualization into a large-scale time-based work for the first time. Reorganizing short clips into a long Rube-Goldberg-like narrative, and featuring a hypnotic minimalist soundtrack by Rod Hamilton and Tiffany Seal, the film portrays a mesmerizing and surreal process in which materials are transformed in myriad ways.

The Last Days of Contrition(en)

“The Last Days of Contrition (35 minutes black and white 1988) is an exploration of the Canadian and American landscapes, and the relationship between the two. The narrative deals with a journey through timeless, vacant American landscapes (baseball stadiums, Venice Beach, Mojave Desert, and a US Missile Base). The photographic strategy is influenced by a consciousness of light, a quintessential characteristic of American photography. I documented the American landscape in the tradition of the early formalist photographers (Walker Evans, Paul Strand, etc.) allowing there to be content in form. The Last Days of Contrition straddles two cultural forces while developing an understanding about our Canadian origins and muses. (RK)

Heat Spell(fr)

A hot summer day. A half-unpacked house. A mother who needs room to breathe, and a child who needs space to truly exist. As the afternoon heat turns oppressive, time seems to move entirely differently for each person.

Recurring(en)

The subconscious of a man try to recollect the idea of himself.

Il suono della voce(it)

Sissy Sheriff(en)

After losing 12 sheriffs in twelve days, the town of Lizzard Gizzard Gulch makes Woody sheriff number 13, with the task of arresting notorious bank robber Dirty McNasty.