The Traces of Light

No Hard Feelings(de)

Parvis, the son of exiled Iranians, copes with life in his small hometown by indulging himself with pop culture, Grindr dates, and raves. After being caught shoplifting, he is sentenced to community service at a refugee shelter where he meets siblings Banafshe and Amon, who have fled Iran. As a romantic attraction between Parvis and Amon grows, the fragile relationship between the three is put to a test.

Kandahar(en)

After an Afghanistan-born woman who lives in Canada receives a letter from her suicidal sister, she takes a perilous journey through Afghanistan to try to find her.

Taste of Cherry(fa)

A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim student, asking them to take on the job, but initially he has little luck. Eventually, Badii finds a man who is up for the task because he needs the money, but his new associate soon tries to talk him out of committing suicide.

Salaam Cinema(fa)

Makhmalbaf puts an advertisement in the papers calling for an open casting for his next movie. However when hundreds of people show up, he decides to make a movie about the casting and the screen tests of the would-be actors.

The Cow(fa)

An old villager deeply in love with his cow goes to the capital for a while. While he's there, the cow dies and now the villagers are afraid of his possible reaction to it when he returns.

Bitter Dream(en)

For forty years, Esfandiar has been unconcernedly preparing corpses for the journey to their final resting place. One day, whilst preparing a burial service, he's taken ill. Might he too be mortal?

Where Is The Friend's House?(fa)

An 8-year-old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.

Blackboards(fa)

Itinerant Kurdish teachers, carrying blackboards on their backs, look for students in the hills and villages of Iran, near the Iraqi border during the Iran-Iraq war. Said falls in with a group of old men looking for their bombed-out village; he offers to guide them, and takes as his wife Halaleh, the clan's lone woman, a widow with a young son. Reeboir attaches himself to a dozen pre-teen boys weighed down by contraband they carry across the border; they're mules, always on the move. Said and Reeboir try to teach as their potential students keep walking. Danger is close; armed soldiers patrol the skies, the roads, and the border. Is there a role for a teacher? Is there hope?

Moscow(ru)

Moscow, the 90s ... A city without a past and without a future. A city that doesn't forgive mistakes. Showing Moscow bohemia, the criminal business: nightlife, easy money, excitement and confusion form the surface of this life. The main characters of the film are businessman Mike and his friend and partner in smuggling Lev, a psychiatrist Mark and his school friend Irina who became the mistress of a nightclub, her two daughters - a crazy Olga working in the same club as a singer, and Masha - the “Moscow Princess” on the threshold of her thirtieth birthday. Love stories smoothly flow into a crime drama.

Endless(en)

A lonesome man at the threshold of death finds himself trapped in a place called the Endless.

Esther's Choice(en)

Esther, a film composer going through a dry spell, moves in with her boyfriend Michael only to find out that he still keeps his Ex-girlfriend's belongings in his closet. What follows is an emotional roller coaster of a film exploring the great lengths an artist chooses to go to for the sake of inspiration.

Ambrosia(en)

Ambrosia is the story of an Iranian-Canadian couple, Ali and Leila, who dream of an exciting future in Vancouver: Ali owns a pizza shop and thinks of expanding and Leila is an up-and-coming clothing designer. However, their situations change dramatically when Ali's shop is affected by bad economy and Leila is hired to work at a fashion design firm.

Nudes in Limbo(en)

The video is a series of short pieces of very buff nude people. The models don't speak, and the backgrounds are solid colors, with no decorations to let you know where the models are. So these nudes are, if not truly in limbo, certainly no place you can describe. In each short piece, the model is/models are performing some G-rated activity that shows off their body: a gymnast man works out on the hanging rings, two women hold in front of them a gauzy cloth that is being blown by an off-camera fan, a blonde runs a fluorescent tube down the length of her body, etc.

Pink Hill(en)

Four friends spend a final summer together tangled in a web of sexual obsession, alienation and magic.

The Bright Day(fa)

THE BRIGHT DAY weaves a story that has its roots in the complexity of Iran’s draconian laws governing capital punishment. A kindergarten teacher hopes to aid the father of one of her young students, a man accused of manslaughter, by convincing each of seven reluctant witnesses to come forward. No one lacks a hidden agenda in this drama in which shades of truth collide with self-interest and the specter of payback. (Gene Siskel Film Center)

The Arrival(de)

The first of Peter Tscherkassky's Cinemascope trilogy of short films is a fragmented glimpse of images pulsating with chaotic rhythm as they fight white margins for room in his palette. Mirrored frames being split by white margin and trying to reassemble again like the poles of a magnet, a train approaching station and colliding with itself in white-hot blistering chaos.

Still Life(fa)

A railway crossing guard and his wife live in a routine of total isolation and uneventfulness.

Jours de mes années(xx)

An experimental short film that evokes moments in the life of a man recreated through the magic of memory. Made from documents from various sources, this film is composed of several scenes: the stages of the day and of life between joy and carefree youth, the cruelty of the working world, the horror of war. The final result is put into perspective with the birth of a child, perpetuating the cycle of life.

The Sale(fa)

Forough is a middle aged woman whose husband has temporarily married with another woman. Even though that was kept secret from her, but his action is considered legal in Iran. Now the husband is in prison, due to not being able to pay second wife’s “Mehrieh” (the bride’s marriage portion).The second wife intends to receive her Mehrieh by asking the court’s permission to sell his house. Forough, the first wife, in order to not lose her home, intends to sell all she has to pay for her husband’s debt and release him from the jail.

Untying the Knot(en)

Jafar Panahi's short film, shot with one uninterrupted long take, about siblings trying to sell a carpet in need of money.

Hundred to One Hundred(fa)

Hundred to one hundred (Persian: صدبرابرصد‎‎) is a 1995 Iranian film written and directed by Hossein Shahabi (Persian: حسین شهابی)

1:11(pl)

Tomek is a young doctor specialised in obstetrics sonography. He lives lost among the women around him. One night he is abruptly woken up by a dead call from his father. This seemingly unimportant event gradually gains significance.

The Secret Six(en)

Bootlegger/cafe owner, Johnny Franks recruits crude working man Scorpio to join his gang, masterminded by crooked criminal defense lawyer Newton. Scorpio eventually takes over Frank's operation, beats a rival gang, becomes wealthy, and dominates the city for several years until a secret group of six masked businessmen have him prosecuted and sent to the electric chair.

Reggae Boyz(de)

Plagued with poverty and violence, Jamaica tries to inspire its populace by qualifying their national team, the 'Reggae Boyz', for the World Cup. When their efforts start to fall short, Winnie Schäfer, a colorful German coach, teams up with reggae musicians to unite Jamaica beyond the soccer pitch.

Mishimasaiko(fr)

Mishima lives in the shadows surrounded by worms in his underground lair. Early one morning, he discovers a rose in the sun in which the beautiful Saiko awakens. Mishima will do everything he can to satisfy her needs. But worms are not supposed to live in the sun...

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 Lord of the Rings the Musical - Original London Production - Promotional Documentary(en)

This 15-minute DVD follows the adaptation of LOTR for the stage, and features rehearsal and show footage of the initial production in Toronto as well as interviews with the creative team now preparing for the London production.

Magoo's Glorious Fourth(en)

It's the Fourth of July and Mr. Magoo is ready to kick it off safely and sanely forbidding Waldo to set off any firecrackers. Instead, he opts to celebrate by planting flowers in his garden. Unfortunately, he goes to a fireworks stand instead of a flower stand and purchases some fireworks thinking them to be flowers. He even plants them in his garden, no less! Of course, they are eventually set off with a series of explosions, Waldo panicking the whole time. After the fiasco, Magoo decides to soothe Waldo's panic by letting him set off one firecracker after which Waldo is sent to a jail by a policeman who accuses him of starting the fireworks catastrophe.

Maria(is)

María has fled her home of Germany in the wake of the aftermath of the second world war and comes to Iceland to work on a farm.

Dad Jokes(en)

A kid asks his father a question about relationships, yet he finds the answer Herherrifying.

Siempre la duda(es)

The War in Paris(fr)

In Paris, in 1943, Jules, a 19-year-old Jew, lived without an ideal, tossed about by circumstances. He becomes in turn a traitor then a hero. Thomas, his fifteen-year-old brother, wants to act and fight in resistance.

NEW AKINA Étranger Akina Nakamori in Europe(ja)

NEW AKINA Étranger Akina Nakamori in Europe is the first video release released by Nakamori Akina. It was released on October 12, 1983.

Lost in the Shuffle(en)

Featuring two-time world champion magician Shawn Farquhar, this documentary explores the unique relationship between the art of magic and playing cards.

Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider(en)

This documentary chronicles the life of expatriate writer Paul Bowles through archival footage, photos and interviews with the author, who talks about his writing, his friendships with artists such as Tennessee Williams and Aaron Copland and more. Shot in Tangier, Morocco (Bowles's longtime home), this revealing portrait sketches out Bowles's rebellious life story, including his love relationships with men and women, his drug use and his music. - Paul Bowles, Edouard Roditi, Allen Ginsberg

Box(en)

The execution was scheduled and the last meal consumed. The coolness of the poisons entering the blood system slowed the heart rate and sent him on the way to Judgement. He had paid for his crime with years on Death Row waiting for this moment and now he would pay for them again as the judgment continued..

Cine Gibi 8: ...Tá Brincando?(pt)

There are eight episodes in stories full of adventure and play in the neighborhood of Limoeiro, with a new car ride, lost treasure, art exhibition in the square, puppet theater, an unexpected escape from Cascão (again?), Characters Saltimbancos and a lot more.