Bastards in Paradise

The White Countess(en)

In 1930s Shanghai, 'The White Countess' is both Sofia, a fallen member of the exiled Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American diplomat who asks Sofia to be the centerpiece of the world he wants to create.

The Steel Trap(en)

Joseph Cotten plays an assistant bank manager who steals $1,000,000 from the safe late on a Friday and then plans to flee to Brazil over the weekend.

Sebastiane(la)

Rome, AD 303. Emperor Diocletian demotes his favourite, Sebastian, from captain of the palace guard to the rank of common soldier and banishes him to a remote coastal outpost where his fellow soldiers, weakened by their desires, turn to homosexual activities to satisfy their needs. Sebastian becomes the target of lust for the officer Severus, but repeatedly rejects the man's advances. Castigated for his Christian faith, he is tortured, humiliated and ultimately killed.

There Will Be Spring(fi)

Late 40’s after the war. Strange languaged and religioned immigrants fleeing from Karelia region are hated by Finns in the countryside. 19-year old Anni is living her life wanting to forget the war and hostility surrounding her. Falling in love with a man who hasn’t left fighting, threatens Anni’s whole family’s future and hope for mutual forgiveness..

The Book of Fish(ko)

When the scholar Jeong Yak-jeon is exiled to Heuksando Island during the Catholic Persecution of 1801, he decides to write a fish-based encyclopaedia.

The Man Without a Country(en)

This short film tells the story of a disgraced U.S. army officer who is charged with treason. At his court martial he is sentenced to lifetime exile aboard American ships at sea, no crew member can mention anything about the United States within his hearing, and in the books he is allowed to read all references to the United States are removed.

Doc's Kingdom(en)

An angry young man goes to Europe to find his father, a '60s radical turned doctor in exile.

Memoirs of a Strangler of Blondes(pt)

First film by Julio Bressane shot in exile, "Memoirs" is a film about a man who repeatedly kills the same type of woman in same places, the same way. Filmed on the streets of London.

Gracias a la Vida (o la Pequeña Historia de una Mujer Maltratada)(es)

The story of a Chilean refugee, marked by imprisonment and torture, illustrates the tragedy suffered by victims of violence in Latin America during the years of dictatorship.

Front Row(uk)

Bertolt Brecht asked whether there would be singing in the dark times. In the throes of war, the United Ukrainian Ballet Company defiantly insists there will be dancing, too. Far from the land they call home, young dancers take quiet comfort from art. For a while, their work feels like the old days, except there is a new troupe member: a soldier learning to dance with prosthetic legs.

Bin nur ein Jonny(de)

Dead Letter Office(en)

After years of having her letters to her estranged father come back as undeliverable, a young woman takes a job at a Dead Letter Office. She hopes to figure out how to locate her father. Unexpectedly, she finds a potential romance and begins to learn more about herself.

The Colonel's Stray Dogs(en)

In 1981, seven Libyan exiles formed the core opposition group to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Thirty years later, they are back to their country only to inherit the mess he left. The film is an intricate blend of rare first-hand accounts, propaganda archival material turned on its head, evocative cinematography and an untold history of a country.

Bakasuran(ta)

A street performer is on a killing spree and a retired army man turned YouTuber tracks an online sex racket parallely. How do their lives connect and what is the street performer really seeking?

Vedikkettu(ml)

Two island communities constantly fight each other but unite once a year for a festival. However, everything begins to change when a love story blooms between the rival groups.

I’m Glad to Be Alive(ja)

Professional boxer Sota Kusunoki has gained popularity for his fighting style, where he goes headlong into his opponents. However, years of fighting have taken their toll on his body, and he is forced to retire by a doctor's stoppage. He takes the opportunity of his retirement to marry his girlfriend, Sachiko, and start a new life, but he is completely useless in society and is made acutely aware of the harsh reality of his situation. One day, a mysterious man who claims to be a fan of Sota's receives an offer to fight in an underground martial arts tournament, where he will fight for a large sum of money and where his desires are thriving... The prospect of fighting once again revives his almost forgotten excitement, and his adrenaline surges as if to fill the emptiness in him. Will the madness and honesty of a man obsessed with fighting have a happy ending or a bad one?

Solidago(en)

Recollecting her youth during the 'Baby Scoop Era', Edith looks back on Solidago, an all-female rural community she was sent to in order to give birth to a child conceived outside of marriage.

The Foster Child(en)

Mr. and Mrs. Caspar, home-loving, industrious people, long for a little one to bless their lives and their home. Their hopes are not in vain. One night, when they are sitting in the quiet, they hear the voice of a baby. Mr. Caspar, opening the door, finds a deserted child lying on the door-step. Tenderly lifting it in his arms, he brings it to his wife, who cares and nurtures it with a mother's love. Their adopted child is just one year old when a son is born to Mrs. Caspar, and an added joy comes to bless their union.

The Black Sheep(en)

You would think that the death of his wife through his dissipation and neglect would have brought Jack Moreland to his senses. Instead he is more dissipated, and deserts his child, Clara, who is taken by her uncle, Harold Moreland, and brought up in ignorance of her father's existence.