In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
An independent woman can't choose between the two men she loves.
Sickan, the leader of the criminal Jönsson gang is incarcerated in a mental institution, attended by Dr M.A. Busé, who admire a handbook in crime that Sickan has been writing. Blackmailed by the nefarious banker Wall-Enberg, Dr Busé and Sickan's partners Vanheden and Dynamite-Harry execute Sickan's plan of stealing the valuable Black Diamond of the Romanovs from the National Museum.
A woman, married and with a child but becoming increasingly distant from her husband who is already cheating on her, reluctantly enters a secret relationship with her neighbor, a teenage boy.
J. is depressed. E. lives peacefully. S. tries to get back with his wife. G. resorts to anxiolytics. P. plays seduction games. María and Sara exchange their husbands. L. calls his lover in a peculiar way.
Seb and Aaron have overspent and built up debts on their credit card. Aaron decides to take matters into his own hands and secretly films their sex life to broadcast online. The money pours in until he gets caught! Realising that the scheme could sort their financial problems, Seb agrees to allow things to continue until they are back in the black. When their friend Jem arrives and suggests a third party might help them make even more cash, things start to get a little tricky....
29-year-old Eban has retreated home to his parent's house in Seaside Oregon after the dissolution of his teaching job in Seattle. There he courts 15-year-old Charlie and eventually the two start a sexual relationship. As the age of consent in Oregon is 18 years and given the age difference, the adults in this drama take a dim view of this development.
In this short movie featuring familiar characters from Azumanga Daioh, Osaka is yet again having a strange dream of Chiyo-Chan's pigtails being posessed. As Chiyo-Chan's pigtails bounce out of the window, who knows if young Chiyo will ever be happy again.
A series of intertwining tales involve "pleasure seekers and pleasure providers" during the course of one night in Geylang, Singapore's red-light district. There are three distinct stories, united only by the presence of characters from all the stories in a streetside eatery:
Santa is allergic to cats, so he has a policy against delivering them as gifts, but little Tommy has been SO good, and all he wants is one small kitty. Santa says OK, but instead of one, the whole litter climbs into the sack. When Santa has a major allergic reaction, the kittens have to take over and deliver the presents on time.
Young judge Thirza Zorniger's dream comes true when she is offered a temporary position at the Higher Regional Court in Munich's historic Palace of Justice. Neither the high expectations of her superior Kaspar Epha nor the mountain of old cases she has to work through can dampen her euphoria.
A Southern librarian puts excitement in her life with a found murder weapon and a false confession.
Historian Steve Humphries examines failures in policies and legislation put in place to protect youngsters from sexual abuse, and discovers radical new solutions proposed by an increasing number of child-protection experts, which challenge deep-rooted attitudes and emotional reactions to paedophiles. Senior lecturer Sarah Goode believes the most promising way to reduce the number of child-abuse cases is to encourage people to seek treatment before they target victims. Her theory is supported by an interview in this programme in which Humphries meets a man who makes an extraordinary confession on camera.
The year is 1938, and Mahatma Gandhi's groundbreaking philosophies are sweeping across India, but 8-year-old Chuyia, newly widowed, must go to live with other outcast widows on an ashram. Her presence transforms the ashram as she befriends two of her compatriots.
Following his son Gabriel’s death, Jorge travels from conservative Bolivia to New York City to confront Gabriel’s boyfriend Sebastian. While the two battle over Jorge’s inability to accept his son, Sebastian channels his grief into a bold new play in honor of his lost love, in which Gabriel’s inner turmoil is transformed into an eye-popping gay fantasia.
The year is 1764. For over a year, Josef has been leading a precarious life in Venice. He hopes to become an opera composer. The city, full of talented and already-established composers, seems closed to him. Looking for work as a violinist, he comes into the orbit of a rich young woman. Thanks to her, he gets the opportunity to play at salons. But his real opportunity arises when he becomes the lover of a libertine marquise. She teaches him worldly manners, rids him of signs of a provincial upbringing and introduces him to a hedonistic existence free from religious intolerance. Thus transformed, Josef gets an incan incredible commission: to write an opera for the San Carlo, Europe's largest theatre.
Laura is still waiting for Prince Charming at the age of 24. So when Sandro appears at a party, exactly like her Prince would in her dreams, she thinks she's found the right one. But then again, when she meets Maxime, Laura starts to wonder if some Princes could be more charming than others? Of course Sandro has problems of his own : his father, Pierre, just bumped into Madam Irma at his father's funeral and this reminded him of the date of his own death which Madame Irma had predicted ages ago. Now Pierre is unable to make any plans, not with his new partner Eleonore, nor with Sandro. And Maxime has his own problems, and so does Eleonore, Marianne, Jacqueline and many others. But don't worry, in the end, they'll all live happily ever after.
Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.
A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.
On an ordinary night, in an ordinary part of town, a beautiful young woman walks into a bar. Her name is Jewel, and before long she is chatting to bartender Randy. The pair leave together, but he ends up getting into a tussle with her criminal boyfriend, who she then shoots dead, later persuading Randy to take the rap for her. But this isn't the end of it, as both Randy's cousin Carl and the detective assigned to the murder case also fall for Jewel's charms and find themselves caught up in the ensuing events. It seems that any man who meets Jewel falls instantly in love with her, and she's going to use this fully to her own advantage, leaving a trail of havoc in her wake. It also seems that she is going to get away with it - that is, until Randy decides to hire a hitman...
Katya Livingston, a self-centered, obnoxious and conceited 28-year-old ad sales exec, won't let anything or anyone stand in her way in getting to the top of the San Francisco social ladder. When tax inspectors question her claims Katya is forced to keep a financial diary and finds time to add details about her friends, enemies and lovers all from her unique point of view.
Priest, a suave top-rung New York City drug dealer, decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. Working with his reluctant friend, Eddie, Priest devises a scheme that will allow him to make a big deal and then retire. When a desperate street dealer informs the police of Priest's activities, Priest is forced into an uncomfortable arrangement with corrupt narcotics officers. Setting his plan in motion, he aims to both leave the business and stick it to the man.
An aspiring poet in 1950s New York has his ordered world shaken when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hell raising hero, Dylan Thomas.
A very jealous man, convinced that his wife is cheating on him, hires a private detective to follow her. Soon after, the detective develops a strong attraction to her target.
Tonya Dela Cruz recounts the story of why she is in prison
A married woman falls in love with a 19-year-old girl, and she has to make a choice between her family and the one who might be the love of her life.
A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.
Ollie falls in love with a woman. When he discovers she's already married, he unsuccessfully attempts suicide but he and Stan then decide to join the Foreign Legion to get away from their troubles. When they’re arrested for soon trying to desert the Legion—they escape a firing squad by stealing an aircraft.
Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.
Still reeling from a heartbreaking family event and his parents' subsequent divorce, Tyler Hawkins discovers a fresh lease on life when he meets Ally Craig, a gregarious beauty who witnessed her mother's death. But as the couple draws closer, the fallout from their separate tragedies jeopardizes their love.
After the funeral of one of their own, a criminal family decides to embark on an emotionally unnerving journey in an attempt to exact bloody revenge.
Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.
A psychiatrist encourages his female patients to tell him their sexual problems, each as each relates her particular case, we see it in flashback.
A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.
In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
The story of a young, gay, black, con artist who, posing as the son of Sidney Poitier, cunningly maneuvers his way into the lives of a white, upper-class New York family.
Finnish porn movie producer Pertsa returns from America to his home country to continue his profession with hopelessly small budgets and incompetent casts and crews. A self-ironic satire about director Donner's scandalous fame in late 1960s Finland, notorious for a graphic long shot of his penis pointing northeast.
Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.
When a mother’s passing brings together her lawyer son and mobster husband.
Simone is a young law student who studies criminal law and advocates for women's rights. On her free time, she's a cam girl that makes live sexual performances on the Internet. One night, she watches a video that awakens her interest in BDSM-related activities, leading her into a series of conflicts dominated by violence and eroticism.