Diagnosed with ovarian cancer, iron-willed journalist Sheng Nan (“Surpass Men” in Chinese) is pressured to make a quick fortune and find mind-blowing sex before the costly surgery numbs her senses. Taking on a businessman’s biography writing job, she hikes into the misty mountains, where a chain of outbursts with her dysfunctional family, grumpy client, misogynistic co-worker and dreamlike romantic interest hilariously unfold. As deeply moving as it is luminously witty, writer-director Teng Congcong’s debut waltzes across the bitterness swallowed by her generation of women born under China’s One Child Policy, unprecedentedly burdened to “surpass men” while trying not to be “leftover women” at the same time. Saluting the 18th-century Chinese literature classic Dream of the Red Chamber in its title, the enchanting gem refreshes the novel’s transcendent contemplation on desire, death and womanhood from a modern cinematic perspective.
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Ex-championship diver Victoras whiles away his days on the Greek coast, toiling away at a factory with only his dreams, medals and grandmother for company. When a phone call summons him to Germany, a simple road trip is the answer – that is until he crosses paths with the handsome Mathias – a free-spirited hitchhiker who tempts Victoras to take the road not taken.
Four people are affected by one man’s disappearance: Lucette, his wife, who anxiously awaits his return; Louis, a young father whose relationship with his wife is going through confusing times; Chantal, a hotel receptionist who dreams of sharing her life with someone else; Marcel, an ex-gambler confronted by the realities of aging.
Riva is an operator, a man with charm and ambition in equal measure. Kinshasa is an inviting place. With petrol in short supply in DRC’s capital, he and his sidekick pursue a plot to get hold of a secret cache – barrels of fuel they can sell for a huge profit. Of course they’re not the only ones who want the stuff.
Suspension from school, the loss of a friend, a broken heart and lack of inspiration lead to Maude’s downfall in this romp through teenage error. Your teenage years are never easy… but for Maude, things couldn’t be worse. Within one week, she is suspended from school, stranded by her best friend, dumped by the boy she loved and inherits an enormous amount of money with the passing of her grandmother– only to be claimed under one condition: Maude must prove by age 18 that she knows exactly what to do with her life. But with her 18th birthday rapidly approaching, Maude must dive into a world of self-discovery or else lose the inheritance.
The story of a young man, D, as he returns to his Oakland neighborhood after serving two years in prison for a robbery gone wrong. In the days after his release, we are taken into D’s world while he navigates the harsh realities that plague his inner city community. His judgment is tested by the insidious influences around him, forcing D to decide what direction to take his life.
