All Films

National Geographic: China's Lost Girls

2004 • 43 min

National Geographic Ultimate Explorer host Lisa Ling examines the consequences of China's two-decades-old "one-child policy," designed to curb the country's exploding population. Due to cultural, social, and economic factors, traditional preference leans toward boys, so girls are often hidden, aborted, or abandoned. As a result, tens of thousands of girls end up in orphanages across China. Today, more than one quarter of all babies adopted from abroad by American families come from China—and nearly all are girls. Ling joins some of these families as they travel to China to meet their new daughters for the first time. Along this emotional journey, she shares in the joy of these growing families and also witnesses firsthand China's gender gap, its roots, and its possible repercussions. Join Ling as she explores the many complex issues surrounding China's attempt to slow its swelling tide of humanity.

Let's Love Hate

2004 • 6 min • United States of America

Short film about a neighbourhood filled with racial tension.

Call Register

2004 • 13 min • United Kingdom

A guy borrows his best friend's mobile phone in order to call a girl he recently met, but the phone recognizes the number being dialed, leading to a number of awkward and funny complications.

Teenage Bikini Vampire

2004 • 7 min • United States of America

Two worlds collide when a vampire chick falls for a surfer dude.

The Porn King Versus the President

2004 • 56 min

In 2000 George Bush Jr was voted into the White House thanks in part to the massive voting power of the evangelical religious right. In order to repay them for their support, Bush appointed John Ashcroft in the role of Director General. With his opinions including anti-abortion in all cases, opposition to laws that protect ethnic minorities etc Ashcroft horrified liberals but cheered the religious right. One of Ashcroft's first targets was pornography and, in 2003, the FBI ordered four copies of porn films from the website of Extreme Associates. When the material crossed state lines it became a federal issue and Rob Black (owner of EA) was served with 9 indictments. With Ashcroft's job pretty much dependant on Bush returning to office in 2004, this documentary looks at Black's case and the increasing involvement of the religious right in American politics.

No Money, No Sex

2004 • 20 min • Lithuania

Two teenagers are very keen on making love with a girl. The girl cares about money. The boys dont have any. Dissapointed they turn to the streets and wind-up in the middle of an armed robbery. The teenage boys wait for the robbers and steals their loot. Happy they rush back to the girl. Without knowing what the bags of the loot contain.

If Five Kings Were Worth This Queen

2004 • 12 min • France

It follows Jeanne and Nicolas, a couple of seasoned professional poker players, as they prepare for a high-stakes game at an exclusive private club. Jeanne is eager and driven by the thrill of competition, while Nicolas approaches the evening with quiet apprehension, suggesting deeper emotional undercurrents between them.

Minotauromachy

2004 • 10 min • Spain

An imaginary insight into Pablo Picasso's creative mind and painted creatures and characters. We enter in his head and walk with him the intricate maze that was his imagination to find the creatures and stories that populated his psyche and came out when he painted a canvas. His imagination is presented as the myth of the maze and the Minotaur, and some of the characters in the piece are in Picasso's real paintings - his famous dove, the Minotaur, and the ladies of Avignon, among many others.

Troubled Minds: The Lithium Revolution

2004 • 55 min

In a disused hospital pantry in the 1940s, an Australian doctor discovered an astonishing treatment for bi-polar disorder (or manic-depression, as it was then known). It would change the way we think about mental illness and mark the beginning of psychopharmacology - using drugs to manage psychiatric conditions. It would take 20 years of struggle before lithium treatment was finally accepted, but the scientists and psychiatrists who followed Cade's lead persevered. Their work has meant a chance at stability for hundreds of thousands of people around the world, and lithium remains the benchmark for bi-polar treatment today.

A Conversation with John Hench

2004 • 14 min • United States of America

An interview with John Hench.

The War of Apples and Caterpillars

2004 • 9 min • Ukraine

Hordes of green caterpillars dream of delicious and sweet apples. They have already prepared their teeth to hunt for the favorite fruits, as their leader decides to tell necessary instructions and organizes endless columns of his subjects. Will apples endure the war and survive?

Physics II

2004 • 21 min • Spain

Jorge lives in a room without a window, without light, without air, without a way out and with little hope. His father, Andrés, is the doorman of the building. He is about to retire and wants Jorge to keep the job, but Jorge wants to go to university.

The Girl in the Mirror

2004 • 23 min • Portugal

A place where putting red lipstick gives life and a broadcast camera takes it, reclaiming lost girls in endoscopic romances into darkness, where they evaporate, inside empty haute couture dresses.

Oranges

2004 • 12 min • Australia

Two boys are talking after a bicycle accident. The older is bragging about his experience with girls, but is that just a boast?

Light Is Calling

2004 • 8 min • United States of America

A scene from The Bells (1926) is optically reprinted and edited to Michael Gordon's 7 minute composition. A meditation on the fleeting nature of life and love, as seen through the roiling emulsion of a film.

Funny Castle

2004 • 25 min • France, Germany, Italy, South Korea

Since the fearful King Richard left his kingdom in the lurch and fled, the gloomy Zabu master Magnus and the evil witch Grimmalda have been the new rulers of Funny Castle. But it cannot stay that way: a new, brave king must be found! The most daring knights prepare with their squires for the great adventure in Funny Castle - the crown will belong to the most daring. But before the new lord of the castle can move in, all the residents of Funny Castle have to endure many exciting adventures.

Blue Neon Night: Michael Connelly's Los Angeles

2004 • 57 min

Bestselling author Michael Connelly, one of the biggest names in crime fiction, is featured in this documentary as he talks about the city of Los Angeles, its bright side, its dark side, and how it all gives his novels their unique flair. Interspersed within the film are clips showing different spots of the Los Angeles area as William Petersen reads excerpts from the novels. Together, they give Connelly fans an in-depth look into Los Angeles and its influence on the author.

Mars, Dead or Alive

2004 • 57 min • United States of America

NOVA goes behind the scenes at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to offer a look at the construction and launch of two Martian exploratory rovers: "Spirit" and "Opportunity".

Bermuda Triangle: Beneath the Waves

2004 • 60 min

Professor Bruce Denardo attempts to prove whether there is any truth behind the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, where many ships and planes have disappeared in mysterious circumstances. New investigation techniques reveal the truth behind the infamous disappearance of Flight 19. Graham Hawkes is also able to reveal, by using a state-of-the-art submarine, how five wrecks mysteriously wound up 730 feet down in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle.

Sangam

2004 • 28 min • India

Two men from South Asia meet on a New York subway train. One is seeking the American dream and in the process has abandoned his family and culture. The other, now disillusioned by material dreams of success, yearns for meaning and memories from his childhood. Prashant Bhargava’s award-winning short film was described as “an elegant and poetic evocation of immigrant angst, memory and haunted spirituality” by the Village Voice.

Kuuhun ja takaisin - keskioluen tarina

2004 • 39 min • Finland

Documentary about medium strength beer in Finland.

Cinebasura

2004 • 15 min • Argentina

A classic short from FARSA Producciones.

The Case of O

2004 • 22 min • France

Orient is engaged to be married and all is going well until his male ex-lover helps him buy an African statuette as a wedding gift. Can the statuette be trying to bring the boys back together?

The Daddy's Meat

2004 • 5 min • Russia

A gloomy tale or a completely innocent family picnic on the open air ...