Playing Hard

Against a background of war breaking out in Europe and the Mexican fiesta Day of Death, we are taken through one day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin, a British consul living in alcoholic disrepair and obscurity in a small southern Mexican town in 1939. The consul's self-destructive behaviour, perhaps a metaphor for a menaced civilization, is a source of perplexity and sadness to his nomadic, idealistic half-brother, Hugh, and his ex-wife, Yvonne, who has returned with hopes of healing Geoffrey and their broken marriage.

In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption.

When Benny's younger brother, Loren, suddenly reappears after being missing for months, the two are forced to reckon with the drastically different ways they have chosen to live their lives.

The story of a saxophonist with delusions of persecution that is being destroyed little by little by means of alcohol, drugs and sex. A story by Cortázar inspired by the life of Charlie Parker, it shows a fragmented narration and remarkable formal aspects.

When Hollywood starlet Morgan Carter passes out from alcohol poisoning on the red carpet of her movie premiere, she is whisked away to rehab, then sent to live with an aunt to complete her recovery in rural Indiana. There, she attends high school - changing her name and look to fit in-and live the life of a typical teenager, complete with the mysteries of geography, gym class, real friendship, love and jealousy.

Vera is a troubled teenager fresh out of school feeling trapped in her provincial port town during the turbulent times of perestroika. Her days and nights are filled with drinking, sex, and family dysfunction.

Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison.

Naples, 1959. Pure Mathematics professor Renato Caccioppoli, Bakunin's grandson, is a tortured soul. Recently discharged from the psychiatric hospital, left by his wife, and increasingly disillusioned with academia and the Communist Party, he lives his last days with painful detachment.

After the tragic loss of her husband Ron, Lily finds herself navigating a challenging new reality with her son Kevin. As they settle into a modest apartment, Lily's encounter with their neighbor Marty brings up an unexpected revelation about Ron's suspicious death. Marty is an alcoholic and his passion for music is only surpassed by his love for his daughter Chloe. When Lily delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Ron's demise, she forms a bond with his co-worker Angela. Together, they unravel a web of deceit involving patent theft and corporate sabotage, leading to a confrontation…

Antti "Zombie" Autiomaa does two things well: play the bass guitar and drink. After several months' sleeping on the streets of Istanbul, he returns to Helsinki where he's called into the army but discharged on mental health grounds after adding turpentine to the officers' soup. Zombie lives bleary-eyed in an apartment off his parents' house where his lonely, unemployed father suffers from heart disease. His girl-friend Marjo has taken up with a hairdresser but comes back to Zombie. His friend Harri hires him as a roadie for his band "Harry and the Mulefukkers" then gives him a chance as a bass player. He has his girl and he has a gig, but can Zombie put the bottle down?

Two contrasting social groups get in touch: three architects and three street urchins, all struggling for survival.

When not serving regulars at a pub in the middle of a sleepy northern Moravian village, thirtysomething Maruna spends time with hesitant Jura and naïve outsider Olin – or fighting with her imperious mother. Lightened with a touch of black humor, this laconic village drama is the directorial debut of the artistic director of Prague’s Dejvice Theater who gave the members of his ensemble a one-of-a-kind acting opportunity in film.