Waira

Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.

In this story inspired by real characters, three girls from America, Nigeria and India are trafficked through an elaborate global network and enslaved in a Texas brothel, and must together attempt a daring escape to reclaim their freedom.

Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.

A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.

Zoë is a single mother who lives with her four children in Dartford. She is poor and can't afford to buy food. One day her old flame drives by and asks her to go on a date with him. Scared that he doesn't want to go out with her, she lies and tells him that she is just babysitting the kids. This will be her first date in years.

A single mistake puts a 19-year old girl behind bars, where she experiences the terrors and torments of women in prison.

In a series of three vignettes, three women in turn struggle to free themselves from the men who restrict their personal freedom.

In 1825, Clare, a 21-year-old Irish convict, chases a British soldier through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. She enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.

Passionate and innovative teacher Ron Clark leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to the students, he must use unconventional methods, including his ground-breaking classroom rules, to help them reach their potential. Based on a true story.

Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.

An equal rights crusader, journalist and activist: Gloria Steinem embodies these and more. From her role in the revolutionary women's rights movement to her travels throughout the U.S. and around the world, Steinem has made an everlasting mark on modern history. A nontraditional chronicle of a trailblazing life.

A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.

After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

In a time of starvation, a survivalist lives off a small plot of land hidden deep in forest. When two women seeking food and shelter discover his farm, he finds his existence threatened.

A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.

Henry Tawes, a middle-aged sheriff in a rural Tennessee town, is usually the first man to criticize others for their bad behavior. Miserable in his marriage, Henry falls in love with teenage seductress Alma, who is the daughter of local criminal and moonshiner Carl McCain. Henry's moral character comes further into question when he is tempted to conceal Carl's crimes in order to prolong his relationship with Alma.

When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.

A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.

Another Great Night follows Lia as she walks home alone after a night out, a journey fraught with risk and harassment. This film shows a condensed version of the many hazards that can befall women as they navigate often unfriendly and dangerous terrain, simply wishing to make their way home. Another great night? Well, that depends on your perspective.

In a dystopian city, where women are merely the possession of men, the 17-year-old Valentina escapes from Zéro’s grasp. Vulnerable and alone, she gets rescued by Alex, the leader of a group of young, strong women who fight together against the injustice in the world.

Left alone while the city rains, two bachelors welcome a new housemate into their home, only for a small incident over a single cigarette to turn the living space miserable. As tensions rise, one of the old housemates is pushed into emotional exhaustion and slowly begins to take on qualities of love and care, reflecting Azhagi’s nature. What unfolds is not a fight, but a quiet transformation shaped by ego, miscommunication, and emotional imbalance.

Living in a small rural town, with little available emotional help around her, a young woman returns for a visit to her therapist. She finally receives a profoundly symbolic message, guiding her to find answers and solutions while living in a toxic relationship.

'Ad Meliora' (translation: Towards Better Things) is an experimental short film about the struggles girls go through growing up in a male dominated society.

In an insurrectionary climate, four twenty-year-old friends talk about politics. As a big protest looms, one of them, Clara, has to write a college essay. Caught in the virtual images and the comfort of her bedroom, going out is harder than expected.

Dedicated and respected criminal psychiatrist Jake Morrison is trained to help individuals cope with trauma. In one of his most bizarre cases, Jake finds himself going down a road that he never imagined. The NYPD's newest inmate, Leigh, is a woman scarred by a devastating childhood. She witnessed her mother's brutal murder at the hands of the woman who raised her from then on. Victoria is a ruthless drug lord who forces Leigh to live a life ruled by lies, betrayal and murder. Only when Leigh meets Greg does she start to understand the true meaning of love, but it might be too late.

New York, 2010. Jeff Harris, a music journalist, sets out to uncover the truth about Francisco Tenório Júnior, a young Brazilian samba-jazz pianist who disappeared in Buenos Aires on March 18, 1976.

A destitute Frank Sinatra pursues sultry starlet Ava Gardner while campaigning for the lead in 'From Here to Eternity'.

Ten girls are waiting for arrival of the train. We find out from the conductor that it is delayed indefinitely. We spy on the girls from the outside and they figure it out. While they are telling their stories, sharing their problems and concerns, we are all waiting for the train. Will the train arrive? Where are they going and what are they really waiting for?

After sudden eviction by their prejudiced landlord, transwomen Laila and Roshni must put their wits together to find a home and reclaim their place in society.

The 43rd edition screens Neighbors, with five segments about the theme “neighbors”: not only about physical proximity, but also about relationships. In Brazil, Olga is a 90-year-old black woman who lost her husband one year ago; her neighbors, who come from different parts of the world, interrupt her grief. In Russia, an employee tries so hard to please his boss that he becomes inconvenient. An Indian woman, with the help of her male friend, decides to learn how to drive, an uncommon practice for women in the country. In China, an elderly, owner of an old and decadent barbershop, argues with his son, who wants to change the business. In South Africa, a group of homeless fights for the right to housing.

‘Recrudescence’ takes place in a gothic, dystopian reality wherein a patriarchal judiciary removes the anger of women within whom it is deemed excessive. This is the case for Audrey, a writer of philosophy. But when Audrey’s husband tries to capitalise on her state, her anger returns in an unusual form...

Five random strangers find themselves trapped in an elevator in the World Trade Center's North Tower on 9/11. They work together, never giving up hope, to try to escape before the unthinkable happens.

Three women navigate their way through life and love.

Mexican aviation exec Renato is shocked to learn that he has an American half-brother he never knew about: free-spirited Asher. They are forced on a road trip together, tracing the path their father took from Mexico to the U.S.

Through a campaign of fabulous surprise attacks, an underground band of radical queer HIV+ activists, addicts, and drag queens take to the streets of New York City to combat conservative politicians and government apathy towards the AIDS crisis.

While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-gotten fortune.

After being raised in an Oklahoma orphanage, 15 year-old Donald makes his way to California during the depression. He meets Emogene, the daughter of poor migrant farm laborers, and together they set out to break the cycle of poverty and ignorance.

Two actresses take us through a series of 'raps' and sketches about what it means to be beautiful and black.