Gutab

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

In a forgotten pocket of Southern Ohio where American manufacturing and opportunity are drying up, a determined young woman finds a ticket out when she is accepted to college. Alongside her older brother, Ruth Avery joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay her way. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the once thriving factories by night. With her goal in sight, Ruth finds that the ultimate cost of an education for a girl like her may be more than she bargained for, and she soon finds herself torn between a promising future and the family she would leave behind.

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.

Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.

After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.

A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.

A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.

An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.

Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.

A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.

The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.

The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.

Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

A Hamlet-inspired tale of two sisters running their late mother's business. When one sister has a run-in with her (presumed to be dead) mother, chaos ensues.

A writer must choose between love and career in the wake of an explosive argument.

After suffering a head injury during training, aspiring footballer Jordan traverses his own mind and memory in order to rediscover his passions and fix his broken relationship with his Coach Father.

Guided by a queer deity, a closeted man is forced to confront his parents as he tries to regain his lost sense of identity.

After a family tragedy, Samuel develops severe agoraphobia and OCD. We follow him as he tries to navigate his solitary life and overcome his crippling illnesses.

An aspiring classical pianist loses his hearing and, with the help of those closest to him, must find the strength to play again. . .

A short film that delves deep into the psyche of young protagonist Will. Follow the intriguing tale of Will as he finds himself captivated and consumed by his obsession with a girl named Bliss.

Luisa from Argentina and Fred from Germany are confronted with their social roles at their wedding. The German tradition of kidnapping the bride shakes the couple’s equality. There is no room for love in this role-play of marriage.

To understand a mysterious man in a Victorian gown who sings praises to God on the streets of contemporary Vancouver, we meet the people who claim to be closest to him.

A gang war at school.

The short musical All my life is a love story that takes place over many years. After 50 years, Maria arrives with her husband at the 50th-anniversary celebration of the choir she belonged to. It turns out that Jan, an old love from her 20s still has strong feelings towards her. Can true love survive all this time?

When a circus trio have a particularly disastrous show, Mandy the Acrobat must decide whether to run away from the circus, or to stay and help her friends.

Elena, a social curator, is entering a new phase of her life as she approaches climacterium. As if it weren’t enough, Erik, a troubled teenager abandoned by his mother, who she mentors, misinterprets some of her gestures and initiates an unexpected sexual encounter in the office toilets. This moment throws them into existential crises, where they both find out their own inappropriate ways to cope. Will Elena pretend nothing happened, or will she finally face the world on her own terms?

Bethany and Sam are friends with a brewing romance that is long overdue. With the making of a student film together over Halloween, this romance becomes realised. However, with this new proximity to Sam, Bethany begins to peel away the layers of a potentially very troubled person.

June and her friends give everything they've got to complete a movie for her college application project.

2003. Martin and Denisija, a young couple from Ukraine, are trying to get to Germany.

Elias is an I.T. technician preparing for an overnight gig. He thinks he's totally alone in the building and is about to find out he's wrong.

Three separate short stories by Jan Drda from the collection The Dumb Barricade: The Dynamite Watchman, Hatred and Traces.