She Smiles Back

In the Switch Tower

March 1915 •English

IN THE SWITCH TOWER stars Walter Edwards (who also directed) as Bill Wharton, a middle-aged alcoholic who was once a leading engineer with a railroad. Wharton is estranged from his son Joel (Frank Borzage), who now works as an executive with the railroad, but Frank does send him money through Bill's longtime friend, Louis Hall (Robert Hall).

Monangambeee

January 1968 •French

Filmmaker-griot coming from the theater, it was with a camera, while the war in Vietnam occupied everyone's minds, that Sarah Maldoror gave visibility to the African wars of decolonization: Angola, Guinea Bissau, French Guinea, Cape Verde... Her short film Monangambée addresses the torture by the Portuguese army of a sympathizer of the Angolan resistance. At the end of editing, Sarah Maldoror approached the members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago during a Parisian concert and offered to add sound to her film. The next day they watched the film, were convinced and recorded their first soundtrack for free as evidence of African-American solidarity. Shot in Algiers, Monangambée is a film about torture and, more broadly, about the incomprehension between the colonized and the colonizers. It is based on a novel by the Angolan writer Luandino Vieira, then imprisoned by the Portuguese colonial power.

Trying Not To Explode

April 2015 •English

A short film about the aftermath of a spontaneous human combustion. Based on the short story 'Blowing Up On The Spot' by Kevin Wilson.

Mutism

December 2019 •English

Can Apollo speak? An opportunity to make friends arise after receiving his first invite to a party.

Who Goes There?

February 2020 •English

Minnesota 1880: The trust of three Norwegian sisters is tested when a stranger appears on their prairie. When the eldest invites him in to heal her dying sister, she doesn’t realize that a supernatural force is crossing her threshold.

Catcave Hysteria

June 2023 •Swedish

A friendship is at stake when love comes in the way. A hurtful conversation is overheard. The bond between two sisters breaks when a bloody secret is revealed. The girls' bathroom is a place full of conflict that forces the truth to the surface. But it is at the same time forgiving and accepting.

Mr. Dorothy

December 2009 •English

A fairytale revenge story by Gabriel Bisset-Smith.

Till Dark

May 2015 •English

A teen boy's obsession with his childhood best friend reaches a peak when he discovers she's been spending time with the other member of their trio.

Yes, God, Yes

April 2017 •English

Fifteen-year-old Alice has always been a good Catholic, but when an innocent AOL chat turns unexpectedly racy, she finds herself suddenly obsessed with sex.

Pigtails

October 2015 •Japanese

The earth shook. The sea roared. And then… There is a small house solitary standing by the seaside. A young girl has been living there alone since that fateful day. Mail is no longer delivered, but even this morning, she’s hanging out the laundry as usual. She’s unaware that all around her, the clothes pegs are quarreling, the pillow argues with the umbrella about the outside world, and the new toothbrush is unsuccessfully trying to charm the grumpy older ones. Do objects exist to be used until they are consumed or broken? Are they afraid of being thrown away once their life cycle is complete? A delicate story of hope in a cruel and gentle world after an unnamed disaster.

너는 밤이다

January 2021 •Korean

Dajang Soembi, the Woman Who Was Married to a Dog

February 2004 •Indonesian

Silent short (with music and inter-titles) telling an old Indonesian folk tale of a princess who ends up married to a dog.

The Sad House

July 2013 •Spanish

The story of a family told through objects found in junk shops and flea markets.

Flipped

November 2001 •English

Short comedy

Loop

January 2024 •English

Everything seems to be stuck in an endless loop. Everything seems to be stuck in an endless loop. Everything seems to be stuck in an endless loop. Everything seems to be stuck in an endless loop...

A Very Slow Breakfast

October 2003 •Indonesian

When a boy is too confused to speak with his non-communicative family, words eventually lose their meaning. He decides to communicate with his dandruff and a cup of cold coffee instead. His father ignores these eccentricities, assuming it is just a ploy to get attention. Meanwhile, the boy's sister likes exercising seductively in front of men and is better able to capture her father's attention than her brother. Their mother is oblivious, perpetually talking to people on her mobile phone and the space the family occupies grows narrower and narrower.

Rachel

September 2019 •English

When a rare chance for a meeting with her estranged daughter presents itself, Rachel grabs it with both hands.

Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man

May 2000 •English

A child is born. We see underwater swimmers representing this. He is young, in a jungle setting, with two fanciful "instincts" guiding him as swooping bird-like acrobats initially menace, then delight. As an adolescent, he enters a desert, where a man spins a large cube of metal tubing. He leaves his instinct-guides behind, and enters a garden where two statues dance in a pond. As he watches their sensual acrobatics of love, he becomes a man. He is offered wealth (represented by a golden hat) by a devil figure. In a richly decorated room, a scruffy troupe of a dozen acrobats and a little girl reawaken the old man's youthful nature and love.

Contestant #4

October 2016 •Tagalog

A young boy frequently visits an old man who lives alone, keeping him always in good company. One night, he chances upon the old man watching a dated clip of himself as a cross-dressing boy. This sparks within the young boy an interest to find out more about the old man's past. What he ultimately discovers aids both him and the old man towards a richer understanding of how the weight of life and identity should be carried.

The Agency

November 2017 •English

Adapted from the acclaimed short story by Man Brooker Prize Nominee Sarah Hall. The Agency is a modern and stylish take on middle class female empowerment, amidst the social sub-culture, described collectively as "ladies who lunch". Disillusioned with a decade of domesticity, housewife Hannah Baines (Ania Sowinski), is befriended by an enigmatic older woman Anthea (Lesley Manville,) who introduces a select and seductive inner circle of women. In confidence, Anthea recommends a private and reliable company who "can set up something marvellous" for her. Hannah contemplates the implications of attending her initial consultation, at The Agency.