Common Ground

White Mama

March 1980 •English

A poor, elderly white woman living in a tenement in a black ghetto is befriended by a neighborhood boy, and the two of them form a mutually beneficial relationship: he provides her companionship and protection, and she becomes the mother he never had.

Venerable

May 2022 •English

Devastated by a recent loss, Jayne's perseverance is tested by her nuisance husband as she attempts to complete her jigsaw, but as pieces start disappearing she must solve a far more complex puzzle; one she may not like the answer to.

Auntie Danielle

April 1990 •French

Tatie Danielle is a black comedy about a widow who is intent on ruining the lives of her great-nephew and his wife. Tsilla Chelton plays the title character, who mourns the death of her husband by tormenting everyone she meets. Eventually, she moves in with her nephew and his vain wife. Soon, her family is at war with Tatie, and takes off for Greece, leaving her in the care of Sandrine (Isabelle Nanty), an au pair who is as equally bitter as Tatie herself. At first the two don't get along, yet the two eventually become friends. However, Sandrine is invited to accompany an American student for an overnight stay at the beach, which would leave Tatie alone for a night. Angered, Tatie fires Sandrine, and while she is alone, she goes into deep depression, eventually setting the family's apartment on fire. The fire becomes a national story, with Tatie cast as a poor old lady and the family labeled as cruel and heartless villains.

Späte Aussicht

December 2007 •German

Umberto D.

January 1952 •Italian

When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.

Home Sweet Home

January 1973 •French

Jules, a rebellious septuagenarian, foments a revolt in his home ruled by quasi-military rules. He and his twenty supporters will oppose the management, the firefighters and even the gendarmes.

And So It Goes

July 2014 •English

Nobody likes self-centered realtor Oren Little, and he prefers it that way. He's deliberately mean to anyone who crosses his path and wants nothing more than to sell one final house and retire. His life turns upside-down when his estranged son drops off a granddaughter he never knew existed. Suddenly left in charge of her and with no idea how to take care of a child, he pawns the girl off on his neighbor, Leah -- but he eventually learns how to open his heart.

Miss Granny

January 2014 •Korean

An unappreciated old granny magically turns 20 years old again and decides to make the most of her newfound youth.

Echo

June 2019 •Spanish

In 1977, the Voyager probe leaves for the galaxy with a message in Spanish recorded in the RNE (Spanish National Radio Studio). Almost 50 years later and sick with Alzheimer's, Carmen is facing being transferred from her home in her town to a residence in the city.

Never Eat Alone

October 2016 •English

An elderly widow (Joan Benac) starts to wonder what happened to a would-be lover from her past who appeared with her in a live televised drama in the 1950s. After discovering the show in CBC’s archive, her granddaughter Audrey (Deragh Campbell) attempts to try and track the man down.

The Bucket List

December 2007 •English

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing everything they ever wanted to do and an unrealized need to come to terms with who they are. Together they embark on the road trip of a lifetime, becoming friends along the way and learning to live life to the fullest, with insight and humor.

Youth Without Youth

October 2007 •English

Professor of language and philosophy Dominic Matei is struck by lightning and ages backwards from 70 to 40 in a week, attracting the world and the Nazis. While on the run, the professor meets a young woman who has her own experience with a lightning storm. Not only does Dominic find love again, but her new abilities hold the key to his research.

Cocoon

June 1985 •English

When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.

Northeast

May 2005 •Spanish

An accidental meeting between a French woman who goes to South America to adopt a baby and an Argentinian woman who with her small son leaves their hopeless village in search for a better life changes both of their lives forever.

Cloud 9

May 2008 •German

A romantic drama about a woman who enters into an affair after 30 years of marriage.

Poms

May 2019 •English

After moving to a retirement community, loner Martha eventually befriends her fun-loving neighbor, Sheryl, and forms a cheerleading club for young-at-heart seniors, though they face roadblocks along the way.

Lucky

September 2017 •English

Follows the journey of a 90-year-old atheist and the quirky characters that inhabit his off-the-map desert town. He finds himself at the precipice of life, thrust into a journey of self-exploration.

The Empty

June 2016 •Korean

In the woman’s room, memories constantly accumulate and disappear like dust. The man spends his time in this room creating futile little games with woman’s memories.

Away from Her

May 2007 •English

Fiona and Grant have been married for nearly 50 years. They have to face the fact that Fiona’s absent-mindedness is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. She must go to a specialized nursing home, where she slowly forgets Grant and turns her affection to Aubrey, another patient in the home.

11’09”01—September 11

September 2002 •English

Filmmakers from all over the world provide short films – each of which is eleven minutes, nine seconds, and one frame of film in length – that offer differing perspectives on the 9/11 terrorist attacks.