Houses of Poverty

Greed

December 1924 •English

A lottery win of $5,000 forever changes the lives of a miner turned dentist and his wife.

India's forgotten people

September 2020 •English

Earth Crying

May 2002 •Thai

Set in Isaan, this is the story of a mother who struggles to lead her needy family through seemingly endless hardships and pressures. To help the family survive, the father endures greedy capitalists who heartlessly take advantage of him and his family, forcing him to slave at the harvest of an infertile field. That is until he loses both his arms. Then all the burdens fall on the mother: bread-winning, taking care of her crippled husband and raising the kids, all amid external pressures from drought to vile businessmen.

The Airy Tomb

July 1963 •English

Can there be a bleaker portrait of a life half-lived? Cinematic treatment of poet R.S. Thomas's story of Twm, the "shy soul" who lives and dies alone in the "grim house nailed to the mountainside", oblivious to the interest shown in him by young girls in the village and to his own isolation as he scratches a living from the farm.

Ballymanus

September 2023 •English

10 May 1943. Something is spotted drifting ashore off the coast of Northwest Donegal, Ireland. Something that would change the lives of the local people forever.

The Land of Mine

June 2016 •Finnish

Republic of Finland is promoting clean technology by organizing Green Mining seminars where foreign experts tell us how the development of the world is becoming increasingly expensive by 2050. The Earth is running out of resources and mining companies have to use increasingly low-grade metal deposits. Finland aims to be a model country for environmentally friendly mining. Its pioneer project is Talvivaara, which uses new biotechnology to extract nickel, zinc and uranium. Through several charismatic characters, the documentary film The Land Of Mine follows the rise of the biggest nickel mine in Western Europe and the ensuing disasters whose effects continue to reverberate in the nation.

Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers

March 2007 •English

During the last half-century, Cambodia has witnessed genocide, decades of war and the collapse of social order. Now, documentary filmmaker Rithy Panh looks at an irreparable tragedy that is less visible, yet no less pervasive: the spiritual death that results when young women are forced into prostitution. Angry and impassioned, PAPER CANNOT WRAP UP EMBERS presents the searing stories of poor Asian women whose lives were violated and their destinies destroyed when their bodies were turned into items of sexual commerce.

I Want to Be

June 2000 •Spanish

The short drama film follows the daily life of the Juan and Jorge, two brothers living on the streets of Mexico City. It won an Academy Award in 2001 for Best Live Action Short Film.

A Dream of Fortune

June 1961 •Korean

Son Hak-su (Kim Seung-ho) is a middle school teacher who barely gets by on his income because he's paying off a monthly mortgage for his welfare housing facility sold by the government. One day, Mr. Son and his wife make the acquaintance of a U.S. immigrant Charlie Hong (Heo Chang-kang) who is engaged in the smuggling business.

Nun Nancy

June 2021 •English

Nun Nancy follows the heartfelt ministry of a passionate woman of God that served the inner city of Baltimore, Maryland disguised as a bartender so that she could more effectively share God's love to the drunks and prostitutes.

Platoon

December 1986 •English

As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

Mine 9

April 2019 •English

Two miles into the earth, nine Appalachian miners struggle to survive after a methane explosion leaves them with one hour of oxygen.

Megacities

August 1998 •English

Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.

In the Heat of the Night

August 1967 •English

African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.

Rosetta

September 1999 •French

Young, impulsive Rosetta lives a hard and stressful life as she struggles to support herself and her alcoholic mother. Refusing all charity, she is desperate to maintain a dignified job.

Nayda

October 2023 •Arabic

In a desperate attempt to make their voices heard by the government, two men and a woman, living in difficult circumstances in the Tin Shacks, take a diplomatic meeting with political officials, which turns into a hostage situation. Compelled by circumstances, they unwittingly find themselves cast in the role of terrorists, thereby exposing social inequalities and government indifference.

Lilya 4-ever

August 2002 •Swedish

Lilja lives in poverty and dreams of a better life. Her mother moves to the United States and abandons her to her aunt, who neglects her. Lilja hangs out with her friends, Natasha and Volodya, who is suicidal. Desperate for money, she starts working as a prostitute, and later meets Andrei. He offers her a good job in Sweden, but when Lilja arrives her life quickly enters a downward spiral.

The Domestic

June 2022 •Persian

Mr. Hormoz's house is due to a bank mortgage debt. Financial problems have gripped him and his family and caused them trouble. To the extent that.

CJ7

January 2008 •

A poor construction worker, who struggles to keep his son in private school, mistakes an orb he finds in a junkjard for a toy which proves to be much, much more once the young boy starts to play with it.

The Postman

April 1994 •Italian

Simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet; he uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.