The Betrothed

Blake and Gwen: Now and Then

July 2021 •English

Follow the offstage, unlikely romance of the king of country, Blake Shelton, and pop princess, Gwen Stefani. Both stars braved their share of challenges on the way to writing their own love song.

Time Indefinite

May 1993 •English

After documentarian Ross McElwee gets married, a series of misfortunes follow: his grandmother dies, his wife miscarries, and then his father dies less than a week later. Shaken by the sudden string of deaths, McElwee becomes depressed. After spending time with his friend and former high school poetry teacher, Charlene, he goes to meet his brother, a doctor. In a series of interviews, McElwee contemplates his morbid preoccupation with death and tries to figure out how to shake it off.

Sugartown: The Bridegrooms

March 2006 •English

In the Greek village of Sugar Town, men have a serious problem. Women are fleeing the area in search of work or marriage in the big cities, leaving them behind - and lonely. Fully aware of the men’s dire situation, the astute mayor of Sugar Town promises to find them wives in Russia, as part of his re-election campaign. Against the odds and local traditions which frown upon mixed marriages, the bridegrooms from SugarTown set out on a great journey to find their future brides and happiness.

Marriage Is a Partnership

January 1951 •English

Flashback on the problems, adjustments and transformations occurring in the first year of a couple's married life. Pretty surprising film coming from Coronet about the "honeymoon is over" drama that newlyweds face. The marriage between Dotty and Pete is pretty traditional--Dotty quits her job to be a homemaker once they are married--but some more modernistic ideas come out, such as the idea that the two newlyweds decide together how the money that Pete earns will be spent, and the small mentions of sex. (!!) The "educational collaborator" listed at the beginning, Lemo Rockwood, was a professor at Cornell University, and her marriage course advocated sexual frankness and pre-marital experimentation, so it's easy to see her stamp on this film.

Viikinki

September 2022 •Finnish

Documentary film about Tony Halme, masculinity and populism. The film follows how Tony Halme created a mythical, highly masculine freestyle wrestling character, The Viking, who gained fame both in the ring and in the public eye and eventually became captivated by it. With his brash speeches, Halme fired the starting shot for the rise of the Finns Party. The voice of a forgotten section of the population, a protest against the ruling elite, were the building blocks of Halme's popularity. Halme's great popularity has served as a good example of a populist figure, admired within the deep ranks of the nation, who comes from outside the political elite and changes the direction of politics. Also, despite - or perhaps because of - his openly racist statements, he was part of changing the political climate in Finland to a more acrimonious one.

The Deal

September 2015 •English

Stop-motion animation on the arranging of marriages in 1950/60s set in the Eastern-Polish borderland. The script is based on a part of Mikołaj Smyk's diary, the director's grandfather. The biographical objects used in the animation, such as an authentic headscarf, Polish and Russian books, the copy of Mikołaj Smyk's diary and photographs help situate the story in its original environment.

The Archaeology of Community

September 2024 •English

Through archival footage of his parents' wedding, the filmmaker embarks on a personal and societal reflection on the theme of love and marriage in contemporary Serbia. The film follows scenes from a traditional Balkan wedding, where songs, dances, and rituals reveal deeply rooted heteronormative values. As he watches these moments, the filmmaker questions his own relationship to marriage as an LGBT individual in a society grappling with change, yet resistant to equality. Will he, as their son, ever have the chance to experience love and marriage the way his parents did? The film explores the dilemma between tradition and modern love, confronting the past with hopes for a future where everyone has the right to love and union without restrictions. Through this personal narrative, the filmmaker addresses the issues of acceptance, family, and dreams that may never become reality in the current social context.

The Mystery of Marriage

September 1931 •English

The courtship rituals of animals and plants are compared to those of contemporary society, with educational and frequently humorous results.

Any Evening After Work

December 1930 •English

A man contracts a sexually transmitted disease, but is reluctant to seek medical help - until a no-nonsense lecture about the risks he is taking forces him to change his mind.

Recipes For Disaster

September 2008 •Finnish

Director John Webster convinces his wife and two small children that the whole family should go on an oil diet, yet without having to give up their a middle class suburban lifestyle. All the everyday things that we don't do, or that we can't help doing, make up recipes for disaster. In this comedy of errors they find themselves questioning their values and putting to test their will power and ultimately, their happiness.

The Right to Love: An American Family

February 2012 •English

Chronicling one story of courage born out of the highly mediatized and controversial Prop 8 2008 election results in California. A Californian married gay couple and their two adopted children fight back against discrimination, ignorance and hate through home videos posted on their YouTube channel, Gay Family Values. As they pursue their American Dream, the opposing political, social and religious opinions that pervade society attempt to strip it from them.

Eopu Eopu

September 2023 •Korean

Why Thee Wed

May 2005 •English

This documentary profiles the eight couples who challenged marriage laws in British Columbia in court until same-sex marriage was recognized in 2003. As controversy swirls around this issue worldwide, Why Thee Wed? offers surprising and diverse perspectives on what it means for gay and lesbian couples to walk down the aisle and to fight for the right to do so under the law.

Bridegroom

April 2013 •English

A documentary that tells the emotional journey of Shane and Tom, two young men in a loving and committed relationship — a relationship that was cut tragically short by a misstep off the side of a roof.

Matchmaking Mayor

December 2010 •Czech

A village mayor is trying to bring together local people in their thirties who are still single. 21st century social engineering in a situation documentary by Erika Hníková. Slowly but surely, the Slovak village of Zemplínske Hámre is dying out. But its mayor, a retired general, refuses to give up. In fighting the thirty-year-olds‘ solitude he has used a variety of weapons such as offering a financial incentives for every newborn child or encouraging childbearing via the local PA system. None of it has worked. However, the mayor has a new plan. He decides to organize an evening get-together for singles from all the neighboring villages. Will our heroes find their partners after all?

The Art of Marriage

March 1970 •English

A host lectures on how to increase one's pleasure in the sack in marriage.

The Poisoning: How to Kill Your Husband

October 2024 •English

The shocking story of how husband John Mook was being poisoned by his wife Heather.

Pansy and Ivy

March 2000 •Korean

Soo-jung and Yun-jung are sisters in their 20s and 30s, both physically challenged since birth. Like other women, romance, sex, marriage, and having children are concerns in their lives. The filmmaker records their social life with a close but unpatronizing gaze, as they fall in love, break up, study porn videos, and dream about having their own children. Conventional Korean values die hard, as we see from the voices of the people around them, while the sisters themselves never cease to smile, to sing, and to try to enjoy life despite the odds.

Pursuit of Luck

September 2013 •Macedonian

Eight single men, full of hope, departed on a long journey to Moscow to pursue luck. How strong is their faith that salvation could be in a woman? And what could a woman do for love? The Pursuit of Luck is a documentary film consisting of three stories (Hope, Faith and Love) in which the destinies of the main protagonists intertwine in their efforts to find happiness.

#Familiar #Touch #Lost #Figures

May 2020 •English

Can we reinvent our lost queer histories? #Familiar #Touch #Lost #Figures is about queer ancestry and diaspora, a hybrid of cultural traditions and contemporary queer identity. It explores feelings of guilt and joy, and intimacy between femmes of colour.