NO EASY ANSWERS

No Easy Answers – Life can be hard at any age. These challenging stories include homelessness, bullying, immigration and the effects of war. Each powerful film offers a perspective where solutions are not so apparent. How do you cope with such uncertainty? Your answer might be different than the person sitting next to you.  (Multi-national / English or w/English subtitles / 90 mins / 

FILMS AND FILM LINE-UP ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

AMANI – In this tale, halfway between reality and fantasy, a mysterious narrator tells us the story of Amani, a young boy passionate about dance. Amani’s innocence and joie de vivre open the narrator’s eyes to the humanity he had never really cared about before. But as the night begins to rumble, Amani’s joie de vivre disappears to give way to his pain, which echoes in the silence of the plain.  (2021 / 17 mins / Chad, Canada / dir. Alliah Fafin / French w/English subtitles)

AROUND THE CORNER (Za vogalom) – There are times when you think you are witnessing a bullying situation but there is so much more you don’t know. Wanting to do the right thing might end up being very wrong. Life is complicated that way.  (2022 / 13 mins / Slovenia / dir. Martin Turk / Slovenian w/English subtitles)

BURROS – In southern Arizona, twenty miles from the Mexico border, a young Indigenous girl discovers a Latina migrant her age who has been separated from her father while traveling through the Tohono O’odham Nation into the United States. Her story is a microcosm of what needs our attention and action at our southern border.  (2021 / 14.5 mins / USA / dir. Jefferson Stein / Spanish and Indigenous language w/English subtitles)

LETTER TO A PIG – Riveting and chilling, writer/director Tal Kantor’s animated short Letter to a Pig (Israel/France, 2022) finds a Holocaust survivor (voice of Alexander Peleg) telling a group of young students about his harrowing experience of a pig saving his life from pursuers, and how he lived with those animals in a desperate bid to stay alive. His story is met with indifference from some of the students, but as he tells of a letter of thanks that he wrote to the pig, the imagination of one girl named Alma (voice of Moriyah Meerson) sends her on a surreal journey. Stark, black-and-white animation is blended with live-action visuals to create a marvelous dreamscape that is a visual feast while driving home some serious food for thought.  (2022 / 16.5 mins / Israel / dir. Tal Kantor / Hebrew w/English subtitles)

ME, MAHMOUD and the MINT PLANT – In the war-torn city of Mosul, Iraq, Canadian nurse Trish develops an unlikely friendship with Mahmoud, a local man who takes his beloved mint plant wherever he goes. As Trish discovers the mystery behind Mahmoud’s precious plant, she learns the importance of keeping your promises to the people you love.  (2022 / 5.5 mins / Canada / dir. Cat Mills / in English)

SPARE PARTS (Du hast viele Teile…) – Eight-year-old Lina is in urgent need of a new heart. She figures out that in order for her to have a new heart another must lose theirs. This inspires Lina into action. She finds a junkyard to look for parts in order to build herself her own heart. There, she meets Kalle who initially opposes her being there until told about the plan. A story about life, death, and true friendship. (2021 / 24.5 mins / Germany / dir. Niva Ehrlich / German w/English subtitles)

WHAT YOU’LL REMEMBER – Through a raw love letter to their children, two young parents reframe their experience of homelessness in WHAT YOU’LL REMEMBER, an achingly beautiful short portrait about home, family and security.  (2020 / 13 mins / USA / dir. Erika Cohn / in English)