Photoplay and Direction by Charles Busch
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Charles Busch
Crawlies is a soliloquy based on voice recordings of my schizophrenic uncle. An audiovisual exercise of mise en abyme that weaves a patchwork of memories from my childhood, of madness and desire.
After the death of his best friend, we follow Dustin on a grief-induced bender for one. Going to great fucked-up lengths to keep the memory of his best friend Ashleigh alive. How? By accidentally mixing her ashes into his buzz of course.
Heyst, a hermit on his own tropical island, plays unwilling host to red-headed stowaway Alma. Danger looms...
“Nobody Leaves Alive” by André Ristum is shot in beautiful but also distancing black and white. Looking at the Venice line-up, this seems to be a trend this year among the maestros of cinema. The film is inspired by true events that took place in the last century in the “Colonia” hospital in Brazil. Whoever didn’t fit the standards of society, or their family’s perception of it, was locked away, tortured, and killed. There were altogether more than 60,000 victims. Hope dies last, and some of the inmates don’t give up the fight. We’re reminded of film classics such as “One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest” or “Alcatraz”.
In 2012, 82-year-old Data woke up one morning, expecting a visit from his granddaughter, daughter, and son-in-law. However, he noticed something unusual outside his house, marking the beginning of a tragic ordeal that separated him from his loved ones and home country. This is the true story of Data's initial moments in a cruel new reality.
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
In 1960s Tokyo, Gonda owns a bar in which the gay, cross-dresser, and trans scenes meet. Gonda is in a relationship with the madam of the bar, Leda. As the younger Eddie starts a passionate affair with Gonda, she ignites the jealousy of Leda, unaware of another kind of history between them.
Singapore Sling pursues Laura, a romantic memory from his past. One night, he finds himself at a mysterious villa, watching two women bury a body. He falls into their trap and, in an atmosphere of isolation and decadence, the trio act out insane pleasure games and a ritual of blood and murder.
To take control of his life, Travis Wilker must conquer the hallucinations that plagued his childhood.
A football hooligan feels unconditional love for his club. However, being gay, he has to hide his identity in order to survive in this world that is so precious to him.
Three "meetings." Two men. A rumbling volcano.
Emma is a young woman who's yet to find herself. In the meantime, she has to deal with the high expectations that society has set for women.
Dusan and Laza are traveling through Eastern Serbia to Belgrade. Terminally ill, Dusan has to find a new home for his son Laza, to whom Dusan is all he has.
Alan, a 70-something widower, struggles to accept the fact that he's not the young and healthy man that he used to be. This is sparked after his daughter suggests that he should move into an assisted living home.
The dashing but arrogant Prince Michael Fedor Lubimoff has to flee Tsarist Russia after falling into disgrace and settles in Monte Carlo, where he resumes his life of debauchery while World War I ravages the fields of Europe… (Partially lost film; reels 3 and 9 of a total of 11 are missing.)
Claudia Recher is a young woman who has lived a horrible situation. Her sense of reality becomes an illusion as she struggles to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked life. The last witness of innocence and her internal conflicts.
Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.
A self-assured businessman murders his employer, husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.
Suryo (25), a thug asking for security money from shops, wants to be closer to Ajeng (24), who is an employee of a used clothing store. Previously, Suryo only know Ajeng by name, nothing more. When on the last day asking for security money, Suryo ventured to get to know Ajeng further. However, Ajeng's indifferent attitude makes Suryo clumsy and almost runs out of topics to talk about. Gradually through the chat, Ajeng slowly opened up. Suryo who is at his wits end starts a chat with his move after this. But unexpectedly, Ajeng also hopes to have the same fate as Suryo. The farewell of the two of them is just ended with Suryo getting the name of Ajeng's facebook account.
Bruce Conner's landmark experimental film consisting entirely of found footage edited to a new score.
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Short film made with the help of the Sundance Film Institute and serving as a proof-of-concept for the subsequent feature film.
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.
When young dad, Joe, discovers he's dying, drifter Charlie is given a unique opportunity to turn his life around. A story of family, identity and starting again.
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
In this David vs. Goliath drama based on a true story, college professor Robert Kearns goes up against the giants of the auto industry when they fail to give him credit for inventing intermittent windshield wipers. Kearns doggedly pursues recognition for his invention, as well as the much-deserved financial rewards for the sake of his wife and six kids.
On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
