Filmographies - films at UST by Country: Other Countries

Rural neighbors who hate each other come to blows one day on a farm and get tangled up in an agricultural tractor, leaving them both paralyzed, wheelchair-bound, and simmering with spite. But rather than feel sorry for themselves, the embittered paraplegics decide to seek revenge against the tractor's manufacturer. They take to the road, redirecting their frustrations with their plights towards the people they meet on the way to Helsinki.

This series introduces the celebrated Martinican author who coined the term "negritude" and launched the movement called the "Great Black Cry." This three part study features many of the most important and artistic intellectual figures of the past six decades.

In a coastal town forgotten by the rest of the world, the sea is gaining ground and although the memories of the great disaster still haunt the villagers, life must go on... Three stories intertwine, collide and co-exist. A grieving teenager discovers he has a superpower, an old fisherman thinks the cure for his ailing wife can be found in the sea, and a muse struggles to exit the story her author is penning, in this magical neorealist fable set in Haiti, five years after a devastating earthquake.

Thirteen-year-old Achille waits full of hope for his father to be released from prison. His dream of life as a real family is put to the test: on the one hand, by his mother who is tired of waiting, and by his inadequate father who has lost all sense of responsibility. Will this vulnerable man with his turbulent history be able to keep the promise he gave to his son?

Weronika is a Polish choir soprano, and her double, Veronique, is a French music teacher. Though they are unknown to each other, the two women share an enigmatic, purely emotional bond. The two were born on the same day and each senses that somewhere there exists another person with whom their lives are intertwined.

Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for the death of 1.8 million people, a quarter of the Cambodia population. Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, directed both the M13 and S21 centers where tens of thousands of people were tortured and executed. A horrifying in-depth interview with Duch, who candidly talks about his ascension in the Khmer Rouge party, and his involvement in the mass murder of his fellow Cambodians.

Justin is a boy living in Brussels with his father, Dieudonne, who, like Justin, is an illegal alien from Burundi. While an attentive student, Justin also has a mischievous streak, and after tapping into a neighbor's cable-television line in order to watch a football match, an angry neighbor threatens to report him to the police. Dieudonne takes the threat seriously enough to clear out of their apartment and go underground, with Justin in tow. Dieudonne is soon captured by the authorities, but Justin finds refuge with Frans and Gerda, a pair of radical leftists sympathetic to the plight of the illegal immigrants. When they learn that Dieudonne has been deported to the Congo. Frans and Gerda hire a lawyer to fight the matter in court, but Justin considers more direct action when he finds a cache of explosives hidden at Frans' place.

Tania is a former teacher from Russia, living illegally in Belgium with her 14-year-old son, Ivan. One day, they are stopped on the street for a routine check by the police; Tania is arrested and placed in an immigration detention center for women, while Ivan manages to escape. Threatened with imminent deportation and fearful for Ivan's fate, Tania embarks on a harrowing journey, determined to preserve her dignity and find her son.

JCVD is an out of luck actor. He's out of money, his agent can't find him a decent production, and a judge is inclined to give his ex-wife custody of his daughter. When JCVD goes into a post office to receive a wire transfer, he finds himself in the middle of a hostage situation. Due to an unfortunate mistake, the police believe JCVD is responsible for the crime. As the events are played from different perspectives, JCVD finds himself protecting the hostages, as well as serving as their negotiator. JCVD is forced to accept responsibility for crimes he didn't commit, as well as the life mistakes that he did make.

Simon lives with his older sister in a housing complex below a luxury Swiss ski resort. Every day, he takes the lift up to the opulent ski world above, stealing equipment from rich tourists to resell to the local kids down in the valley. But when Simon partners with a crooked British seasonal worker, he begins to lose his boundaries, affecting his relationship with his sister and plummeting him into dangerous territory

La Vie est belle tells the rags to riches story of Kourou, a poor rural musician who realizes that to succeed in today's music world he must go to the city and break into radio and television. In Kinshasa he uses his wit and talent to win a beautiful wife, trick his greedy boss and succeed in singing his "theme song" on national television. Although the film is primarily entertainment, it reveals much about class divisions, male-female relations, the desires of the urban poor, and the economic and social problems confronting rural immigrants to the cities of Zaire.

Set in Nazi-occupied Tunis in 1942. Nour a 16 year-old Muslim eagerly awaits her wedding to a cousin. However, Nour's close friend Myriam, a French-Jew, is furiously resisting her betrothal to an older doctor. However, the doctor's money is needed to help Myriam's family pay fines imposed by the Nazis.

Last Diamond
Simon Carrerra has just been released from prison and is now on parole. His friend Albert persuades him back to his old ways with the idea of a big-time heist of a celebrated diamond in Antwerp: the "Florentine." The jewel's owner, Marie Neuville, suddenly passes away and her daughter, Julia, is left in charge of the sale. Simon encounters Julia while posing as a friend of Julia's mother. Slowly but surely, the two become closer. He manages to use their relationship to get to the diamond and the heist is a success. However, another member of the heist has a different motive and Simon has to decide if he wants to continue with the crime or help Julia recover the diamond.

When a disciple of 12th-century philosopher Averroes is burned at the stake for heresy, his young son Joseph journeys to Andalusia to study with his father's mentor. There he joins Averroes' disciples uniting against an evil sheik intent upon destroying the philosopher's work.

Cyril, almost 12, has only one plan: to find the father who left him temporarily in a children's home. By chance he meets Samantha, who runs a hairdressing salon and agrees to let him stay with her on weekends. Cyril doesn't recognize the love Samantha feels for him, a love he desperately needs to calm his rage.

Harry is a successful executive who is failing miserably at life. Then he meets Georges, a man with Down's syndrome who has escaped his care center. As Georges stands loyal at the side of his newfound friend, he shares with him his unique way of seeing the world. The two forge an extraordinary friendship, and Harry learns what is truly important in life and in love.

Ten-year-old Yachine and his thirteen-year-old brother Hamid live in the slums. Hamid works hard to support his family, but eventually gets in with the wrong crowd and goes to prison. After years in jail, Hamid returns home an Islamic fundamentalist. He persuades Yachine and his pals to join him. Their spiritual leader trains them and one day tells them that they have been chosen to become martyrs. On May 16th, 2003, they commit the deadliest act of terrorism in Morocco's history.

A fish tells the story of 25-year-old Bibiane Champagne who accidentally hits a man while driving one fateful rainy summer night. The 53-year-old victim is a fishmonger who is left on the highway and returns home to slowly die. Plagued by guilt and in order to erase all clues, Bibiane sinks her car into the river. Surviving the ordeal, she is given a second chance as she emerges from the water and must finally come to terms with her life.

Komona is only 12 years old when she is kidnapped by rebel soldiers and enslaved to a life of guerilla warfare in the African jungle. Forced to commit unspeakable acts of brutality, she finds hope for survival in protective, ghost-like visions, and in a tender relationship with a fellow soldier named Magician. Together, they manage to escape the rebels' clutches, and a normal life finally seems within reach. But after their freedom proves short-lived, Komona realizes she must find a way to bury the ghosts of her past.

The teenage life and adventures of young Jose, who lives in a shanty-town on Martinique in the mid-1930s, comprises the body of this film. Jose lives with his grandmother and is well aware of the French colonial presence. He gets into mischief, learns valuable lessons on living from an old former slave, drinks too much one time, and even sets fire to one of the run-down shanties. Regardless of his pranks, Jose never neglects his education.

Cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille, constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, initiates a shady deal with a notorious mafioso meat trader. When an investigating federal agent is assassinated and a woman from his traumatic past resurfaces, Jacky must confront his demons and face the far-reaching consequences of his decisions.

Lorna is a young Albanian women who dreams of opening up a snack bar with her boyfriend. Without the money, she finds herself entwined in a vicious plan devised by mobster Fabio. A false marriage between Lorna and Claudy will allow her to get her Belgian citizenship. She is then expected to marry a Russian Mafioso who is anxious to get his hands on the Belgian identity papers, after Fabio kills Claudy to speed up the second marriage.

Etienne, the eldest of three children, finds his life in pieces when his father suddenly dies. The boy's obsession with replacing his father and honoring his memory sets off a series of events of increasingly dramatic proportions. This film tells the story of a family's adaptation to the death of a father, as seen through the eyes of Etienne.

Documentary challenging stereotypical perceptions of Haiti found throughout the media.

The numbers alone are stunning: 8 millions inhabitants, 70 percent of who live below poverty line; a life expectancy of 50 years; a 65 percent illiteracy rate; and a 70 percent unemployment rate. Such is the recent population in Haiti, which ironically had its origins cast in optimism: the Haitians were the first people to abolish slavery in 1797 and establish a black republic. Yet the following years have brought the island a succession of violence, chaotic politics, and the railroading of national sovereignty for the benefit of few.

Introduces the viewer to one of the world's most multi-cultural communities, a global village in the backcountry of French Guiana. Three hundred years of world history intersect in Mana, a town where 1500 people speak 13 different languages and live together in harmony. The film's title comes from a local Easter specialty, a kind of gumbo based on the fruit of the awara palm, which functions as the film's symbol for Mana's polyglot society. American Indians, Europeans, slave descendants, Laotians, Chinese, Brazilians, and Surinamese tell us how they're bringing new flavors to the Guianese stew of identities.

Discover the cultures of the Berber, Gnawa, and Tuareg peoples of Morocco. Composer/adventurer Chuck Jonkey takes you on a Sonic Safari that begins in Marrakesh and transports you to the deep medina for a look at ancient artifacts. Visit the coastal town of Essaouira--protected from pirates by a gigantic stone fortress--the northern Moroccan city of Meknes, and the "blue city" of Chefehaouen

This documentary explores Morocco, its people, and its customs. It surveys Moroccan oases, mountains, forts, and valleys, along with the cities of Casablanca, Fes, Marrakesh, Meknes, and the capital Rabat. Visit Marrakesh's Djemaa El Fna market square, famous for its unique and colorful atmosphere of tradesmen, dancers, magicians, healers, and cooks.