Synopsis

A wondrous journey through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle that doubles as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.

Synopsis

Moroccan friends Soundouss and Jaâfar arrive at a luxury villa in the resort town of Cabo Negro to await Jaâfar’s American lover, who is meant to join them there. The days go by, but the American doesn’t appear or answer Jaâfar’s calls. Left on their own in this place of transience, the villa becomes their refuge — but only for so long. As the harsh cultural and financial realities of life outside the villa creep in, the two friends seek out fleeting moments of connection with the other misfits of Cabo Negro. Profoundly subtle and rich, celebrated author Abdellah Taïa’s feature debut is an enchanting, tender ode to kinship and generosity between those pushed to the margins of society.

Synopsis

2021. A wooden statue depicting King Gezo, who ruled the Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin) in the mid-1800s, is carefully packed into a box. He is among the 26 stolen artifacts selected to make a long-overdue return journey from Paris to Benin. As he’s stowed away, his internal monologue booms on the soundtrack. How does he feel about his imminent homecoming? Master filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics) ponders this question and many more in this imaginative meditation on post-imperial Benin and its continuing, complex colonial legacy. Inflected with fantastical flourishes, Diop carefully documents the painstaking work of transporting these priceless objects and observes a debate among students at the University of Abomey-Calavi. How should these treasures, stolen from their ancestors, be received by a nation that has reinvented itself in their absence?

Synopsis

It’s late October at Soldiers Field, and two scruffy adult baseball teams in New England are ready to play one last game on their beloved turf before it’s demolished. But Eephus, like the unexpectedly slow curveball it’s named for, is far from straightforward. You might recognize the quaint setting, the “final big game” framework, or characters like Ed, an ornery old pitcher, and Graham, the forthright Riverdogs coach. But director Carson Lund is pitching something different here. The two teams remain neck and neck, daylight turns to dusk, team members have to leave to go home to their families, and yet the game goes on. Eephus is less about baseball and more of a leisurely look at suburban life, the foibles of middle-age masculinity, and the passing of time. Smartly written, occasionally very funny, and entirely unique, it’s a delightful and nostalgic portrait of a fading America.

Synopsis

From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard (Dheepan, Rust and Bone) comes this audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this Mexican odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women, each pursuing their own kind of happiness.

The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), the double Cannes-winning film also stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Édgar Ramírez.