Anna Sewell’s classic 1877 novel beautifully comes to life in this family drama set in England. Told from the point of view of Black Beauty himself, the story sheds light on the details surrounding the colt’s birth and his perception of humans (he has various owners throughout his life). While some owners are compassionate — none more than Joe Evans (Mark Lester), the boy who first owns the colt.

An isolated elderly woman, in desperate need of stimulation, conjures an infestation of silk-spinning caterpillars, thus leading her to a mind-bending epiphany. ‘Caterpillar’ is a cerebral drama, filmed in the historical Wynkoop House, famous for housing George Washington. The crew consists of highly esteemed artists working across a wide spectrum of disciplines. This includes special effects artist, Ben Bornstein (300, The Fighter), visual effects artist Greg Silverman (Black Swan), and editor, Corey Bayes (Haywire, Contagion, The Informant, Che). From storyline through production, Caterpillar is an ode to the creative process. This film is a must-see for anyone who has ever submitted to their imagination and felt transformed by an idea.

Set in 1905. The story focuses on a young and inexperienced man in a revolutionary execution squad. He does his killing job out of idealism, and for the love of a woman. The young student murders a Russian spy and is afterwards arrested by the police. Much to his surprise he is released after a session with the traitor-judge, hinting at some leaks in the organisation. Student reports his suspicions back to the organisation, but in response is given a new hit mission.

The clock is ticking towards The Last Minute, but no one knows it. No one except Billy Byrne – young, cool and talented, he’s the Next Big Thing. At least that’s what the London glitterazzi are saying, on the streets, in the clubs, in the Business. But the glitterazzi turn out to be wrong and Billy Byrne is all over in a split second. His world detonates. His self-esteem splinters. Suddenly he’s on a rollercoaster ride into the London underworld – a dangerous land of murderers, thieves and talent agents. (Copied from IMDB page)

A lonely beach on the southernmost coast of Brazil is the scene for two friends, on the brink of adulthood, to explore their understanding of themselves and one another. Martin (Mateus Almada) has been sent by his father to retrieve what appears to be an inheritance-related document from the family of his recently deceased and estranged grandfather. Tomaz (Mauricio Jose Barcellos) accompanies him, seemingly hoping to regain some of their former closeness. The two boys shelter themselves in a glass house, in front of a cold and stormy sea.

They come from all over Eastern Europe: Russia, Romania, Chechnya. They are Eastern boys. The oldest appear no more than 25; as for the youngest, there is no way of telling their age. They hang around the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. They might be prostitutes, but there is no way of knowing for certain. Muller, a discreet man in his late fifties has his eye on one of them – Marek. One afternoon, Muller gathers his courage and speaks to him. The young man agrees to come visit Muller the following day, at his place. However the next day, when the doorbell rings, Muller doesn’t have the faintest idea that he has fallen into a trap.

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn’t play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard’s resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy’s unbreakable will. Luke’s bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison’s dreaded solitary confinement cell, “the box,” make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

When two souls find one another, nothing can tear them apart. Widower Takumi lives a quiet life with his six-year-old son Yuji after the loss of wife and mother Mio. Yuji unfailingly remembers her promise to him: “I’ll be with you again in a year’s time, when the rains come.” On the first anniversary of her passing, Takumi and Yuji are taking a walk in the woods when they come across a woman sheltering from a monsoon downpour.

Alex is a high school student who always feels like he is overshadowed by his little brother Stevie; he can’t get the girl of his dreams; he and his two best friends, Abby and James, are outsiders at school; and he is constantly benched on his football team. Then Stevie receives a lucky coin from a strange old man, a coin which he gives to Alex, telling him to make a wish. The next day, Alex gets everything he ever wished for – Stevie is gone (in fact, he is the star of his own TV show, and his family don’t even know him); Alex dates the most popular girl at school; he is one of the most popular kids himself; and he is the star of the football team. At first he enjoys his new life, only to later find out that everything that was great in his original life now is gone.

The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations.

Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon (Satoshi Ohno, of idol group Arashi) is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s (Satomi Ishihara of Shin Godzilla, Attack on Titan) demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or nation. A longtime JAPAN CUTS favorite known for his offbeat dramas, Yoshihiro Nakamura (Fish Story, Golden Slumber) takes on the jidaigeki epic with his signature sense of play featuring a jazzy soundtrack and fantastical ninja tricks. -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film

A hitman in Koreatown meets a Karaoke hostess only to find out she is his next target.