First Love and Other Pains

A Call Above the Clouds

Recently separated Sally finds out that her husband Ashley has gone on an expedition to Mount Everest and that his life is in danger.

Muscle

Ryuzaki, an editor of Muscle Magazine, which features photographs of men with sculpted bodies, becomes involved with a man named Kitami; their affair soon becomes dominated by sadomasochistic games, with a horrid result. Jump ahead one year, Ryuzaki is released from jail and goes in search of Kitami, perhaps to make amends.

The Intimate Touch

At a romantic restaurant, a feminist reporter and a Muslim refugee meet for dinner.

Release

A prison story. Father Jack finds love with a male guard in the prison. Some of the other inmates suspect he's been sentenced for paedophilia.

The Dive

Thirteen years old and on the edge of adulthood, a boy on a diving board faces the unknown.

Veranico

It is a hot summer in August 2016. In this ephemeral sea of unforeseen events, passions, changes, voids, escapes and deceits, Rodrigo – between his personal discoveries and uncertainties about the future – is surprised by the outbreak of a set of fires in Madeira Island. What will happen to him if the wind shifts?

Dog Food

When Declan loses his dog and best friend, Ralphie, his life starts to unravel.

Ascenso

Sniffer

A man wakes on the ceiling of his bedroom and breaks a lamp to alert his wife to his predicament. She puts on her heavy boots, unstraps herself out of her bed and uses a hook on a pole to drag him back down. The next day he goes to his job where he works as a deodorant tester, sniffing the armpits of exercising test subjects. On this day though, he faces an event that will change his life forever.

Small Deaths

Based on personal memories and experiences of childhood, set in and around a Glasgow housing scheme. A triptych of moments of reflection and loss in one girl's childhood and adolescence.

The Unusual Inventions of Henry Cavendish

A silent love story about an inventor who loses and then wins his love from a villainous cad.

En passant

Andor is a young chess player, who even calls his pet turtle Kasparov. “Do you think I will succeed? - the boy asks her before the decisive tournament. "If I win, he will never come back." Who is Andor talking about and why is he either afraid of this return, or wants it?

The Best Men

Moments before his best friend's wedding, Peter gets one last chance to rekindle mutual feelings long suppressed, but not abandoned. Sometimes the perfect reminder of first love's passion is but a simple kiss from the best man. The Best Men explores a universal heartache that every individual has experienced - the feeling of having missed out on true love.

Before the Freeze

Before the freeze, there was beautiful garden. "Before the Freeze" is a short psychological thriller with experimental elements, about an overstressed, newly-single mother, her daughter, their dog, and what happens one afternoon when a friend comes over. "Before the Freeze" is Tenley E. Raj's debut film. Written, directed, shot, and edited and by Tenley E. Raj.

The Disco Years

Tom Peters looks back to 1978, the year in high school that he came out of the closet. Tom's mom is both sweet and intrusive, urging him to take out girls. She also drags him to her disco-dancing lessons. His friendship with Matt becomes his first love, and then Matt turns on Tom with homophobic venom. Later, Matt and Matt's new girlfriend trash the classroom of an effeminate teacher with more vicious homophobia. At first, Tom joins in heaping scorn on the teacher, then he has to decide if it isn't time to open the closet door. A crisis of sorts ensues with his mom, and disco proves to be a balm.

Into the Night

A lost and fragile rent boy meets a wealthy man playing out a lonely game. Over one night, their lives intersect in unexpected ways, blurring the lines between betrayer and betrayed.

Postmortem

Two ex-lovers meet after years a part and examine the painful break up and what they should do now.

Atardeceres

Erick travels with his father to the beach after the death of his mother; in that place he will find a sea shell, through which he will hear her voice.

Night Shift

A deaf security guard on the night shift observes a man in a midst of a crisis: they find a new way to communicate.

A Corner in Wheat

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.