2024 Guatemalan dark fantasy horror film directed by Jayro Bustamante

In an elegant Spanish-style apartment building in the trendy Melrose neighborhood of Los Angeles, a diverse group of 20-somethings have formed a close-knit surrogate family. However, when a bloody body is found floating in the courtyard pool, the police soon discover that almost everyone had a reason to want the deceased out of the way.

Wang Zhenxi works as a “mistress dispeller” in China, hired to maintain the bounds of marriage — and break up affairs — by any means necessary. Untitled Mistress Dispeller Project follows Ms. Wang’s work as she attempts to bring couples back from the edge of crisis, offering strikingly intimate access to private lives usually hidden behind closed doors. The film will shift our sympathies between husband, wife, and mistress to explore the ways class, capital, and cultural norms collide to shape romantic relationships in contemporary China.

A group of seniors train to become police officers and Border Patrol agents at El Paso’s Horizon High School, near the U.S./Mexico border.

In the terrain of rock bands, implosion or explosion is seemingly inevitable. U2 has defied the gravitational pull towards destruction, this band has endured and thrived. The movie From the Sky Down asks the question why.

The Oscar-nominated Op-Doc "Walk Run Cha-Cha" profiles Paul and Millie Cao, who reunited in California after the Vietnam War. Forty years later, they are rediscovering themselves on the dance floor.
In an accompanying essay, director Laura Nix writes, "Faced with middle age, Paul and Millie chose to reinvent themselves again. After decades of delayed gratification, this time they focused on what gives them joy. As you’ll see in this Op-Doc, dance opened up a world of self-expression and pleasure for the couple, sparking a transition from responsible professionals to flamboyant performers pursuing their creative dreams.
On the face of it, a film about middle-aged people dancing might not seem political. But my decision to tell a story about Paul and Millie’s life in the present, and not solely focus on their past, was intentional. Films about refugees and immigrants are often focused on the point of entry, when the newly arrived are at their most vulnerable. But it’s essential for us to hear stories about what happens next.
Paul and Millie are refugees from Vietnam. Paul and Millie are also working professionals, parents, dancers and American citizens who have lived in California for over 40 years. As with many Americans who started their lives in another country, their story embodies resilience and courage. Love and longing. Separation and reunion. These themes are visually reflected in the dance itself, in their tender glances, when he lifts her to the sky, the yearning in their gestures — their ability to transform adversity into beauty."

Nowhere is the worldwide erosion of democracy, fueled by social media disinformation campaigns, more starkly evident than in the authoritarian regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Journalist Maria Ressa places the tools of the free press—and her freedom—on the line in defense of truth and democracy.

2021 film directed by Questlove