Ortolan

Funny Valentines

February 1999 •English

A woman returns to her home town to sort out her troubled marriage and finds new happiness in the rekindling of a broken friendship with her cousin.

Only Human

July 2004 •English

Leni takes Rafi to meet her family in Madrid. Leni's family is Jewish - mother, father, older sister and daughter, brother, and grandfather. Rafi is Palestinian, in Spain since age 12. Before her father returns from work, Leni reveals Rafi's origins. He accidentally drops a block of frozen soup out the flat window, probably killing a passerby. Leni initiates a cover-up and Rafi figures out the body is probably Leni's father. The body disappears and without telling the rest of the family what they know, Leni and Rafi organize a search for dad. Mom is sure he's having an affair. Leni's belly-dancing sister kisses Rafi. Her brother grabs a rifle to shoot the Arab. Can anything be put right?

Kiss of Life

December 2003 •English

Helen lives in London with her father and her kids. John, her husband, is an aid-worker in Eastern Europe. He has been gone many months. Helen is desperately anxious that he should come home. Taking the kids to school one morning, she is killed in a car accident. She remains caught in limbo, trapped between life and death. Many miles away, in war-torn Eastern Europe, John is unaware that his wife has died. As Helen herself is unaware that she is dead. Thus begins, a four-day Odyssey: Grandpa and the kids must come to terms with Helen's death; John must travel across a war-torn land as he tries to reach home; and Helen must stand helplessly observing her own existence as it comes back to haunt her - until at last she is reconciled with John, and thus released.

The Mirror/Mirror The

October 2022 •English

A socially awkward teen gets caught between a changing friendship and a life-altering discovery.

SAFE

November 2022 •German

A newbie of the criminal underworld is tasked to transfer and extract some mysterious data, but they bit off more than they can chew.

Girls

April 2024 •French

Fate has brought them together and nothing and nobody seems to be able to stop them: Romane and Ally speed off into the night on their motorcycle. And straight to their doom when they stop at a run-down petrol station. A tough fight for survival begins.

The Boarded Window

January 1971 •Polish

In a secluded forest house, a woman tormented by anxiety and paranoia lives with her helpless husband. Their fragile peace shatters when she suddenly falls ill and appears to die, setting the stage for a tense and haunting drama of isolation and dread.

Nadie puede ser tan malo haciendo café

November 2018 •Spanish

Jellyfish

May 2007 •Hebrew

Meduzot (the Hebrew word for Jellyfish) tells the story of three very different Israeli women living in Tel Aviv whose intersecting stories weave an unlikely portrait of modern Israeli life. Batya, a catering waitress, takes in a young child apparently abandoned at a local beach. Batya is one of the servers at the wedding reception of Keren, a young bride who breaks her leg in trying to escape from a locked toilet stall, which ruins her chance at a romantic honeymoon in the Caribbean. One of the guests is Joy, a Philippine chore woman attending the event with her employer, and who doesn't speak any Hebrew (she communicates mainly in English), and who is guilt-ridden after having left her young son behind in the Philippines.

Hotel Chevalier

October 2007 •English

In a Paris hotel room, Jack Whitman lies on a bed. His phone rings; it's a woman on her way to see him, a surprise. She arrives and the complications of their relationship emerge in bits and pieces. Will they make love? Is their relationship over? (A prequel to The Darjeeling Limited, 2007.)

The Forest for the Trees

September 2004 •German

As an awkward idealistic high school teacher begins her first job in the city, things turn out to be much tougher than she had imagined.

Cherry Blossoms

March 2008 •German

After finding out that her husband, Rudi, has a fatal illness, Trudi Angermeier arranges a trip to Berlin so they can see their children. Of course, the kids don't know the real reason they're visiting -- and the catch is, neither does Rudi...

Noch einmal lieben

September 2005 •German

Talk to Me

July 2007 •English

The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.

The Virus

June 2010 •Dutch

Through a personal video diary we are witness of the last days of humanity when a horrible zombie virus is spreading.

Love Exchange

January 2001 •English

Jackie and Ben move into a luxurious new home in the affluent neighborhood of Verdana Hills. They are immediately welcomed and befriended by their sexy new neighbor Lizelle and invited to a pool party to meet the rest of the neighbors in the complex. After meeting Lizelle’s husband Lorenzo at the pool gathering, Ben is invited and told about a “sexual card game” that allows everyone in the complex to discard their marital inhibitions. Soon both Jackie and Ben are pulled into a world of swingers and lurid sex that threatens the very fibers of their relationship.

Ghost Friend

July 2021 •Korean

Soyeon goes to visit the house of her friend Jihe, who has just passed away. In her room, she will discover a stash of dildos. She will have to hide them from Jihe’s family, but all sorts of struggles will come her way.

All of This Unreal Time

July 2021 •English

On a journey from darkness into light, a man explores his failings as a human being.

Birds

November 2019 •Portuguese

Jonas and David are best friends who spend their times watching soccer games on TV despite cheering for opposite teams. In one particular afternoon, as another game progresses, they discuss the girls they want to meet at a party they'll attend later on. However, with a strange tension in the air and some secrecy from one of them it all might change the course of their lives.