The Librarian

The Fire Within

October 1963 •French

Although his alcoholism has been treated, Alain still feels he is deeply unwell and does not feel he can leave the detoxification clinic once and for all. His wife, living in New York, continues to pay for his treatment, but no longer contacts him directly. He intends to commit suicide, but first takes a ride to Paris to catch up with old friends.

Ikiru

October 1952 •Japanese

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

Fou comme François

January 1979 •English

Marseille. The director of a company offers a promotion to Francois (Michel Creton) if he accepts to help him fire all the staff from his office. If he refuses, he will himself be fired. Francois opts for the latter. He registers as unemployed and discovers what he has lacked so far in his life: a certain freedom. His habits are changing as well as his attitude towards the others changes ... Luce (Claude Jade), his wife, and Marquerite (Courtois Queen), her stepmother, are surprised: why he is not himself anymore?

Last Life in the Universe

August 2003 •Thai

An obsessive-compulsive Japanese librarian living in Bangkok spends most of his days contemplating suicide in his apartment. His life changes when he witnesses the death of a young girl and becomes acquainted with her elder sister.

The Van

November 1996 •English

In a working-class quarter of Dublin, 'Bimbo' Reeves gets laid off from his job and, with his redundancy payout, buys a van and sells fish and chips with his buddy, Larry. Due to Ireland's surprising success at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their business starts off well, but the relationship between the two friends soon becomes strained as Bimbo behaves more like a typical boss.

Renaissance Man

June 1994 •English

An advertising man is slowly sliding downhill. When he is fired from his job in Detroit, he signs up for unemployment. One day they find him a job: teaching thinking skills to Army recruits. He arrives on base to find that there is no structure set up for the class.

Velaiyilla Pattathari

July 2014 •Tamil

Raghuvaran, who is unemployed for years, gets his dream job but a powerful rival is keen to put him down. Can he take on his adversary?

New Year's Day

January 2000 •English

Two 17-year-old boys mark the new year by doing twelve dangerous but exciting tasks set for them by their friends.

May

April 2003 •English

A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.

The Savages

November 2007 •English

A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.

Cast Away

December 2000 •English

Chuck Nolan, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.

The Brown Bunny

November 2003 •English

Bud Clay races motorcycles in the 250cc Formula II class of road racing. After a race in New Hampshire, he has five days to get to his next race in California. During his road trip, he is haunted by memories of the last time he saw Daisy, his true love.

A Spot for Frog

June 2022 •English

Locked out of the school art room, a creative non-binary teen named Frog grapples with anxiety as they seek a new place to eat lunch. Imagination blurs with reality in this hybrid work of live action and animation about finding a place to belong.

Martian Child

November 2007 •English

A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.

Bicycle Thieves

July 1948 •Italian

Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.

Drifting Clouds

January 1996 •Finnish

The ever-poker-faced Ilona loses her job as a restaurant hostess, as her tram driver husband, Lauri, also finds himself out of work. Together they must hit the streets of Helsinki, facing up to hardship and humiliation in their quest for survival, guided through the gloom by a ray of hope.

According to Plan

June 2007 •German

Splendid Isolation

July 2022 •English

Little is known about the catastrophe Anna and Hannah have escaped. On a desolate island they find an abandoned house where Anna takes care of Hannah. Hannah’s fragile condition reminds the two lovers that their time together is coming to an end.

The Last Spark of Hope

November 2023 •Polish

A woman, who may be the last human on Earth, struggles to survive with only her robot companion. As she battles the harsh realities of her existence, the stakes intensify when her once-trusted robot turns against her.

Prison of Denial

May 2023 •English

After a young person gets fed up with her repetitive life, she attempts to avoid all responsiblity as she does whatever she wants, but financial problems and other realities of life cause her to doubt her own philosophies