Escape the Usual

Catarina and the others

March 2011 •Portuguese

Outside, the first sun rays break the dawn. Sixteen years old Catarina can't fall asleep. Inconsequently, in the big city adults are moved by desire... Catarina found she is HIV positive. She wants to drag everyone else along.

The Summer I Turned 15

March 1976 •Norwegian

The story Peter is telling the about a special summer, when he is invited over to summer holiday from bickering parents, to his aunt and uncle in the country. He's been there before, but this summer was quite one to remember.

Escaping Ohio

July 2023 •English

A modern teen movie following Sam and JJ, two 18-yr-olds facing adulthood. When it becomes clear Sam intends to leave their small town for new adventures in California, JJ dares her to let him prove why Ohio is worth sticking around for.

Beautiful Alexander

October 2019 •Dutch

An almost dialogueless, poetic impression of an insecure teenager’s dilemma. Alexander spends his first holiday alone in an old beach cabin. Longing for affection, but searching for his identity, he stays inside. From the cabin, he watches the people on the beach. On a diving board, in the middle of the sand, he spots someone who is making some dance moves. Hesitant at first, but increasingly uninhibited, Alexander mimics him, which yields a cautious dance duet at a safe distance. Will he dare to make the next move?

Pomegranate

Invalid date •English

A group of families gather for their annual getaway at an Italian villa, but when an accusation circulates, it tests the bond of a group of friends.

Billy Elliot

September 2000 •English

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

Dirty Dancing

August 1987 •English

Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.

The 400 Blows

June 1959 •French

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

Glint

December 2025 •English

As the fear of her impending adulthood becomes louder, a sedentary girl is asked to go to a party.

TRiP

July 2024 •English

A camping trip leads to a journey of self discovery during a psychedelic trip.

That Lost Road

February 1991 •Estonian

Teenager Juulius loses his mother and goes to live with Taavi, a wise fisherman. Juulius gets to know the daily life in the fisherman's village, falls in love for the first time, and realizes the complexity of the relationships between those of older generation. While leaving for a stormy sea of life from the village he has still some hope in order to come back to his love and his home port.

Hormones and Other Demons

May 2003 •Norwegian

Eduarda (Eddi) wants to become a woman, but what makes a woman? Maybe breasts help? She goes on holiday with her family and meets Lukas. Unfortunately, she is not the only family member who wants to feel attractive. Are we really defined by what others see?

Drylanders

April 1962 •English

The epic story of the opening of the Canadian West and the drought that brought the Depression in the thirties. This is the saga of a family who left eastern Canada to stake their future in the Prairies.

Thumbsucker - Behind the Scenes

January 2006 •English

Saint Ralph

August 2005 •English

This Canadian made comedy/drama, set in Hamilton, Ontario in 1954, is a sweet and - at times - goofy story that becomes increasingly poignant as the minutes tick by. It's the fictional tale of a wayward 9th grader, Ralph (Adam Butcher), who is secretly living on his own while his widowed, hospitalized mother remains immersed in a coma. Frequently in trouble with Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent), the principal of his all-boys, Catholic school, Ralph is considered something of a joke among peers until he decides to pull off a miracle that could save his mother, i.e., winning the Boston Marathon. Coached by a younger priest and former runner, Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), whose cynicism has been lifted by the boy's pure hope, Ralph applies himself to his unlikely mission, fending off naysayers and getting help along a very challenging path from sundry allies and friends.

Kim Novak Never Swam in Genesaret's Lake

September 2005 •Swedish

14-year old Erik gets sent to live with his older brother, Henry, during the summer as his mother is dying in cancer. Henry starts dating Ewa, who is married to Berra. A few days after Ewa shows up battered and bruised from an altercation with Berra, he is found dead on a nearby parking lot.

Ocaso

July 2014 •Spanish

Jonas, a 14-year-old teenager, takes a walk by the river that runs by his house. His friend Marina shadows him. They meet, spend the afternoon together, and as the daylight fades, so does their innocence.

A Taste of Honey

October 1961 •English

While out to avoid spending time with her narcissistic and promiscuous mother, sixteen-year-old Jo has a brief affair that leaves her pregnant and abandoned. When her mother remarries, Jo's only support becomes her friend Geoffrey, a homosexual.

Dazed and Confused

September 1993 •English

The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.

Now and Then

October 1995 •English

Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty, four childhood girlfriends — Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta — recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more.