The Bench

The Paper Store

March 2016 •English

A former college student writes essays for cash until a client becomes her lover.

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

February 1976 •English

Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff who keep up his dingy establishment. He also has a major gambling problem that has gotten him in trouble before. When Cosmo loses big-time at an underground casino run by mobster Mort, he isn't able to pay up. Mort then offers Cosmo the chance to pay back his debt by knocking off a pesky, Mafia-protected bookie.

True Confessions

September 1981 •English

A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.

Attack

September 1956 •English

Battle of the Bulge, World War II, 1944. Lieutenant Costa, an infantry company officer who must establish artillery observation posts in a strategic area, has serious doubts about Captain Cooney's leadership ability.

Kristína

December 1978 •Slovak

Preaching to the Choir

October 2005 •English

Estranged since the death of their parents years ago, twin brothers Teshawn and Wesley Tucker have taken radically different paths in life. Wes has become a minister in a Harlem gospel church while Te perpetrates the gangster lifestyle as hip-hop star Zulu. They are forced into reconciliation when Te flees from LA to his childhood home in Harlem to hide from his enraged record producer, Bull Sharky. As Bull Sharky and his posse move east tracking Te down, Te and Wes must confront their own demons and attempt to work out their differences.

Pastor's Kid

March 2024 •English

In this raw true story of faith and redemption, college student, Riley, runs from her painful past of abuse and religious hypocrisy. However, God has other plans for Riley when an unforeseen circumstance compels her to confront the very source of her anguish – her estranged mother. As she unravels the layers of her painful childhood, Riley discovers the transformative power of forgiveness and the strength to break free from the chains of her past.

Another Country

June 1984 •English

In Moscow in 1983, an American journalist interviews Guy Bennett, who recalls his last year at public school, fifty years before, and how it contributed to him becoming a spy.

Academy of Satan

January 2009 •English

Misha, Dalton, Jaxon, Hamlet, and David are young aspiring actors who move to Hollywood to follow their dream, but wind up testing their fate with consequences beyond their wildest imagination. Each of the actors have been hand picked by 'The Master'. A dark, mysterious teacher who promises to teach them the ultimate secret to success. Without knowing it, the young faithful dreamers are set to the test of their lives. They are hypnotized, mentally and physically abused and brainwashed as The Master slowly steals away any human instinct and empathy from them and applies a strange animal behavior instead. He calls it his unique acting technique. But in spite of all their hopes, dreams and aspirations The Master is never planning on giving them the secret to success. He has his own dark agenda. He is the hungry wolf in the jungle waiting for the right moment to prey on little girls. Just like the fairy tale of 'Little Red Riding Hood'.

Mi Vida Loca

June 1994 •English

Mousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie's boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, the violence of the world around them soon also impacts their lives.

Echoes of Innocence

February 2005 •English

A contemporary high school girl hears voices and sees visions like Joan of Arc. She is torn between her commitment to a long-lost first love and her growing feelings for another.

Ligne de vie

February 2003 •French

An old man recounts: I have always worn glasses. Even in the camp, I managed to keep them. We feared the night almost as much as the day. One night, they brought in a newcomer, a bearded man. His drawings over the days had become essential to us. The guards did not understand that only death would prevent him from drawing. All that remains of the camp is this piece of wall, with his last drawing, which he called "Ligne de vie (Lifeline)."

Life Is Nice

January 1991 •English

In suburban Los Angeles, old friends Josh and Silo try to find meaning in their quite often meaningless existence. As Clara, Josh's domineering and often manipulative girlfriend, plays the buddies' emotions against each other, they discover just what their friendship is made of and what a girlfriend is or isn't.

Newsies

February 2017 •English

A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.

The Ruling Class

September 1972 •English

When the Earl of Gurney dies in a cross-dressing accident, his schizophrenic son, Jack, inherits the Gurney estate. Jack is not the average nobleman; he sings and dances across the estate and thinks he is Jesus reincarnated. Believing that Jack is mentally unfit to own the estate, the Gurney family plots to steal Jack's inheritance. As their outrageous schemes fail, the family strives to cure Jack of his bizarre behavior, with disastrous results.

The Rainbow Warrior

March 1997 •English

Peter Wilcox, as skipper of the 'Rainbow Warrior', a Greenpeace ship, docks in Auckland, July 1985, preparing for a protest against French nuclear testing in the south pacific. When a bomb rips open the vessel, killing a crew member, he must convince the police superintendent that this is an act of terrorism. Determined not to allow outside forces to threaten their harbor, the police embark on a pursuit of the persons responsible. The events that follow nearly bring down an allied nation's government.

Orphans

September 1987 •English

Brothers Treat and Philip have only had each other since they were kids, when a small-time criminal abruptly upends their routine lives.

Cop

February 1988 •English

An obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.

A Huey P. Newton Story

June 2001 •English

The story of how the radical Huey P. Newton developed the Black Panther Party based on his 10-point program for social reform.

Indecipherable

November 2025 •English

A boy gets trapped in his house at night all alone as he starts losing himself in his thoughts and starts to understand the possibility of not being alone.