Africa F.O.B.

Modern Inventions

May 1937 •English

Donald Duck goes to a museum of modern inventions. After getting in without paying, he meets a robot butler who takes Donald's hat every time he sees him. Donald is very annoyed by this and magically fixes himself a new hat every time this happens and strolls on. Ignoring the sign not to touch it, Donald starts playing with a wrapping machine and ends up being wrapped himself. He also encounters and tries out a robot nursemaid and a fully automatic barber chair. They both don't do him much good.

Mammy

March 1930 •English

Mammy features Al Jolson as the star of a travelling minstrel show, appearing in cities and towns across the U.S. Jolson falls in love with an actress in the troupe (Lois Moran), but she loves another (Lowell Sherman). Sherman is shot onstage as part of a comedy bit, and it is assumed that Jolson is guilty of putting the bullet in the gun.

Wonder Bar

March 1934 •English

Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love with Inez. When Inez finds out that Harry wants to leave Paris and is going to the USA with Liane, she kills him.

Minstrel Man

January 1944 •English

Unusually elaborate for a PRC film, Minstrel Man is a lively musical drama built around the talents of veteran vaudevillian Benny Fields. The star is cast as Dixie Boy Johnson, who rises from the ranks of minstrel shows to become a top Broadway attraction. On the opening night of his greatest stage triumph, Dixie Boy's wife dies in childbirth. Profoundly shaken, he walks out of the show, leaving the baby to be raised by his showbiz pals Mae and Lasses White (Gladys George, Roscoe Karns). The kid grows up to be an attractive young woman named Caroline (Judy Clark), who follows in her dad's footsteps by billing herself as-that's right-Dixie Girl Johnson. This leads to a tearful reunion between Caroline and the father she'd long assumed to be dead. If Minstrel Man seems at times to be a dress rehearsal for Columbia's The Jolson Story (1946), it shouldn't surprising: the PRC film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, who went on to helm Jolson Story's musical highlights.

David Harewood on Blackface

July 2023 •English

At its peak, The Black and White Minstrel Show was watched by a Saturday night audience of more than 20 million people. David Harewood goes on a mission to understand the roots of this strange, intensely problematic cultural form: where did the show come from, and what made it popular for so long? With the help of historians, actors and musicians, David uncovers how, at its core, blackface minstrelsy was simply an attempt to make racism into an art form - and can be traced back to a name and a date.

Los porretas

September 1996 •Spanish

Mr. Zhu's Summer

November 2017 •Chinese

Mr. Zhu teaches in an elementary school. He is not very smart but always tries to remain his integrity. His care and affection for students are not appreciated by all. Fellow teachers also complain about his innovative ways to inspire students. Two problematic students, King Kong and Grasshopper are headache to Mr. Zhu. Their mischievous behavior results in Zhu's humiliation and frustration. He resigns. Now it's the task for the students to win him back...

Güzel Bir Gün İçin

January 1965 •Turkish

Abbas, a widower, lives with his three children and his sister Zarife, who sings in a nightclub. Abbas is in love with Cemile, who works at the same store. Cemile, who feels sorry for Abbas and acts friendly toward him, giving him hope, is in a relationship with Zeki.

El jefe máximo

October 1940 •Spanish

A 1940 film directed by Fernando de Fuentes.

La Grâce

April 1979 •French

Duperrier, a model of piety, justice and charity, wakes up one day with a halo over his head, to the great despair of his wife who fears the gossip of the neighborhood. He's obliged to do everything possible to lose this gift from heaven.

Rakshadhikari Baiju (Oppu)

April 2017 •Malayalam

A kind-hearted government employee in his forties, who spends most of his time with youngsters, selflessly intervenes in the problems of his near and dear ones.

We Are Family

July 2017 •English

Six strangers (of different backgrounds, cultures, and economic statuses) are invited to a mysterious home, each for different reasons. With nothing in common, they soon find out that they are actually brothers and sisters. The father they never knew about has died. As a part of his last will and testament, he will spread his millions equally amongst them, if they are willing to spend the next 24 hours together. All hell is about to break loose.

TuttoBenigni 95/96

December 1996 •Italian

One laugh after another, a sparkle of jokes. In the live performance of the 95/96 season Benigni presents the program of his "Partito del Pinzimonio". A torrent of joy. From the Electoral Reform to the reform of the Ten Commandments until Benigni becomes God, gets angry looking at Italy and proclaims the anticipated Last Judgement. No one can miss the roll call: Berlusconi, Craxi, D'Alema, Prodi, Ferrara, Bossi, Fini, Sgarbi, Buttiglione... Benigni's is a terrible God, except that at each of his judgements all humanity gathered in the valley of Giosafat bursts into a thunderous laughter. Justice is done!

Wawa

January 2008 •French

Garance has just lost her Wawa. It’s going to be picked up, rolled around, transported, thrown away, carted off, dragged off, snatched up, shot, smashed, trampled, given away, pushed around, stolen, soiled, forgotten, chewed on, slapped, crushed, banged up, and found again. This is the story of the unfortunate trip of a stuffed dog through the streets of Paris.

There's Something About Mary

July 1998 •English

For Ted, prom night went about as bad as it’s possible for any night to go. Thirteen years later, he finally gets another chance with his old prom date, only to run up against other suitors including the sleazy detective he hired to find her.

Transamerica

February 2005 •English

A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.

Bread and Tulips

March 2000 •Italian

An endearing light comedy about a woman who spontaneously becomes a resident of Venice after her family left her behind. While enjoying the wonderful people she meets she achieves a new life and the first time independent of her family.