Griot's Lament

Highway Hypnosis

September 2024 •English

"Highway Hypnosis" - alternatively referred to as "white line fever" - is a dazed state in which a driver may travel long stretches of open road in a compliant and normal fashion, yet with little-to-no recollection of how their destination was reached.

1992

January 2016 •French

It's 1992. Martin is 17 and he films his daily life with his Hi8 camera. He films anything and everything—his room, the world around him... But never his father, the thought doesn't occur to him. One day he meets Dominique. He's 23 and works as a student monitor at Martin's high school.

Thanks to Her

September 2020 •English

Millie Blake, a high school senior soccer player, has her life turned upside down after an altercation with an out and proud classmate of hers, Andy Wellick. As punishment, the two girls get sentenced to a month of community service at a local nursing home. As she begins to not only bond with two of the residents, Jade and Pepper, but with Andy too, Millie begins to understand more about herself and becomes more confident in who she is.

Tateh

January 2010 •Hebrew

Ran returns to the kibbutz where he grew up to visit his father, who recently suffered a heart attack. Ever since Ran became fervently religious, the two have been estranged. Ran is anxious about the impending encounter with his father and the chance for reconciliation, when his van breaks down on the way.

Paradise Lost

January 1999 •Spanish

A picnic by the river. Pablo is in love with his pretty older cousin, but she would rather be alone with her lover, so she gets rid of the boy by sending him off in search of a gift. Something strange happens to Pablo during his trip. Upon his return, he is not the only one whose innocence is at stake.

Palaivana Rojakkal

November 1986 •Tamil

Palaivana Rojakkal is about the struggle between corrupt politicians and angry heroes.

Hunt

December 2018 •Norwegian

14-year-old Asgaut struggles to adjust to life in the small village where he and his mother have settled. After one day receiving unexpected help from the farmer Kjell, Asgaut starts working as a farm hand during the lambing season. The lonely Kjell appreciates having Asgaut on the farm, while Asgaut longs for care and security. A close friendship evolves, but is challenged when the people of the village jump to conclusions about their relationship.

Elicit

September 2023 •English

About the isolation and loneliness of the person with dementia, and the person caring for the person with the illness.

My Ira

June 2019 •English

The true story of a young mother sitting in a tree, while a rope languishes around her neck.

Madden

January 2023 •Swedish

To Madeleine, the muddy road to the nearby town in front of her family’s farm seems like a threshold to another world. A mystical coming-of-age story in which the teenager experiences glimpses of the unknown as feelings of longing and loyalty collide.

Counterfeit Kunkoo

January 2018 •Hindi

In a city overflowing with buildings and slums, Smita must find herself a house to rent. She is hard-working, honest and respectful - the ideal tenant - except for one glaring flaw. She is a middle-class Indian woman without a husband. An intimate perspective on the identity of the 'Ideal Indian Female' in urban India of today.

Red

April 2020 •English

Red is the story of three teens in rural Pennsylvania who are torn apart by the closet. James and Lizzy's seemingly normal relationship is shattered by Aaron, the guy James hooked up with and who is unable to bear their secret and confronts James.

Hashtag

May 2019 •English

In a future where social media dominates every moment of our lives, "X" has attained unprecedented celebrity but obscurity is just a click away.

Paradise Lost?

July 2015 •English

After discovering that John Milton is buried within London's Barbican grounds, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard reimagined his epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’ as part of Doug Aitken's Station to Station project. The piece uses the architecture and atmosphere of the Barbican to update the story, which is told in three parts.

Thermopylae

October 2005 •English

A distraught man in coat and tie grips the guardrail at a remote cliff overlooking the Pacific. At a boys' high school in toney Rancho Palos Verdes, Mr. Radford teaches classics. His best student is the earnest Andrew. Late one evening, Andrew stops by Mr. Radford's office; Andrew's been the only student to do well on a recent exam. They chat, and something happens that brings a sleepless night to Mr. Radford. The next day, Andrew misses Mr. Radford's class, and after, Mr. Radford is aghast to see Andrew and Andrew's father waiting outside the principal's office. What's the teacher's fear, and what will he do about it?

Suburban Story

August 2024 •English

Struggling against the harsh realities of poverty, a devoted father, Mike reluctantly turns to burglary to provide for his daughter. The narrative unfolds through the varied viewpoints of those touched by his actions.

In Another Time

February 2025 •English

Two boys meet in one room, but something is strange.

Ane

November 2018 •Spanish

Etude, Solo

August 2011 •Korean

A piano tuner happens to go to a children´s outdoor concert for business. There, he meets his first lover who he played the piano together with in his childhood.

Out of Body

February 2025 •English

Over the course of a muggy summer day in New England, two friends meander from place to place, getting high and avoiding the aftermath of a recent family tragedy.