American Folklore

El folklore de las bestias

January 2022 •Spanish

A woman is forced to continue working while one of her colleagues lies unconscious on the floor due to the long, hot work days. This fact causes insomnia problems and the suspicion that something is happening at night.

The Love of the Three Pomegranates

March 1979 •Portuguese

In this highly theatrical TV production, Monteiro again draws on the world of folklore – and, more precisely, on the widespread sexual connotation of the pomegranate – to tell a tale of love, envy, treason and mistaken/double identities.

The Lion's Roar

June 1959 •

Chan Kwai-sheung visits the brothel with So Tung-bo while his wife, Lau Yuk-ngo, is sleeping. As this is the first time Sheung did this, Ngo wants him to suffer and so makes him wear a lamp on his head. During the Lantern Festival, the Emperor has fun with his officials. After a few drinks, Bo says that Ngo has lost the virtues of a woman. Ngo immediately appeals to the Emperor. All the women there, including the Empress, say that Bo should be punished. Bo is unhappy and invites his cousin, Kam Cho, seduce Sheung to make Ngo unhappy. Sheung, a philanderer, schemes to take Cho as his concubine. Ngo finds out and beats him. Bo urges Sheung to divorce Ngo. Ngo is furious and lodges a complaint with the imperial court. The Emperor allows Sheung to have a concubine. Ngo pleads that she would rather drink poison than let Sheung take a concubine. Feeling remorseful, Sheung drinks the poison after his wife. Fortunately, the queen has switched the poison with vinegar. The couple reconciles.

Perumthachan

January 1991 •Malayalam

It is based on Perumthachan of the Parayi Petta Panthirukulam, a legend in the Kerala folklore. The problems caused by the generation gap are explored through the relationship between a skilled carpenter and his tradition-breaking son.

A Story of the Forest: Mavka

July 1980 •Ukrainian

Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The Spirit of the Forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.

A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree

May 2023 •English

Padraig, a guilt laden and grief stricken man seeks the help of an eccentric carpenter, John, to help him build a coffin for his already dead and buried wife. As Padraig works with John he begins to discover an ancient hidden world of magic and mythology that has its sinister roots planted deep in the island of Ireland.

The Mother

March 1979 •Portuguese

The Mother is one of Monteiro’s first essays on the universe of Portuguese oral culture, folktales and obscure colloquialisms. The plot revolves around a traditional tale about theft, greed, an ubiquitous mother, and the links between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Trucker

April 2008 •English

Loner Diane Ford is a truck driver with an 11-year-old son, Peter, whom she never sees, and that's fine with her. But, when Peter's father, Len, falls ill, he asks Diane to take care of their son for a while. Eventually, Diane reluctantly agrees, but she quickly realizes that caring for a child interferes with her independent lifestyle - and Peter isn't all that thrilled with the arrangement, either.

Changeling

October 2021 •English

Fear and superstition take hold of a young family during a time of great hunger in 1879 Ireland.

Balada o Vojtovej Marine

January 1964 •Slovak

Jeremiah

May 2019 •English

An Asian-American high school football player is forced to confront his deepest fears after a strange encounter with a mysterious figure.

Veer Mangdavalo

February 1996 •Gujarati

In a land of promises and spirits, Mangdavalo's vow binds him as a ghost, while Padmavati's world crumbles with arranged marriage. Their love defies even death, weaving a tale of magic and sacrifice in a heartwarming journey

This American Journey

October 2013 •English

As children, British actor Paul Blackthorne and Australian photographer Mister Basquali both fell in love with America. Later they each fulfilled their dream to live here, but after two wars, a near economic collapse, and uncertainty about the country's direction, these two expats began to have doubts -- was America still the great place they once dreamed of? They drive across America to find out, interviewing random people about issues that affect and confront us all. From the ghetto to the gun show, the courthouse to the cattle yard, they are touched by the wisdom and insight of the people they meet. This American Journey is a cinematic postcard from the people to the people, teaching us that hearts can be healed at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected places.

His House

January 2020 •English

After making a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, a young refugee couple struggle to adjust to their new life in a small English town that has an unspeakable evil lurking beneath the surface.

Antti Puuhaara

November 1976 •Finnish

In 17th-century Pohjola, young Antti Puuhaara is looking for himself, because he has grown up with no knowledge of his childhood. Two actors, the tragedian and the comedian, who were banished from Tsarist Russia to Karelia, had predicted to the crooked merchant Markki Bohattov that Antti's fate would become intertwined with his own. When Antti falls in love with Bohattov's daughter Darja, the father has to arrange for her to marry the tar merchant Arho Mustahatu.

Meet Me in St. Louis

November 1944 •English

Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family up to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

November

February 2017 •Estonian

In a poor Estonian village, a group of peasants use magic and folk remedies to survive the winter, and a young woman tries to get a young man to love her.

The Commons

April 2022 •English

A group of teenagers go out to a den in the woods for a night of drinking, unaware that their behaviour touches on issues of ritual, folklore, mysticism and UFOs.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

November 1907 •English

One-Eyed Likho

May 1916 •Russian

The plot is the embodiment of everyday belief about the impact of a certain evil force on a person. The action develops in a peasant environment.