Circus of Life

Wings of Desire

September 1987 •German

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds -- with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk -- that it might be possible for him to take human form.

The Tin Drum

May 1979 •German

Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.

Big Fish

December 2003 •English

Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.

La Strada

September 1954 •Italian

When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.

The Street Player

August 1983 •Arabic

Fares, a shoe factory worker, has only one passion in life: football. He lives a humble life in a chaotic neighborhood where he plays street football to increase his income. However, neither his marriage nor his job is stable enough. He goes through a lot of problems due to his lack of self-discipline with his divorced wife and his son.

Zirkus des Lebens

December 1921 •German

Spangles

November 1926 •English

At a three-ring circus, 'Spangles' Delancy, a beautiful bareback horse rider, falls in love with a wanted man, Dick Radley, who uses the circus as a hideout. The show's owner Big Bill Bowman also falls in love with Spangles-- But only one man can have her.

The Girl on the Bridge

March 1999 •French

It's night on a Paris bridge. A girl leans over Seine River with tears in her eyes and a violent yearning to drown her sorrows. Out of nowhere someone takes an interest in her. He is Gabor, a knife thrower who needs a human target for his show. The girl, Adele, has never been lucky and nowhere else to go. So she follows him. They travel along the northern bank of the Mediterranean to perform.

The Three Kings

November 1928 •English

Drama set around a circus at Blackpool. A clown loves a young housekeeper and saves her from a fire caused by a jealous lion tamer.

Heirs

November 1960 •Russian

A youth brigade at one of Kyiv's factories is competing for the title of Communist Labor Brigade. They are assisted by an old worker, Yakov Sereda. However, two people actively interfere with the Komsomol members: the rogue Yevgeny, who pretends to be a self-taught inventor, and the careerist engineer Kamensky...

Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man

May 2000 •English

A child is born. We see underwater swimmers representing this. He is young, in a jungle setting, with two fanciful "instincts" guiding him as swooping bird-like acrobats initially menace, then delight. As an adolescent, he enters a desert, where a man spins a large cube of metal tubing. He leaves his instinct-guides behind, and enters a garden where two statues dance in a pond. As he watches their sensual acrobatics of love, he becomes a man. He is offered wealth (represented by a golden hat) by a devil figure. In a richly decorated room, a scruffy troupe of a dozen acrobats and a little girl reawaken the old man's youthful nature and love.

Katharina Knie

February 1929 •German

"Katharina Knie" is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Karl Grune and starring Eugen Klöpfer, Carmen Boni and Adele Sandrock. It is based on the 1928 play of the same title by Carl Zuckmayer.

A Beautiful Woman

December 1930 •French

Father-and-son lion tamers, Rabbas and Léo share a mistress - Rosita, the " lovely bitch " of the film's title. She is as wild as their lionesses and, in a single night the father is injured and the son attempts suicide. Only when Rosita leaves the circus can things get back to normal.

Fragrant

February 2023 •Persian

Ali has a great talent for perfumery and will soon become a father. Along the way, he faces new challenges and must complete his unfinished work in a limited amount of time...

Mela

December 1980 •Malayalam

Govindan Kutty (Raghu) is a clown who works in the circus. He comes to his village looking for a bride. Sharada (Anjali Naidu) is impressed by his charms and seemingly rich lifestyle and agrees to marry him. When they reach back the circus after getting married, things however change considerably. Govindan is an insignificant figure there and is frequently ignored by everyone else. The frustrated Sharada meets a stuntman Vijayan (Mammootty) and gets close to him much to the discomfort of Govindan.

The Sin of Nora Moran

December 1933 •English

Nora Moran, a young woman with a difficult and tragic past, is sentenced to die for a murder that she did not commit. She could easily reveal the truth and save her own life, if only it would not damage the lives, careers and reputations of those whom she loves.

Street Angel

April 1928 •English

A spirited young woman finds herself destitute and on the streets before joining a traveling carnival, where she meets a vagabond painter.

Never.

September 2021 •English

A business meeting dives into the socio-political when a truly human moment moves the group to speak their hidden truths.

Serpico

December 1973 •English

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Lessons of Tolerance

February 2024 •Ukrainian

A Ukrainian LGBTQ+ acceptance group is formed by teacher Nadia. A stereotypically homophobic family hesitantly decides to sign up to receive tempting financial supplements. They will need to spend 24 hours with group members Vasyl, beer fan Zenyk, actress Diana and aggressive Denys. Through amusing games, they will learn about homophobia, equality, empathy, gender discrimination, and self-fulfillment. They play games promoting equality and empathy, using humor against prejudice.