Desert Flower

A Puerto Rican saying haunts single women in their 30s: "If such a woman is not married by this time, she must be a slut, a lesbian, or a prude". This is the story of that woman. Gabi Padilla lives a life of pleasure and independence. But after her mother's unexpected death, she is forced to return to her rural hometown—a place where Gabi's sensual flair is not welcome.

15-year-old Julie feels that time stands still in the suburban neighborhood where she lives with her helpless mother and older sister. When her sister's boyfriend drops by the house a warm day during summer vacation she sees the opportunity to not only escape from the heavy weighing atmosphere of her childhood home, but also to satisfy some of the restlessness and curiosity that lives in her evolving teenage body.

When a mysterious crime takes the life of her only brother, an Ethiopian American woman searches for the truth behind his death, while struggling to reconcile cultural expectations with her own pursuit of self-identity and love.

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

When Jack and Diane find themselves in an unexpected adult situation, the A-Squad comes to their rescue. In order to help their friend Diane, the A-Squad goes where no cheerleader has gone before: taking on a little after-school project known as bank robbery. But the A-Squad does things their way - with sugar and spice - forever changing their friendship, their future and the nation's notion of teen spirit.

After moving from Calcutta to New York, members of the Ganguli family maintain a delicate balancing act between honoring the traditions of their native India and blending into American culture. Although parents Ashoke and Ashima are proud of the sacrifices they make to give their children opportunities, their son Gogol strives to forge his own identity without forgetting his heritage.

The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwanted attention from the police, the I.R.A., the U.V.F., and members of his own team.

The life of a woman is transformed after she is diagnosed with a terminal disease, fired from her job and abandoned by her boyfriend. Given two months to live, she throws caution to the wind to pursue her dreams.

When a new friend is brutally assaulted, Detective John Droomor is put by chance in charge of the investigation. Although the evidence against the perpetrators seems overwhelming, there is nothing definitive in the case that guarantees justice is served, even more so if some people are willing to twist and betray it.

Freedom, Nigeria's contribution to the 1957 Berlin Film Festival, was based on a play commissioned by the Moral Re-Armament Association. Based on a stage piece, the film is an unabashed paean to the MRA, demonstrating how the organization helped to check British colonialism and radical insurrection in Nigeria and bring peace to the troubled country. Subtlety is not the film's strong suit, and as a result the film seems at times to be a self-parody. Reportedly the first African production to be lensed in color, Freedom benefits from the cinematographic expertise of Scandinavia's Richard Taegstrom and Aimo Jaederman. The film was enthusiastically received at the Berlin festival, but fared less well when released internationally.