Among the Cinders 1984
1h 44m | Drama | Release date: July 1985 (United States)
Storyline:
Author Maurice Shadbolt went before the cameras to play father to the main character, in this adaptation of his acclaimed coming of age novel. Teen Nick is estranged from his family, and blaming himself for his Maori mate’s climbing death. He runs away to his straight talking grandfather – who takes him bush – and loses his virginity to Sally (a first film role for Rebecca Gibney).
A tender coming-of-age tale, Pashi follows a young boy from a Himalayan village as he fumbles through the maze of adolescence, infatuation, and queer identity. Siddharth Chauhan imaginatively uses dream sequences and folk traditions to tell an emotionally intricate story of desire.
Rolltreppe Abwärts 2005
1h 11m | Drama | Release date: August 3, 1990 (West Germany)
Storyline:
13-year-old Joham lives with his single mother and her boyfriend somewhere in a poor area of modern Germany. Having no pocket money, he sometimes resorts to petty theft. His older buddy incites him to bigger thefts, and in the end the boy gets caught…
A Dog of Flanders 1999
1h 40m | Family, Drama | Release date: August 27, 1999 (United States)
Storyline:
Poor, but happy, young Nello and his grandfather live alone, delivering milk as a livelihood, in the outskirts of Antwerp, a city in Flanders (the Flemish or Dutch-speaking part of modern-day Belgium). They discover a beaten dog (a Bouvier, a large sturdy dog native to Flanders) and adopt it and nurse it back to health, naming it Patrasche, the middle name of Nello’s mother Mary, who died when Nello was very young. Nello’s mother was a talented artist, and like his mother, he delights in drawing, and his friend Aloise is his model and greatest fan and supporter.
The Railway Children 1970
1h 49m | Drama, Family | Release date: December 22, 1970 (United Kingdom)
Storyline:
In Edwardian England, the story of the Waterbury family is told largely from the perspective of the three offspring and by oldest, teenage daughter Bobbie. Their loving and relatively affluent family life in suburban London, financially supported by father Charles’ job as a government bureaucrat, includes both parents being a present and welcome part of their children’s activities. Their existence is upended when on Christmas evening 1904, Charles is whisked away without warning by two men. Subsequently, the remaining family is forced to move, they renting a rundown and drafty house, Three Chimneys, in the rural village of Oakworth, Yorkshire. While the three children know that they are now poor by their existence, all their Mother has told Bobbie is that Father is not dead, that he will someday return to them when he is able, and for Bobbie and the others not to ask questions about what happened to him. The three are now forced to find a way to occupy their time while Mother tries to earn pocket money by writing and selling stories, many of their activities which are centered on the railway near their house and the railway tunnel a few miles away from the village station. Their life along the railway at least addresses one of the complaints the three had about their life in London, that not much ever happened, which is not the case along the railway as they get into one adventure after another. In the process, they learn to enjoy life in their new situation, which includes the friendship and admiration of many of the villagers in all the Waterburys’ inherent kindness and generosity. But the question still remains, at least for the three children, of what happened to Father.
Háblame de ti 2022
1h 40m | Comedy, Drama | Release date: October 6, 2022 (Mexico)
Storyline:
Follows Chava, a 17-year-old boy who has a secret admirer, but feels more attracted to boys. When leaving his school in a rainy day, Carlos offers him a ride, and so their adventure begins.
Le Colosse aux Pieds d’Argile 2022
1h 31m | Drama | Release date: April 30, 2023 (France)
Storyline:
Sébastien is a former rugby player and a true colossus. Between 12 to 16, he seemed to be a child with the happy demeanor typical of his native Southwest region. But this joie de vivre was actually a smokescreen intended to protect his family’s harmony. During those four years, Sébastien was a victim of rape. For four years, he suffered in silence because his abuser was none other than a close friend of his parents, loved by all. Thirty years later, Sébastien remains unable to come clean. His demons are destroying him. He wavers between his need for revenge and his desire to ensure that no one else will have to live through what he has. After Sébastien meets a kid, a wounded little giant like the child he once was, and reconnects with the girl he didn’t know how to love as a teenager, he is compelled to make the right choice – justice… But at what cost?
Punch 2022
1h 38m | Drama, Sport | Release date: July 27, 2022 (New Zealand)
Storyline:
Jim is a seventeen-year-old boxer in a small town. He’s a golden boy, preparing for a fight that will elevate him to an early professional status. All bets are on his climb to success. But his father Stan is a demanding coach and a notorious alcoholic. As Jim begins to rethink why he is fighting, his life tangles with Whetu, a razor-tongued, gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack with his dog Moimoi where he cobbles together a fragile glamour and dreams of leaving town to become a musician. Away from the rainbow flags and Pride parades, Jim and Whetu must navigate isolation, hypocrisy, the brutality of small-town boxing, and an anonymous queer bashing that no one will talk about. As Jim stumbles towards discovering what it really is to be a gay man, he is forced to understand that strength has little to do with heroism.