Encontro Silencioso

a documentary and a fiction about reflecting on "pre-cinema".

Against the backdrop of New York City of the early 1850s, a young woman - naively seeking to win the love she reads about in the romance novels she devours - finds one prospect in an earnest denizen of the Bowery, and another in an elegant young aristocrat. Focusing on the bygone era's fashions, the novelty of the bicycle-built-for-two, and an inventor's quest for the horseless carriage, the film gently stirs the audiences' nostalgia for simpler times.

Comedy - This entry in director Jean-Claude La Marre's Pastor Jones series sees the beleaguered clergyman coping with a gap in the church budget. When he can't make a payment on one of the church's loans, the pastor fears he may have to stop funding the choir, and turns to its two lead members (who happen to be quibbling siblings) to help save the day. Will they be able to put their pride aside and keep the choir together? - Jean-Claude La Marre, Nancy Bellany, Richardson Chery

Tyron is one of the top college basketball stars in the country and is expected to be a top NBA draft pick, but as the pressure to perform well in school threatens his ability to perform on the court, things start to fall apart. Then, when his brother, Blak, is released from prison, he is pressured to rejoin the family business hustling drugs on the street. In a last ditch effort to save his star player, Tyron's coach introduces him to Carmen, a tutor who Tyron falls deeply in love with.

Valerie is in love with the pastor at her local church, a "secret" known to the whole congregation but not the pastor. Then the pastor has an accident causing him to switch bodies with the church's gardener. Getting her man may be more difficult than she thought.

The professional gambler Ross Hadley is the owner of a posh gaming establishment in the heart of New York...

Paul Freedman's latest film profiles American servicemen and women who are struggling to readjust to life away from combat. Intimately told by veterans, their families, and those charged with their care, Halfway Home tragically affirms that the toll of war extends far beyond the battlefield. Exploring both the stigma of war-induced "mental health issues" and the negative attitudes towards their treatment, this moving documentary lends a human face to this controversial matter.

Gerald McRaney stars as Jake Lassiter, a colorful ex-football player turned top defense attorney who is hired to defend Dr. Roger Salisbury, a surgeon charged with malpractice in the mysterious death of a wealthy patient, Phillip Corrigan.

Because her father Erich had a heart attack, Meike returns to her hometown on Lake Constance with her son Paul. But Erich is not happy about the visit. He still blames his daughter for his son's death. Only his bright grandson Paul manages to break through the rough shell of the Lake Constance fisherman. And Meike meets her childhood sweetheart, Paul's father, again.

Ketki marries Vinay, who is exploited by hard-nosed businessman Tirpat. Ketki then organizes local women against Tirpat & Co. Her group includes her sister-in-law, who had a run-in with a dangerous priest.

A young man forges a check in order to help his mother, but is caught and sentenced to 14 years in prison...