Renaissance

Director: Christian Volckman

Year: 2007

A beautiful young woman, Ilona Tasuiev is violently kidnapped. Initial attempts to find her are in vain, but no ransom has been demanded. As the snow falls, and Officer Karas takes over the investigation, he knows that he holds Ilona's future in his hands. The cop sinks deeper and deeper into the urban jungles that are the new Parisian districts, governed by local mafia and militia: cities within a city, dedicated to partying and forbidden pleasures. Karas finds a connection between Ilona and disgraced scientist, Jonas Muller, and he meets Ilona's sister, Bislane, an organizer of underground techno raves. Karas constructs an intriguing picture of the missing girl, a child of war and exile, envied for her beauty, possessed of a brilliant imagination and a passion for perfection. As he retraces Ilona's movements, he senses he has unwelcome company, and his stalkers will do anything to get in his way. Karas is spied on and threatened, witnesses are assassinated, someone tries to kill him. The cop no longer knows if his quarry is victim or villain, angel or monster. To locate her becomes a matter of life or death for Karas, and maybe for the whole of civilization. She holds the scientific key to the ultimate question, whether man can be made God: the Renaissance protocol.

Director: Ben O'Connor

Year: 2026

Robbie exists on the margins of society. He lives alone on a narrow boat in rural England with little means. He has found solace in isolation and a humble life. Unexpectedly he is contacted with the unwanted news of his estranged father’s death. This drags up emotions from the past that quickly become too much to bear… And so, the story begins… A journey back into his past. A journey on a motorcycle to find his mother. He drives, alone, through desolate landscapes, barren and mountainous, into the depths of his mind. A dream world where Robbie is forced to confront his past. Two stories emerge; memories from his childhood recurrently appear, fracturing the present where ex-lovers who have shaped his life confront him in surreal encounters. With time the two stories collide, past and present become one. The road leads in one direction, back to his childhood home and ultimately, his first and now final love; his mother. For where he began, he will now end and know himself for the first time.

Director: Simon Brooke

Year: 2025

Boyfriends Connor, Silas, and Connor’s dad Rob arrive home. Connor and Silas show affection. Rob drops his yellow work bucket in the kitchen. Little brother Max sits up for dinner while mum, Jan, plans for his sixth birthday. They watch the evening news announcing a scientific discovery; if a boy sees yellow while hearing a woman sing on his sixth birthday, he will grow up gay. The notion of this quotidian trigger creates a tense silence. Connor, anxious, realises his parents can choose whether Max grows up gay. The next day, Max chooses colours for his party, ignoring yellow. Connor sees the yellow bucket in the kitchen has been replaced with a blue one. That night, Connor wakes Max to ask if anyone told him what colours to pick. Max insists he chose his favourites. Before the party, Jan fears she is losing her voice. Rob takes Connor to the pub and reassures him the yellow bucket broke, and that he and Jan are proud Connor is gay. At the party, Connor withdraws to his room. Jan follows and finds he has hidden every yellow object in the house. Upset, they gently return to the celebration leaving the objects.