Bobak Lotfipour

In a society where kissing is punishable by death, and people pay for things by receiving slaps to the face, Angine, an unhappy woman, shops compulsively in a department store. There, she becomes fascinated by a playful salesgirl. Despite the prohibition of kissing, the two become close, raising the suspicions of a jealous colleague.

The cultural roots of coal continue to permeate the rituals of daily life in Appalachia even as its economic power wanes. The journey of a coal miner’s daughter exploring the region’s dreams and myths, untangling the pain and beauty, as her community sits on the brink of massive change.

After their getaway goes wrong, two bank robbers (sisters Connie and Sly) set off a nearby car alarm. The siren pulls them into a trance-like state, making them perform a wild, hypnotic dance around the vehicle.

A daughter reflects on her father's life - weaving the story of his miraculous journey from the streets of India with the realities of life in America. Using recorded phone calls with her dad while he worked nights at a gas station along with home movies past and present, this deeply personal essay film is a meditation on family, the immigrant experience, and the dreams we carry with us.

Although a portrait of the troubled Rust Belt city of Youngstown, Ohio, “The Place That Makes Us” offers a gratifyingly hopeful look at efforts to restore a town ravaged by the prolonged economic distress caused by the closure of its iconic steel mills and related industries.