Mating

Emotions run high when three estranged sisters reunite in a cramped New York City apartment to watch over their ailing father during his final days.

In an extravagant house in Paris, people gather for sexual ceremonies in luxurious environments. The 83-year-old author, Catherine Robbe-Grillet is the brains and heart behind the erotic role playing. She is the dominatrix who controls what goes on and her partner, who is 31 years her junior, has promised to submit to her smallest command. Lina Mannheimer portrays a puzzling, intellectual and deeply fascinating woman who, accompanied by her husband Alain Robbe-Grillet, has dedicated herself to investigating sex both in life and in literature. The sadomasochistic ceremonies are presented with an intense presence and cinematic focus in this beautiful and thought-provoking debut film about desire, power and silk scarves.

In 2005 Beverly Charpentier declared an oath of allegiance to French writer Catherine Robbe-Grillet. In doing so she gave up her freedom for the rest of her life. The Contract portrays two strong women's unconventional love story, two women who have chosen to explore their love in a unique way, without compromise.

A figure straight out of a novel by Victor Hugo. Each day, the hunchback emerges from the depths of the metropolis to perform a ritual of vivid and bizarre beauty in the shadow of the Centre Pompidou. The man is filthy and eccentric and insults the police officers who try to get him to move on. But he is also a tender and devoted magician with the power to unleash a storm of doves.

Carefully composed images and distinctive portraits invite us into homes and workplaces across the country. By weaving together the simple and the mundane with the existential, the film creates a visual register of our time. It reflects a multifaceted nation and opens up a conversation about who we are as a society—and where we are heading.

A woman in a dark blue burqa directs, without a word, four other women in a room. The Five Senses is a sensuous play with power and hierarchy where traditional roles and identities are challenged.