Thursday

An aging Chinese mother suffering from empty nest syndrome gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy.

A father says goodbye to his young daughter. In time the daughter grows old, but within her there is always a deep longing for her father.

A young student decides to have no more interaction with the world than is needed to minimally sustain life. His increasingly automaton-like behavior is coupled with a strange clarity of insight about the world around him.

A happy little potter is approached by a huge hand which wants him to sculpt its statue. The potter refuses, wanting nothing more than to be left alone with his only friend, a potted plant. As the hand's request gives way to bribery, demands, and threats, the potter becomes more desperate to escape its clutch, leading to tragedy.

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

Peter is a slight lad, solitary, locked out of the woods by his protective grandfather, his only friend a duck. In town, he's bullied. When a wolf menaces the duck - as well as grandfather's fat cat and an ill-flying bird that Peter has befriended - Peter bravely tries to tree the wolf. Grandfather, the townspeople, and the hunters who have antagonized Peter figure in the dénouement.