VPRO

Nisha, a trans woman from Pakistan working as a dancer in the Netherlands, is conflicted about proceeding with gender-affirming surgery. Every time she embraces her identity, she is subjected to strange attacks and visions. Chaos ensues when her inner demons decide to take on the demons outside.

A group of people gather at a Copenhagen suburban home to break all the limitations and to bring out the 'inner idiot' in themselves.

In a medieval Dutch village, a young woman is caught between her faith, fanatic townsfolk and the dark forces lurking in the woods.

Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

A young girl sets out to prove to her disapproving mother she can house-train the endearing but unruly little piglet she gets as a birthday gift from her estranged oddball grandfather.

Struggling to get home to her stranded baby, a young mother in Amsterdam receives an emergency alert on her phone: a nuclear missile has been launched at the city and residents have forty-five minutes to evacuate.

Derek and Nancy Haysom were brutally murdered in their house in Lynchburg, Virginia, on March 30, 1985. Suspicion fell on their daughter Elizabeth and her boyfriend Jens Söring. They flee to Europe, but are caught and extradited to the U.S. Elizabeth is sentenced to 90 years in jail for incitement to murder, Jens Söring to two life sentences. Karin Steinberger, Marcus Vetter and their team spent over three years researching this case, which achieved world-wide notoriety. They uncovered new evidence, including the fact none of the blood samples found at the scene of the crime belonged to Jens Söring.

In Eastern Ukraine, childhood neighbors find their lives violently derailed by a shifting frontline. Natasha, a promising boxing talent, becomes a military paramedic. Angela, who lost her parents at a young age, survives by moving goods to both sides of the front. Caught in a modern Greek tragedy, brothers Mark and Ruslan now fight on opposite sides – against each other. In the safety of his adoptive family in the United States, their youngest brother Daniil follows the war from afar.

Identical twin zoologists lose their wives in a car crash caused by a white swan. They become obsessed with the death and decay of animals, and develop a strange and unusual relationship with the driver of the car, a woman who is now an amputee.

Two Iranian men, young student Shahram and older journalist Abbas meet at Schiphol airport. In order to make a better chance for asylum they decide to pretend to be homosexual.

What do you do if you dream of success but have secretly always felt that it isn't meant for you? While nearly 30-year-old filmmaker Emma Boelhouwer has been grappling with this question for years, her former classmates Xander Vrienten, Géza Weisz, and Victor Crezée—boys she once played with in the sandbox—have grown into successful bassists, actors, and DJs. Why did they manage to lead successful lives, while she feels her life has yet to begin? In this personal, tragicomic documentary, Emma delves into the lives of her successful former classmates to find an answer to the question that has been occupying her for years: is there still hope for Emma Boelhouwer?

Sjef van Oekel escapes from prison and heads for a restaurant. Unfortunately there is nobody there to annoy. Even at the train station he is ignored by former colleagues and he ends up alone.

One night in the trenches during the Spanish Civil War, Joan Brossa heard a voice call his name. He didn't see anyone and walked towards where he thought the sound came from. A moment later, a shell hit the ground where he had just been standing. From that moment on, Brossa wanted to be a poet.

In the slums of Manila, 11-year-old Ginto dreams of gang life over scavenging, rejecting his sister Asia’s care as she turns to sex work to survive. As Ginto falls for another boy in the gang, he’s forced to confront his identity and desires amid violence and poverty. Meanwhile, Dutch tourist Michael, consumed by dark impulses, descends into the city’s red-light district. When their paths cross, Ginto faces an impossible choice that will shape both their fates in a world where innocence is currency and survival comes at a cost.

The social contract: the rules we follow - and some don’t. Breaking Social uncovers the pattern of corruption and kleptocracy erasing the social tissue, followed by social uprisings. In Chile a new turn is taken, with young women in the lead.

In 17th-century Europe, two women fleeing the witch hunts create a refuge at the edge of the world, until a man becomes their unwilling captive and sparks a dangerous love triangle.

Caught in the crossfire of their parents’ divorce, Nina and Eli are torn between loyalty, anger and a longing to be seen. Through their mirrored perspectives the same story unfolds, revealing how love can fracture and still find its way.

Abel has never left home (literally). After failing with doctors and psychiatrists, Abel's father Victor brings home Christine, a friend, in an attempt to teach Abel basic social skills. But Victor's wife Duif accuses him of having an affair, and in the ensuing row Abel is thrown out into the street. But help is at hand when he runs into kind-hearted stripper Zus - whose show Victor is obsessed with…

A burglar gets caught on a farm by an older woman. The religious woman, who's body is covered with ulceration, believes he is there for a reason.