Jakob, a young man who enters a school, run by brother and sister Herr and Lisa Benjamenta, which trains servants. The teachers emphasize to the students that they are unimportant people. Jakob finds the school to be an oppressive environment, and does not enjoy the lessons in subservience that he receives. He proceeds to challenge the Benjamentas and attempts to shift the find out more...

Set against the backdrop of an elite American East Coast prep school, protagonist Robert is an apathetic teenager who seems interested only in YouTube-esque videos of either babies, kittens, pornography or violent acts. When Robert takes part in the school's AV club he unexpectedly captures a traumatic event that will irreversibly alter the lives of everyone at his school. Far from ‘easy viewing', 'Afterschool' is an intense, intelligent and provocative account of one boy's conflicted and trou find out more...

Yuichi is an introverted young teenage lad whose sole emotional outlet and escape from the harsher realities of life is his love of music and in particular the iconic pop star Lily Chou Chou. Via her music and the solace of her website Yuichi gradually begins to find himself a voice and a belief in his own worth. "All About Lily Chou Chou" is a stunning piece of cinema, both to see and hear, while the story itself is a thoughtful and perceptive observation of the difficulties that can overwhelm find out more...

This is the middle story of Satyajit Ray's Bengali trilogy and, after Pather Panchali, we find Apu on the cusp of adulthood. The young lad moves with his family to Benares but with the death of his father, Apu's desire to continue his learning is affirmed and as his passion for knowledge grows so he and his mother find themselves drifting apart, especially as he wants to leave home and go to Calcutta to study. Aparajito is a beautifully drawn film and an immaculate observation of the characters find out more...

In a Catholic boarding school during the Nazi occupation of France, Julien Quietin, played by Gaspard Manesse as the character based around Malle, is no ordinary student, he is intelligent and different from the others. A new student arrives at the school one day and becomes a sort of intellectual rival to Julien, but, after some early hostilities, the boys begin to connect and eventually become good friends. Malle does not rely on overly dramatic sequences where not necessary as a way to build find out more...

Using as its back drop the ancient Buddhist statue of Bamiyan, that was blown to pieces by the Taliban in 2001, we follow Baktay, a six-year-old girl who makes the momentous decision to go to school. Using her mum's lipstick for a pencil the wee lass sets off on her mission, but so ingrained is the violence and suffering that she and her peers have experienced that young Baktay's simple goal becomes an increasingly perilous odyssey. ‘Buddha Collapsed out of Shame' is a powerful, deeply poignant, find out more...

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal is to take find out more...

Gus Van Sant's take on the shooting at Columbine High School is a masterpiece. Using a cast of unprofessional actors, he has created a unique and highly affecting film, rich in atmosphere and style. The non-linear narrative follows the experiences of the key characters, giving a different perspective of events in the short time frame (most of the events shown in the film take place in about an hour). While the tension in the film obviously comes from the impending violence, the film's strongest find out more...

An excellent sequel to the Australian coming-of-age film "The Year My Voice Broke". Danny is now an outsider at boarding school where he falls for an African girl from the near-by girl's school. They manage to sustain a relationship with hilarious and charming consequences, capturing the goose-bumps, grunts, giggles and gorgeous rapture of teenage love. Taylor is a jowly delight, while 16-year-old newcomer Newton throws savage glances and sensuous smiles with the assured air of a seasoned profes find out more...

Romeo Aldea (49), a physician living in a small mountain town in Transylvania, has raised his daughter Eliza with the idea that once she turns 18, she will leave to study and live abroad. His plan is close to succeeding - Eliza has won a scholarship to study psychology in the UK. She just has to pass her final exams - a formality for such a good student. On the day before find out more...