Our Life Is Novel (2024)

Twentysomething J. and two of his close friends are in the process of realizing their utopian dream: turning an abandoned cathedral into a grant-powered, environmentally sustainable art space. Newcomers to the post-industrial frontier where they found this chapel, they have been carried here by progressive beliefs that have since left them in a muddled quandary to question the validity of their presence. But there is work to do every day. Work to realize the dream they might still have.

Various experiences of childhood are seen in several sequences that take place in the small town of Thiers, France. Vignettes include a boy's awakening interest in girls, couples double-dating at the movies, brothers giving their friend a haircut, a boy dealing with an abusive home life, a baby and a cat sitting by an open window, a child telling a dirty joke, and a boy who develops a crush on his friend's mother.

Twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumours state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss - excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.

The Old Oak is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, but it’s also the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once-thriving mining community that has seen thirty hard years of decline. TJ Ballantyne, the landlord, hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his predicament is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village without any notice. In an unlikely friendship, TJ meets a curious young Syrian woman, Yara, who has a camera. Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? So unfolds a deeply moving drama about their fragilities and hopes.

A hairdresser single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter.

When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.

While everybody show off by giving a child to community's custody, and make career in the process, the child remains alone and neglected.

A pregnant single mother, with two children in foster care, embraces her Bay Area community as she fights to reclaim her family.

Parjo and Gundul are having a conversation at night about a boy, Udin, who is able to communicate with God by messaging His cellphone.

In a small Arctic town struggling with the highest suicide rate in North America, a group of Inuit students' lives are transformed when they are introduced to the sport of lacrosse.

The continuing adventures of the barbers at Calvin's Barbershop. Gina, a stylist at the beauty shop next door, is now trying to cut in on his business. Calvin is again struggling to keep his father's shop and traditions alive--this time against urban developers looking to replace mom & pop establishments with name-brand chains. The world changes, but some things never go out of style--from current events and politics to relationships and love, you can still say anything you want at the barbershop.

Sinia tries to help the kids next door, but when their mother becomes a true danger, she does nothing. Stricken by guilt, she decides to check on the kids, and what she discovers pushes her over the edge into a chilling reality.

Mario and Clara, his pregnant girlfriend, try to find a new apartment to settle in as soon as possible, so they go to visit one in a distant neighborhood that seems abandoned. Once there, things are not as they expected.

Bright young student Raymond Aibelli is forced to sidetrack an important medical internship because his mother, Susan, is recovering from a broken leg. When he isn't tasked with the most mundane aspects of Susan's recuperation, Raymond finds distraction in a neighborhood girl, Toni Peck. But, as Susan begins relying on her son for both physical and emotional needs, Raymond starts developing disturbing and unwanted new yearnings.

A poor, elderly white woman living in a tenement in a black ghetto is befriended by a neighborhood boy, and the two of them form a mutually beneficial relationship: he provides her companionship and protection, and she becomes the mother he never had.

Monty is a mechanic struggling to make ends meet as he raises his three young daughters. When the court awards custody of his daughters to his shady ex-wife, Monty desperately tries to win them back with the help of Julia, a beautiful, Ivy League-educated attorney. Monty and Julia couldn't be less alike, but a flame is ignited...touching off a firestorm of love and conflict.

Heated tempers, frustrated desires and dashed hopes plague a diverse group of individuals whose lives cross paths in Mexico City. There is the bar-owner's son, Chava, who yearns to emigrate to America. A poor barber, Abel, is madly in love with the gorgeous Alma, who eventually becomes a high-class prostitute. Finally, there is Susanita, the desperate spinster who pursues many love affairs in hopes of finding a husband.

Residents of an enclosed neighborhood in the middle of Mexico DF are shocked by a violent crime, and for one resident in particular, young Alejandro, the drama is ratcheted up when he encounters the lone kid who escaped the event and is hiding out within the neighborhood's borders.

Residents of a suburban community enjoy a night at home with their friends and family, while an ominous threat looms just outside their doors.

A young doctor tries to convince everyone about an impending epidemic, but he is accused of creating panic.