Ari Barkan

Movies

Run & Gun
Perry
After leaving a life of crime and violence, Ray is a reformed good guy, enjoying a quiet family life in the ‘burbs. But when his past is discovered, Ray is blackmailed into one last job to collect a mysterious package. After a deadly double-cross, he finds himself wounded and on the run from ruthless assassins who will stop at nothing to get what he has. Now, with the lives of his loved ones hanging in the balance and danger at every turn, Ray’s only hope is to draw upon his violent past to survive.
Tender Ears
JT
During a brief trip home, a second-generation Chinese American woman and her first-gen mother find their differing cultural ideals clashing.
Payback
Grigory Boone
Mike Markovich, a young stockbroker at a Mob-controlled Wall Street firm, is betrayed and imprisoned for six years. When he is released, his deadly quest for vengeance begins.
Lingua Franca
Milo
Olivia, an undocumented Filipina immigrant paranoid about deportation works as a caregiver to a Russian-Jewish grandmother in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY. When the man she’s secretly paying for a green card marriage backs out, she becomes involved with a slaughterhouse worker who is unaware that she’s a trans woman.
Clover
Luca
Brothers Jackie and Mickey along with a teen witness Clover find themselves on the run from the city’s most notorious crime boss.
Skin
Bulldog
A destitute young man, raised by racist skinheads and notorious among white supremacists, turns his back on hatred and violence to transform his life, with the help of a black activist and the woman he loves.
The Martyr Maker
Jason
Zahid, an American born Muslim who, after struggling with his Islamic roots, explores different aspects of the religion, leading to a deadly calling.
Middleground
Him and her. A husband and a wife staying in a cozy hotel where you can come for just a couple of days with a risk to get stuck forever. It is so easy to get trapped in the daily routine. Indeed, nothing is more permanent than the temporary. Their time is like a flat circle. He has his phone calls and business meetings. She is wrapped in her dreams and doubts. All reactions are predictable, all conversations are learnt by heart. An endless LP record of life keeps playing again and again repeating itself. But a few things can break this tune, like a scratch on the record, a crack on a wine glass, a sudden glance or a meeting with a stranger. And then you know: tomorrow will come soon. Any moment something can go wrong, throw you off course, and force you to make a choice.