La Religieuse

In eighteenth-century France, a girl is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior treat her in radically different ways, ranging from maternal concern, to sadistic persecution, to lesbian desire.

Suzanne Simonin describes her life of suffering in letters. As a young woman she is sent to a convent against her will. Since her parents cannot afford the dowry required for a marriage befitting her rank they decide she must instead become a nun. Although a kind and understanding Mother Superior helps her to learn the convent’s daily routine, Suzanne’s desire for freedom remains unabated. When the Mother Superior dies, Suzanne finds herself faced with reprisals, humiliation and harassment at the hands of the new Abbess and the other Sisters. For many years, Suzanne is subjected to bigotry and religious fanaticism. (Berlinale.de)

Jezebel is a nihilistic artist who hides her fragility by living a fast-paced, promiscuous lifestyle. After attending her father's funeral, the sultry temptress finds herself attracted to David, a handsome, earnest young priest. While David wrestles with the earthly desires elicited by this new temptress, jaded Jezebel tries to comprehend his deeply-rooted faith.

Released in 1796 posthumously, The Nun, a novel that Diderot did not dream of publishing during his lifetime, as he knew it to be revolutionary, caused the same explosion in the 19th century France as in that of the 1960s, when Jacques Rivette decided to adapt it, with Anna Karina in the title role. “This film is banned and it will remain so!” said the General de Gaulle. Exploration of an indictment of incredible modernity which, through the tragedy of the young Suzanne, locked up in the convent against her will, denounces the inequity of a society denying women all moral, political and sexual freedom.

In The Chocolate Nun, the artist Marie Sochor, masked, films herself head-on with her mobile phone, seated in front of a nun from whom she sticks her tongue out. As the pastry approaches, the character's tongue begins to swell disproportionately; devouring it is impossible. The work oscillates between trivial humor and studied nonchalance. The video responds to James Williamson's film The Big Swallow (1901) where a man undertakes to swallow the camera. It also refers to the erotic-burlesque videos of Paul McCarthy.

A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

In 1956 France, a priest is violently murdered, and Sister Irene begins to investigate. She once again comes face-to-face with a powerful evil.

When scholar Wei Fung is forcibly hired by the Manchu Emperor to infiltrate a clan of rebellious Ming Loyalists, his mission goes adrift when he falls in love with the clan's leader's granddaughter. Wei Fung must choose between his new love and his family, who will be put to death if he doesn't return to the palace successfully.

A young French actress in Lisbon to shoot a movie is intrigued by a nun she sees kneeling in the chapel where she is filming.

Four Ainu men, performing a traditional dance, somewhere near Muroran, Hokkaido.

A cicada is resting high on a tree. It is chirping for all it’s worth and drinking in the dew, oblivious of a mantis behind. The mantis, bending over and arching up its front leg, is going to catch the cicada but does not know that there is an oriole beside it. The bird has stretched out its neck, ready to peck at the mantis. Again the oriole is unaware that a weasel is sneaking up to it. The three creatures all covet gains ahead without being aware of an imminent danger behind.