South Korean cinema is in the throes of a creative explosion where mavericks are encouraged and masters are venerated. But from where has this phenomenon emerged? What is the culture that has yielded this range of filmmakers? With The Nine Lives of Korean Cinema, French critic, writer and documentarian Hubert Niogret provides a broad overview but, nevertheless, an excellent entry point into this unique type of national cinema that still remains a mystery for many people. The product of a troubled social and political history, Korean cinema sports an identity that is unique in much modern film. Niogret's documentary tells of the country's cinematic history - the ups along with the downs - and gives further voice to the artists striving to express their concerns, fears and aspirations.

Algerian director Hamid Benamra turns his focus to Mustapha Boutadjine, a charming, mercurial collage artist in Paris whose very work methods embody resistance, and celebrate those who work to liberate others. Boutadjine creates his portraits of Third World artists such as Miriam Makeba, and Algerian figures such as Assia Djebar from pieces of paper torn from high end fashion magazines and other, glossy, glitzy publications. Using this material is as much an act of rejecting bourgeois standards, which are often anti-North African in France, as much as elevating these figures and making them the social and visual standard against which we should judge ourselves, not the runway models of Chanel.

The love story of Eva, a young immigrant who has always dreamed of becoming a singer but works as a dishwasher, and Armie, a very skilled pianist with a fervent imagination. Both will discover that fantasy, dream and life can instead mix and become the recipe for happiness. The background is New York after the Great War and before the Great Depression, in an era of music, hopes and great changes.

Joseph Mnwana arrives at Heathrow on a flight from Johannesburg and asks for political asylum. But what is he fleeing from? The authorities are suspicious, and Joseph has an uncertain future in store.

Lucy is a fearless young Black girl whose dream of becoming an astronaut collides with the extraordinary moment NASA astronauts descend on her small Canadian mining town. As Lucy and her friends navigate the complexities of their world, they discover the power of hope and the courage to dream big.

Vittorio Innocente, a young man, estranged from the tragedies of his Italian immigrant family, has spent his adult life denying his past. When his estranged father starts to stalk Vittorio's sister, Rita, with murderous intent, Vittorio is moved to return to his family and uncover the decades-old secrets that have torn his family apart.

Azra is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined; from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming- of-age in rural Canada.

Director Brigitte Berman profiles Canadian icon Gordon Pinsent, who left Newfoundland in the late 1940s to launch a storied, seven-decade career as one of the leading actors and most beloved figures in Canadian film and television.

As a young girl, Fawzia Mirza fell under the spell of Bollywood heroines and their promise of love and feminine perfection. As an adult, she looks back and re-imagines the epic romance in the classic film Aradhana, in a queer light.

As a young girl, Fawzia Mirza fell under the spell of Bollywood heroines and their promise of love and feminine perfection. As an adult, she looks back and re-imagines the epic romance in the classic film Aradhana, in a queer light.