OVID’s May Lineup: Digital Clones, Runaway Debt, The Fight Against Corporate Greed, Drag Queen Letters (almost) Lost to Time + François Ozon w/ Isabelle Huppert, Marco Bellocchio & Damiano Damiani, Dance Camera West 2025 & much more!

This May, OVID presents 20 new films and 15 exclusives, plus an exclusive dance festival program comprising 13 short experimental films and docs.

Exclusives include A Crack in the Mountain, a doc on the recent discovery of the world’s largest cave passage and the challenges for the Vietnamese community nearby. Plus, Uncanny Me, a film about fake body doubles; 300 Trillion – The Debt Trap an account of runaway debt; and The Illusion of Abundance, about three women leading today’s environmental fight against corporate conquistadors.

OVID will also be prepping for Pride Month with two films on drag queens: Sophie Dupuis’s drama Solo and P.S. Burn This Letter Please, a look back at prominent performers of the drag scene in 1950s New York.

Features on the way include a rollicking feminist screwball farce by French cinema’s most chameleonic stylist, François Ozon, NY Times Critic’s Pick The Crime is Mine (the third Ozon film to join OVID). Plus, Damiano Damiani’s tense thriller A Man on His Knees (his second on OVID, alongside The Day of the Owl), and Marco Bellocchio’s poliziottesco Slap the Monster on Page One, about a right-wing newspaper during a hotly contested election (joining Bellocchio’s Devil in the Flesh, a top performer on OVID). 

For the fifth year running, OVID will host the internationally renowned LA-based film festival Dance Camera West 2025, celebrating its 25th anniversary with a selection of finalists showcasing dance in the context of experimental cinema and documentary.

Image above from Farhad Zamani's GOOGOOSH: IRAN'S DAUGHTER, premiering on OVID on May 15th.

Thursday, May 1

The Illusion of Abundance
Directed by Erika Gonzalez Ramirez & Matthieu Lietaert
First Hand Films | Documentary | Colombia | 2022

Despite a deeply unbalanced game, Maxima, Bertha and Carolina share a common goal: they are leading today’s environmental fight against modern corporate conquistadors. Whereas governments and corporations are trapped in a global race to get the cheapest raw materials, these three women tell us a story of tireless courage. Not only a film about those who pay the high price of ‘development’, it is above all a film about the globalization of environmental resistance and a conviction to hold transnational corporations accountable.

“An outstanding documentary from start to finish… A compelling yet concise exposé on the activities of the multinational extractive industry in Central and South America.” —J. Zimmerman, Video Librarian“Inspirational… plenty of compassion.” —Maryam Philpott, The Reviewers Hub

OVID EXCLUSIVE

300 Trillion – The Debt Trap
Directed by Rudolph Herzog
First Hand Films | Documentary | Germany | 2022

The worldwide mountain of debt is more than 300% of the world’s annual economic output. Since the pandemic, debt expansion is out of control. Will the system collapse under its weight? 300 Trillion – The Debt Trap explores the significance of our debt situation, looking at true stories behind the situation, from a debtors’ prison in Mississippi to the world’s most notoriously indebted country.

“A timely and powerful work… stirs one’s soul with sobering realities and alarming trends.” —Michael Coffta, Educational Media Reviews Online

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, May 2

Tattooed Life
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
With Hideki Takahashi, Masako Izumi, Kayo Matsuo
Radiance Films | Feature | Japan | 1965

Tetsuo, a low-level yakuza, is double-crossed by his boss and attacked. His younger brother Kenji, an aspiring artist with no connections to crime, comes to his aid and kills Tetsuo’s assailant. Fearing repercussions from the yakuza, they flee to Manchuria where they risk coming under suspicion of rival gangs. Seijun Suzuki remains loyal to the conventions of the yakuza film, yet Tattooed Life contains flashes of his later creative genius, including a final act of explosive visual excess that has become one of the director’s all-time classic scenes.

“Made in the midst of his run of feverish, postmodern genre films at Nikkatsu, Suzuki Seijun’s Tattooed Life is something of a snapshot of the more patient, probing works that the filmmaker made in the 1980s and beyond.” —Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

Adonis
Directed by Jérémie Battaglia
Andana Films | Documentary | Canada | 2024

Though it was once limited to elite athletes, the use of anabolic steroids has reached endemic proportions among young male bodybuilding and strength training enthusiasts. Daring to tackle the taboos surrounding the concept of male beauty, Adonis delivers a thorough field investigation to bring viewers into the heart of this muscle-building machine and reflect on the physical, psychological, and social repercussions of this obsession with achieving the perfect body.

Thursday, May 8

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
Directed by Felix Herngren
With Robert Gustafsson, Iwar Wiklander, David Wiberg
Music Box Films | Feature | Sweden | 2015

After a long and colorful life working in munitions and getting entangled in the Spanish Civil War, the Manhattan Project, and other definitive events of the 20th century, Allan Karlsson finds himself stuck in a nursing home. Determined to escape on his 100th birthday, he leaps out of a window and onto the nearest bus, kicking off an unexpected journey. An unruly Nordic cousin of Forrest Gump, this fanciful spin on world history is based on a best-selling novel and also the highest-grossing Swedish film of all time.

Critic’s Pick! “Sometimes daffy, often droll…  Among other things, this film dares to ask the controversial question: Can a cadaver dog distinguish between a body that’s dead and one that is merely triple-digit old?” —Neil Genzlinger, New York Times

“Irreverent and frequently outrageous. Clever and thoroughly crowd-pleasing.” —Peter Debruge, Variety

Friday, May 9

A Crack in the Mountain
Directed by Alastair Evans
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | France | 2022

The story of a recently discovered world’s largest cave passage and the challenges it presents to the small, impoverished Vietnamese community nearby. 

“Breathtaking… The imagery alone nails down the importance of keeping these caves untouched by anything resembling corporate greed.” —Alan Ng, Film Threat

“A scrupulous look at the exploitation of a natural wonder.” —Phil Hoad, The Guardian

“★★★★  Insanely beautiful… A compelling documentary.” —Danny Leigh, The Financial Times

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, May 13

Here After
Directed by Esy Casey & Sarah Ema Friedland
OVID | Documentary | USA | 2018

A coral reef made of cremated remains, a green burial wildlife preserve, and a mass grave of unidentified people along the southern border: this feature documentary looks at three cemeteries in the US and the shifting nature of resting places. Lyrically observed, Here After is told through the wit and wisdom of cemetery workers who paint a poignant portrait of a country trying to understand its own mortality.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

The Rink
Directed by Sarah Ema Friedland
OVID | Documentary | USA | 2014

Branch Brook Park Roller Rink, located in Newark, NJ, is one of the few remaining urban rinks of its kind. Two main figures emerge: Bonesaw, a tough-talking, tattooed member of the Garden State Roller Derby Team; and Graylen, a deeply spiritual, Gospel Night skater. While different ideologically and racially, the film reveals a shared past of violence and drug abuse from which the rink provides refuge.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

“And when I die, bury me in a Hemlock coffin so I go through hell snapping.”
Directed by Sarah Ema Friedland
OVID | Experimental Short | USA | 2022

Hemlock forest in Western Massachusetts is dying due to beetle infestation. A small film in a larger story about climate collapse and the interconnections between the natural and the built environments, inspired by the writing of Ursula K. Le. Guin and Robert Sullivan.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

In Accordance With
Directed by Sarah Ema Friedland & Alessandra Lacorazza
OVID | Experimental Short | USA | 2021

OVID EXCLUSIVE

On a cold winter night, pregnant people are stopped at a fictional border checkpoint and forced to endure invasive and emotionally abusive measures in order to get an abortion. Made before Roe v. Wade was overturned, the dialogue in this film is taken verbatim from State-mandated anti-choice materials. Ultimately, the film explores whether this fictional world is really that different from the one we live in now. A Meerkat Media Collective production.

Sarah is also Co-Director of LYD with Rami Younis, Exclusive on OVID.

Thursday, May 15

Googoosh: Iran’s Daughter
Directed by Farhad Zamani
First Run Features | Documentary | USA | 2000

Googoosh was Iran’s most famous and beloved pop diva, until she was silenced following the 1979 Islamic revolution when female singers were labeled “temptresses” and forbidden to release records or perform publicly in the presence of men. Made during the time when Googoosh was forbidden to grant interviews or perform, the film artfully pieces together clips from Googoosh’s career on stage and screen, creating a portrait of a woman who is a cultural icon for a country trapped between tradition and modernization.

“Both a feminist biography and a cultural history of postcolonial Iran.” —Ted Shen, Chicago Reader

“Her enchanting songs echo the poignancy of a long-suffering nation.” —Time Magazine

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tehran Blues
Directed by Javier Tolentino
Pragda | Documentary | Iran/Spain | 2020

The city’s musicians and poets take us on a musical tour of Iran’s capital in a charming film about a music culture rarely heard of in the West. Erfan is a poet and musician, and he lives with his parents and their lively parrot. From his small car, he guides us through Tehran, where the contrast between the tradition-bound and the culturally rich Iran emerges along the way and where music and stories are closely intertwined.

“★★★★★ A masterclass in teaching with film, freely interspersing biography with ethnography and musicology atop stunning cityscapes and countryside.” –J. Zimmerman, Video Librarian

“An interesting look at the street musicians trying to preserve music that is being forgotten along with performances of those songs.” —Skye M. Limón, EMRO

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, May 16

4K Restoration

Slap the Monster on Page One 
Directed by Marco Bellocchio
With Gian Maria Volontè, Fabio Garriba, Laura Betti
Radiance Films / MVD Feature | Italy | 1972

A still relevant political thriller about a right-wing newspaper attempting to derail the police investigation of the brutal rape and murder of a young girl to help the candidates it supports in the upcoming elections. The action takes place in Milan, during the run-up to a hotly contested election between the ultra-conservative Christian Democrats, the paper’s preferred candidates, and the Communist Party.

“Still reverberates with raw power and insight into the power of information to shape our political realities.” —Derek Smith, Slant

“A fine example of Italy’s Years of Lead cinema.” —Mark Cunliffe, The Geek Show

Tuesday, May 20

War Is Over
Directed by Stefano Obino
EPF Media | Documentary | Germany | 2020

Iraqi Kurdistan. What comes after the horrors of war? Over a million people in the region are impacted in some way due to violence brought on by ISIS. Their homes have been turned to rubble, and they have lost countless friends and family.

“An insightful and moving documentary that brilliantly showcases the resilience of the human spirit in the aftermath of conflict.” —Kevin Hall, Video Librarian

OVID Exclusive

Wednesday, May 21

P.S. Burn This Letter Please
Directed by Michael Seligman & Jennifer Tiexiera
Film Sales Company | Documentary | USA | 2020

A demi-monde that would have been lost to time were it not for the chance find of a treasure trove of letters in a storage bin in LA. Written by drag queens all using aliases to a friend (who turns out to be famous and revealed at the end) who moved to LA, the film is a voyage of discovery of the irreverence, fun, kinship, and all manner of illicit activity which made up the drag scene in the late 50’s in NYC. Over several years, the filmmakers pieced together the jigsaw of who the various letters’ authors were and matched them with archival material and current-day interviews. The result is a big-hearted, guilty-pleasured escape to a bygone era. 

** Premiere: Tribeca Film Festival

“P.S. Burn This illuminates countless fascinating aspects of the New York drag scene, its joys and challenges and the way it helped to break down barriers.” 
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

OVID Exclusive

Solo
Directed by Sophie Dupuis
With Théodore Pellerin, Félix Maritaud
Music Box Films | Feature | Canada | 2023

Simon is a rising star in Montreal’s drag scene performing lively disco pop numbers weekly at his local club. When he meets Oliver, the alluring new recruit at the club, their irresistible chemistry sparks an electric romance and a fulfilling creative collaboration. A passionate feat of character-driven storytelling and visual extravagance, celebrating the drag world in all its splendor and heartache.

** Winner, Best Canadian Feature Film, Toronto International Film Festival 2023

“A dexterous film that combines bold images with the quiet beat of a heart torn asunder two ways.” —Peter Howell, Toronto Star

“Showing equal care for both the dazzling drag performances and the more delicate moments in the film, Dupuis delivers a beautiful reflection of the human spirit.” —Candice Frederick, Huffington Post

Friday, May 23

4K Restoration

A Man on His Knees
Directed by Damiano Damiani
With Giuliano Gemma, Eleonora Giorgi, Michele Placido
Radiance Films / MVD | Feature | Italy | 1979

Nino, an ordinary man, is targeted by a hitman. A wealthy woman’s kidnapping unfolds, and those involved are being eliminated. Nino, innocent in the abduction, races against time to uncover the mastermind behind the assassins and survive. For his performance, Giuliano Gemma won the Grolla d’oro for Best Actor.

“Damiani keeps savvy viewers on their toes by throwing us into the middle of an ongoing situation from the point-of-view of characters who are too far down the totem pole to understand what’s really happening. The confusion, frustration, and fear becomes contagious on the march to the unbearably tense final act, which has some truly depressing things to say about the nature of loyalty, social standing, and human nature.” —Gabe Powers, Genre Grinder

“I was hugely impressed… With strong characters and a suitably naturalistic yet energetic style, it’s a superb piece of storytelling that grips from the offset and never lets go.” —David Brook, Blueprint: Review

OVID Exclusive

Tuesday, May 27

Dance Camera West 2025
Directed by Various
Documentary & Experimental Shorts | USA | 2025

For the fifth year running, OVID is hosting the internationally renowned LA-based film festival Dance Camera West, presenting their 2025 edition exploring dance in the context of experimental cinema and documentary. Showcasing a curated selection of short films from 20 countries, each making its World, US, or LA premiere, these films represent the pinnacle of dance film creativity.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, May 29

The Dish And The Spoon 
Directed by Alison Bagnall
With Greta Gerwig, Olly Alexander
Music Box Films | Feature | USA | 2011

This quirky romantic comedy follows Rose whose life changes after discovering her husband’s affair. Devastated and reeling, she soon crosses paths with a marooned British teenager in a boarded-up Delaware beach town, and the two begin a peculiar friendship. As they drink their way through town, act out dream scenarios, and get to know each other’s pasts, this eccentric and insightful film illustrates how we navigate change and loneliness, for better and worse.

“A convincingly tender drama thanks to the presence of star Greta Gerwig.” —The Hollywood Reporter

“Beautifully photographed… awash in images of rain-soaked streets and gray wintry skies.” —Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Friday, May 30

The Crime is Mine
Directed by François Ozon
With Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Rebecca Marder, Isabelle Huppert
Music Box Films | Feature | France | 2023

Paris in the 1930s. Struggling actress Madeleine and her best friend Pauline, an unemployed lawyer, live in debt in a cramped flat. Opportunity knocks after a lascivious theatrical producer who made an inappropriate advance towards Madeleine turns up dead. Adapted from a 1934 play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil and featuring a murder’s row of a supporting cast.

Critic’s Pick! “The epitome of a comfort film, decked out in old-Hollywood nostalgia and unfolding at an auctioneer’s clip. Its fun and games are deceptively smart — all the more because the women know their angles so triumphantly well.” —Beatrice Loayza, The New York Times

“Wildly entertaining… An escapist sort of frivolity that delights in bad behavior, decadent costumes and lavish sets… The trio of women who lead the movie do an impeccable job of keeping the energy silly yet vibrant.” —Monica Castillo, RogerEbert.com

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Complete list of films premiering on OVID this month (in alphabetical order):

300 Trillion – The Debt Trap, Rudolph Herzog (2022)
A Crack in the Mountain, Alastair Evans (2022)
Adonis, Jérémie Battaglia (2024)
A Man on His Knees, Damiano Damiani (1979)
“And when I die, bury me in a Hemlock coffin…,” Sarah Ema Friedland (2022)
Dance Camera West, Various Directors (2025)
Googoosh: Iran’s Daughter, Farhad Zamani (2000)
Here After, Esy Casey & Sarah Ema Friedland (2018)
In Accordance With, Sarah Ema Friedland & Alessandra Lacorazza (2021)
P.S. Burn This Letter Please, Michael Seligman & Jennifer Tiexiera (2020)
Slap the Monster on Page One, Marco Bellocchio (1972)
Solo, Sophie Dupuis (2023)
Tattooed Life, Seijun Suzuki (1965)
Tehran Blues, Javier Tolentino (2020) 
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, Felix Herngren (2015)
The Crime is Mine, François Ozon (2023) 
The Dish And The Spoon, Alison Bagnall (2011)
The Illusion of Abundance, Erika Gonzalez Ramirez & Matthieu Lietaert (2022)
The Rink, Sarah Ema Friedland (2014)
Uncanny Me, Katharina Pethke (2022)
War Is Over, Stefano Obino (2020)