A double prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival and one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2008, Ballast is a stunningly evocative story of personal catastrophe and communal redemption. In the cold winter light of the Mississippi Delta, three lonely people stumble under the weight of a shared tragedy. Lawrence (Micheal J. Smith, Sr. ) is paralyzed with grief after the loss of his twin brother. Twelve-year-old James (Jimmyron Ross) drifts...

Newly arrived to New York City and deserted by her husband Gabriel, Mariana must find a way, in a strange city where she barely speaks the language, to provide for her family, financially and emotionally.

Susanne is a young, single mother who lives a somewhat alternative, unstructured lifestyle. After quitting her job, she finds herself in trouble financially and attempts a minor insurance fraud to make ends meet. Despite its rare view of everyday socialism from a woman's perspective, East German officials were critical of this frank portrayal of a less-than-ideal socialist citizen and turned down all invitations for the film to be screened abroad....

They're schoolgirls - dreaming of the future, wanting to go out and have fun, trying to work out relationships with families, friends and boyfriends - and attempting to finish high school while raising their babies. Plumpton High, in Sydney's outer western suburbs, is one of the few schools in Australia with a program that supports schoolgirl mothers completing their education, integrating them into the general student population. Over 100 girls have...