A Cut Above

In a beauty salon in Beirut the lives of five women cross paths. The beauty salon is a colorful and sensual microcosm where they share and entrust their hopes, fears and expectations.

Far from Chicago, hairdresser Gina Norris has relocated to Atlanta with her daughter and has quickly established herself as a rare talent in her profession. But after repeatedly butting heads with her shady, over-the-top boss, Jorge, Norris sets out to create her own salon -- even snagging a few of Jorge's employees and clients. Now, Jorge will do anything to shut her down.

Antoine has always been fascinated by a hairdresser's delicate touch, the beguiling perfume, and the enticing figure of a woman with an opulent bosom. After all, he had always known he would marry one, completing his idealized love fantasy.

Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.

A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.

Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.

Saheita, the final heir of a once rich and respectable family, can't refuse the many villagers that come to him for favours and money, even though he is on the brink of bankruptcy. Around town he is better known by his nickname Mr. Shosuke Ohara.

Life is tough on car fanatic Fred. As soon as he has convinced the beautiful hairdresser Tina, he wins an Opel Manta in a raffle and is rid of the lady immediately. From now on, Tina prefers to turn to the photographer Phil. He has what Fred always wanted: a Golf GTI. To make matters worse, he now has to listen to the mocking remarks of his fellow men at every traffic light. But Fred doesn't give up. He finally finds support in the Manta Club. In a big race he finally wants to put his rival GTI-Phil in his place.

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

Thinking he's competing in Los Angeles' hot Platinum Scissors contest, Scottish hairstylist Crawford leaves Glasgow with a film crew to capture the event. When he learns he's a mere audience member, Crawford must find a way to become the mane event.

Featuring the characters from Murray Ball's "Footrot Flats" (New Zealands most beloved local cartoon strip), questions to be answered include: Will Wal Footrot win the affections of Cheeky Hobson over the sleazy Spit Murphy? Will the Dog win the affections of the lovely Jess? Will Wal make a good impression on the selectors at Saturday's rugby match? Can Rangi and Pongo save Cooch's prize stag from the depths of Blackwater Station, home of the Murphys, their vicious dogs and deadly croco-pigs? All this and more will be answered as the small town of Raupo comes to life on the big screen.

After Dick Harper loses his job at Globodyne in an Enron-esque collapse, he and his wife, Jane, turn to crime in order to handle the massive debt they now face. Two intelligent people, Dick and Jane actually get pretty good at robbing people and even enjoy it -- but they have second thoughts when they're reminded that crime can hurt innocent people. When the couple hears that Globodyne boss Jack McCallister actually swindled the company, they plot revenge.

A naive innkeeper arrives from the Alps into town to investigate his shady investor only to discover that he owns a sex shop. Needing money for a good cause, he and his sons join in. However, his partner is actually a diamond smuggler.

A not-so-clever guy called Bertie with an Opel Manta (a low-budget European sports coupé from the '80s) gets competition in a street race from a guy with a fast Mercedes, and another slick guy with a Ferrari tries to get his hands on Bertie's girlfriend.

An aging hairdresser escapes his nursing home to embark on an odyssey across his small town to style a dead woman's hair for her funeral, rediscovering his sparkle along the way.