Miguel is the perfect coyote: dedicated, single-minded, his record unblemished. His home is the winding path of the migrant: the back alley gravel, the crumbled pavement, and last – the river. Despite this perfect record, Miguel is no stranger to death. His nickname, “El Maldito” hints of what we will soon see for ourselves, for Miguel seems haunted by the dead and dying. He comes upon them on desert roads; he hears their confessions, and takes part in their dying wishes. Miguel’s house, much like the man himself, stands alone; yellowed photographs breathe the sigh of a life given over to a singular purpose – crossing his people to a new life. There are signs that this quiet struggle is soon to break. When a terrible wreck draws Miguel to the roadside, the order of his life comes to ruin, for Elena, the wreck’s lone survivor, recognizes Miguel.

Miles Kody, is a documentary filmmaker. As Miles tapes his interviews with Vic he becomes aware of the appearance of “ghosts” captured on his video monitor. He realizes that the faint energy fields of these ghosts, past victims of the snuff films, are picked up more readily on video…

A BMX racer who lives in a small town with his mother and sister is faced with a tough decision, qualify for Helltrack or take his SAT’s in order to attend college.

A single father tries to raise his daughter, who has cerebral palsy, even as she is beginning to wake up to her sexuality.

These are times when one civilization is replacing another. A new era is about to begin in Central Eurasia. Scythians, the proud warriors, are all but gone. The few of their descendants have become ruthless mercenary assassins, the “waves of Ares.” Lutobor, is a soldier with a difficult task at hand. He becomes involved in internecine conflicts and sets off on a perilous journey to save his family. His guide is a captive Scythian by the name of Weasel. Lutobor and Weasel are enemies. They pray to different gods but must embark on this journey together. They brave the wild steppes, moving toward the last haven of the Scythians, to what seems to be their inevitable demise…

Judith, a small-town senior on the verge of graduation, struggles against the pressure of her strict religious upbringing and is pushed to extreme lengths when a terrible event brings her entire world crashing down.

An immigrant mother fears her schizophrenic teenaged son is turning into a school shooter.

A Cuban immigrant struggles with their transgender identity while searching for their missing sister in New York City’s underground sex industry.

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.

The true story of Soldier’s Girl, which takes place in Fort Campbell, KY, tells the heart-wrenching story of the life and tragic death of soldier Barry Winchell. His love for Calpernia Addams, a beautiful transgendered nightclub performer was misunderstood by fellow soldiers and eventually leads to his brutal death.

Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team’s owner and Jesse’s daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it’s up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.

The film is a lyrical exploration of a particular family situation and the human relationships within it. Devoid of any moral judgment, the eye of the director studies the boundaries of human behaviour and explores how far an individual can go, driven by love and the spirit of survival. Andrea Pallaoro was born in Trento but at the age of 17 moved to California to study filmmaking. His short film Wunderkammer was presented at the Sundance Film Festival. This year he brings his first feature-length film to the Orizzonti section.