OVID’s November Lineup: The city that once connected Palestine to the world, the late great Claudia Cardinale, classics from Japan and Italy, Jean Dujardin, Adele Exarchopoulos, Mira Nair, terrorists in retirement, street cats and dogs & more! 

This November OVID presents 21 new films and 15 exclusives.

This month, OVID will premiere LYD: the story of a city that once connected Palestine to the world. Directors Rami Younis, a Palestinian, and Sarah Ema Friedland, a Jewish American, dive deep into the history of Lyd from the perspective of Palestinians who live there. They’ve created an animated tapestry of past and present, all while imagining more hopeful possible future outcomes for peaceful coexistence. Arielle Angel, Editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents, praised it: “The story of Lyd is the story of Palestine. The film that bears its name confronts the horrors of what is, without losing sight of what could be—a vital exercise in political imagination.” 

Another first time for streaming: Mira Nair’s first film, Jama Masjid Street Journal, a vivid portrait of bustling street life in Delhi, India. We’ll also premiere two more films from Mosco Boucault that aren’t for the faint of heart: A Murder in Abidjan and Terrorists in Retirement. Other docs on offer look at the net benefits of feral cats to a community (Cat City — rats on you JD Vance!) and orphaned dogs (Free Puppies!) and the people that care for them.

Narrative features include NY Times Critic’s Pick Stonewalling, about a young pregnant woman trying to survive modern-day China, by the same directors of Egg and Stone, also streaming on OVID. Plus, A Real Job with an ensemble cast including Adele Exarchopoulos (Passages) and our fourth film starring Jean Dujardin (France’s favorite Secret agent!) who plays a writer hiking across France (based on a true story) in On the Wandering Paths. After adventures in France, we then take you to Sicily, with two classics starring Claudia Cardinale: The Day of the Owl and The Iron Prefect.

Full details on November’s complete lineup are below.

Image above from Rami Younis & Sarah Ema Friedland's LYD, premiering on OVID on November 21st.

Wednesday, November 6

La Paloma – The Melody of Longing
Directed by Sigrid Faltin
First Hand Films | Documentary | Germany | 2008

No other piece of music has ever been interpreted, arranged, or released as often as “La Paloma.” From Richard Tauber to Pavarotti, to Elvis Presley to Dean Martin, to Mariachi to Sinti – it is the Grande Dame of pop music. For 150 years she has been complimented with different lyrics, rhythms, and instruments. The film shows glimpses of the many facets of “La Paloma” in Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Hawaii, Germany, Romania, Zanzibar. Musicians tell their stories as the film becomes a homage to hand-crafted music. 

“The titular chestnut of popular song is traced around the world in this warm, unaffected docu.” —Variety

OVID EXCLUSIVE

It Came from Aquarius Records  
Directed by Kenneth Thomas
MVD | Documentary | USA | 2022

Explores the San Francisco-based independent record shop that helped shape the tastes of Bay Area residents and beyond for nearly half a century. The 60+ interviewees include Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips), Bruce Ackley, John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats), and Ty Segall. Six years in the making, the film shows both the joy and excruciating stress that comes with running—and closing—a store like this.

Thursday, November 7

What Remains of the Way (Lo que queda en el camino)
Directed by Jakob Krese & Danilo do Carmo
Pragda | Documentary | Germany, Brazil | 2021

The filmmakers follow single mother Lilian and her four children as they migrate from Guatemala, joining a caravan of thousands of others on the way to the Mexico-US border, a dangerous, 3000-mile-long journey. The film is a true revelation of what it means to put your children’s safety first. Told through the children’s point of view, it shows that migrants aren’t simply looking for ‘a better life’ elsewhere, but are trying to escape oppressive patriarchal structures and gender roles.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, November 8

Stonewalling
Directed by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka
With Yao Honggui, Liu Long, Xiao Zilong, Huang Xiaoxiong and Liu Gang
KimStim | Feature | China | 2022

20-year-old Lynn is told she needs English classes, flight attendant school, and a go-getter attitude. She perseveres along this path until she finds out she’s pregnant. Indecisive and running out of time, she tells her boyfriend she’s had an abortion and instead returns to her feuding parents and their failing clinic to try and figure out (if she can) what’s next. Built from interviews with college women happy to invest in themselves, observations of post-TikTok China, and their own lived experiences, wife-and-husband duo Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka take a look at the new norms of gig economy, grey markets, MLMs, and hustling in modern-day metropolitan China through the experiences of one ordinary young woman. They previously directed Egg And Stone (also streaming on OVID), also starring Yao Honggui.

“NYT Critic’s Pick! Few movies capture the surreal comedy and engulfing horror of the money-driven world as piercingly… A cool, quietly brilliant heartbreaker.” —Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Tuesday, November 12

On The Wandering Paths (Sur Les Chemins Noirs)
Directed by Denis Imbert
With Jean Dujardin, Josephine Japy, Izia Higelin
Distrib Films | Feature | France | 2023

A celebrated writer with a penchant for extreme experiences and solo treks climbs the facade of a building and falls several stories. The accident leaves him deep in a coma. When he emerges from it, he decides to hike all alone across France, from Provence to Mont Saint Michel, along forgotten trails through some of France’s roughest and most inhospitable and beautiful regions. Based on true events, this escape from the frantic world is a story of fortitude, healing, resilience, and reconnection to nature.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, November 13

Carlos Saura – Photographer          
Directed by Jörg Adolph & Gereon Wetzel 
Pragda | Documentary | Germany | 2017

As a young man, Carlos Saura, the legendary Spanish filmmaker, did not quite know what he would like to become: motorcycle racer, flamenco dancer, or photographer. 60 years, 40 films, and numerous film awards later, his passion for photography runs like a thread through his life. The documentary follows publishers Gerhard Steidl and Hans Meinke as they set out to release the largely unknown photo oeuvre of Carlos Saura in the form of a book. They discover an early phase in Saura’s photography revealing Spain of the ’50s in a new light: impressive black-and-white images of landscapes, villages, culture, and the people of that time beyond the Franco propaganda. This film joins a second film on OVID directed by Carlos Saura: Flamenco, Flamenco.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Jama Masjid Street Journal
Directed by Mira Nair
Icarus Films | Documentary | India | 1979

Mira Nair’s personal record of street life around the Jama Masjid, or Great Mosque, in the old city of Delhi, India. She discusses her thoughts on confronting people uncertain what to make of her, a woman alone behind a camera, as she captures the flavor of “ordinary” Delhi, where ancient customs and traditional occupations continue to be practiced amid a large and complex city.

“The film’s strength is its almost tactile intimacy with its subjects: professional ear cleaners, street barbers and chiropractors, auctioneers at a chicken market, women hidden in purdah – the lifeblood of a noisy, crowded ghetto.” —Jan Hoffman, Village Voice

“Excellent for cultural texture.” —Asian Studies Newsletter

OVID EXCLUSIVE — SVOD PREMIERE

Thursday, November 14

Cat City
Directed by Ben Kolak
First Run Features | Documentary | USA | 2023

A chronicle of Chicago’s love/hate relationship with feral cats and the communities who look after them. A ground-breaking 2007 ordinance protects feral cats in Chicago that have been trapped, neutered, and returned (“TNR”) to their neighborhoods. Dubbed community cats, they control rats and provide love and meaning to their caretakers. 

“A reflective and engaging documentary that prompts viewers to critically evaluate our interactions with urban wildlife and the dilemmas of managing such ecosystems… A must-watch for those intrigued by city life and animal welfare dynamics.” —Overly Honest Reviews

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Free Puppies!
Directed by Samantha Wishman & Christina Thomas
First Run Features | Documentary | USA | 2022

The story of a chronically overlooked crisis that’s dogging the rural American South. The filmmakers narrow their focus on Dade County in northwest Georgia, where an intrepid group of local women have stepped up to compensate for the lack of an operating animal shelter – rescuing countless dogs and taking matters into their own hands.

“The film achieves its goal in raising awareness for these volunteer efforts, casting a spotlight on a chronically overlooked crisis.” —The New York Times

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, November 15

4K Restoration!

Elegant Beast
Directed by Yuzo Kawashima
With Yunosuke Ito, Yamaoka Hisano, Takamatsu Hideo, Kawabata Manamitsu, Hamada Yûko, Kyû Sazanka, Ayako Wakao, Itô Yûnosuke
MVD/Radiance Films | Feature | Japan | 1962

In their humble two-room apartment, the Maeda family seem ever so self-effacing – but their modest façade hides another truth. Daughter Tomoko is the mistress of a bestselling author with well-lined pockets. Son Minoru embezzles funds with his lover Yukie who has her own hidden agenda. One after another, those affected by the Maedas’ schemes show up on their doorstep. These visitors all have their own duplicitous agendas. With each knock on the door, the gamesmanship reaches a whole new level. Director Yuzo Kawashima, mentor of Shohei Imamura and a major influence on the Japanese New Wave, makes magnificent widescreen use of the single apartment setting to deliver a ferocious satire on Japan’s post-war economic miracle.

“Elegant Beast is a knock-it-out-of-the-park winner … rivals Rear Window in its rigorous exploration of one studio set” —Travis Mackenzie Hoover, Slant

“Nothing is off-limits when it comes to keeping the viewer on edge; expressionistic dream sequences; vertiginous camera setups; a frenzied, sexualized dance scene between Tomoko and her brother, staged against a sunset backdrop and set to pounding drums. Occasionally, however, Kawashima gives us a brief passage of disarming stillness.” —Max Nelson, Film Comment

Tuesday, November 19

Terrorists in Retirement
Directed by Mosco Boucault
Icarus Films | Documentary | France | 1983/2024

Too controversial to be shown on French TV when first released after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1983, this documentary tells the story of men and women from Armenia, Poland, and Romania, mostly Jews, who fought the German occupation of Paris during World War II. We meet seven surviving comrades of the executed resistance members. They demonstrate how to make and throw bombs, re-enact attacks on German officers at the actual locations throughout Paris, and share the stories of women who served as key intelligence agents. The film provokes unsettling debates about why the French establishment (and history books) never fully embraced the immigrant and Jewish fighters who were the backbone of armed resistance in Paris. The film provides a powerful corrective to myths of the French resistance.

“The sight of these unsung heroes with their bitter memories bent over their sewing machines is inescapably poignant.” —The New York Times

“An eloquent film devoted to the Jewish members of the resistance. Captures their recollections vividly.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

OVID EXCLUSIVE — SVOD PREMIERE

Wednesday, November 20

A Real Job
Directed by Thomas Lilti
With Vincent Lacoste, François Cluzet, Adele Exarchopoulos, Louise Bourgoin
Distrib Films | Feature | France | 2023

Benjamin is a PhD student without scholarship support. Under the pressure of his parents, and in need of money, he becomes a substitute teacher in a middle school. Without training nor experience, and facing a declining public educational system, he discovers how tough this job can be. Hopefully, his supportive and committed colleagues will lead him to take a fresh look at the profession.

“Lively, funny, and full of humanity.” —Le Parisien

“A clever blend of humor and gravity, with a dream cast.” —Franceinfo Culture

“A beautiful film.” —Le Point

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Stuntwomen
Directed by Elena Avdija
Andana Films | Documentary | Switzerland | 2022

Being thrown down a flight of stairs, hit by a car, or beaten up, is the everyday life for stuntwomen. We follow Virginie, Petra and Estelle during training sessions and on film sets in France and the US. What does all this pretend violence do to their bodies and minds? There is always a trade-off between the desire to perform as realistically as possible and their own boundaries. Scenes with cars are spectacular, but the roles in which they are beaten up are much harder to watch. Few action movies have female heroes so they usually play the role of victims. Stuntwomen are hired to endure violence, while the task of their male colleagues is to inflict it.

“Elena Avdija’s revelatory and nuanced documentary shines a light on the incredibly brave performers who face physical and emotional battles on and off screen.” —The Guardian

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, November 21

Lyd
Directed by Rami Younis & Sarah Ema Friedland
Icarus Films | Documentary | USA | 2024

The film Lyd (the Arabic name of Lod, a city now in Israel) is about a 5,000-year-old bustling Palestinian town that was taken over when Israel was established in 1948. An exploration of what it once was, and what it is now, in the context of the continuing conflicts and the war in Gaza, Lyd’s excavation of one community’s complex history offers us not only lessons, but possible futures. Made by a Palestinian from Lyd and a Jewish American, Lyd provides much-needed context for this moment, as it goes deep into the history of the Nakba from the perspective of Palestinians who survived. Narrated by Palestinian actress Maisa Abd Elhadi who personifies the city, the viewer is guided through the lifespan of a five-thousand-year-old city and its residents.

“We are constantly told that we are being naive when we demand liberation, that alternatives of equality and dignity are unrealistic. LYD rejects this narrative. The filmmakers juxtapose documentary footage of the past and present with a beautiful rendering of an alternative reality. In doing so, they invite us to imagine the liberated future we are working towards. This film is a gift to the movement!” —Eman Abdelhadi, co-author of Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052-2072

“Ambitiously tackling perhaps the most controversial geopolitical issue in the world, and doing so in under 80 minutes, the filmmakers offer a provocative cri de coeur for a free Palestine. A difficult and unflinching film, but also as hopeful as one could be in the current climate.” —Pat Mullen, POV Magazine

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, November 22

The Facts of Murder
Directed by Petro Germi
With Pietro Germi, Claudia Cardinale, Claudio Gora, Franco Fabrizi
Radiance/MVD | Feature | Italy | 1959

Directed by and starring Petro Germi (The Railroad Man) as the growling Inspector, The Facts of Murder was loosely adapted from celebrated author Carlo Emilio Gadda’s novel and is shot with inky shadows reminiscent of film noir, while the mystery element prefigures the giallo. The film won multiple awards at Italian institutions including a Golden Globe for Best Film.

“Germi’s austere black-and-white imagery focuses attention on the powerful script… based on an experimental novel by Carlo Emilio Gadda, is one of Pietro Germi’s better efforts.” —Chicago Reader

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Restored!

A Murder in Abidjan
Directed by Mosco Boucault
Icarus Films | Documentary | Ivory Coast | 1997/2024

Warning: This film contains graphic sequences of police violence, brutality, and torture.

1995. On the outskirts of Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast, a policeman is murdered. Shot outside his vehicle, while his fiancée sits in the car, terrified. Superintendent Kouassi is the detective in charge of the investigation. Tall and lanky, he moves with the tired energy of a man who has seen it all. Kouassi’s interrogation methods are brutal and raise the question: Why use such horrific tactics when they are ultimately pointless?

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, November 26

Boom Boom
Directed by Laurie Lassalle
Andana | Documentary | France | 2022

A filmmaker and a young, left-wing activist named Pierre meet outside amidst the pandemonium of civil unrest. Every Saturday, they take to the streets of Paris in support of the yellow vests movement. Originally, when the yellow vest protests started in November 2018, it was about calling for affordable housing and cheaper fuel prices. Later the protests expanded to include demands for economic justice and the French president’s resignation. The film consists of footage shot from the heart of the crowd and authentic interviews with opponents and supporters of the movement. The author’s introspective voiceover thematizes the passion and romantic feelings brewing inside her despite the brutality and urgency of the demonstrations.

“At once an unflinching look at how Western governments have no qualms about violently oppressing their citizens when push (quite literally) comes to shove, but also an oddly romantic look at how love can find root on the barricades.” —International Cinephile Society

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Zoo Station
Directed by Claire Laborey
Andana | Documentary | France | 2022

When Zoo Station – The Story of Christiane F. was published in West Germany in 1979 it shocked the public but became an international bestseller. The book tells the true story of Christiane Felscherinow, a West Berlin teenager who prostitutes herself to pay for her heroin consumption, bringing to light the extent of German youth’s drug problem. This documentary deals with the consequences induced by the publication of the book in Germany.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, November 27

River Silence
Directed by Rogério Soares
With Raimunda Gomes Da Silva, Tamakwera Parakana, Karliane Lopes De Souza, Francinete Pinto Novaes
Pragda | Feature | Canada | 2019

The Belo Monte Dam, one of the world’s biggest and most controversial infrastructure projects, is causing massive ecological and social devastation along Brazil’s Xingu River. Director Rogério Soares travels into this mythic and brutalized world to encounter some of its most vulnerable and inspiring inhabitants.

“A proper, empathetic, heartbreaking eulogy to a river and the community it sustained.” —The Austin Chronicle

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, November 29

The Day of the Owl
Directed by Damiano Damiani
With Claudia Cardinale, Franco Nero, Lee J. Cobb, Nehemiah Persoff
Radiance/MVD | Feature | Italy | 1968

Adapted from the celebrated novel by Leonardo Sciascia, The Day of the Owl was the first book to openly deal with organized crime in Sicily. Director Damiano Damiani followed in the civic-minded cinema of Francesco Rosi and Elio Petri while forging a new path for the action-orientated cinema of the poliziottesco that would follow, creating something uniquely his own. A prestigious production, it was in the running for best film at the Berlin Film Festival and found wins at home in the David di Donatello Awards for stars Nero and Cardinale, along with Damiani, and Best Film.

“Defamiliarizes the mafia tale by making it both recognizable and strange.” —De Gruyter

The Iron Prefect
Directed by Pasquale Squitieri
With Giuliano Gemma, Claudia Cardinale, Stefano Satta Flores, Francisco Rabal
Radiance/MVD | Feature | Italy | 1977

In 1925, Cesare Mori – known as the “Iron Prefect” for his iron-fisted methods – wages a one-man war against the Mafia in Fascist Sicily. Pasquale Squitieri directs this stunning period piece which won the David di Donatello award for best film and features spaghetti western icon Giuliano Gemma brilliantly playing against type as the titular hero, winning him an award for his performance at the prestigious Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Alongside Gemma are the cream of international film from the period, co-stars Cardinale and Rabal, the key surveyor of Italy’s civic cinema screenwriter Ugo Pirro, and legendary composer Morricone.

“A great western epic that never got its due in the U.S… If you’re a fan of westerns, epics, Italian cinema, or Brian Depalma’s The Untouchables, it comes highly recommended.” —Elements of Madness

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

A Murder in Abidjan, Mosco Boucault (1997/2024)
A Real Job, Thomas Lilti (2023)
Boom Boom, Laurie Lassalle (2022)
Carlos Saura – Photographer, Jörg Adolph & Gereon Wetzel (2017)
Cat City, Ben Kolak (2023) 
Elegant Beast, Yuzo Kawashima (1962)
Free Puppies, Samantha Wishman & Christina Thomas (2022)
It Came from Aquarius Records, Kenneth Thomas (2022)
La Paloma – The Melody of Longing, Sigrid Faltin (2008) 
Lyd, Rami Younis & Sarah Ema Friedland (2024)
Jama Masjid Street Journal, Mira Nair (1979)
On The Wandering Paths, Denis Imbert (2023)
River Silence, Rogério Soares (2019) 
Stonewalling, Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka (2022) 
Stuntwomen, Elena Avdija (2022) 
Terrorists in Retirement, Mosco Boucault (1983/2024)
The Day of the Owl, Damiano Damiani (1968) 
The Facts of Murder, Petro Germi (1959)
The Iron Prefect, Pasquale Squitieri (1977) 
What Remains of the Way, Jakob Krese & Danilo do Carmo (2021)
Zoo Station, Claire Laborey (2022)