OVID’s December Lineup: Nine exclusives! Heiny Srour x 2, Heist with a Twist, School in War-torn Ukraine & much more

This month, OVID and Several Futures conspire to bring you Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche’s The Temple Woods Gang, an original take on the heist genre named one of the 10 best films of 2023 by Cahiers du Cinéma. Plus, new restorations of Heiny Srour’s The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived (1974) and Leila and the Wolves (1984), both key works of feminist filmmaking in the Middle East. The first Arab woman to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival, Srour’s The Hour “remains the most striking visual record of the Dhofar Rebellion” (Bidoun), and Wolves is “one of the most devastatingly timely films about the history of Palestinian and Lebanese women.” (Chicago Reader)

Exclusive premieres include Ukrainian filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai’s highly acclaimed documentary feature film Timestamp, heralded at its world premiere at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival as one of the most urgent films in the lineup: “The irrevocable effect of Russia’s unjustified invasion of her country is felt in every expression and utterance…. the cumulative effect is a patchwork of pain, perseverance, and adaptability as young innocence is forever lost.” (The Film Stage) Timestamp was also praised by The Film Verdict as a “richly detailed observational documentary… deeply moving yet refreshingly unsentimental.” Gornostai’s Berlinale Crystal Bear–winning Stop-Zemlia is also on OVID.

Other highlights include three films from David Redmon and Ashley Sabin (joining Girl Model), this time looking at factory workers (Downeast, Mardi Gras: Made in China), and a struggling Mexican family striving for a better life (Intimidad). The first big film on klezmer music is also coming to OVID, just in time for Hanukkah! Then, the team takes a brief break to reset and gear up for a new year of plentiful programming ahead.

Full details on December’s complete lineup are below.

Image above from Heiny Srour's LEILA AND THE WOLVES, premiering on OVID on December 5th.

Tuesday, December 2

The Return – Family Separation
Directed by Jeremy S. Levine
EPF Media | Documentary | USA | 2025 | 22 min

After being separated from his father at the U.S. border, 12-year-old Geovanny returns to Guatemala a changed boy. Once a star student, he struggles to adjust, while his father faces mounting debt and the threat of losing his land. An unexpected call from the U.S. offers a glimmer of hope to change their circumstances.

Wednesday, December 3

Intimidad
Directed by David Redmon & Ashley Sabin
Carnivalesque | Documentary | USA | 2008 | 71 min

Shot over five years, Intimidad is an in-depth portrait of Cecy and Camilo Ramirez, a young couple struggling to make ends meet in Reynosa, Mexico. They have recently left their 2-year-old daughter, Loida, with Cecy’s mother in Santa Maria in the hopes of building a proper home. After one year, they return to visit her for the Christmas holidays, yet their vacation is barely the respite the couple expected, as Loida hardly recognizes her parents, and a sudden tragedy threatens to tear the family apart.

“A film about a couple’s struggle to maintain familial intimacy whilst battling a seemingly impossible economic system in the quest for private property.” —Karina Longworth, IndieWire

“Intimidad‘s final scenes satisfy, showing how even small victories can be savored. Mix of video and 16mm is artfully balanced.” —Joe Leydon, Variety

** SXSW Film Festival

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, December 4

Downeast 
Directed by David Redmon & Ashley Sab
Carnivalesque | Documentary | USA | 2012 | 80 min

Explores Italian immigrant Antonio Bussone’s use of federal grants to return factory work to the United States. The filmmakers’ prior movie, Girl Model (also on OVID), explored exploitation in the international modeling business through the harrowing experiences of an underage girl.

“Effectively tackles a vast global issue through a deeply humanistic lens…  a highly contained, personable work that renders vast industrial problems on a profoundly intimate scale — which is enough to encourage curious viewers to learn more about the context if they desire it.” —Eric Kohn, IndieWire

** Tribeca Film Festival

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Mardi Gras: Made in China
Directed by David Redmon 
Carnivalesque | Documentary | USA | 2005 | 72 min

This examination of cultural and economic globalization follows the life cycle of Mardi Gras beads from a small factory in Fuzhou, China, to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and to art galleries in New York City.

“A thought-provoking, canny piece of filmmaking that puts flesh, blood and garish multicolored baubles on the skeleton of globalization.” —Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times

** Sundance Film Festival

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, December 5

The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived
Directed by Heiny Srour
Several Futures | Documentary | Lebanon, France, UK | 1974 | 62 min 

The first film by an Arab woman to be selected and screened at the Cannes film festival in 1974, The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived, chronicles the anti-colonial struggle of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf. Srour’s documentary was recently screened in New York as part of a series focusing on the theme of decolonization in cinema.

“Depicts an armed struggle devoid of testosterone or muscular militarism, where every single aspect of society is patiently subverted…  a precious document protecting a vital episode of Arab revolutionary history.” –Giovanni Vimercati, Rusted Radishes

** Cannes Film Festival, 1974

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Leila and the Wolves
Directed by Heiny Srour
Several Futures | Docudrama | Lebanon, Belgium, UK | 1984 | 90 min

Drawing on the Arab heritage of the ‘Arabian Nights’, Leila and the Wolves combines fictional drama, archival footage, and fantasy sequences to refute the colonial and male-dominated version of history. Leila travels across time and space to explore the collective memory of Arab women in Palestine and Lebanon and their hidden role in historical events. 

“One of the most devastatingly timely films about the history of Palestinian and Lebanese women.” —Kyle Logan, Chicago Reader

“A film of monumental resolve and ambition, determined to address the contradictions within the anti-colonial struggle… here’s a film that defiantly disregards any moralist binary of good versus evil, us versus them, to champion the immense and composite task that is liberation from all shackles, wherever and whomever we are.” —Celluloid Liberation Front, Notebook 

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, December 9

Pastor: Four Movements
Directed by Joanna Rechnio
EPF Media | Documentary | Poland | 2024 | 73 min

An intimate documentary that profiles Krzysztof Pastor, the renowned Polish dancer and choreographer affiliated with the Dutch ballet school. The film delves into Pastor’s creative process, showcasing his work, his interactions with dancers, and the challenges he faces in the world of ballet. Through behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage and performances, Pastor shares insights into his work and the sources of his inspiration.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, December 10

Creating Paradise
Directed by David Baute
Impronta Films | Documentary | Spain | 2024 | 67 min

After a trip to Finland in 1960, Vicente Saavedra (1937-2021) plans the construction of TenBel, a touristic area in the Canary Islands where he applied some of Aalto’s principles. Nowadays TenBel is in complete decline. The film repeats that journey to the Baltic country by the hand of poet Alejandro Krawietz, reflecting on the idea of ‘dwelling’ and looking for the ‘paradise’ meeting point between the North and the South of Europe.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

The Pavilion on the Water
Directed by Stefano Croci & Silvia Siberini
Impronta Films | Documentary | Italy, Netherlands, UK | 2023 | 77 min

A cinematic journey into the world of Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa and his passion for Japanese culture. Japan, to Scarpa, was an inspirational universe. It was also the place where he died, at the height of his career, in 1978. Through the words of Japanese philosopher Ryosuke Ōhashi, The Pavilion On The Water reflects on the beauty that brought together Scarpa’s work and the Japanese traditional aesthetic.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, December 12

A Jumpin’ Night in the Garden of Eden
Directed by Michal Goldman
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1987 | 75 min

For nearly a thousand years, klezmer music had been part of the celebration of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Immigrants brought it to America, where it intersected with the Yiddish theatre and jazz. Yet klezmer was virtually extinct by the 1970s when some young musicians went looking for their cultural origins in the vast American musical landscape. Tracking two groups of brilliant young musicians, A Jumpin’ Night in the Garden of Eden is the first film to document the klezmer revival.

“These young musicians are trying to recapture much more than just the tunes of a bygone time; they are after nothing less elusive than the spirit of a destroyed world.” —Walter Goodman, The New York TImes

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, December 16

Watchtower
Directed by Pelin Esmer 
With Olgun Simsek, Nilay Erdönmez, Menderes Samancilar
Visit Films | Drama | Turkey, France, Germany | 2012 | 96 min

A man and a woman seeking refuge from the world: Nihat at a remote forest fire tower, Seher in her room at a rural bus station. When their lives collide, each now has to fight their battle of conscience before the other.

“Original, well-made, and dramatically fulfilling.” —Howard Feinstein, Screen Daily 

Wednesday, December 17

California Solo
Directed by Marshall Lewy
With Robert Carlyle, Alexia Rasmussen, Kathleen Wilhoite
Visit Films | Drama | USA | 2012 | 94 min

A former Britpop rocker who now works on a farm gets caught driving drunk and faces deportation after living in Los Angeles for many years. His efforts to stay in the U.S. force him to confront the past and current demons in his life.

“Carlyle’s performance is fascinating in its naturalism, and he wears this character like a scarf: comfortably, but close to the heart.” —Gabe Toro, IndieWire 

Thursday, December 18

The Temple Woods Gang
Directed by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
With Régis Laroche, Marie Loustalot, Philippe Petit, Mohamed Aroussi
Several Futures | Drama | France | 2022 | 113 min

A richly imagined, arrestingly original perspective on the heist genre. Bébé and five friends from his housing project decide to rob a Saudi prince. Although the scheme is initially successful, its consequences set off a series of events that none of the participants could have anticipated. It’s a familiar enough premise, but Ameur-Zaïmeche is as interested in the men, their background, and their precarious position in the French social structure as he is in the dramatic interplay of crime and punishment. Named one of the 10 best films of 2023 by Cahiers du Cinéma, The Temple Woods Gang is the boldest accomplishment yet from a filmmaker rightly acclaimed within France, and deserving of similar recognition beyond its borders.

“Dark and poetic… Feels both tragic and sublime” —Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter

** International premiere, Berlinale Forum

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, December 19

Timestamp
Directed by Kateryna Gornostai 
KimStim | Documentary | Ukraine, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France | 2024 | 125 min

Keeping schools open in Ukraine is an attempt to create normalcy, though the war is affecting the lives of students and teachers. The film explores how daily life is intertwined with constant danger. Gornostai’s Berlinale Crystal Bear–winning Stop-Zemlia is also on OVID.

“The irrevocable effect of Russia’s unjustified invasion of her country is felt in every expression and utterance, in the overwhelming destruction left behind…. the cumulative effect is a patchwork of pain, perseverance, and adaptability as young innocence is forever lost, another rallying cry condemning the cruel futility of Putin’s maniacal warpath.” —Jordan Raup, The Film Stage 

“A richly detailed observational documentary that chronicles a school year across war-torn Ukraine… deeply moving yet refreshingly unsentimental portrait of courage under fire.” —Stephen Dalton, The Film Verdict

** World premiere, Berlin International Film Festival, 2025

OVID EXCLUSIVE — SVOD PREMIERE

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

A Jumpin’ Night in the Garden of Eden, Michal Goldman (1987) 
California Solo, Marshall Lewy (2012) 
Creating Paradise, David Baute (2024)
Downeast, David Redmon & Ashley Sabin (2012)
Intimidad, David Redmon & Ashley Sabin (2008)
Leila and the Wolves, Heiny Srour (1984) 
Mardi Gras: Made in China, David Redmon (2005) 
Pastor: Four Movements, Joanna Rechnio (2024)
The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived, Heiny Srour (1974)
The Pavilion on the Water, Stefano Croci & Silvia Siberini (2023) 
The Return – Family Separation, Jeremy S. Levine (2025)
The Temple Woods Gang, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche (2022)
Timestamp, Kateryna Gornostai (2024)
Watchtower, Pelin Esmer (2012)