Miho Nikaido

A quietly intense ghost movie about a lonely young doctor who suspects the spirit of his dead wife has come to posses the mind of a troubled young woman in his hospital. Distraught, the skeptical but desperate man heeds the advice of a harmless fortuneteller. Though later admitting he is a con artist, the fortune-teller's predictions turn out to be strangely correct. (Possible Films)

As regional character disappears and corporate culture homogenizes our surroundings, it's increasingly hard to tell where you are. Actual malls, theme parks, hotels and corporate centers worldwide are joined into one "superlandscape" which shapes the lives of two women caught within it. One is a corporate executive, the other a young drifter.

Peter, a psychotherapist, and Suzanne, a professional dominatrix, have been meeting once a week for over two years. In the privacy of a dungeon room in an S & M house, Suzanne delicately pierces, prods and ultimately soothes Peter as they engage in sensual dominance and submission reenactments. Peter's wife Pat knows about her husband's other life, but there is an understanding between them; what happens in the dungeon is relegated to the world of fantasy. (imdb)

A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married. (imdb)

Socially inept garbage man Simon is befriended by Henry Fool, a witty roguish, but talent-less novelist. Henry opens a magical world of literature to Simon who turns his hand to writing the 'great American poem'. As Simon begins his controversial ascent to the dizzying heights of Nobel Prize winning poet, Henry sinks to a life of drinking in low-life bars. The two friends fall out and lose touch until Henry's criminal past catches up with him. (imdb)

A multimedia collaboration with Dutch composer Louis Andriessen (sospeso.com)

A hot summer day on a country road. A young woman in her bridal dress gets kicked out of a car. Lost and frustrated, she wanders off across a sea of grass into a dark wood - and discovers an abandoned house. Tired and worn out, she lies down on a bed. When she is awakened from her nap by a clap of thunder, she sees a cup of steaming hot tea and a package on the floor. She opens it - and finds a kimono. The bride knows she no longer is alone ... but should she put on the kimono? (imdb)

The end of the millenium has taken on a certain significance in modern day prophecies. What happens if Jesus Christ has second thoughts about the Apocalypse? It is December 31, 1999 and New Year's Eve takes on new meaning when the Devil, Jesus Christ, and Christ's assistant Magdelina discuss and debate the end of the world, the opening of the seven seals, and the essence of being human. (imdb)

Meanwhile concerns Joe Fulton, a man who can do anything from fixing your sink to arranging international financing for a construction project. He produces online advertising and he's written a big fat novel. He's also a pretty good drummer. But success eludes him. (possiblefilms.com)

A slow, meditative piece of visual music commissioned by the Paris Gallery of the Foundation Cartier for their group show, "Amours." Different artists, filmmakers and writers were asked to make something treating the concept of "amour" (or "love"). Hal Hartley decided to treat that aspect of love which is charity and deconstructed the well known phrase from the gospel of Mark regarding "turning the other cheek." (fandor.com)

Hartley and his wife, Miho Nikaido, travel to Japan to see her parents and reflect on 12 years of marriage, her career ambitions, and the adventures of growing older.

Staten Island Cab-driver, Bipin Raj, picks up a passenger, mistakes her for a movie star, but tells her that his brother, Vikram Raj, is a very well-known Bollywood mega-star with millions of fans, and is currently living with him and his family of his wife and two children. But all is not hunky dory in the Raj household, for Mrs. Chandra Bipin Raj, who initial thrill at meeting her mega-star brother-in-law, has shimmered down, and she is anxious for him to leave. (imdb)