ASL (American Sign Language) Poetry is a performance art form utilizing body language, rhythm and movement to create a three dimensional pictorial equivalent to oral poetry. The film follows a group of Deaf teens introduced to ASL Poetry. Aneta, a member of the group, goes one step forward boldly entering the spoken word slam scene, a highly verbal arena. An Israeli immigrant, she meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. Eventually, the two young women embark on a hearing/deaf collaboration, a performance duet, generating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf.

Each year, around nine million young Chinese people try to get a spot at a university. The best of them are admitted to the top universities and can look forward to bright futures. The rest have to make the best of what's on offer from private institutions. This documentary follows on the heels of three young people. Wang Pan's grades are too low to be selected for a good university, and now she has to prepare for her future. Recently graduated Wan Chao is looking for a job, and discovers he's not sufficiently trained for the labor market. And smooth-talking Wang Zhenxiang travels around the Chinese countryside searching out potential students for a fraudulent university, using fallacious PowerPoint presentations. The film weaves their compelling personal stories into a greater narrative that paints a less rosy picture than the Chinese government would probably want. Education may still be the best way of escaping poverty, but this documentary shows that rather than elevating the people, opening the market to private institutions has turned them into cash cows.

Pertti, Toni, Kari and Sami, members of Finnish band Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day, suffer from “punk syndrome”, as they jokingly call it. With their own characteristic humour, the band adheres to the punk ethos, adopting a DIY approach in the face of limitations and obstacles. The film maps the development of the band, from early rehearsals through a series of gigs to the recording of an EP. The musicians also set out on a tour of clubs and festivals where, despite scraps between them and various disappointments, they find longed-for understanding among people from different subcultures. Through their music, the four friends break down prejudices and the boundaries of “normality” while the film explores the lives of the mentally handicapped. Their lyrics focus on both societal problems and everyday experiences: what an utter waste of time it is to go for a pedicure, or what it’s like to live in sheltered housing. A powerful account of the wanderings of handicapped musicians who decide to pursue their own non-mainstream lifestyle.

When choreographer Allison Orr finds inspiration, beauty and grace in garbage trucks, cranes and in the men and women who collect our trash, she embarks on one her biggest creative challenges. This documentary follows Orr as she spends months immersing herself in the unexpected community of Austin's sanitation workers to observe and learn about their daily routes and the demands of working in this field. Met with initial skepticism, Orr ultimately convinces them to collaborate in a dance performance. Beyond the months of rehearsal, we observe a very touching story, one that puts a human face on these trash collectors who often get overlooked in society. Many of these hard-working men and women have second jobs to make ends meet coupled with family demands and dreams of their own. What results is the performance of their lives - an event unlike any you've ever seen before, with thousands of spectators who show up on an abandoned airport runway to see that garbage trucks, cranes and trash bins can dance.