Meantime
A working-class family in London's East End is struggling to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Only the mother Mavis is working; father Frank and the couple's two sons Colin, a timid, chronically shy individual and Mark, an outspoken, headstrong young man, are on the dole. This situation is contrasted by the presence of Mavis's sister Barbara, and her husband John, whose financial and social loftiness appears to be a comfortable facade over the unspoken soreness of a lackluster marriage.
Attention danger travail
With the energy of the dying, those in power apply themselves to reasserting the value of work – with force, if need be. But more and more workers have understood that, to truly value their work, they have to do without it. They also have to get rid of the society of consumption that goes along with it. It may not be easy, but it is certainly amusing. We present a panorama of a mass desertion destined to spread.
The Jobcentre
„Alone against the mob? Solo against the jobcentre? Classic suicide mission.” That much Mr Berger knows, working at the jobcentre phone support line. But fortunately, Marie is not alone, after she loses her job aged 58. She has gathered a highly specialized troop of long-term unemployed people, and together they can achieve anything.
Tony
Unemployed and unemployable, Tony is a sympathetic recluse with severe social problems, an addiction to VHS action films and a horrible moustache. Occasionally he snaps and murder is the result…
Living It Up
A recently laid off steel mill worker in a little seaside town starts losing his wife to a local TV anchor.
Praise
Gordon, a 25-year-old chain-smoking asthmatic who unhappily works at a Brisbane bottle shop, moves into a run-down residential hotel. He becomes embroiled in a romance with Cynthia, a former co-worker who suffers from eczema and low self-esteem. Gordon and Cynthia occupy themselves with drink, drugs, sex, and Scrabble. A love triangle arises when Gordon's former love, Rachel, comes back into his life.
Habit
Manchester, the present. Michael divides his time between the job center and the pub. A chance meeting with Lee, an introduction to her Uncle Ian and a heavy night on the lash lead to a job working the door at a Northern Quarter massage parlor. After witnessing the violent death of one of the punters, Michael experiences blood-drenched flashbacks and feels himself being sucked into a twilight world that he doesn't understand but that is irresistibly attractive. When he eventually finds out what goes on in the room below Cloud 9, Michaels' life will never be the same again.
Benefits
In a not-so-distant future, Adeel must comply with the machines to survive.
Deleted
A short documentary following the last 5 hours of a 59-years-old man, Ahmed before becoming homeless due to the late payments and bureaucracy by the Department for Work and Pensions.