Two sides of the same country: a chaotic and violent city contrasting against a natural paradise where the oldest mountains on the planet can be found. Two main characters that find each other at a crucial moment. Two fearless journeys, one that begins as a childlike adventure and ends up on the other side of the country and a one-way journey, free and determined. The same destiny will inevitably bond a woman with her grandson. Without knowing it they are part of an unbreakable family circle that deeply unites them. Second opportunities will arise while individual freedom of choice will become imposing. Everything comes together to tell us: there is only one destiny, the one you choose for yourself.
Sharon and her ten year old son Bayo live in Tickle Cove on the shores of Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland like generations of their family have before them. Sharon hates her life there. She dreams of moving to Toronto - where her now deceased mother was from - to eke out a better life for her and Bayo. She even leaves her big black packed trunk in the middle of the foyer as a symbolic gesture that that move will soon be happening. She equally hates her fisher father, Phillip Longlan, for subjecting her and her mother to life there. Phillip, who spends most of his time on a commercial fishing boat, only provides Sharon enough money to survive but not to achieve that dream of leaving. Bayo, however, doesn't want to leave, especially leave his grandfather behind. He wants to live and die by the sea, much like his deceased father, who he never knew.
On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.
Young-goon, mentally deranged and frequently electro-charging herself with a transistor radio, has been admitted into a mental institution. Firmly believing herself to be a cyborg, she refuses to consume like a human being. Il-soon is another patient, who catches the eye of Young-goon and soon becomes a close friend. Il-soon is now confronted with the biggest task: to cure Young-goon's mental problem and have her eat real food.
An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather.
Stoic and heartbroken, Einar Gilkyson quietly lives in the rugged Wyoming ranchlands alongside his only trusted friend, Mitch Bradley. One day, the woman he blames for the death of his only son arrives at his door broke, desperate and with a granddaughter he's never known. But even as buried anger and accusations resurface, the way is opened for unexpected connection, adventure and forgiveness.
The story of the Buckman family and friends, attempting to bring up their children. They suffer/enjoy all the events that occur: estranged relatives, the 'black sheep' of the family, the eccentrics, the skeletons in the closet, and the rebellious teenagers.
Following a nervous breakdown, ski athlete Jomar has isolated himself in a lonely existence as the guard of a ski park. When he learns that he might be the father of a child way up north, he sets on a strange and poetic journey through Norway on a snowmobile, with 5 liters of alcohol as sole provisions. On this trip through amazing arctic landscapes, Jomar seems to do everything in his power to avoid reaching his destination. He meets other tender and confused souls, who will all contribute to push Jomar further along his reluctant journey towards the brighter side of life.
Romain, 31, a fashion photographer with terminal cancer, elects to die alone, preparing others to live past him rather than prolong the inevitable with chemotherapy or be smothered in sympathy by those who know him.
Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.
Elderly Dastaguir and his newly deaf 5-year-old grandson Yassin hitchhike and walk, but mostly walk, as they make their way to the coal mine where Dastaguir's son Murad works. Dastaguir must tell Murad that the rest of their family were all killed in a recent bomb attack.
Dumped on her grandparents for the summer by her indifferent mother, acerbic and self-destructive teenager Greta disrupts the elderly couple's staid life on the Jersey Shore. Eventually, a romance helps Greta face down her demons.
It’s Christmas time and the family has gathered. Everything goes on as it did the previous Christmases, with grandpa drinking too much and grandma trying to keep everyone in the mood. After the Christmas holidays, everyone returns to their own homes until it's time to gather again, this time for a funeral.
Tano is 16-years-old and is already sitting in jail. In 48 hours he’s a free man and off to the wedding of his brother. In the two days he recounts his neighborhood in a section of Sevilla.
Continuing the story of Aurora Greenway in her latter years. After the death of her daughter, Aurora struggled to keep her family together, but has one grandson in jail, a rebellious granddaughter, and another grandson living just above the poverty line.
Ryan is a teenager who lacks the ability to speak. One day, Ryan falls off a bridge and he finds himself transported to a strange fantasy world where he encounters his Grandpa Randolph and a pretty girl named Melanie; together, Ryan and Melanie learn to help one another with their problems, and they both discover the wisdom they can gain from elders like Grandpa Randolph.
An eleven-year-old Turkish boy, two young men from a small town, and a cuckolded policeman from the sticks all find their way to Berlin on May Day, where, in the district of Kreuzberg, emotions come to the boil every year.
A young Jewish boy travels europe in search of the grave of his Great Grandfather who was killed by the Nazis in the War.
The story of the relationship between Sophia, an eight-year-old girl who is growing up fast, and her grandmother, who is nearing the end of her life. They are spending time together with Sophia’s father, at the family summer house on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. All three are coming to terms with the recent death of Sophia’s mother in very different ways.
Subbu, a snobbish old man, is estranged from his son, when he marries a girl from another caste. But, his perspective on life begins to change, when his grandson comes to stay with him in the village.