Films make passions run high – as they should. Selected over years of sifting through the brightest and best in world cinema, this collection is a true labour of love, which offers a personal and passionate snapshot of contemporary cinema, some going on to win international awards, including the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the Gold Hugo at Chicago and the Jameson Award.

Both existential and life affirming, these titles range from retro-futuristic humour (One Minute Past Midnight), to urban introspection (Trafic), via the trauma of recollection (Fare Bene Mikles), personal epiphany (Mekong Interior), surreal comedy (Canciones de Invierno) and the ultimately uplifting (Breaking Out). In their common pursuit of the truth at the heart of human life, each of these award-winning films redefines the boundaries of cinema and what it can achieve.
Against a backdrop of increasingly predictable mainstream releases, the New Masters of Cinema DVD label breathes new life into film and the way we perceive it. In place of tired truisms and formulaic plots, New Masters of Cinema 01 focuses on the power of cinema in all its forms to depict the fragility, vitality and ultimate absurdity of the human condition.

One Minute Past Midnight
Dir. Celia Galan Julve
The year is 2058. Robert and Steve celebrate every New Year in the same 24-hour convenience store where they work the nightshift. No matter how much things change, they always seem to stay the same, even when Steve wins the lottery. But when Robert discovers that the girl of his dreams works on the dayshift, he suddenly finds himself with a big decision to make. One Minute Past Midnight is a sweet, dark and surreal comedy about love, dreams and the fear of change. It won the Gold Hugo for Best Short Film at Chicago International Film Festival.

Fare Bene Mikles (Being Good at Mikles)
Dir. Christian Mario Angeli
This is the relationship between siblings Sergio and Maria told in reverse, from the hardships of adult life back to the troubled childhood they shared. Throughout the years, their invented game called 'Mikles' provides them with their very own survival technique. The film was awarded Italy's Golden Globe by the Foreign Press.

Trafic (Traffic)
Dir. Catalin Mitulescu
It is rush hour in Bucharest and young businessman Tudor is late for a meeting. Every passing minute seems endless as he sits wedged behind the wheel of his car. When he finally abandons his vehicle to confront a family drama, he finds a new perspective on the everyday life he leads. Trafic is a disturbing and dazzling introspective into the sometimes meaningless rituals of contemporary urban life. It won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Canciones de Invierno (Winter Songs)
Dir. Felix Viscarret
It is November on the outskirts of an anonymous European city. Five different people are killing time in a variety of peculiar ways. But the pretence that their lives are under control is unravelling; all of them are trapped in the wreckage of recent love affairs. Wracked by insomnia, self-abandonment, midnight confessions and desperate behaviour, their lives soon take unexpected turns as they try to win back the objects of their affection. Canciones De Invierno is a surreal comedy, inspired by the sorrows and absurdities of life. The film received the Jury's Special Mention of Honour at the Las Palmas International Film Festival.

Mekong Interior
Dir. Dir. Vanessa Ly
When a half-Cambodian Frenchman returns to the country of his father's birth, he is drawn into an emotionally trying, and ultimately futile, search for traces of his ancestry. Unburdened by inherited memories, his accompanying girlfriend soon immerses herself in the unfamiliar and exotic elements of the country. Finally the pair part company, paving the way for two journeys of personal discovery to reach their final destinations. The film won the Jameson Prize at the Bangkok International Film Festival.

Breaking Out
Dir. Marianela Maldonado
A dark, stylish and ultimately uplifting journey into the mind of a depressed woman. Once a bubbly and extroverted singer, Jessie now spends her day in anguished solitude, desperately seeking to avoid her friends, family and – most of all – her own paranoia. Fuelled by insecurity and a morbid fear of confrontation, her fervid imagination finally leads her to make an unexpected reconnection with life. The film premiered during Cannes Critics' Week and went on to win the Audience Award at Angers.

New Masters of Cinema 01 is available to buy from 2nd April 2007 for £14.99 at www.newmastersofcinema.com (running time 119 mins, 15 certificate tbc).

Any reader who places an order at www.newmastersofcinema.com before the end of April can enter the promotional code FPPEMAIL to get free postage & packing on their order.