Eleven separate vignettes are presented. In each, celebrities, playing semi-fictionalized versions of themselves (with the exception of the characters of various wait staff, and one actor playing a lookalike cousin of herself), meet in a food service establishment with coffee/tea and cigarettes involved. Beyond the topic of discussion that brought them together, they often talk directly about coffee and cigarettes, more often that coffee and cigarettes, and by association caffeine and nicotine, are not healthy, especially if they are the only things constituting lunch. Other recurring themes include the Lee family, cousinhood, celebrity worship, the connection between the medical and musical careers, and Nikola Tesla's belief that the Earth is a conductor of acoustic resonance. In all cases, the coming together for coffee/tea and smokes acts as a bridge to overcome disagreements, and/or makes uncomfortable situations less uncomfortable. Written by Huggo

The mobster Jackie DiNorscio is shot by his own cousin at home while in probation but survives. Later he is arrested dealing drugs and sentenced to thirty years in prison. The prosecutor Sean Kierney proposes a deal to Jackie, immediately releasing him if he testifies against the Lucchese family and other mafia families but Jackie does not accept to rat his friends that he loves. When the trial begins, he asks the judge Finestein to defend himself without the assistance of a lawyer. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The eleven year-old boy Nathan Perry is beloved by his parents that are going to give a dog for him. However his family is destroyed in a car accident when his parents die and the boy is sent to the custody of Milwood, an orphanage managed by Mr. Clemens. The boy is treated with love by the social assistant Judy, but abused by Mr. Clemens. When Nathan is bullied by other boys, Mr. Clemens sends him to the feared Ward B and the mean Katherine Rizzo becomes his tutor and he has medical assistance from the weird Doctor Charles. While snooping around the Ward B, Nathan discloses a dreadful secret. What have him discovered? Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This Martin Scorsese film depicts the Janus-like quality of Las Vegas--it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence. Written by Tad Dibbern DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu