This is a selection of films that stroke the border between the erotic and the forbidden – from the adolescent yearings of Private Lessons through to the sexual appetites of the older generations in Cloud 9. Ranging from the soft tease to the hard core (Otto; Or Up With Dead People), the films of Forbidden Pleasures are often graphic but never gratuitous.

Feature Films

	AMAZING TRUTH ABOUT QUEEN RAQUELA, THE (Iceland, 80 min) A transsexual Cinderella story.… Raquela Rios has a dream: to make it all the way to Paris, to meet her Prince Charming and to settle down into a life of luxury. But Paris is a long way from th… More >
	BE LIKE OTHERS (UK, Canada, France, USA, 74 min) "Explaining why they want to have surgery, they would say, ‘I want to live like everybody else. I want to be like others. I'm not a weirdo... I'm not a homosexual. I'm not filthy.'" - filmmaker… More >
	CLOUD 9 (Germany, 98 min) Love hurts - even when you're over 60.… Sixty-something seamstress Inge is thrown into a torrid love affair after bringing a pair of pants she altered to their owner, the affable 76-year-old Ka… More >
	DOWNLOADING NANCY (USA, 96 min) “You realise that love does not mean hurting yourself, right?”… Powerful, emotional and overwhelming, Downloading Nancy – debut feature from music video director Johan Renck &… More >
	HELP ME EROS (Taiwan, 103 min) “Blessed with an intense sympathy for his vulnerable characters, Lee [Kang-sheng] confidently combines social themes of poignant authenticity with striking visual elements.” – Toron… More >
	JIHAD FOR LOVE, A (USA, UK, France, Germany, Australia, 81 min) “All the people in my film are coming out as Muslims… They’re proud to be gay… They’re saying they’re as Muslim as anybody else.” – filmmaker Parvez … More >
	OTTO; OR, UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE (R) (Germany, Canada, 94 min) “Eroto-horror-satire mixes movie-within-a-movie machinations with graphic sex scenes that will titillate anyone who’s ever wanted to see someone shagging an open wound.” – Var… More >
	PRIVATE LESSONS (Belgium, France, 105 min) “Volatile male adolescence and adult irresponsibility react together in a claustrophobic hothouse environment.” – Screen International… Aspiring tennis player Jonas is failing… More >
	STORY OF RICHARD O, THE (France, 75 min) A freewheeling sexploration of a man lost in lust.Driven by lust, Richard (played by Mathieu Amalric in his thrid film at MIFF'08) takes some time off from his girlfriend to investigate his erotic ob… More >