A Wealth of Nations

An unsophisticated farm girl pursues a career as an opera singer.

In Uganda, AIDS-infected mothers have begun writing what they call Memory Books for their children. Aware of the illness, it is a way for the family to come to terms with the inevitable death that it faces. Hopelessness and desperation are confronted through the collaborative effort of remembering and recording, a process that inspires unexpected strength and even solace in the face of death.

Comedian Harmonists tells the story of a famous, German male sextet, five vocals and piano, the "Comedian Harmonists", from the day they meet first in 1927 to the day in 1934, when they become banned by the upcoming Nazis, because three of them are Jewish.

Country-western favorite Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys star in the Columbia musical western Smoky Mountain Melody. Not much happens plotwise: Acuff, playing "himself," is a tenderfoot who somehow manages to come out on top when he heads westward. The villains (who aren't all that villainous) try to promote a phony stock deal, but Roy and his pals foils their plans. The comedy honors go to Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as a blowhard sheriff. Smoky Mountain Melody was scripted by Barry Shipman, the son of pioneering female filmmaker Nell Shipman.

Siblings Geoff and Rich Brewer have competed all their lives for parental affection, career ambitions, and romantic pursuits. Rich, the elder brother, always comes out on top leaving Geoff to struggle in his shadow. Tragedy strikes their family in a freak accident. In a panic, Geoff seeks out a backwoods cult rumored to have supernatural powers. The bumbling cult's ritual initially solves the problem, but it soon becomes apparent that they have unleashed a sinister force on their unsuspecting, Midwestern town.

Peter stows away on a ship from Italy, and arrives in New York, pursued by the ship's captain. He is advised that he will find other Italians in Little Italy, so he goes there, where Gepetto takes him in, after he attempts to steal some food. He tries to be good, but gets in trouble for stealing, so Jimmy the pizza man has to show him the way and get him to school. He thinks he isn't important, so he tells tall tales, scratching his nose each time. He tells people that Gepetto is a big important politician, so people automatically want to support him, though Gepetto is not running for anything.

The story of a virtuoso piano player who lives his entire life aboard an ocean liner. Born and raised on the ship, 1900 learned about the outside world through interactions with passengers, never setting foot on land, even for the love of his life. Years later, the ship may be destroyed, and a former band member fears that 1900 may still be aboard, willing to go down with the ship.