Streeting on December 6th is the new neo-Noir thriller The Frontier, the debut feature from filmmaker Oren Shai, starring Jim Beaver (Deadwood), which was a hit at the SXSW festival in 2015. Also available December 6th is Season One of the acclaimed French espionage series The Bureau; and director Shrihari Sathe’s moving drama 1000 Rupee Note, from Kino Lorber’s Silk Road label.

From Kino Classics, the ’80s sci-fi cult classic Man Facing Southeast makes its Blu-ray and DVD debut in the US on December 13th, packed with special features including a booklet with director’s statement and essay by film historian Nancy J. Membrez, and interviews with director Eliseo Subiela, lead actor Hugo Soto, and cinematographer Ricardo De Angelis. Also streeting December 13th from Kino Lorber’s Jezebel label is the 1969 exploitation favorite The Stewardesses, presented on Blu-ray and DVD in a restored 3-D version along with Experiments in Love (1977), a softcore short in restored 3-D.

New documentaries available from Kino Lorber in December include the musical doc Llyn Foulkes: One Man Band (available December 6), the spirituality doc On Meditation (available December 6), Mudbloods (available December 6), which looks at the professional Quidditch tournaments inspired by the famous fictional sport from the Harry Potter novels; Hooligan Sparrow (available December 13th) following Chinese activist Ye Haiyan as she protests the sexual abuse of a group of young schoolgirls by their principal; and the concert film A Trip to Unicorn Island (available December 13), which follows YouTube star Lilly Singh (aka “Superwoman”) on a global tour to show people that happiness is worth fighting for.

Finally, Kino Lorber is pleased to offer two masterful performances by the Bolshoi Ballet, of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake (both available December 13), which allow audiences to enjoy these timeless classics, which have been digitally restored and remastered, just in time for the holiday season.

For more information about these releases, or to request screeners for review, please contact Matt Barry at mbarry@kinolorber.com.

Synopsis: Filmed in the California desert on Super 16mm, THE FRONTIER weaves elements of classic noir, American western, and the hard-boiled paperbacks of the ’50s to create a timeless world within which the film’s colorful characters roam. Shadowy, textured, and wonderfully lush, THE FRONTIER looks like it popped out of the front cover of a gritty paperback novel. A female drifter (Jocelin Donahue, The House of the Devil) discovers a violent gang of thieves at a desert motel run by a mysterious woman (Kelly Lynch, Drugstore Cowboy) and hatches a plan to escape with their stolen cash. An official selection of SXSW 2015, this riveting neo-noir keeps viewers guessing to the last exhilarating shot.

Special Features: Audio Commentary by director/co-writer Oren Shai and co-writer Webb Wilcoxen | moderated by Shock Waves podcast’s Elric Kane | “The Stranger,” an interview with Jocelin Donahue | “The Law,” an interview with AJ Bowen | “The Heavy,” an interview with Jim Beaver | “8mm: Behind the Scenes of The Frontier” | Theatrical trailer, 5.1 Surround

Synopsis: Based on real-life accounts by former French spies, The Bureau tells the story of a man torn between love and loyalty, in a world where a single lie can kill. When French intelligence officer Guillaume “Malotru” Debailly (Mathieu Kassovitz) returns to Paris after six years as an undercover agent in Syria, he struggles to reconnect with his daughter, ex-wife, colleagues and even, his old self. But after learning that his lover in Syria (Nadia, played by Zineb Triki), is now in Paris, Guillaume breaks agency rules and approaches her as the man he was in Damascus: Paul Lefebvre. As Guillaume begins living a double life, he opens himself up (and DGSE) to new and unprecedented dangers.

Synopsis: During the seven years chronicled in Llyn Foulkes One Man Band, artist and musician Llyn Foulkes creates, destroys, and recreates a pair of large-scale paintings – one of which costs him his marriage – until he is at last rediscovered by the international art world at age 77. With interviews from 1960’s art scene vets Dennis Hopper and George Herms, and an appearance on The Tonight Show, the film reconstructs fifty years of his uncompromising, largely forgotten career. With music written and performed by Llyn Foulkes on his massive, fanciful, self-invented instrument called “The Machine”.

Synopsis: On Meditation (Volumes 1 and II) is an absorbing documentary that explores the deeply personal practice of meditation. Practiced for thousands of years, meditation is at once profound and simple: the focused attempt to move beyond conditioned “thinking” into a deeper state of awareness. Yet, what does that path – the path of the inner journey, which is above all a private, interior one – really look like? On Meditation conveys  first-hand experiences of those who have developed meaningful practices and are willing to share their experiences. From teachers to everyday people to celebrities, the subjects of On Meditation offer a rare glimpse into their private insights and rituals.

Special Features: Deleted Scenes, Guided Meditations, Trailer

Synopsis: Transforming Harry Potter‘s fictional competition into a physically demanding, real-life sport, quidditch has secured its place as one of the fastest growing collegiate club sports today. The fantastically entertaining documentary Mudbloods follows the resilient underdogs of the UCLA Quidditch team as they make their way to the Fifth Annual Quidditch World Cup in New York City.

Special Features: Audio Commentary by director Farzad Sangari, Behind-the-Scenes Featurette Extra Footage from World Cup Games, Making-of SNITCHCENTER

Synopsis: Budhi, a widow, lives in a small village in Maharashtra, India. Her only son, a young farmer, has committed suicide. Though poor and left alone in the world, she leads a cheerful life. She is particularly fond of her neighbor, young Sudama with whom she shares the small pleasures of life. A local politician gives her a few 1000 rupee notes at an election rally. She and Sudama go shopping to the nearby market with her newfound wealth, but fate has other plans for them.

Special Features: Audio Commentary by director Shrihari Sathe Behind-the-Scenes Footage, Music Videos, Trailer

Synopsis: A groovy time capsule from a more swinging era, the camp classic THE STEWARDESSES takes wing again in this restored 3-D edition. A group of friendly flight attendants spend their layovers engaging in casual sexual encounters and popular amusements (including hallucinogenic drugs and a psychedelic haunted house). But the life of the stewardess is not without its pitfalls, and the women must eventually face the moral consequences of their high-flying lifestyles. Also featured in this edition is the adults-only short film Experiments in Love. Like THE STEWARDESSES, it is presented in both 2-D and 3-D formats (3-D viewing requires a compatible television and Blu-ray player).

Special Features: Original theatrical trailer, Experiments in Love (1977), a softcore short in restored 3D

Synopsis: Man Facing Southeast is Argentine director Eliseo Subiela’s 1986 cult classic, a powerfully moving science fiction parable of a saint-like stranger in an even stranger land – our Earth. This critically-acclaimed gem has not been available on DVD or Blu-ray in the United States, until now. A man named Rantes (Hugo Soto) suddenly appears in a Buenos Aires psychiatric hospital expertly playing the organ. But who is he – this man with no recorded identity? Doctor Denis (Lorenzo Quinteros) dismisses Rantes’ claim of being an alien visitor as a case of paranoid delusion. Beatriz (Inés Vernengo), his only visitor, sees him as an intimate and knowing companion. And the other patients, intrigued by his mysterious intelligence, see him as their only source of hope. Inspiring, mystical, and unforgettable, Man Facing Southeast is one of the great science fiction films of the 1980s.

Special Features: Booklet with Director’s Statement and essay by film historian Nancy J. Membrez, Interviews with: Director Eliseo Subiela, Lead actor Hugo Soto, Director of Photography Ricardo De Angelis

Synopsis: Ye Haiyan (a.k.a Hooligan Sparrow) is labeled a troublemaker by the Chinese government – someone who embarrasses the state with public protests involving the civil rights of sex workers. In this tense documentary directed by Nanfu Wang, Ye Haiyan travels to Hainan Province to protest a case in which the sexual mistreatment of elementary-age school girls by their principal has gone unprosecuted. As slow as the totalitarian regime may be to punish state of cals, it’s much quicker to intimidate, harass, and threaten with prison those who question it. Will Sparrow survive her latest battle? And will equally fearless filmmaker Nanfu Wang also disappear into the mouth of the dragon?

Special Features: Deleted Scenes, Trailer

Synopsis: In the giddy and gleeful concert  film A Trip to Unicorn Island, YouTube star Lilly Singh embarks on a global tour to show people that happiness is worth fighting for. Better known by her YouTube username “Superwoman,” Singh’s comedic videos explore Punjabi culture and poke fun at the foibles of everyday life. Since 2010 her videos have received over 1 billion views. In 2015 she brought her show on the road, a combination of song, dance, and sketch comedy, spreading her good vibes around the world.

Synopsis: The Nutcracker speaks to the child in everyone, with its happy dreams of snow, presents, adventures, toys and wishes fulfilled. Despite Tchaikovsky’s most addictive score, the original 1892 ballet was considered a failure, too much plot in the rst act, not enough plot in the second. Yuri Grigorovich’s 1966 staging at the Bolshoi, designed by Simon Virsaladze, revised the incomplete scenario to focus on the dreams of the teenaged Masha, who receives a nutcracker doll from her godfather at her family’s Christmas party. Sneaking down at night to  find her doll, Masha is swept up in a magical transformation where the Christmas tree grows to huge size and rats ght an epic battle with the toys. The chance to see the legendarily captivating Ekaterina Maximova as Masha, alongside her great husband, Vladimir Vasiliev, as the Nutcracker, makes this 1978 live recording, digitally restored and remastered to HD quality, essential viewing.

Synopsis: No ballet has such deathless appeal as Swan Lake, a haunting fable of a young man’s naïveté and a beautiful girl’s entrapment in swan’s feathers, all swept up in Tchaikovsky’s emotional music. Prince Siegfried, celebrating his birthday, is told by his mother the Queen that he must marry. He runs to the lake unhappily to hunt swans, but they turn into girls, led by Odette, a wonderful Swan Queen. The Evil Genius, a powerful sorcerer, has trapped them in a spell. Siegfried swears to release Odette by his love. The Bolshoi prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya became a world legend in the iconic dual role of Odette/Odile, and her unique strength and dramatic charisma are captured in this digitally restored and remastered 1976  film recording of a historic Bolshoi performance marking the centenary of the rst ballet made on Tchaikovsky’s score. With Alexander Bogatyrev as Siegfried and Algis Zhyuraytis conducting the unforgettable score, this is an atmospheric record of Yuri Grigorovich’s intense production.