A pet for National Hug Your Cat Day (USA) *

“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda”

– The cat

A school teacher's house cat observes and comments his household's going-ons as a microcosm of Japan's paradoxical Meiji period. The second adaptation of Sōseki Natsume's 1900s satirical novel.

 

* The event falls on June 4

A vampire for World Dracula Day

 

This deeply political, unpleasant interpretation of Stoker's Dracula can not not be seen against the backdrop of political movements like the #RAF and West-Germany's youth revolting against the failed #Denazification that the country underwent under supervision of the Allied occupying forces.

 

Note the usage of colour and grouping of people; Klaus Mann's Mephisto (1981) borrowed quite a few visuals from Jonathan.

A receptionist or secretary for Receptionist Day

 

The proprietor and receptionist of a small hotel welcomes a new guest. The woman, her name she doesn't tell, stays for only one night with the promise to return the following week. The receptionist waits.

A good or bad mother for Mother's Day.

 

Arranged by his widowed mother, Per Nilsson marries the wealthy judge's daughter Hanna. The wedlock remains unfulfilled as son and mother find satisfaction in each other. Hanna suspects something.  

Based on the Yngsjö murder case, which at the time was considered more noteworthy for the mother/son relationship than the resulting tragedy.

A film about poverty for the Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive (USA)

“Those who came before have passed on. And I'm left behind. A penniless beggar. Not a cowrie to my name. Look, my purse is empty… Lord, the day is done and evening falls. Ferry me across to the other shore…”

– Indir Thakrun, singing

A traffic accident: UN Global Road Safety Week *

“My Hermès handbag!”

– Corinne

The bourgeois make their way to the countryside, and find themselves in a cacophony of car crashes, primitive urges, and political uprisings.

 

* In 2025, this actually takes places from May 12 – 18.

A director from the EU for Europe Day

“Producers are something I can easily do without”

– Fritz Lang

A film in a film, the former directed by Fritz Lang, directed by Godard.

Intergalactic travel on Star Wars Day

“Our grandfathers always lived on Earth, and we are the first people ever to undertake such a journey. You can be proud that you’re here. Your grandfather, who volunteered to come, was a great man, and we’ve got to do everything to make sure that the Station keeps running.”

– Dr Francis (from Thirteen to Centaurus, J.G. Ballard, 1962)

A ship travels the universe, on its way to Centaurus. On board is a group of people, fourteen in total, one of them a teenager named Abel. His recurring nightmare about a glowing disc prompts to sessions with the on-board psychologist, and the only one with knowledge of Earth, Dr Francis.

A supernatural theme for National Paranormal Day (USA). May 3 (coincidentally?) is also the day Charles Fort passed on to a different realm.

 

A ghost falls in love with a bride whose husband, a merchant, is away from home. He takes on the man's form, and lives with her.

Sibling love or strife on Brothers and Sisters Day (USA)

 

Brothers Hojjat and Zeini live in peace in the forest. When strangers cut down the trees, a city woman joins the couple. Despite the comfort she brings with structure, food, and a warm body, the men come to realise that she's a disturbance of their peace.