Brendan Gallagher

Ostia is a fascinating short film directed by Julian Cole and produced for the Royal College of Art, which reconstructs the events leading up to the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Ostia relocates the proceedings to London and stars Derek Jarman as Pasolini. The film features an evocative dream sequence which is accompanied by poignant excerpts from Pasolini’s own poetry, as read by Jarman.

Muffy (Wells), Gyna (Smith) and LaQueefa (Ross) escape from a mental hospital and steal a 1965 Chevy Malibu convertible by telling the dorky driver he can have sex with them if he gets into the trunk. Meanwhile, they are chased by a bounty hunter hired by the psychiatrist who experimented with the ladies at the clinic. They hide in a house from which an escort service turns out to be run.

An expat in Cambodia accidentally causes a pregnant woman's death, leading her husband to curse him and his family. Years later, the curse afflicts his daughter-in-law who must undergo a ritual to give life to the unborn child.