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Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:42:51 -0400

]]>Boguslaw Linda clashes with powerful enemies in this ripsnorting thriller from Poland, playing an aging Foreign Legion member returning to his homeland after an exhausting tour of service. No sooner does he arrive home with his loyal comrade in arms than he finds himself going up against a vicious mob leader whose beautiful girlfriend arouses his interest.

Na niemiecko-polskiej granicy staje Mercedes 500 SL,a w nim dwóch mężczyzn około czterdziestki o wyglądzie budzącym pełne zaufanie, ot zwyczajni turyści szukający w Polsce atrakcji lub prężni biznesmeni jadący na umówione spotkanie z polskim kontrahentem. Lecz pozory mylą, o czym przekonają się trójmiejscy gangsterzy próbujący ukraść im auto. Alex i Andre są płatnymi zabójcami, którzy przyjechali na Wybrzeże wykonać kolejne zlecenie swoich mocodawców, odzyskać przejęte narkotyki i ukarać nierzetelnych polskich partnerów. Alex i Andre pracują razem. Przyjeżdżają do Sopotu, gdzie właśnie odbywa się konkurs "Modelka roku". W komisji zasiadają Ola i Wojtek - szef lokalnego gangu samochodowego. Wojtek zleca kradzież Mercedesa, którym przyjechali. Jednak auta nie udaje się ukraść - Alex zostaje powiadomiony przez beeper alarmowy i wraz z Andre, używając drastycznych środków, przepędza bandytów. Gdy obaj wracają na salę balową, Alex poznaje Olę, a Andre Iwonę; umawiają się z dziewczynami na spotkanie. Wojtek, rozzłoszczony nieudaną akcją, postanawia wezwać z Hamburga Pajaca i Cygana, którym zleca zabicie Alexa i Andre. Tymczasem Alex i Andre wynajmują dom nad morzem. Tego dnia Andre spotyka się z Iwoną i mimo, że dziewczyna jest nieco chłodniejsza, on wyjawia jej poważne zamiary. Andre wraca do domu, tu przez telefon dostaje wiadomość od Gordana - aby odzyskać zaginioną w Polsce kokainę, musi jechać do Łodzi. Natomiast w Sopocie spotykają się ludzie z gangu Wojtka i postanawiają sami zemścić się na Alexie i Andre. Andre proponuje Alexowi wspólny wyjazd do Łodzi, lecz on nie zgadza się, pragnie już wyjść z branży. Później Alex jedzie na dyskotekę, na której spotyka Olę. Razem trafiają do hotelu. Andre wyjeżdża samochodem do Łodzi, natomiast Alex zostaje nad morzem. Telefonuje Gordan i informuje o zmianie adresu w Łodzi, pod który miał udać się Andre, aby odzyskać kokainę. Podany przez Gordana numer telefonu jest taki sam, jak ten, który Alex widział u Oli. Andre jest już w Łodzi. Tu telefonicznie "łapie go" Gordan i podaje nowy adres, dziwiąc się jednocześnie, że nie zrobił tego Alex. Andre podjeżdża do Łodzi - wchodzi do willi przez okienko piwniczne i zakrada się do środka mieszkania, planując odbicie zagubionej kokainy. Widzi, że przy barze w salonie jest Zięba z prostytutkami. Kiedy Zięba wychodzi, Andre chowa się w jednym z pokoi. Tu, od nieletniej prostytutki dowiaduje się, gdzie jest biuro Zięby. Udaje się tam i siłą wymusza na Ziębie przyznanie się, gdzie ukrył kokainę. Kiedy razem wychodzą, w salonie spotykają bandytów z sopockiego gangu, którzy planowali zabić Ziębę, a teraz, gdy zobaczyli Andre, mają okazję zemścić się na nim. Dochodzi do strzelaniny, w której bierze też udział Alex, który zdecydował się na przyjazd do Łodzi i pomoc Andre. Zabijają wszystkich bandytów. Została jeszcze nieletnia prostytutka, którą postanowił zająć się Andre, aby pozbyć się niewygodnego świadka. Natomiast Alex idzie do garażu po narkotyki. Wspólnie wracają nad morze i Andre stwierdza, że także wycofa się z interesu. Andre jest zakochany w Iwonie, natomiast Alex nie chce angażować się uczuciowo. Andre wyjawia Alexowi, że ma na niego kontrakt.

Directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski
Cast: Miroslaw Baka, Aleksandra Niespielak co-star.
Running time :89 min.
Widescreen (Enhanced);
In Polish with English subtitles.
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Prawdziwy Koniec Wielkiej Wojny - Real End of the Great War

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0400

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Okres tuz po wojnie. Roza, mloda zona Juliusza Zborskiego, nie wierzac w mozliwosc powrotu meza z obozu koncentracyjnego, uklada sobie zycie od nowa ze swoim zwierzchnikiem, profesorem Stegieniem. Zwiazek ten zostaje zerwany, gdy niespodziewanie w domu pojawia sie Juliusz, chory, wyniszczony obozowym zyciem. On jednak, bedac juz tylko wrakiem czlowieka, odrzuca litosc Rozy i popelnia samobojstwo. Posepny dramat psychologiczny analizujacy moralne skutki wojny, ktore beda trwac znacznie dluzej niz jej widzialne, zewnetrzne pozostalosci - ruiny i zgliszcza.

Cast: Lucyna Winnicka, Roland Glowacki, Janina Sokolowska.
Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
1957, Black & White, 85 mins.

In Polish with English Subtitles

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Jarzebina Czerwona - Red Rowan

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

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Marzec 1945 roku. Trwaja walki o Kolobrzeg, biora w nich udzial zolnierze kompanii o kryptonimie "Jarzebina Czerwona", dowodzonej przez porucznika Kotarskiego. "Jarzebina" toczy ciezkie walki o kazdy dom, o kazda piedZ ziemi. Przychodza jej z pomoca artylerzysci i saperzy. Niemcy kapituluja. Zolnierze podchodza do morza. Nie ma wsrod nich porucznika Kotarskiego; zginal tuz przed zakonczeniem operacji. Epicki dramat wojenny, przedstawiajacy bitwe o Kolobrzeg, stoczona przez I Armie Wojska Polskiego w marcu 1945. Wszystkie wystepujace w filmie postacie sa autentyczne. Przebieg ciezkich walk pokazano poprzez przezycia poszczegolnych zolnierzy.

Cast: Andrzej Kopiczynski, Andrzej Lapicki, Wladyslaw Kowalski.
Directed by Ewa & Czeslaw Petelscy.
1969, Black & White.
Polish Language Version.

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Five from Barska Street - Piatka z ulicy Barskiej

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

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In war-ravaged Warsaw, five juvenile delinquents are given probation for stealing, to rehabilitate themselves, but remain under the influence of their profiteer-boss. Idealized portrait of young lives and rehabilitation.

Mlodzi ludzie, okaleczeni psychicznie przez niedawna wojne, zyja na marginesie spolecznym. Czy negatywny wplyw jednego czlowieka moze stanowic o losach innych?

Cast: Aleksandra Slaska, Tadeusz Janczar, Tadeusz Lomnicki.
Directed by Aleksander Ford.
1954, Black & White, 115 mins.
In Polish with English Subtitles.

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Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500

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Up and coming Polish star Agnieszka Grochowska shines as young Klara who heads to Warsaw to meet her boyfriend. Her plans change when she becomes entangled with handsome Pawel in a classic meet cute on the train to the city. In the meantime, temperamental hellion Wiktoria finds romance with a businessman. The two couples cross paths when they try to help a farmer find his daughter. he only thing missing from this cornucopia of coincidences and contrivances is a giraffe wandering through the city. But, wait. . . there goes one now!

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Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500

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A man hops off a train by the small town.When he begins claiming that he has been there before, the villagers are confused as none of them recognize him. Still one family takes him in; they try to get him to tell about his clouded past, but all he will tell them is that he changed his name from Kowalski to Malinowski to throw off those who would kill him. His presence in town has a strange effect on the community and soon they begin changing. The strange man then miraculously seems to cure two sick children (he also seduces his host's daughter). Later he teaches them the entrancing dance, the salto. Things are going quite well for the enigmatic fellow until ...

In Polish with English subtitles.

Winner of 1967 MFF Edinburg .

Starring: Zbigniew Cybulski, Gustaw Holoubek, Marta Lipinska

Directed by: Tadeusz Konwicki

Running time: 99 minutes

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Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500

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A Jewish family from Poland, the Weisses, is sent to Auschwitz where the daughter, Martha, is selected to be an interpreter. The rest of her family are cruelly killed, and Martha and the other Poles must struggle under the tyranny of camp guards and capos. THE LAST STAGE is a powerful drama of the strength and endurance of ordinary women written by Gerda Schneider and directed by Poland s first female filmmaker, Wanda Jakubowska, who based the story on their own experiences at the notorious concentration camp.

Shot in a documentary-like style on location in Auschwitz just three years after the war ended, this recently rediscovered film is one of the earliest cinematic depictions of the Holocaust. It rings with truth and stings with authenticity.

In Polish with English Subtitles

Starring:Edward Dziewonski, Tatjana Grojecka, Antonina Gordon Gorecka, Barbara Drapinska, Aleksandra Slaska

Directed by: Wanda Jakubowska

Running time: 105 minutes

Review

One of the best of all Holocaust films . . . . --Sunday Age

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Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500

]]>Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film
Winner of the European Film Awards Prix d’Excellence
The critically-acclaimed film from Poland’s greatest living director, Andrzej Wajda

1940. After Germany’s invasion of Poland, Joseph Stalin ordered the liquidation of the Polish officer corps, slaughtering nearly 22,000 men in Katyn Forest. Based on this horrific, historical event, Katyn tells the affecting story of four fictional officers and their families as they struggle to uncover the truth. Based on the novel “Post Mortem” by Andrzej Mularczyk.

Starring: Artur Zmijewski, Maja Ostaszewska, Andrzej Chyra, Danuta Stenka, Jan Englert, Magdalena Cielecka

Directed by: Andrzej Wajda

OVER 80 MINUTES OF BONUS FEATURES:
Interview with Andrzej Wajda
”Katyn: 60 Days on the Set” making-of featurette

In Polish With English Subtitles

Running time: 121 minutes

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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>This thriller is based on the true story of a deadly desert crash that ended four vibrant young people's lives. Found in the crashed vehicle was a videotape filmed by the group that included astonishing footage of the accident and their final moments. The terrible accident so inflamed the country that people demanded a retelling of the story to understand how it could have happened. Thus was born Forever Young, a gripping and terrifying tragedy on film.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by:

Starring: Saar Badishi, Uri Gavriel, Arnon Zadok and Michal Zoharetz

Running time: 77 min.

Year: 1996

Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Fresh out of a mental hospital, Ehud's life is falling apart. His wife and son have left him. Back in the military reserve, his friends no longer trust him and he faces a demotion. Ehud tries to make things better, even risking his life to save a soldier from a grisly death. But his unstable mind wins when he goes looking for his loved ones with a loaded gun. This moving drama of a troubled soldier captures the painful struggles and the stigma attached to mental illness.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by:

Starring: Arnon Zadok, Dalik Volonitz, Ofra Weingarten, Ruth Harlap, Ezra Kafri, Roberto Pollak, Ze'ev Shimshoni, Amos Lavi, Yitzhak Geir and Pira Kanter

Running time: 105 min.

Year: 1982

Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Menachem Golan (Operation Thunderbolt, Kazablan), Hollywood veteran and one of Israel's most prolific filmmakers, directs this torrid romance of forbidden love at a national dance competition. Joseph is an inner city dancer with stunning looks and smooth Latino moves that make all the ladies swoon. Annabelle is an aspiring ballet dancer, beautiful, rich and classy. Romantic sparks fly when they're paired up at the national dance competition. But their love becomes an uphill battle when friends and family step in and when Annabelle's old dance partner sets out on a furious revenge spree. Can jealousy and society's disapproval keep these two kids apart?

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by:

Starring: Zohar Liba, Eliana Bakier, Michal Amdurski, Omer Barnea, Niv Raz, Gilles Ben David, Hilik Cohen and Ilana Avital.

Running time: 85 min.

Year: 2006

English or Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>A tormented ex-convict seeks forgiveness from the woman whose family he killed in this multi-award winning psychological thriller. Beautiful actress Zvia (Gila Almagor) loses her entire family when a truck goes out of control. Three years later, the truck's driver, Israel (Moshe Ivgy), is free from jail, but not from his own guilt. He shows up at Zvia's doorstep begging forgiveness. Zvia refuses. Israel refuses to give up. Thus, the curtain rises on Zvia's role of a lifetimea dark melodrama that takes place far from the stage's spotlights. The intensifying clash between Israel and Zvia is interwoven with scenes from Zvia's onstage musical. Powerful songs from the bloody and macabre show heighten the unexpected twists and turns of the real-life drama. Dangerous Acts is a darkly compelling tale of guilt, loss, and the thin line between good and evil that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by:

Starring: Gila Almagor, Moshe Ivgi, Nathan Datner, Yuval Zamir and Sarit Vino Elad

Running time: 97 min.

Year: 1999

Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Arik Schwartzman (Yehuda Barkan Charlie and a Half, Billiards Festival), a military-investigator-turned-businessman, is called back to base to catch a rapist. His fellow soldier, Natalie (played by Israeli teen idol Michal Yanai in her breakthrough performance), poses as Arik's girlfriend as bait for the criminal. As the investigation intensifies the couple find themselves trapped in a relationship that will change their lives forever. Evoking classic European masterpieces in its symbolic imagery, with a brilliant performance by comedian Yehuda Barkan, The Day We Met is a surreal, intelligent drama.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by:

Starring: Yehuda Barkan, Rami Danon, Aryeh Moskona, Zachi Noy and Michal Yanai

Running time: 97 min.

Year: 1990

Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>In this landmark Jerusalem concert, Yehoram Gaon (Operation Thunderbolt, Kazablan) performs 24 of his all-time greatest hits. It's a mosaic of songs that glorify Israel, praise Gaon's beloved hometown, Jerusalem, memorialize Israel's wars, and pray for peace. These musical treasures by some of the nation's finest composers and lyricists have been digitally remastered for a rich theater experience.

Israel Entertainment-Musical & Performance

Directed by:

Starring: Yehoram Gaon

Running time: 114 min.

Year: 2008

Hebr.

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>In this critically acclaimed film in the vein of Crash and Magnolia, strangers collide in traumatic, life-changing events. As the film progresses, we learn that more than blind chance is behind their meetings.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Joseph Pitchhadze

Starring: Sarah Adler, Menashe Noy, Moni Moshonov, Keren Mor, Ezra Kafri, Danny Geva, Dan Toren, Uri Klauzner, and Tzuki Ringrat

Running time: 125 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: WINNER: ISRAELI ACADEMY AWARD plus 7 NOMINATIONS: ISRAEL ACADEMY AWARDS including Director, Supporting Actor and Cinematography
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>An Israeli Academy Award-winning drama about a young teen who searches for a long-lost sister and finds the last communist (Asi Dayan), a man willing to fight for his beliefs.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Eyal Shiray

Starring: Asi Dayan, Adam Hirsch, Tinkerbelle, Yair (Koya) Rubin, Yuval Samo, Eyal Rosales, Shraga Harpaz, and Eliran Caspi

Running time: 73 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: WINNER: ISRAELI ACADEMY AWARD Best Supporting Actor (Asi Dayan) 8 NOMINATIONS: ISRAELI ACADEMY AWARDS Including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Beautiful 24-year-old Ya'ara is independent, confident, and starting work on a Ph.D. at Princeton University. She's also blind. But when she learns of her cousin's sudden suicide, she returns to Israel to her own investigation.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Dani Sirkin

Starring: Tali Sharon, Asi Dayan, Yisrael Polyakov, Guy Lowell, Sandra Sadeh

Running time: 87 min.

Year: 2005

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: WINNER: ISRAELI ACADEMY AWARD Best Director, Best Cinematograph
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Israeli Academy Award-winning Sigalit Fuchs is unforgettable as overweight but hopeful Joy. Her mom may nag her and her boyfriend may use her, but nothing brings her down after she wins a chance to be on a reality TV show

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Julie Shles

Starring: Sigalit Fuchs, Tal Friedman, Keren Mor, Yossi Pollak, Rivka Michaeli, Alexander Senderovich and Dorit Bar-Or. Guest appearance by Michal Yanai

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 2005

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: WINNER: JERUSALEM INT'L FILM FESTIVALBest Actress WINNER : 5 ISRAELI ACADEMY AWARDS including best actress and best supporting actres
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Famed Israeli singer/actor Yehoram Gaon narrates and sings in the endangered language of Ladino in this documentary that follows the wanderings of exiled Sephardis Jews centuries ago to the city of their dreams: Jerusalem.

Israel Entertainment-Musical Documentary

Directed by:

Starring: Yehoram Gaon

Running time: 62 min.

Year: 2007

Ladino with English or Hebrew subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Legendary performer Yehoram Gaon performs eight of his hit songs about Jerusalem in a documentary that records his experiences of the famed city.

Israel Entertainment-Musical Documentary

Directed by:

Starring: YEHORAM GAON, RACHEL ZIMMERMAN, and THE CITIZENS OF JERUSALEM

Running time: 100 min.

Year: 2007

English or Hebrew versions

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>The tiny village of Ein Kamonim is turned on its head when hyperactive ex-Knesset member Dolniker shows up. Will he create a political hellor will the villagers get back their peace and quiet?!

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Efraim Kishon

Starring: Shaike Ophir, Seffy Rivlin, Mosko Alkalai, Nitza Shaul, Gideon Singer, and Shoshana Shani

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1978, 2001

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>In this rousing musical, educated European immigrant Hershele makes nice with his less-privileged neighbors by giving violin lessons to their children. When the kids' talents shine, the community begins a quest to start its own kid-led orchestra.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Yoel Zilberg

Starring: Mike Burstyn, Arieh Elias, Albert Cohen, Esti Katz-Granot, Asher Tsarfati, Shmuel Rodensky, Mandy Rice-Davies

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1977

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Suave con man Arbinka (TopolFiddler on the Roof) dreamed of winning big in the lottery. When that doesn't work out, he switches to Plan Bthe Great Lottery Robberyin this comic gem.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Efraim Kishon

Starring: Topol, Mosko Alkalai, Gila Almagor, Gabi Amrani, Gavri Banai, Yossi Banai, Shaike Levi, Shaike Ophir, Yisrael Poliakov, and Talia Shapira

Running time: 95 min.

Year: 1967, 2001

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>When bumbling officer Azulai tries to prove his usefulness to the force, he runs afoul of an underworld scoundrel. Shaike Ofir's moving performance has earned him a lifelong connection to the beloved character he portrayed.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Efraim Kishon

Starring: Shaike Ophir, Joseph Shiloach, Nitza Shaul, Gabi Amrani, Ya'ackov Banai, Hillel Ne'eman, and Yaakov Noy

Running time: 87 min.

Year: 1970, 2001

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: Golden Globe 1971 Oscar Nominee - Foreign Film Prizes at Barcelona, Monte Carlo and Atlanta film festivals
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>An escaped mental patient steals a pneumatic drill and tears up a Tel Aviv plaza. Government and business officials assume the manmade ditch flooding with water is authorized and become zealously involved.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Efraim Kishon

Starring: Bomba Tzur, Gideon Singer, Mosko Alkalai, Albert Cohen, Oded Teomi, Gabi Amrani, Rivka Michaeli, and Shaike Ophir as the policeman.

Running time: 89 min.

Year: 1969, 2001

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>In this sharp, hilarious satire, Sallah the immigrant (Topol, "Fiddler on the Roof") pokes fun at Israeli government and social systems through his apparent stupidity and antics as he struggles to get an apartment that his family was promised.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Efraim Kishon

Starring: Topol, Gila Almagor, Arik Einstein, Shaike Levi, Mordechai (Pupik) Arnon etc.

Running time: 110 min.

Year: 1964; 2001

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: Oscar Nomination-Best Foreign Feature Golden Globe-Best Foreign Feature Golden Globe-Best Actor in a Foreign Feature San Francisco Film Festival best Screenplay 9 months at the New York Film Distributors Festival
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>In this dramatic satire, a widow and a Russian immigrant fight bureaucracy to get their loved buried. Peppering their poignant story with irony are an Orthodox Jewish pothead, a fumbling politician, a surgeon-turned-butcher and other eccentric characters.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Shmuel Hasfari

Starring: Miriam Zohar, Tal Friedman, Ania Bukstein, Yehuda Levi, Dov Navon

Running time: 99 min.

Year: 2006

Hebrew with English or Russian subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>This offbeat buddy picture follows two hapless used-car dealers who have to get a flawless 1985 Lincoln Continental to a German dealer for a big reward. Their wild road trip tests their Jewish identity and their friendship.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Danny Verete

Starring: Moshe Ivgy, Avi Kushnir, Rita Shukrun, Stephen Kampwerth, Ulrich Matschoss, Rolf Nagel And Hans Helmann

Running time: 86 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew, English and German with English subtitles

Awards: Israeli Academy Award--Best Supporting Actor (Moshe Ivgy) Israel Academy Award Nominations--Best Film, Best Actor WINNER: JERUSALEM FILM FESTIVALBest Film, Best Screenplay
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>This hit comedy explores men's attitudes toward women. Three friendsa newlywed, a lovestricken guy, and a ladies' manlook for love, lust, or marriage or maybe all of the above.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Shai Kannot

Starring:

Running time: 96 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: 3 Israel Academy Award Nominations including Best Supporting Actor
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Noa of the classic 1982 drama Noa at 17 is no longer a teen. Fear of aging and life's choices haunt her as the kibbutz where she grew up is corrupted, and Israel itself undergoes serious changes.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Yitzhak (Zepel) Yeshurun

Starring: Shmulik Shila, Idit Tzur, Dina Doron, Maya Meron (Broken Wings), Dalia Shimko (Noa At 17), And Roni Buxbaum

Running time: 97 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: Best Film --Haifa Film Festival
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>The drama with the highest Israeli box office gross of the past 20 years follows two young women in the Negev desert who make exciting new plans when they discover the sexual revolution is raging in the outside world.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Avi Nesher

Starring: Rotem Abuhab, Nadav Abuksis, Aure Atika, Mariano Idelman, Jean Benguigui, Neta Garty, Kruttika Dessai, Parmeet Sethi, Rubi Porat-Hoval, Liraz Charchi, Israel Katorza and Nati Ravitz

Running time: 108 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: Karlovi Vary Film Festival 2004 Grand Prix Award--Taormina Film Festival 2004
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Restored and digitally remastered, Israel's own Rat Pack is back. Beatles-esque songwriters Arik Einstein and Shalom Hanoch changed Israeli pop culture forever with their music and comedy in the four-part 1970s TV show Lool and the classic feature film Shablool.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Uri Zohar, Boaz Davidson

Starring: Arik Einstein, Uri Zohar, Shalom Hanoch, Dori Ben Ze'ev, Moshe Ish-Cassit, Yehudit Sula, Josie Katz, Tiki Dayan

Running time: 4 hrs.

Year: 1970, 1972

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>An enchanting comedy of suspicion and ineptitude unfolds as a banker hires a private dick to catch his wife in the act with her suspected lover, Dr. Lux. But will the wily doctor bamboozle them all?

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Ami Artzi

Starring: Yosef Bomba Zur, Yosef Shiloah, Gid'on Zinger, Ilan Dar, Aviva Marks, Uri Zohar, Sassi Keshet, Elisheva Michaeli, Mona Zilberstein, Tzipi Shavit, and Dubi Gal

Running time: 95 min.

Year: 1973; 2005

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: WINNER 3 Israeli Academy Awards
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>A campy comedy in which estranged identical twinsa poor family man and a gay hairdresserfinally reunite and switch identities in a delightful scam. But is everyone fooled? Stars top comedian Zev Revah in both roles.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Z'ev Revah

Starring: Z'ev Revah, Gabi Amrani, Tikva Aziz, Irit Sheleg, Rita Shukrun, Ariel Forman, Moshe Ish Cassit, Z'ev Berlinsky, Tamar Gingold and Haim Shin'ar

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1984; 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Released after serving 3 years in prison rather than inform on his friend, a convict settles in a secluded house by the sea, hoping to begin a new life with the woman he loves. However, time has irrevocably damaged their relationship, and their slow rehabilitation is disrupted by the outside world. Portraying their struggle for survival, "A Place by the Sea" powerfully reflects life's challenges.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Raphael Rebibo

Starring: Alon Abutbul, Liora Grossman, Shlomit Hagoel, Assi Hanegbi, David Menahem, Aryeh Moskona, Anat Zahor

Running time: 93 min.

Year: 1988

Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>This romantic comedy follows 13-year-old Alex as he bursts into adolescence and Israel explodes into independence around him. Will Alex find love in a classmate or with a long-lost relative from Poland? Either way, it'll mean fireworks!

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Boaz Davidson

Starring: Yosef Shiloach, Ethan Anshel, Sharon Cohen, Hannah Roth, Shmuel Rodenski

Running time: 88 min.

Year: 1986

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Israeli society gets its just deserts in "Sima the Witch," a sizzling spoof about a nice grandmotherly witch whose curses and blessings are used and abused by her neighbors. Sima the Witch casts a powerful spell!

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Dror Sha'ul

Starring: Tiki Dayan, Lior Ashkenazi, Ami Smolartchik, Sharon Elimelech, Rotem Abuhab

Running time: 98 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: Tiki Dayan was nominated for an Israeli Academy Award for her performance in this film.
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Featuring classic 1980s music by Bruce Springsteen, this powerful drama follows a prostitute, Alice, and her pimp boyfriend as they struggle to get freed on bail and are filmed for a documentary about Alice's rehabilitation.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Yaky Yosha

Starring: Anat Atzmon, Yehoram Gaon, Tiki Dayan, Gila Almagor, Moti Shirin, Uri Gavrieli, Chana Miron, Gabi Amrani, Eyal Gefen and Mosko Alkali

Running time: 83 min.

Year: 1982

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Teenage Noa is an individualist who challenges the collective ethos of her comrades in the Zionist youth movement as she struggles to preserve her identity. Noa at 17 is a powerful and provocative experience.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Yitzhak (Zepel) Yeshurun

Starring: Moshe Havazelet, Adi Ne'eman, Osnat Ofer, Shmuel Shiloh, Idit Tzur, and Dalia Shimko As Noa

Running time: 86 min.

Year: 1982

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: Israel's most requested classic
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>This madcap musical that follows the twins Kuni and Muni Lemel (singer-actor Mike Burstyn) to Cairo marks the first time an Israeli production crew shot scenes in Egypt.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Joel Silberg

Starring: Ze'ev Berlinski, Mike Burstyn, Dalia Gur, Ronit Porat, Mandy Rice-Davies

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1983

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>The twins Kuni and Muni Lemel race against time and swap identities to try to score Grandpa Lemel's fortune as the first grandson to live in Israel and marry a nice Jewish girl.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Yoel Zilberg

Starring:

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1976

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>A matchmaker without suitable suitors, a pair of lookalikes who don't match, and daughters who deceive are the unlikely heroes in this madcap comedy about lovers and other strangers. Features celebrated Broadway legend Mike Burstyn.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Israel Becker

Starring: Mike Burstyn, Germaine Unikovsky, Lillian Lux, Pesach Burstein, Shmuel Rodensky

Running time: 120 min.

Year: 1966

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>A small town's performance of the Megillehthe Purim tale of Esther, Queen of Persiagets a little strange when the villagers begin reflecting the characters in the play.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Ilan Eldad

Starring: Yehonatan Gefen, Nitza Shaul, Shlomo Bar-Aba, and Aviva Paz

Running time: 86 min.

Year: 1983

English with Yiddish songs and Hebrew subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Based on the real-life stories of two of its ensemble cast, this crazy comedy follows 12 young men and women brought together as members of an Israeli army entertainment troupe after the Six-Day War.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Avi Nesher

Starring: Gidi Gov, Meir Suissa, Gali Atari, Sassi Keshet, Tuvia Tzafir, Dafna Armoni

Running time: 3.5 hr.

Year: 1978

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: * Winner: 4 Academy Awards in Israel
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Five customers join forces to save a neighborhood coffee house from demolition. They five wind up united against the world and divided against each other in a film that is by turns both funny and sad.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Amit Lior

Starring: Moshe Ivgy, Elisheva Michaeli, Tzipor Eisen-Lior, Arieh Moskona, Dana Ivgy

Running time: 83 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: Israeli Film Critics' Choice 2003
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>The tranquil backdrop of an innocent Independence Day barbecue becomes the scene of a bloody feud and a family's disintegration. Tragic pasts are laid bare, and infidelity, immorality and murder are exposed.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: David Ofek, Yossi Madmony

Starring: Victor Ida, Raymond Abecassis, Makram Khouri, Israel Breit, Dana Ivgy

Running time: 98 min.

Year: 2003

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: Recipient of Best Foreign Film Award at The Houston Film Festival 2003 and Best Screenplay at The Argentina Film Festival 2003
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>From legendary director Menachem Golan and acclaimed author A.B. Yehoshua comes a dramatic tale of love, friendship, betrayal, and dishonor. Filmed on location in India and Israel, the film stars celebrated singer Riki Ga.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Menahem Golan

Starring: Aki Avni, Riki Gal, Asi Dayan, Orly Perl, Dana Parnas

Running time: 96 min.

Year: 2003

English or Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Sing along to 10 Israeli chart-toppers with the Israeli Army Troupes who led the way from early folk music to contemporary rock. You'll see history unfold with the songs, thanks to archival footage of the Israeli Defense Force in action.

Israel Entertainment-Karaoke

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 35 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew or English phonetic subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>The story of Israel's first astronaut is a profile in courage. This documentary is based on footage from more than four years as Colonel Ilan Ramon traveled the difficult path from fighter pilot to astronaut in training at NASA.

Israel: Past & Present-Documentary

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 70 min.

Year: 2003

English or Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Pillar of Fire's vision of the events leading up to the birth of the State of Israel is unparalleled. The internationally acclaimed film is now available for the first time in a gorgeous three-volume set.

Jewish Culture-Documentary

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 7 hrs.

Year:

English

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Based on real-life events in a small Czechoslovakian village during the Holocaust, this gripping drama focuses on a strong Jewish woman who enters into an unhappy marriage to save herself from deportation.

Holocaust-Drama

Directed by: Nadav Levitan

Starring: Lisa Hartman, Rosemary Leach

Running time: 92 min.

Year: 2004

English

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Tel Aviv police detective Amir Samo's proudest day turns tragichis big bust of a drug-dealing pimp is stopped when two prostitutes file sexual harassment charges against him. Can Samo turn around his worst day ever?

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Itai Lev

Starring:

Running time: 85 min.

Year: 2001

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: WINNER-Jerusalem Film Festival Best Young Director
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>30-year-old Michal's life is split between her child, her husband, her workand her lover. Then, one day, her life is shattered when she learns of the unexpected and tragic death of her lover.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Raphael Nadjari

Starring:

Running time: 109 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: Special Panorama Berlin Film Festival 2004 WINNER Cannes Film Festival France Culture Award 2005 WINNER Geneva Film Festival 2004 Best Picture WINNER Seville Film Festival Best Picture
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>A box-office smash in Israel, this madcap comedy about three intriguing and unpredictable women, is sassy, surprising, and utterly satisfying. Thse women's stories are a joyous celebration of the wit and wisdom of women.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Nirit Yaron-Ayelet Menaheim

Starring: Yael Abecassis, Ruthi Goldberg, Anat Waxman, Sasson Gabay, Sharon Alexander

Running time: 104 min.

Year: 1993

English dubbed or Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>Surprising similarities bring together a Jewish professor, an Arab garbage collector, and a young Italian nun in The Flying Camel, a charming celebration of the differences that distinguish us and the friendships that emerge when we accept them.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: RAMI NA'AMAN

Starring: GIDEON SINGER, SALIM DAU, LAURENCE BOUVARD

Running time: 92 min.

Year: 1995

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: WINNER Jury Citation Jerusalem Film Festival OFFICIAL ENTRY India International Film Festival Shangai International Film Festival Washington International Film Festival Philadelphia International Film Festival London Film Festival
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>An intriguing story of a jealous husband's search for an amorous rival in the chaos of contemporary Russia this madcap journey of surprising twists and turns that takes a decidedly comic direction.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: ALEXANDER SHABATAYEV

Starring: LEONID KANYEVSKI, NATALIA SCHWARTZ, and LEVANA FINKELSTEIN

Running time: 75 min.

Year: 1997

Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:57 -0400

]]>When rebellious teen Yoni is expelled, his parents make a terrible decision to fix his life that will mean giving up everything that matters to him. His struggle is for survival as he fights this fate.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: DAVID KREINER

Starring: ADAM ABULAFIA, AVA HADDAD, SHMUEL EDELMAN, ATIA NATALY

Running time: 88 min.

Year: 1995

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: WINNER- JURY PRIZE: Ft. Lauderdale Int'l film Festival
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A darkly comic tale of a European circus waylaid on the embattled West Bank, a lost lion, a multicultural search party to find him, and a simple mission that turns into a comedy of errors.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Eyal Halfon

Starring: Yoram Hatav, Evgenia Dudina, Amos Lavi

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1998

Hebrew, Russian, Eng. and Arabic with Eng. sub.

Awards: Winner: 5 Academy Awards in Israel including Best Film
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>The poignant story of a young sister and brother who travel to the new land of Israel, hoping to find in its refugee settlements the family they lost in a concentration camp.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Orna Ben-Dor Niv

Starring: ANIA BUKSTEIN, MICHAEL PELMAN, ETI ANKRI, SHULI RAND, RAMI DANNON, ASHER ZARFATI

Running time: 107 min.

Year: 1994

Hebrew and Polish with English subtitles

Awards: Prize winner - Four Major Film Festivals: Cinemed (France), Istanbul, Jerusalem
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A modern romance is intertwined with a 500-year-old love story between a Christian soldier and a young Jewish girl during the Spanish Inquisition. This award-winning drama was filmed entirely on location in Israel and Spain.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Amnon Rubinstein

Starring: Avi Toledano, Yael Abecassis, Alon Aboutboul, Dina Doron, Lavana Finkelstein

Running time: 85 min.

Year: 1994

Hebrew, French, English, & Spanish with Eng. sub.

Awards: Winner of 3 Israeli Academy Awards.
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A provocative portrait of young actors and their personal and professional struggles beyond the bright lights. Auditions features exciting performances from some of Israel's leading young stars.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Ron Ninio

Starring: Yael Hadar, Rami Hoiberger, Aki Avni, Nevo Kimchi, Yoav Hite, Ayala Asherov

Running time: 92 min.

Year: 1998

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: Official Entry-6 Major International Film Festivals WINNER - Israel Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Shmuel Segal)
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A poignant comedy about a struggling Israeli family whose lives are interrupted by the sudden possibility of success. The winner of nine Israeli Academy Awards, this intriguing tale is filmmaking at its very best.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Jacob Goldwasser

Starring: Arie Muskuna, Daphna Rechter, Moti Giladi and Uri Alter

Running time: 89 min.

Year: 1991

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: Winner of 9 Israeli Academy Awards.
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>The famed kibbutz folk choral group celebrates its 55th anniversary in glorious song. Concert footage features 19 of their hits. Five bonus tracks are accompanied by archival footage of life in Israel and on an Israeli kibbutz farm.

Israel Entertainment-Music Concert

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 86 min.

Year: 2006

Hebrew

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Join film director and best-selling novelist Robert Lieberman as he returns to his childhood home, Kew Gardens in the outskirts of New York City. He and other children of Holocaust survivors grew up there: Jerry Springer, comedian Robert Schimmel, Josh Brand (creator of Northern Exposure), and more.

Holocaust-Documentary

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 54 min.

Year: 2007

Engl.

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Elijah Wood, Joaquin Phoenix, Kate Hudson, and other screen stars read children's poignant real-life words in I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust. This documentary uses diary entries and powerful images to

Holocaust-Documentary

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 48 min.

Year: 2005

Engl.

Awards: Jewish Image Award for best television special Nominated for 2 Emmy Awards
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>18 danceable Mizrahi (Mediterranean) tunesFlower in My Garden, Pictures in the Album and more with video clips of Israel's stunning landscapes and beaches. Guaranteed to add Middle Eastern spice to any party.

Israel Entertainment-Karaoke

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 77 min.

Year: 2006

Hebrew with English phonetic subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A holiday tale that has endured through the years about a girl sorting out cultural differences, There's No Such Thing as a Chanakuh Bush imparts valuable lessons about honoring our differences and taking pride in ourselves.

Children's-Chanukah

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 21 min.

Year: 2005

English

Awards: EMMY Award (1998) AWARD OF EXCELLENCE (2000) from The Film Advisory Board. FAMILY APPROVAL SEAL (2000) Dove Foundation. Cine Golden Eagle, Charleston Worldfest Chicago International Film Festival Columbus International Film Festival International Children's Film Festival Nominated for the National Jewish Book Award for Children.
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Lights reminds us to stand up for what we believe! This Chanukah story is told through animation and gripping narration by Judd Hirsch. Also features the voices of Leonard Nimoy and Paul Michael Glaser.

Children's-Chanukah

Directed by:

Starring: Leonard Nimoy

Running time: 24 min.

Year: 2005

English

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Abie has never told his son or the members of his Orthodox congregation about his mentally handicapped brother, Chaim. Now he must accept Chaim and risk his son's love, or reject Chaim and suffer the consequences of conscience.

Inspirational-

Directed by:

Starring: Steve Arons, Mark Bellows, Michael Fricker

Running time: 43 min.

Year: 2005

English

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Dalik and his plush-puppet pal Justso join real-life kids in an exciting journey through the six days of Creation. Features musical arrangements of 12 passages from the Bible, the Talmud, and the Sages.

Children's-

Directed by:

Starring: Dalik Vilinitz

Running time: 80 min.

Year: 2003

Eng. & Heb. w/ Eng. subt.

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>This highly imaginative Passover story aired on public TV uses puppets, animation, and music to bring to life the wonderful traditions of the holiday. Educational and entertaining for the entire family!

Children's-Passover

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 36 min.

Year: 2004

English

Awards: Telly Award Cine Golden Eagle
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>On a giant Matzah Ball in space lives a family of aliens who just happen to be Jewish. Join Oogy and his fellow puppets in songs and animation as they discover Jewish traditions and the festival of Chanukah.

Children's-Chanukah

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 36 min.

Year: 2003

English

Awards: Telly Award Cine Golden Eagle
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>It's Candid CameraIsraeli style! The comedy duo known the world over from their sketch comedy on Eurovision fools everybody as they impersonate illusionary opticians, muddy car washers, and even figures at a wax museum.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Yigal Shilon

Starring: Nathan Dettner, Avi Kushnir

Running time: 85 min.

Year: 2004

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Ofra escapes from her stuttering bridegroom and winds up in the same bed with Armand, a hairdresser and part-time gigolo, who's fleeing the older women who can't get enough of him. That's when the real trouble starts

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Asi Dayan

Starring: Ze'ev Revach, Yona Elian

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1976

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A dark comedy about life, love and lies focusing on a quiet Jerusalem family man who is detoured by a midlife crisis. This powerful, provocative film courageously confronts the myths of everyday existence with intelligence, insight, and humor.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Haim Buzaglo

Starring: Shlomo Bar-Aba

Running time: 88 min.

Year: 1988

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>This compelling documentary about Palestinian propaganda and hatred shows actual footage of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat denying the Holocaust and pronouncing the peace process "the first step toward the destruction of Israel."

Israel: Past & Present-Documentary

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 40 min.

Year: 2003

English

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Christians, Jews and Muslims will find something to love about this look at the holy city. It's hosted by Liv Ullman and features music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and stunning visuals of Jerusalem.

Holy Land & Bible-

Directed by: Yale Roe

Starring: Liv Ullmann

Running time: 53 min.

Year: 2003

English

Awards: +1st Place Award: The U.S. International Film and Video Award +The Platinum Best of Show Award The Aurora Award Festival
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>This rollicking romantic comedy from the celebrated comic trio The Hagashash is filled with memorable characters and a winning performance and wonderful songs from the late Ofra Haza. The Hit is a knockout!

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Asi Dayan

Starring: Hagashash Trio, Ofra Haza

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1979

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Riotous tale of three mischievous Army reservists who just can't stay out of trouble, Hill Halfon Doesn't Answer is military life as you've never seen it before. A fun-filled adventure for all ages, Hill Halfon explodes with laughter!

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Asi Dayan

Starring: Hagashash Trio, Tuvia Zafir

Running time: 92 min.

Year: 1976

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: Winner 3 Academy Awards in Israel
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>This classic of Israeli cinema is now a 25th anniversary special edition two-DVD set! The action-packed story of the incidents at Entebbe is a gripping thriller that only real life could write!

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Menahem Golan

Starring: Yehoram Gaon, Gila Almagor, Asi Dayan, Klaus Kinsky, Arik Lavie, Shaike Ofir, Gabi Amrani, Shmuel Rodensky

Running time: 124 min.-Doc. 60 min.

Year: 1978

Hebrew with English or Russian subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Israel's hit musical becomes the film that breaks all box office records! West Side Story with a Middle Eastern beat, this fun fantasy features more than 1,000 actors, singers and dancers!

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Menahem Golan

Starring: Yehoram Gaon, Arieh Elias, Aliza Azikri, Yossi Graber, Moshe Hillel, Aryeh Moskona, Shmuel Livneh, Shlomo Vishinsky and Margalit Zan'ani

Running time: 123 min.

Year: 1973

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Noam is a boy with the voice of an angel whose family struggles to put food on the table. His father, Shimon, is a hard-on-his-luck fisherman whose livelihood is on the verge of seizure by the hands of Noam's uncle, a greedy businessman. When things are at their worst, Noam finds comfort in two friends, a soccer player and coffee-shop owner, who encourage him to follow his ambition for fame. Armed with courage, faith, and determination, Noam sets out to save his familyand live his dream. With its sincere performances and inspiring songs, The Morning Star is a treat for the whole family.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Akiva Barkin

Starring: Yosef Shiloah, Noam Kaniel, Aryeh Elias, Asher Tzarfati

Running time: 90 min.

Year: 1980

Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A journey into the fantastic from acclaimed author Hanoch Teller. These miraculous stories of lives saved, destinies changed, and fortunes reversed are a fascinating look at the everyday events that prove that miracles are real.

Inspirational-

Directed by:

Starring: Hanoch Teller

Running time: 62 mins.

Year: 1997

English

Awards: Film advisory Board - Award of Excelence Dove Foundation--Family Approved Seal
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Laugh, sing, and share the joys of different generations in this double EMMY award-winning musical tribute to the wit and wisdom of grandmothers! Through original music and traditional songs a granddaughter paints a vivid portrait of two delightfully different "Bubbes" (grandmothers) and dazzles and delights viewers with their intriguing and unforgettable Meises" (stories).

Jewish Culture-Documentary

Directed by:

Starring: Ellen Gould

Running time: 75 min.

Year: 1994

English

Awards: Winner of two EMMY Awards. Both To Ellen Gould for Performance and Writing (1994-95) Film advisory Board - Award of Excelence
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>An exciting confrontation with the critical issues of our times, featuring Nobel Prize Winner Elie Weisel in spirited discussion with "Open Mind" host, Richard D. Heffner. An engaging, inspiring and informative 10 part series about ethics of life.

Issues-Documentary

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 4.5 hrs.

Year: 2006

English

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>

-Children's

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 60 min.

Year:

Hebr. w/Engl. subt.

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Show #6: Chanukah Celebrate the Festival of Lights as Jeremy Miller (Growing Pains) takes a trip down memory lane to the land of the Maccabees. Elsewhere Lavana White hosts everyone's favorite game show Dreidel of Fortune and Moishe Oofnik cooks up delicious jellyfish doughnuts!

-Children's

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 32 min.

Year:

English

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>From Aleph to Zion and Bert to Ernie, welcome to the wonderful world of Shalom Sesame: The Complete Set, filled with fun and facts about Israel and its rich cultural heritage. The 11 programs on five discs includes appearances by Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary Tyler Moore, and more. Bursting with song and dance and silly antics, SHALOM SESAME combines the best in educational entertainment from the pioneers of Sesame Workshop® and the brightest stars of television, music and film. Join celebrities Sarah Jessica Parker, Itzhak Perlman, Jerry Stiller and more as they travel the sites of Israel, celebrate its customs and learn Hebrew words and numbers with their friends Oscar the Grouch, his Israeli cousin Moishe Oofnik, Cookie Monster and the rest of our furry favorites.

-Children's

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 6 hrs.

Year: 2005

English

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Dreams of rebuilding a small town's only cinema and showing a classic Indian film come true, but the event brings to light the secret reason for the theater's original closure.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Benny Torati

Starring: Yona Elian, Muhamad Bachri, Yosef Shiloah

Running time: 95 min.

Year: 2001

Hebrew with English or French subtitles

Awards: Winner: 5 Israeli Academy Awards First Prize: Montpelier Film Festival in France
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Israel superstar comedian Yosi Banai leads a star-studded cast in a thought-provoking comedy about a folk healer (Gamliel) insists that a young man marry his reluctant daughter after he puts a ring on her finger.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Yoel Zilberg

Starring: Yossi Banai; Aviva Ger, Dov Friedman; Yosi Polak; Margalit Ankori

Running time: 94 min.

Year: 1974

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A musical about a blind orphan rescued from the streets by a benevolent street gang, Rising Star is brilliantly illuminated by Ofra Haza in the role of a lifetime. The film is captivating viewing for the entire family.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: George Ovadia

Starring: Ofra Haza; Avner Dan; Menachem Eynie; Nachum Shalit

Running time: 94 min.

Year: 1979

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A clever romantic thriller about a policewoman who decides revenge is a dish best served now after she learns that her married boss and lover doesn't love her. Every turn brings fresh surprises until an unexpected ending.

Feature Films from Israel-Comedy

Directed by: Oded Davidoff

Starring: Alon Abutbol, Yael Hadar, Gal Zeid, Tomer Sharon

Running time: 88 min.

Year: 2002

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Based on her memoir of a teenager in early Israel, writer-director Gila Almagor's poignant reflection on the orphans of war continues from Aviya's Summer. This is a touching and triumphant celebration of human spirit.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Eli Cohen

Starring: Gila Almagor, Kaifo Cohen, Giuliano Mar, Orly Perl, Rocky Blake

Running time: 102 min.

Year: 1995

Hebrew with English subtitles

Awards: Winner of the Wolgin Prize- Jerusalem Film Festival Honorable Mention-Cannes Film Festival Six other film festivals
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>The poignant true-life tale of a young girl's struggle for survival in the post-Holocaust era. Set in 1950s Israel, this two-part film saga continues in Under the Domim Tree. Both were produced and written by Gila Almagor.

Feature Films from Israel-Drama

Directed by: Eli Cohen

Starring: Gila Almagor; Kaifo Cohen; Avital Diker; rami Baruch; Eli Cohen

Running time: 91 min.

Year: 1988

Hebrew, German and Russian with English subtitles

Awards: Silver Bear, Berlin Film Festival, Three Silver Menorah Awards
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Megatalented performer David Broza joins his hand-picked quartet of the world's top soft jazz musicians for these unforgettable performances. Bonus materials include the featurette Meet the Band. A matching two-CD set is available separately

Israel Entertainment-Music Concert

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 114 min.

Year: 2007

Heb.,Eng., Span. w/Eng. subt.

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>A sizzling live performance from Israel's hottest male Mizrahi (Mediterranean) crooner. Includes songs from his latest hit albums such as "Guitar Strings," "Dreams," "Without You" and more.

Israel Entertainment-Music Concert

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 52 min.

Year: 2005

Hebrew

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Yatzpan's one-man show has hits its fourth season on Israeli TV, with the comedian mimicking entertainers, politiciansabsolutely anyone who's hot and newsworthy! Fifty-one sketches and two bonus segments add up to 125 minutes of hilarity.

Israel Entertainment-Humor (Hebrew only)

Directed by:

Starring:

Running time: 125 min.

Year: 2005

Hebrew

Awards:
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>This film recounts the extraordinary career path of Claude Levi-Strauss, the father of structural anthropology, whose theories made an impact on anthropology, linguistics, mythology, and even pop culture studies. Author of A World on the Wane (Tristes Tropiques) and The Savage Mind, Levi-Strauss is a man curious about the nature of man, a confirmed ecologist, and a fierce defender of the diversity of cultures and people. A profound intellectual with the temperament of an artist or poet, Levi-Strauss still dominates the landscape of Western thinking.

Directed by: Boutang, Pierre-Andr

Running time: 93

Year: 2008

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>This Arte France television production takes viewers into the heart of thefirst arts introducing major artistic pieces from African, Oceania, SouthAmerica, and Asia. Each of the six half-hour segments in the Arts duMythe series explores the myths behind a magnificent work of art, including a horse-head fiddle from Mongolia, a white headdress from the Kayapo Indians of the Amazon, and a jade pendant from the Maoris of New Zealand. The programs offer insight into the creation of the pieces, their uses, history, and cultural significance then and now. According to co-director Ludovic Segarra, I would like these films to send a shiver...to send a shock of the same order as when primitive African art exploded on the scene between 1910 and 1920 creating a revolution in art." In English French and German with English" Philippe Truffault/Ludovic Segarra/Jean-Loic Portron---France---2006---156 mins.

Directed by: Truffault/Portron/Se

Running time: 156

Year: 2006

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>From Kartemquin Films and the makers of Hoop Dreams comes this impassioned portrait of a quest for truth" (The Chicago Tribune)." Carroll Pickett served as minister to death row inmates at a Texas penitentiary for 15 years, believing that the death penalty was just. Then he met inmate Carlos de Luna. As he talked with de Luna and recorded his conversations on the day before de Luna's execution, Pickett came to believe that the man was innocent. Unlike Hollywood movies, de Luna was executed anyway, sending Pickett on a gut-wrenching quest to uncover the facts surrounding his highly questionable arraignment. Nominated for a Directors Steve James/Peter Gilbert---USA---2008---98 mins.

Directed by: James, S/Gilbert, P

Running time: 98

Year: 2008

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>Delphine Seyrig, Sami Frey, and Marie-France Pisier are featured in this 1973debut from Yugoslavian-born filmmaker Stanislav Stanojevic. While cruising theMediterranean with a tour group, the guide becomes infatuated with theinterpreter, an enigmatic woman who hides behind her sunglasses. Instead of rebuffing his advances, she challenges him: Tell me a beautiful story." The guide proceeds to entertain her with his tall tales but his most intriguing yarn is beyond belief. Le Journal d'un Suicide "a strange and" spellbinding cinema manifesto (Telerama) was an Official Selection at the Venice Film Festival and the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes but was never released in the States. In French with English subtitles. Stanislav Stanojevic---France---1973---82 mins."

Directed by: Stanojevic, Stanisla

Running time: 82

Year: 1973

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>In our collective memory, Joan of Arc is the teenage shepherd girl who wasburned at the stake in Rouen after saving France from the English. Butlong-buried 15th-century documents suggest another story. At the time of theexecution, many people questioned the events at Rouen, insisting another girl was burned instead. Documentary filmmaker and musician Martin Meissonnier (Life of Buddha) revisits the story of the world's most famous martyr to discern the real Joan of Arc. Also known as Jeanne d'Arc, la Contre-Enquete and Vraie Jeanne, Fausse Jeanne. In English, French, Martin Meissonnier---France---2008---90 mins.

Directed by: Meissonnier, Martin

Running time: 90

Year: 2008

English/French
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:56 -0400

]]>On the Beat offers a humorous look at the daily grind of a Beijing police station through the perspective of two mismatched partners. This is the second film in Ning Ying's Beijing trilogy which follows three generations of residents as they respond to the fast-paced lifestyle and rapid changes of China's capital city. I Love Beijing focuses on the heartbreak of young love, For Fun concerns the elderly and China's disappearing traditions and cultural values, and On the Beat offers a humorous look at the everyday lives of middle-aged adults. [Ying's] film has effortless authenticity and a quiet watchful style" (Janet Maslin The New York Times). In Mandarin with English subtitles. Ning Ying---China---1995---102 mins."

Directed by: Ying, Ning

Running time: 102

Year: 1995

Mandarin with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Director Stanislav Stanojevic (Notorious Nobodies) offers an absurdist allegory about the nature of political repression. A blind, paralyzed president uses his remarkable hearing and his corrupt daughter to keep his country in line. His beautiful, clever girl pursues her own agenda while striving to be the equal of men. She appoints herself Chief of Firefighters and then commits arson to ensure that her job is needed. In French with Stanislav Stanojevic---France---1979---95 mins.

Directed by: Stanojevic, Stanisla

Running time: 95

Year: 1979

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>German-born romantic actress Dita Parlo (Grand Illusion) stars in this late silent film from one of the masters of French poetic realism, Julien Duvivier. She plays Denise, an orphan girl who comes to Paris to find work in her uncle's small shop, but instead takes a job in the big, glamorous department store across the street. When her employer begins demolishing buildings in the neighborhood, her uncle's store is the last one in the crosshairs. I see Walter Ruttman's Symphony of a City in its portrait" of urban destruction and renewal, presented with a sense of loss as well as a sense of the unstoppable force of progress by Duvivier (Sean Axmaker GreenCine Daily). Based on a novel by Emile Zola. Original music by Gabriel Thibaudeau interpreted by l'Octuor de France. Silent with French, Julien Duvivier---France---1930---89 mins."

Directed by: Duvivier, Julien

Running time: 89

Year: 1930

Silent/English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>For her third feature, acclaimed Turkish filmmaker Yesim Ustaoglu (Journeyto the Sun) adapts Georgios Andreadis' moving tale about identity and alienation. Waiting for the Clouds is set along Turkey's northeastern Black Sea coast, where beautiful valleys shrouded in mist hide the country's bloody past. After the Turkish War of Independence in the early 1920s, Greeks were forcefully deported. Now some 50 years later, an elderly woman looks back on her life following the death of her sister. Her grief threatens to expose that her family is actually Greek, not Turkish, and compels her to search for a long-lost brother in Greece. With Ruchan Caliskur and Ismail Baysan, and atmospheric cinematography by Jacek Petrycki. In Turkish with English Yesim Ustaoglu---Turkey---2004---90 mins.

Directed by: Ustaoglu, Yesim

Running time: 90

Year: 2004

Turkish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Many nature documentaries make the mistake of ignoring the villagers who livein Africa and navigate the dangers and costs of coexisting with wildlife. Twoof the world's oldest cattle-cultures--the Masai and the Himba--have actuallysuffered from the conservation efforts imposed on them by whites. This Kartemquin film looks at how some villagers have embraced eco-tourism, which focuses on community-based conservation that balances the needs of the people with that of the wildlife. In Masai, Ojihimba, and English with EnglishDavid E. Simpson---USA---2008---83 mins.

Directed by: Simpson, David E.

Running time: 83

Year: 2008

Masai/Ojihimba/English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Comprising three narratives, Arnaud des Pallieres' profound film meditates onthe lingering impact of the Holocaust on France. The first tale concerns thelast survivor, who laments not leaving behind an account of the horrors hewitnessed. In the second, a young historian researching the deportation camp in Drancy, France, discovers the site is now occupied by a deplorable housing project called La Muette (The Silent"). In the final chapter a ship's captain recounts a journey up an uncharted river towards a little-known" civilization. After Resnais' Nuit et Brouillard and Lanzmann's Shoah Drancy Avenir can be defined as the film of the third generation..." (Le Monde). In French with English Spanish German Portuguese Italian Hungarian or Hebrew subtitles." Arnaud des Pallieres---France---1996---84 mins.

Directed by: des Pallieres, Arnau

Running time: 84

Year: 1996

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The third feature by Iranian filmmaker Rafi Pitts is a delicate cinematic"poem (Variety) about three residents of Tehran each working towards a" better future. It's Winter, or Zemestan, follows Mokhtar and his wife, Khatoun, over the course of a year. Barely able to make a living on the impoverished outskirts of the city, Mokhtar decides to leave in search of opportunities abroad. As the days pass without his return, an unemployed mechanic named Marhab spots Khatoun in a market and attempts to win her affections. Based on a novel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi. Nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. In Farsi with English subtitles. Rafi Pitts---Iran---2006---85 mins.

Directed by: Pitts, Rafi

Running time: 85

Year: 2006

Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Julien Duvivier's poignant story about Carrot Top an unloved boy who ismistreated by his mother, ignored by his father, and tormented by hissiblings. Though neglect eventually compels the boy to attempt suicide,Duvivier uses inventive camera tricks to bring a light-heartedness to the weighty material. Duvivier also made a talkie version of this story in 1932. Silent with optional French, English, or German intertitles. Julien Duvivier---France---1925---108 mins.

Directed by: Duvivier, Julien

Running time: 90

Year: 1931

Silent with English/Dutch/French Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>In this weird wicked and wonderfully perverse" (The N.Y. Times)" shocker from Japan, we meet Sumida, a disabled young man marked by his wheelchair, his electronic voice box, his rampant alcoholism, and his appetite for porn. He is the object of pity among friends and the abject to most everyone else. When a female student temporarily becomes his caregiver for research purposes, he mistakes her harmless flirtation for true love. Her eventual rejection sends Sumida on a downward spiral in which his repressed rage erupts in outright revenge. Black-and-white cinematography by Masaaki Takakura. In Japanese with English subtitles. Go Shibata---Japan---2004---83 mins.

Directed by: Shibata, Go

Running time: 83

Year: 2004

Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Ken Ogata (Mishima) delivers a wonderful performance as Honma Nobuo, a lonely, elderly widower who lives with his youngest son, Yasuo (Hayashi Yasufumi), in a remote, snow-covered region of Hokkaido. For the second anniversary of his wife's death, the ailing Nobuo insists that his estranged first son, Ryoichi (Kagawa Teruyuki), return home. Nobuo hopes to come to terms with his family, but the reunion devolves into a bitter affair. Also known as Aruku, Hito, this nuanced drama from Masahiro Kobayashi (The Rebirth) received Un Certain Regard at Cannes. In Japanese with English Masahiro Kobayashi---Japan---2001---103 mins.

Directed by: Kobayashi, Masahiro

Running time: 103

Year: 2001

Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>An unsettling blend of black comedy and melodrama, Workers for the GoodLord, directed by French maverick Jean-Claude Brisseau, was chosen as one of the top ten films of 2000 by Cahiers du Cinema. The story follows the misadventures of Fred, whose wife leaves him because he cannot support her and the children. Emotionally devastated, he takes to the road with postal clerk Sandrine and a mysterious African named Maguette. The trio rob banks across the South of France until they amass a small fortune, but Fred can only think of winning back the affections of his wife. Plays like a cross between The Wizard of Oz and It's a Wonderful Life if Karl Marx had a hand in the script" (Variety). In French with English subtitles. Jean-Claude Brisseau---France---2000---106 mins."

Directed by: Brisseau, Jean-Claud

Running time: 106

Year: 2000

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>In this Iranian comedy from up-and-coming female filmmaker Parisa Bakhtavar, apretty but poor girl (Baran Kosari) gets into a fender bender in her father'scar. She solicits the help of her savvy friend (Saber Abi), who sells bootlegvideos in an upscale condo. The pair descends on the building's residents in hopes of making some fast money, and what ensues makes for a whirligig comedy...carrying hints of the ensemble-shuffling of Robert Altman the snarkiness of Preston Sturges and the pace of Billy Wilder" (Robert Koehler,Variety). In Persian with English subtitles. Parisa Bakhtavar---Iran---2008---111 mins."

Directed by: Bakhtavar, Parisa

Running time: 111

Year: 2008

Persian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The legend of Erendira tells of a brave young Indian woman who took up armsagainst the Spanish conquistadors during the 16th century. Though soon to bemarried, Erendira defies the patriarchal conventions of her people, thePurepecha, by stealing a horse, teaching herself to ride, and using her skill to fight the invading Spaniards. In doing so, Erendira became a potent icon of strength and rebellion for indigenous Mexican cultures. Erendira Ikikunari brings this colorful legend to life with Ariel Award-nominated art direction, costume design, make-up, and special effects, courtesy of producer-writer-director Juan Mora Catlett. In Purepecha with English Juan Mora Catlett---Mexico---2007---107 mins.

Directed by: Catlett, Juan Mora

Running time: 107

Year: 2007

Purepecha with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Years ahead of its time, Stanislav Stanojevic's Camera Award-winning politicaldrama comprises eight individual stories of human rights violations occurringsimultaneously in Prague, Munich, Paris, Vienna, Geneva, Montevideo, Zaire,and France over the course of November 10, 1983. Stanojevic sets these fictional stories of unfortunate individuals, whose only crime is existing, in settings where such violations actually occurred. Notorious Nobodies, or Illustres Inconnus, wrote filmmaker Costa-Gavras, attempts to describe" for us the struggle of men and women around the world to save what is most precious to them: their dignity...neither a plea nor a denunciation but rather an original cinema of exceptional quality, a tragedy about human destiny. In French with English subtitles." Stanislav Stanojevic---France---1984---85 mins.

Directed by: Stanojevic, Stanisla

Running time: 102

Year: 1984

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Genevieve, the village nurse, finds Celine, a confused girl with suicidaltendencies, wandering the ward of the hospital one morning. Genevieve takesthe young girl home but is afraid to leave her alone. When Celine's stepmotheroffers the nurse money to take care of her stepdaughter, Genevieve agrees. A bond forms between the young girl and older woman until one day Genevieve realizes Celine has uncanny healing powers. With its dream-like cinematography and haunting music, Jean-Claude Brisseau's psychological drama is a lyricaltale of miracles, apparitions, and sainthood. Brisseau, a maverick director unafraid to tackle social and cultural issues, combines naturalism and surrealism in his own distinctive style. Nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. In French with optional English subtitles.Jean-Claude Brisseau---France---1992---83 mins.

Directed by: Brisseau, Jean-Claud

Running time: 83

Year: 1992

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Director Abolfazl Jalili offers a compassionate story of a young Afghanrefugee living illegally in Iran. Though the film is shot in a modestdocumentary style that adds a certain immediacy, the narrative is lyrical,moving, and quite funny. Young Kaim drifts to the Delbaran crossing on the Afghan-Iran border, where he finds work at a coffee shop. He feels at home in this small oasis, even though bandits roam the roads, the war can be heard in the distance, and opium is everywhere. As we watch Kaim run from task to task,day after day, we realize we are watching a boy being cheated out of his childhood. ...beautifully realized study of characters lost between the cracks of history and politics" (Derek Elley Variety). Winner of the Don Quixote Award and nominated for the Golden Leopard at the 2001 Locarno" Abolfazl Jalili---Iran/Japan---2001---96 mins.

Directed by: Jalili, Abolfazl

Running time: 96

Year: 2001

Persian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The second film by Jean-Claude Brisseau (Secret Things) is this gritty story of working women in the modern world. Originally shot on 16mm for French television, Life the Way It Is (La Vie Comme Ca) may be the director's most radical film, with its images of suicide, group violence, and sexual pressure. Agnes Tessier leaves the comfortable confines of school to work at a chemical factory in a slum district with her friend Florence. When greeted with sexual harassment, harsh conditions, and volatile coworkers, Agnes responds by applying for the union rep position in order to challenge the status quo at the factory. Stripped down to the essentials, the film reflects the fury of working-class women everywhere. In French with optional Jean-Claude Brisseau---France---1978---95 mins.

Directed by: Brisseau, Jean-Claud

Running time: 95

Year: 1978

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Set in modern Beirut, A Perfect Day tells the delicate but haunting" (Time Out New York) story of a family still scarred by the Lebanese Civil War that ended 15 years before. Claudia (Julia Kassar) and her grown son, Malek (Ziad Saad), wake up to a typical morning, which quickly sours when the conversation turns to the family's patriarch. Claudia's husband and Malek's father has been missing since the war, and the two debate whether to have him declared legally dead. Once the decision is made, they move on with their lives in different ways. Directors Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige continue their exploration of life in postwar Beirut, where ghosts of the past linger among the new buildings of the bustling metropolis. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the Locarno Film Festival. In Arabic with English subtitles. Joana Hadjithomas/Khalil Joreige---France/Lebanon---2005---88 mins.

Directed by: Hadjithomas/Joreige

Running time: 88

Year: 2005

Arabic with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Based on the Chekhov short story of the same name, The Lady with the Dog (Dama s sobachkoy) is a forgotten masterpiece from a tense period during the Khrushchev thaw. Told with little dialogue and minimal action, this romantic drama is a bittersweet portrait of a doomed love affair between Dmitri, a bank official, and Anna, a well-to-do young woman. The two fall in love while on vacation in Yalta around the turn of the century, but because each is already married, they can only see one another once a year. Director Iosif Heifitz not only adapts the events of the Chekhov story but captures the legendary writer's restrained tone and atmosphere of desperation. Nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival. In Russian with English Josef Heifitz---USSR---1960---89 mins.

Directed by: Heifitz, Josef

Running time: 86

Year: 1960

Russian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>In this bright snappy relationship comedy" (Variety) a well-educated, sophisticated woman gets fed up with men after she discovers her fiance is" already married. Though she wants a child, she'd rather raise it as a single mother rather than put up with the shenanigans of men. So she embarks on a series of sexual encounters in order to get pregnant, but finds the world of dating is not that simple. The smart dialogue and pleasant performances by Judit Schell and Sandor Csanyi (Kontroll) helped make this film a smash in Hungary. In Hungarian with English subtitles. Krisztina Goda---Hungary---2005---95 mins.

Directed by: Goda, Krisztina

Running time: 95

Year: 2005

Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>From Kartemquin Films comes this cautionary tale underscoring the harm"wrought by ignorance (Boston Herald). More specifically it's a" documentary about the mothers of children with autism, who, during the fifties and sixties, were blamed for their youngsters' atypical behavior, accused of frigid mothering by the medical establishment. A portrait emerges of these refrigerator mothers"--ridiculed alienated and vilified in an instance when reason evaded science. An "Editor's Choice" by Video Librarian." David E. Simpson---USA---2003---60 mins.

Directed by: Simpson, David E

Running time: 60

Year: 2003

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The third film in director Ning Ying's Beijing Trilogy this romantic dramafollows the fortunes of a young cab driver who is depressed because of arecent divorce. He turns his personality around to become a ladies man, wooinga waitress, a librarian, and then a talk-show host. Lost in the dating wars, he longs to find the love of his life in the rapidly changing city of Beijing. The trilogy is structured around different generations and their responses to the fast-paced lifestyle and rapid changes of China's capital city. While ILove Beijing focuses on the heartbreak of young love, For Fun concerns the elderly and China's disappearing traditions and cultural values, and On the Beat features middle-aged characters who can't cope with the new China." Winner of the Don Quixote Award at the Berlin Film Festival. In" Ning Ying---China---2000---99 mins.

Directed by: Ying, Ning

Running time: 99

Year: 2000

Mandarin with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>A hotly debated comedy from Iran, Snowman (Adam Barfi) tells the story of young Abbas (Akbar Abdi), a man desperate to immigrate to America. He's so anxious that he dresses as a woman in hopes of marrying an American man so he can become a full citizen. But how long can he go before being discovered? Davoud Mirbagheri's ticklish tale of cross-dressing taps into a common motif in Iranian culture--a character in a difficult situation must pass as a member of the opposite sex in order to get out of trouble. Despite the familiar theme, this bubbly comedy was quite controversial when released in Iran. In Farsi with English subtitles. Davoud Mirbagheri---Iran---1995---96 mins.

Directed by: Mirbagheri, Davoud

Running time: 96

Year: 1995

Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Four young Malaysian directors pool their talents for this admirably"philosophical (Indiewire) horror anthology set during the Chinese" Hungry Ghosts Festival in cosmopolitan Kuala Lumpur. Low Ngai Yuen's 1413" is" a tale of teenage suicide gone awry. In Waiting for Them James Lee (The Beautiful Washing Machine) follows the misadventures of two friends who let a bona fide ghost come between them. Nodding Scoop" by Ng Tian Hann concerns a filmmaker who shoots a bizarre ritual in which the participants call forth"a spirit with knowledge of the future. Lastly, Anybody Home" by Yuhang Ho is a story of deadly obsession. In Cantonese and Malaysian with English subtitles. Yuhang Ho---Malaysia---2004---110 mins."

Directed by: Yuen, Low Ngai

Running time: 110

Year: 2008

Cantonese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Mexican filmmaker Juan Carlos Rulfo expanded his award-winning short ElAbuelo Cheno y Otras Historias into this captivating documentary about his legendary father, poet and novelist Juan Rulfo. The director abandons the conventional approach to biographical film in favor of an artful reflection on the passage of time. He focuses on how the years have carved a lifetime of experience into the worn features of his elderly interview subjects, which include members of his family and a host of writers from his father's generation--Juan Jose Arreola, Manuel Cosio, and the late Jaime Sabines. Winner of Ariel Awards for Best First Work, Cinematography, Editing, and Juan Carlos Rulfo---Mexico---1999---70 mins.

Directed by: Rulfo, Juan Carlos

Running time: 70

Year: 1999

Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The Bookworm, Concorde, Conica coffeemaker, Leica camera, Eames lounge chair,and Vespa scooter not only reflect the era that produced them but alsoanticipated the future. Design 2 explores the conception and development of each of these innovative products while examining their larger social context. Combining archival images and film excerpts with music and other pieces of popular culture, this lively, fascinating documentary outlines the social, political, and cultural climate in which each item was born. In Danielle Schirman/Anna-Celia Kendall/Heinz Peter Schwerfel---France---2006---160 mins.

Directed by: Schirman/Kendall/Sch

Running time: 160

Year: 2006

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes in 2005, Masahiro Kobayashi'sBashing is a heartbreaking film based on real-life events. The narration begins after Japanese aid worker Yuko (Fusako Urabe) volunteered to go to wartorn Iraq, gets kidnapped, and is released. We find her back home in Japan, where she gets systematically shunned by the Japanese public for shaming the country. Not only do strangers taunt her, but her former coworkers, friends, and loved ones greet her with unease at best and harassment at worst. To convey this traumatic reintegration the director trades in his usual painterly camera set-ups for a looser handheld style" (Variety). In Masahiro Kobayashi---Japan---2005---82 mins."

Directed by: Kobayashi, Masahiro

Running time: 82

Year: 2005

Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

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Jerzy Grotowski, a leading figure in the avant-garde theatre, invited a filmcrew to travel with him to the small village of Nienadowka, Poland in 1980. It was there that he, his mother, and his brother were hidden by a peasant familyduring the Nazi occupation. Returning for the first time, Grotowski hopes to rediscover the people, places, images, and sounds of his intensely lived childhood--memories that are indelibly linked to his art. Afterwards, in his aunt's apartment in the city of Rzeszow, he speaks directly to the cameraabout the foundations of his work.

Narrated by Peter Brook.

Directed by: Jill Godmilow

Running time: 60

Year: 1980

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Filmmaker Tan Chui-mui won the Tiger Award at the 2007 Rotterdam Film Festivalfor directing this Malaysian indie drama about the foibles of modern romanceas told from a distinctly female perspective. A pretty young woman (Ong LiWhei) leaves her boyfriend in rural Penang to work at her aunt's broken-down restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. Amidst the hustle of big city life, she meets your archetypal bad boy (Stephen Chuah) and falls for him and his flashy lifestyle before a harsh reality sets in. Produced by Amir Muhammad (The BigDurian). In Malay, Mandarin, and Cantonese with English subtitles. Tan Chui-mui---Malaysia---2006---90 mins.

Directed by: Chui-mui, Tan

Running time: 90

Year: 2006

Malay/Cantonese with English Sibtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The origins of a homegrown Scottish cinema can be traced back to filmmakerBill Douglas, who directed this trio of brilliant semiautobiographical filmsabout his brutal childhood in an impoverished mining town in the Highlands.My Childhood (1972, 46 mins.), introduces Douglas' analogue, Jaime (Stephen Archibald), focusing on the boy's relationship with a German POW during the last days of WWII. In My Ain Folk (1973, 55 mins.), we find Jaime living with his grandmother before being forced into an orphanage. Lastly, My Way Home (1978, 64 mins.) presents an older Jaime during his years of service in the Royal Air Force. For each of the three films presented here, Douglas won awards from the Berlin Film Festival's Forum of New Cinema, Bill Douglas---Great Britain---1972-1978---165 mins.

Directed by: Douglas, Bill

Running time: 165

Year: 1972

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Set in Chicago in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, this disarming,intimate work finds two nuns moving through the city's densely populatedstreets, asking the question: Are you happy?" The film pushes beyond the"issues of the times and allows its subjects to open their hearts and reveal themselves plainly and simply. A profound and moving experience for the viewer" (Chicago Tribune). Features music by Philip Glass. Gordon Quinn/Gerald Temaner---USA---1968---66 mins."

Directed by: Quinn, G/Temaner, G

Running time: 66

Year: 1968

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>In this real-life story of dictators, political agents, and secret identities,Argentine businessman Ricardo Miguel Cavallo used the code name Serpico" as"an officer of the military junta that ruled Argentina from 1976-1983. Duringthis Dirty War Cavallo allegedly committed horrific acts of torture and terrorism against the citizenry--and he almost got away with it. In 2000, the slippery businessman was living in Mexico when Spain finally indicted him for his crimes. Despite Mexico's determination to extradite him, Cavallo appealedthe decision, leading to a lengthy series of legal maneuverings. This documentary is an impassioned plea against such impunity. In Spanish with Shula Erenberg/Laura Imperiale/Maria Ines Roque---Mexico---2006---50 mins.

Directed by: Impariale, Laura

Running time: 50

Year: 2006

Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>In his multiple award-winning debut feature, director Ahmet Ulucay portraysthe innocence of childhood and the lure of the cinema for two teens in a smallTurkish village. By day, one works for a watermelon seller and the other for abarber. But at night, they devote themselves to rebuilding an old film projector and dream of being famous film directors. At turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, Ulucay's autobiographical film manages to convey universal themes of first love, big aspirations, and the magic of the movies. Ulucay"brings an engaging flavor to the material, aided by an acute sense of period and setting, plus tip-top performances by the whole cast (Derek Elley Variety). With Ismail Hakki Taslak Kadir Kaymaz Gulayse Erkoc and Aysel Yilmez. In Turkish with English subtitles." Ahmet Ulucay---Turkey---2004---101 mins.

Directed by: Ulucay, Ahmet

Running time: 101

Year: 2004

Turkish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>A documentary by filmmaker and art critic Heinz Peter Schwerfel oncontroversial German painter Georg Baselitz, who once referred to Germanpainting traditions as ugly provoked censors with the sexual content of hispostmodern works, and became famous for a series of upside-down paintings. This film looks at Baselitz at two points during his life. Once in 1987 on the occasion of his retrospective at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn at the age of 50, and 17 years later, when Schwerfel asked the artist to reexamine hisprevious statements and to discuss the themes of his current work. Baselitz manages to stand outside 'isms' of art yet remain central to its history" (Norman Rosenthal Curator for the Royal Academy of the Arts). In German with Heinz Peter Schwerfel---Germany---2004---97 mins."

Directed by: Schwerfel, Heinz Pet

Running time: 97

Year: 2004

German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>From one of Iran's most talented young filmmakers comes this darkly comicdrama about two lost souls who run a struggling gas station in a deserted areaof Iran. With few customers and little in common, they spend most of theirtime alone except for occasional visits by the postman. When together, the three men share their dreams of romance and are driven to pursue impossible relationships. Besides being boosted by the stunning black-and-white cinematography of Turaj Aslani and the stylish direction of Saman Salur, AFew Kilos of Dates for a Funeral defied expectations of Iranian cinema with its wry observations on male friendship" (Variety). In Farsi with Saman Salur---Iran---2006---85 mins."

Directed by: Salur, Saman

Running time: 85

Year: 2006

Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Cogent, complex, and classically composed, the documentaries of Johan van derKeuken reveal his lifelong curiosity about the ever-changing world and itsinhabitants. His films stretch the boundaries of both documentary andnarrative fiction, resulting in a uniquely personal style that is as daring as it is compassionate. Volume 4 spotlights work from the filmmaker's mid-career, including The Storm of Images (1982), Time (1984), The Palestinians (1975), The Flat Jungle (1978), The Master and the Giant (1980), The Reading Lesson (1973), The Way South (1981), and The Filmmaker's Holiday (1974). In French, Dutch, and Johan van der Keuken---Netherlands---1973-1982---527 mins.

Directed by: Van Der Keuken, Johan

Running time: 528

Year: 2008

English French German
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Anthropologist and filmmaker Stephane Breton lived among the Wodoni of Papua,New Guinea, and produced two documentaries based on his remarkable adventures.Unlike other ethnographic filmmakers, Breton is interested in how the Wodonisee him, not in merely documenting their culture. This provides the premise for Them and Me (Eux et moi, 2001, 62 mins.), in which he gradually builds a close bond with his neighbors, illustrating the theme that certain aspects of life are universal whether you are a French filmmaker or a Wodoni villager. In Heaven in a Garden (Le ciel dans un jardin, 2003, 63 mins.), Breton returns to the village after several years, knowing that future trips will be impossible and that this is his last visit. In this nostalgic account, he explores the poetry and beauty of the little things and shares his perspective on a people he has grown to admire. In French and Stephane Breton---France---2001/2003---125 mins.

Directed by: Breton, Stephane

Running time: 125

Year: 2001

French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Award-winning director Damian Pettigrew (Fellini: I'm a Born Liar) offers this definitive portrait of Balthus, a modern artist whose work was nonetheless out of step with most modern movements. His huge canvases with their thickly applied paint feature dreamy adolescent girls in enigmatic poses, resulting in an erotically charged and oddly disorienting style. Pettigrew's documentary highlights the painter's complex creative process as he films the artist at work in his studio in the Swiss mountains. Famous friends and family members bare witness to the great artist's life in exclusive interviews, accompanied by photos by such luminaries as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Irving Penn. In French with optional English subtitles. Damian Pettigrew---France---1996---72 mins.

Directed by: Kidel, Mark

Running time: 51

Year: 1996

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The story of the real-life love affair between Jewish poet ElseLasker-Schueler and Nazi poet Gottfried Benn is told largely through theirpoetry in this experimental drama scored with improvised music. The poets'relationship epitomizes the idea of the ill-fated romance" as Lasker-Schueler is forced to leave the country because of the very ideology Benn espouses. While she drifts from country to country en route to Jerusalem he eventually realizes his mistake when the Nazis condemn his artistic school. The passion"of Lasker-Schueler and Benn lives in their poetry as Helma Sander-Brahms focuses on the artistry of these unfortunate artists lost to history. In Helma Sanders-Brahms---Germany---1997---105 mins.

Directed by: Sanders-Brahms, Helm

Running time: 105

Year: 1997

German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Based on a series of letters written by a schizophrenic woman named Rita G.,No Mercy No Future (Die Beruhrte) is Helma Sanders-Brahms' controversial film about the troubled daughter (Elisabeth Stepanek) of uncaring bourgeoisie parents. Without proper psychiatric treatment for her unearthly visions, she prowls the streets along the Berlin Wall at night in search of God, but settles for the company of strange, exiled men. Is it merely a farrago of sexual and hallucinatory images of great skill or is it"a work of multi-layered complexity, crowded with religious emblems, politico-historical allegory, scathing social attack and compassion? (The Faber Companion to Foreign Films). Winner of the Sutherland Trophy at the British Film Institute Awards. In German with English subtitles." Helma Sanders-Brahms---West Germany---1981---108 mins.

Directed by: Sanders-Brahms, Helma

Running time: 108

Year: 1981

German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Though shot in fascist Spain near the end of Franco's dictatorship, this WestGerman television production from writer-director Helma Sanders-Brahms(Germany Pale Mother) is relevant to any oppressed society. Handsome Jeronimo (Victor Alcazar) is hired to tutor the rich heiress, Josefa (Julia Pena). They fall in love, but the church forbids their relationship, and Josefa is hidden in a convent. When the church discovers she is pregnant, she is sentenced to death by decapitation. Jeronimo tracks her down, but is jailed before he can rescue her. When fate intervenes in the form of a massive earthquake, the two lovers have no idea what is in store for them. Dubbed in Helma Sanders-Brahms---Spain/West Germany---1974---86 mins.

Directed by: Sanders-Brahms, Helma

Running time: 86

Year: 1974

German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The first feature from German filmmaker Helma Sanders-Brahms, this potentblack-and-white drama deals with the aftermath of the 1968 student rebellionsin Germany as experienced by two fervent participants. Though the countryexperienced sweeping reforms in the years following, two radicals-turned-successful Berlin stage actors and lovers (Grischa Huber and Heinrich Giskes) are grappling with their growing insignificance and the demands of adulthood. After a night of intense debate about the past and theirfuture, the couple begins garnering support to fight a new abortion bill. However, their rekindled zeal is soon complicated by an unexpected pregnancy. A cult film for the feminist movement" (The Films of Helma Sanders-Brahms). Giskes and Huber won German Film Awards for their" Helma Sanders-Brahms---West Germany---1975---106 mins.

Directed by: Sanders-Brahms, Helma

Running time: 106

Year: 1975

German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Troubadours is an award-winning indie comedy set in downstate Illinois. It tells the coming-of-age story of an unemployed drummer who leaves the big city after a painful breakup and retreats to his father's farm. There, he must navigate a new field of possibilities and disappointments, meeting new friends and renewing bonds with old ones. The film tracks his quest to quiet his anxieties and find his place in this world, while effectively capturing the heart and tone of the Midwest. Tom Galassi/Adam Galassi/Tom Snyder---USA---2007---107 mins.

Directed by: Galassi/Galassi/Snyd

Running time: 107

Year: 2007

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>A documentary on contemporary American artist Bruce Nauman, known for hischallenging, yet playful approach to conceptual art. This is observed in hispublic art installation Vices and Virtues, consisting of huge neon signs that flash the seven deadly sins. Through a diversity of media, including sculpture, video, printmaking, and performance, Nauman uses art to examine communication and the human experience. Make Me Think features 60 of his pieces, including early film projections and video installations like Clown Torture and Anthro/Socio, and chronicles the development of a video sculpture" titled Violent Incident. Wrote Michael Kimmelman chief art critic of The New York Times Nauman "inspires reverence or loathing...It's hard to feel indifferent to work like his." In English." Heinz Peter Schwerfel---Germany---1997---70 mins.

Directed by: Schwerfel, Heinz Pet

Running time: 70

Year: 1997

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Cogent, complex, and classically composed, the documentaries of Johan van derKeuken reveal his lifelong curiosity about the ever-changing world and itsinhabitants. His films stretch the boundaries of both documentary andnarrative fiction, resulting in a uniquely personal style that is as daring as it is compassionate. Volume 3 highlights work from the filmmaker's mid-career, including Diary, The White Castle, Bert Schierbeek/The Door, Vietnam Opera, Paris a l'Aube, Blind Child, Beppie, Herman Slobbe/Blind Child 2, Big Ben: BenWebster in Europe, The Spirit of the Time, The Cat, The New Ice Age, Four Walls, Velocity 40-70, The Wall, and Springtime: Three Portraits. In Dutch, French, and English with English subtitles. Johan van der Keuken---Netherlands---1960-1976---535 mins.

Directed by: Van Der Keuken, Johan

Running time: 535

Year: 2008

English French German
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>The third entry in a series of award-winning films from Africa. This volumeincludes Daratt (Dry Season, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chad, 2006, 95 mins.), an unassumingly political work that unfolds with the gravity of a" Bible story, according to Manohla Dargis of The New York Times. Set in Chad after a general amnesty has set war criminals free this heart-wrenching revenge story tells of a grandfather who sends his grandson to kill the man who murdered the boy's father. Winner of five awards at the 2006 Venice Film" Festival. In French and Arabic with English subtitles. This is followed by The Desert Ark (L'Arche du Desert, Mohamed Chouikh, Algeria, 1997, 90 mins.), a variation on Romeo and Juliet set in the Algerian desert. A young couple must face inevitable conflict when their rival families discover their secret love. Taking refuge in a cave, they listen to the sounds of a senseless campaign of violence and murder, which is the culmination of the extremism that has long divided their two communities. Nominated for the Golden Leopard at the 1997 Locarno Film Festival. In Arabic with English Mahamat-Saleh Haroun/Mohamed Chouikh---Chad/Algeria---2006/1997---185 mins.

Directed by: Abdoulaye Ascofare / Drissa Toure

Running time: 90

Year: 2007

Arabic/French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>This is a 3-disc collection of seminal works and archival rarities featuringsilent comedy legends and forgotten clowns, from the first film directed byCharlie Chaplin to early works by almost unrecognizable Harold Lloyd and StanLaurel. American Slapstick Volume 2 includes the young Harold Lloyd in Luke Joins the Navy (1916), By the Sad Sea Waves (1917), Bliss (1917), Hey There (1918), and Don't Shove (); the Hal Roach B-listers Dodge Your Debts (1921), Looking for Trouble (1919), Whirl o' the West (1921), The Dippy Dentist (1920), Shiver and Shake (1922), and Post No Bills (1923); educational pictures such as A Fresh Start (1920), At Your Service (1921), Jonah Jones (1924), and Breezing Along (1927); Charlie Chaplin-associated works like Charley Out West (1919), The Hobo (1917), Oh Shoot (1923), Caught in a Park (1915), Gussle's Wayward Path (1915), and Charley's Aunt (1925); films dealing with hearts and havoc like Be Reasonable (1921), Kid Speed (1924), and Call the Wagon (1923); women holding it down in Cinderella Cinders (1920), Hold Still (1926), Hash House Fraud (1915), Faro Nell (1929); and two talkies, Playboy Number One (1937) and

Directed by: Hal Roach, Alfred J. Goulding

Running time: 440

Year: 1915

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>In this haunting Hungarian drama, the Witman brothers are scarred by theirmother's neglect. Searching for warmth and meaning, they find it in a localbrothel. Though they may appear innocent, the boys' morbid perversionsultimately drive them to despicable deeds. Set in a small Hungarian village just before the onset of WWI, this atmospheric tale of alienated youth is smartly directed by Janoz Szasz, with exquisite cinematography by Tibor Mathe, for which he won a Silver Hugo at the 1997 Chicago Film Festival....faultless in style and psychological validity" (Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times). Starring Alpar Fogarasi Szaboles Gergely Maia Morgenstern Lajos Kovacs and Dominka Ostlowska. In Hungarian with English Janos Szasz---Hungary---1997---95 mins."

Directed by: Szasz, Janos

Running time: 95

Year: 1997

Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>For over 50 years, painter Alex Katz has bucked trends in modern art topioneer and refine his own style of flat, elegant, and realistic figurepainting. What About Style? offers an uncluttered view of this American maverick. Filmmaker and art critic Heinz Peter Schwerfel captures the elusive Katz working in his Maine studio and his Soho flat, laboring over a 32-foot painting called The Black Brook. Interviews, archival footage, images of his subjects, and a virtual tour of 20 Katz paintings are combined to convey to his unique style to the viewer. In English. Heinz Peter Schwerfel---Germany---2003---56 mins.

Directed by: Hans-Peter Schwerfel

Running time: 56

Year: 2008

English
]]>

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>Towards the end of his career, legendary Chicago architect LouisSullivan--the father of modernism"--constructed the eight banks studied in"this quirky documentary. Collectively referred to as Sullivan's Jewel Boxes,these structures are located in small towns across America's heartland. Though they appear solid, like cathedrals of capitalism, each bank is discreetly ornate and plays off the flat, Midwestern surroundings. Directed by Heinz Emigholz as part of his Photography and Beyond" project Sullivan's"Banks conveys the architect's lasting influence. As the film examines these beautiful red-brick buildings...you are induced to consider the powerful psychological effect of architecture" (New York Times). An Official Selection at the New York Film Festival. In German or English." Heinz Emigholz---Germany---2004---90 mins.

Directed by: Emigholz, Heinz

Running time: 90

Year: 2004

English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>In this surreal horror flick by director Higuchinsky (Uzmaki), an ambitious doctor is perplexed by a patient who comes to him with grave fears of going to sleep. Each night, his dreams grow longer and longer, eventually taking a toll on his body. Believing these long dreams" are linked to immortality the doctor begins a series of experiments on his patient and himself. Based on the manga Nagai Yume by Junji Ito Long Dream is a nightmarish descent into madness. In Japanese with English subtitles." Higuchinsky---Japan---2000---59 mins.

Directed by: Higuchinsky

Running time: 59

Year: 2000

Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>A harrowing account of life on some of the world's most dangerous streets,this documentary follows 13-year-old Carlito as guides filmmaker Jean-StephaneSauvaire on a tour of his decimated neighborhood in Medellin, Colombia'ssecond-largest city. There, armed children hold out against paramilitary troops, criminal gangs, and guerrilla fighters. In stark contrast to North American kids his age, Carlito carries a statue of the Virgin around as he listens to his shell-shocked neighbors confess their tragic stories and prayto the Holy Mother. Literally shot under the gun" because of Medellin's daily street violence Sauvaire offers a haunting expose exquisitely photographed and expertly crafted. In Spanish with optional English and French subtitles. Jean-Stephane Sauvaire---France/Colombia---2004---74 mins."

Directed by: Sauvaire, Jean-Steph

Running time: 74

Year: 2004

Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>French actress Helene Lapiower (Trouble Every Day) steps behind the camera to direct Petite Conversation Familiale, an intimate documentary that began as a chronicle of her Jewish family, who immigrated to France from Poland decades before. Filmed over the course of seven years, this project slowly morphed into a complex study of generational divide and questions of identity. In French, English, and Yiddish with optional English and French Helene Lapiower---France---1999---69 mins.

Directed by: Lapiower, Helene

Running time: 69

Year: 1999

French/English/Yiddish
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400

]]>An extensive collection of works from acclaimed American animator andexperimental filmmaker Larry Jordan. Spanning five decades, the range of filmsincluded here shows Jordan to be an influential director of live-actionshorts, as well as a master of cut-out animation. He meticulously combines 19th-century engravings, modern imagery, and common symbols to construct unmistakable, dream-like narratives. Disc One features The Short Animations" (Duo Concertantes Gymnopedies Our Lady of the Sphere Orb Once Upon a"Time, Moonlight Sonata, Carabosse, and Masquerade), followed by the animated retelling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1977, 42 mins.)--narrated by Orson Welles--and Enid's Idyll (17 mins.). Disc Two houses The H.D. Trilogy" (1994 115 mins.),a loving portrait of poet and novelist Hilda Doolittle told in three parts: The Black Oud The Grove and Star of Day. Disc Three consists of Sophie's Place (1986 86 mins.) The Visible Compendium (1990 17 mins.) and Blue Skies Beyond the Looking Glass (17 mins.). Disc" Four comprises The Sacred Art of Tibet (1972, 28 mins.), The Short Live Films" (Visions of a City Adagio In a Summer Garden Winter Light and Cornell
Directed by: Jordan, Larry
Running time: 457
Year: 1961
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:55 -0400
]]>French novelist Marguerite Duras (Hiroshima Mon Amour) directs this elliptical, minimalist film about the domestic space of women, in which dull rituals mask an undercurrent of lurking violence. Jeanne Moreau (Jules and Jim) and Lucia Bose (Story of a Love Affair) costar as two friends who worry about the violent behavior of Bose's daughter, discuss the immigration status of their housekeeper, and contemplate news about escaped convicts as they do the morning dishes. A young Gerard Depardieu appears asa door-to-door salesman, mistaking their nonchalance as an invitation to linger. A precursor to the work of Chantal Ackerman and Claire Denis, Nathalie Granger is a landmark of women's cinema. ...the ghost of Pinter's wit walks over the grave of the film" (Vincent Canby The New York Times"). Marguerite Duras---France---1973---79 mins.
Directed by: Duras, Marguerite
Running time: 79
Year: 1972
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Produced in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the of formation of anindependent Pakistan, this rich, well-researched documentary explores thecountry's brief but turbulent past in order to understand its volatilepresent. Featuring interviews with key figures, including one of the last filmed interviews with Benazir Bhutto before her assassination, Pakistan Zindabad offers much-needed insight into the country's antagonism with India, its relationship to Taliban-plagued Afghanistan, and its strategy of constantly shifting alliances with world powers. In French, German, or English Pascale Lamche---France---2007---108 mins.
Directed by: Lamche, Pascale
Running time: 108
Year: 2007
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Sharzad, a lawyer in modern-day Tehran, loses custody of her seven-year-oldson after a divorce from a powerful businessman. Her ex-husband's obsessionwith work and lack of proper homemaking skills only makes her son's diabetesworse, forcing Sharzard to take matters into her own hands. Though a tightly wound family drama anyone can relate to, Herazan Zan Mesle Man also offers a first-hand look at how young sophisticates live in a severely patriarchal society. As the title suggests, Sharzad's case is hardly unique as institutions are clearly biased against women--even highly competent ones--a point made clear by the courtroom where separate entrances exist for men and women. A fascinating look at Iranian culture and politics. In Persian with Reza Karimi---Iran---2000---108 mins.
Directed by: Karimi, Reza
Running time: 108
Year: 2000
Persian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Helma Sanders-Brahms (Germany, Pale Mother) wrote and directed this gripping family drama that focuses on three generations of women. Brigitte Fossey (Cinema Paradiso) is Isabelle, a successful film actress whose young daughter, Emily, is frequently cared for by Isabelle's parents (Hildegarde Knef and Ivan Desny) in Normandy while she's away working. After a production ends in Berlin, Isabelle returns to visit her daughter, but the rejoicing is short-lived. Her smitten costar (Herman Treusch) follows, and his presence sets off an intense clash between the self-centered thespian and her mother. With sensitivity imagination control and razor-sharp insight Sanders-Brahms has delivered a multi-layered essay on life art parenthood and the patterns of generations...a powerful if more loving cousin to" Berman's Autumn Sonata (The Faber Companion to Foreign Films). Cinematography by Sacha Vierny. In German with English subtitles. Helma Sanders-Brahms---West Germany/France---1985---108 mins."
Directed by: Sanders-Brahms, Helma
Running time: 108
Year: 1985
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Terra Incognita is a feature-length documentary that tells the story of Dr. Jack Kessler, current chair of Northwestern University's Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, and his daughter, Allison. Dr. Kessler's initial focus was on using stem cells to help cure diabetes. However, after Allison was injured in a skiing accident and paralyzed from the waist down, Kessler made the decision to change his research to utilizing embryonic stem cells in hopes of finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. This excellent Kartemquin Films documentary is a multifaceted unpacking and demythification of a loaded subject" (Jonathan Rosenbaum The Chicago Maria Finitzo---USA---2007---83 mins."
Directed by: Finitzo, Maria
Running time: 83
Year: 2007
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>French novelist Marguerite Duras (Hiroshima Mon Amour) directs this elliptical, minimalist film about the domestic space of women, in which dull rituals mask an undercurrent of lurking violence. Jeanne Moreau (Jules and Jim) and Lucia Bose (Story of a Love Affair) costar as two friends who worry about the violent behavior of Bose's daughter, discuss the immigration status of their housekeeper, and contemplate news about escaped convicts as they do the morning dishes. A young Gerard Depardieu appears asa door-to-door salesman, mistaking their nonchalance as an invitation to linger. A precursor to the work of Chantal Ackerman and Claire Denis, Nathalie Granger is a landmark of women's cinema. ...the ghost of Pinter's wit walks over the grave of the film" (Vincent Canby The New York Times"). Marguerite Duras---France---1973---79 mins.
Directed by: Duras, Marguerite
Running time: 79
Year: 1973
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>A cinema verite look at the everyday life and, especially, work of avant-gardejazz musician Ken Vandermark. From his Chicago basement studio to the stage,Vandermark explains his passion for creating challenging, relevant music whilealso making rent. Musician is the second in the Work series, a set of independent documentaries designed to create an on-going record of the American worker. ...radically fresh...shot and edited with the same inquisitive spirit that defined Studs Terkel's oral history Working" Daniel Kraus---USA---2007---60 mins.
Directed by: Kraus, Daniel
Running time: 79
Year: 2007
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Los Traidores is the only fiction work by Argentine documentary filmmaker Raymundo Gleyzer, who founded the revolutionary film collective Cine de la Base. The film is a compelling political thriller about the life of a trade union militant who is gradually corrupted by union bureaucracy during the Peronist movement. ...genuinely informative...a gracefully made film" (Time Out London). In Spanish with English subtitles. Raymundo Gleyzer---Argentina---1973---105 mins."
Directed by: Gleyzer, Raymundo
Running time: 105
Year: 1973
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>From Massoud Kimiayi, one of the few active filmmakers from Iran s pre-revolutionary era, comes this controversial drama about the personal effect of the country s social reforms on one man. Amir serves 12 years in prison for killing the unfaithful fiancée of his brother an act he considered necessary to restore his family s honor. In jail, he is treated like a hero, but, upon his release, he finds that his country has changed. Amir is now considered barbaric. Authorities yanked PROTEST from the big screen after only one month, revealing that this topic is not only timely but still a sensitive issue in Iran.
Directed by: Kimiayi, Massoud
Running time: 102
Year: 2000
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>A beautiful, painfully moving account of writer-director Helma Sanders-Brahms'childhood, made to show her own daughter a Germany beyond Hitler and theHolocaust. Deutschland Bleiche Mutter traces the history of Germany from an extremely personal and distinctly feminist point of view. The film begins on the eve of the German invasion of Poland, as a newly-married young woman (Eva Mattes) sees her husband (Ernst Jacobi) sent off to the Eastern front. She and her daughter (Elisabeth Stepanek) struggle for survival throughout the war, only to face a husband who, when he returns, wreaks emotional havoc on the family. Sanders-Brahms records life experiences which are gender-specific and typically absent from the male version of history" (Anton Kaes The Oxford History of World Cinema. In German with English subtitles." Helma Sanders-Brahms---West Germany---1980---123 mins.
Directed by: Sanders-Brahms, Helma
Running time: 123
Year: 1980
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>All of Tehran is preparing to celebrate Chaharshanbe-Soori, or the festival offire, which falls on the last Tuesday night before the Persian New Year. Onthis auspicious evening, Rouhi (Taraneh Alidoosti), a young woman from a poorneighborhood, is hired by a middle class couple to clean their house. Sweet, naive, and soon to be married, Rouhi's innocence is shattered when she finds herself in the middle of her employers' domestic dispute over accusations of infidelity. Few Iranian films have tried to realistically depict both the"urban middle and lower classes, and fewer still with the complexity of story telling and depth of characterization in Asghar Farhadi's impressive third feature, Fireworks Wednesday (Deborah Young Variety). Winner of the Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. In Farsi with" Asghar Farhadi---Iran---2006---104 mins.
Directed by: Farhadi, Asghar
Running time: 104
Year: 2006
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>The most celebrated and controversial film by Argentine documentary filmmakerRaymundo Gleyzer, who founded the third cinema" movement Cine de la"Base and was disappeared by Argentina's military dictatorship in 1976. Mexico: The Frozen Revolution is a socio-political analysis of the betrayal of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. The director uses rare newsreel footage of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata in conjunction with footage of the Tlatelolco massacre at the 1968 Olympic Games in Argentina to comment on the failure of revolution in his own time. A Special Prize-winner at the 1971 Locarno International Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles. Raymundo Gleyzer---Mexico---1971---65 mins.
Directed by: Gleyzer, Raymundo
Running time: 65
Year: 1971
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>From Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina to Christians in Lebanon, director JacquesDebs shows us two groups long forgotten or overlooked. For centuries, Muslimsin Europe and Christians in the Middle East have lived side by side in the oldOttoman Empire, despite experiencing periodic setbacks, failures, and in the worst cases, genocide. Debs uses his personal story as a Christian from Lebanon as a starting point, then illuminates the complexities of the modern Mediterranean area, making the film at once personal and universal. ...a"thrilling journey... (Le Monde). In English French or German with Jacques Debs---France---2006---133 mins."
Directed by: Debs, Jacques
Running time: 133
Year: 2006
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison was inspired by the true story ofMargaret Garner in writing her novel Beloved. Garner was a slave in pre-Civil War America who escaped and killed her own daughter rather than see her return to slavery. Morrison later wrote the libretto for Margaret Garner, an opera composed by Richard Danielpour and commissioned by the Michigan Opera Theatre, the Cincinnati Opera and the Opera Company of Philadelphia in 2005. By recounting Garner's tale in conjunction with the story behind this black" opera and the harsh Washington upbringing of its mezzo soprano Denyce Graves the film Margaret Garner re-examines a tragic historical moment while addressing race issues that are still prevalent Mustapha Hasnaoui---France---2006---52 mins."
Directed by: Hasnaoui, Mustapha
Running time: 52
Year: 2006
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Filmmaker Anastasia Lapsui, a Nenet who hails from the Russian tundra, hascombined the legends of her indigenous people with personal experiences inorder to convey life under Communist rule. Unfolding in seven separatestories, 7 Songs from the Tundra (Seitseman Laulua Tundralta) offers an impressionist view of an ancient culture caught between nomadic traditions and enforced modernity. Behind the film's mythic allusions is a story of identity and resistance. It's the small details of Nenet life, captured in grainy B&W images that fascinate in this strangely beautiful film" Variety. Winner of the Press Award at the Paris Film Festival. In Nenets and Russian with optional English and French subtitles. Anastasia Lapsui/Markku Lehmuskallio---Finland---2001---85 mins."
Directed by: Lapsui/Lehmuskallio
Running time: 85
Year: 2001
Russian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>In this spirited drama from Turkish-born, German-based filmmaker Yuksel Yavuz,our hero, Baran (Cagdas Bozkurt), is a Kurdish teen who makes bicycledeliveries for a kebab shop while trying to outwit the German authorities thatdenied him political asylum after leaving Turkey. He strikes up a friendship with another outsider, an illegal African immigrant who deals drugs, and becomes the object of desire for his employer's daughter. Neither help him maintain a low profile. Gritty yet never sordid lively and affecting" (Lisa"Nesselson, Variety). Nominated for the Max Ophuls Award at the Max Ophuls Festival. In German, Kurdish and Turkish with English subtitles. Yuksel Yavuz---Germany---2003---97 mins.
Directed by: Yavuz, Yuksel
Running time: 97
Year: 2003
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>An extraordinarily moving documentary" (Roger Ebert Chicago"Sun-Times), Home for Life depicts the experiences of two elderly people in their first month at a home for the aged. One is a woman whose struggle to remain useful in her son and daughter-in-law's home is no longer appreciated. The other is a widower without a family, who suddenly realizes he can no longer look after himself. One of the first documentaries produced by Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams), this emotional cinema verite experience went on to win awards at the Chicago, Edinburgh, and New York film Gordon Quinn/Gerald Temaner---USA---1966---80 mins.
Directed by: Quinn, G/Temaner, G
Running time: 80
Year: 1966
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Canadian director Philippe Falardeau toys with coincidence, contrivance, andnear-mystical encounters in this comic drama with as many twists of fate asthere are twists of plot. When Michel (Olivier Gourmet), a failed Belgianinventor, discovers he was adopted, he sets off to find his birth parents in Canada. There he encounters Louis (Paul Ahmarani), a kindred spirit who has much in common with Michel. ...dramatic ingenious sensitive..." (Michel Coulombe Radio-Canada). With Jean-Pierre Cassel and Gabriel Arcand. In" French with English subtitles. Philippe Falardeau---Canada/Belgium/France---2006---105 mins.
Directed by: Falardeau, Philippe
Running time: 105
Year: 2006
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Heinz Emigholz, the premiere purveyor of architectural oddities (Sullivan'sBridges, Goff in the Desert), meticulously documents 15 rooms of the enormous Villa Cargnacco in Lombardy, Italy, designed by proto-fascist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938). The controversial figure spent 17 years designing the Vittoriale, a state museum on Lake Garda, and furnishing the Villa Cargnacco, which is part of the grand complex. This unusual documentary resulted from a photography session in the villa, when four friends--cinematographers Irene von Alberti, Elfi Mikesch, Klaus Wyborny and Heinz Emigholz--simultaneously filmed the rooms and furnishings of the villa in their own specific styles. In German with English subtitles. Heinz Emigholz---Germany---2005---52 mins.
Directed by: Emigholz, Heinz
Running time: 52
Year: 2005
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>This Arte France television production takes viewers into the heart of thefirst arts introducing major artistic pieces from African, Oceania, SouthAmerica, and Asia. Each of the six half-hour segments in the Arts duMythe series explores the myths behind a magnificent work of art, including a horse-head fiddle from Mongolia, a white headdress from the Kayapo Indians of the Amazon, and a jade pendant from the Maoris of New Zealand. The programs offer insight into the creation of the pieces, their uses, history, and cultural significance then and now. According to co-director Ludovic Segarra, I would like these films to send a shiver...to send a shock of the same order as when primitive African art exploded on the scene between 1910 and 1920 creating a revolution in art." In English French and German with English" Philippe Truffault/Ludovic Segarra/Jean-Loic Portron---France---2006---156 mins.
Directed by: Truffault/Segarra/Po
Running time: 156
Year: 2006
English/French
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Automatons is what happens when Eraserhead and Tetsuo the Iro"n Man bong themselves into oblivion and collaborate on a minimalist avant-garde sci-fi cheapie shot in a toolshed (Nathan Lee Village" Voice). In a post-apocalyptic future, a lone girl (Christine Spencer) tends to a decaying band of robot soldiers fighting in a generations-old war sparked by humans over conflicting ideologies. As the Enemy Leader (Brenda Cooney) beams destructive video signals into her compound, the Girl tries to discern the origins of the war by watching a video diary left by the Scientist, played by Angus Scrimm (Phantasm). By filming in Robo-Monstervision"--a black-and-white 8-millimeter ode to '60s sci-fi--this ingenious allegory about the War on Terror becomes strangely familiar." James Felix McKenney---USA---2006---83 mins.
Directed by: McKenney, James Feli
Running time: 83
Year: 2006
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>This mysterious, genre-defying French film concerns a reclusive artist namedRene Bernard (Patrick-Mario Bernard), who lives and works in a beautiful oldballroom with his male lover, Patric (Pierre Trividic). When Patric leaves foran extended holiday, Rene begins to obsess over a strange photograph of two eerie clowns that hangs in their home. Growing increasingly out of synch with the world around, Rene is soon visited by a ghostly presence that causes him to question his sanity. This highly conceptual tale of doppelgangers and"parallel universes, out of Polanski's Tenant via Kubrick's The Shining, exerts a certain hypnotic fascination (Variety). Also known as Dancing. In French with English subtitles. Patrick-Mario Bernard/Xavier Brillat/Pierre Trividic---France---2003---94 m"ins.
Directed by: Bernard/Brillat/Triv
Running time: 94
Year: 2003
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Documentary filmmaker Raymundo Gleyzer was the founder of Cine de laBase in Argentina, a group with close ties to Grupo Cine Liberacion and other third cinema" movements of the late '60s and early '70s. They were" dedicated to bringing revolutionary films to the people, and aesthetics and entertainment were secondary. In 1976, Gleyzer was abducted and disappeared by Argentina's military dictatorship. This three-disc retrospective of his films includes Mexico: The Frozen Revolution (1971, 65 mins.), a socio-political analysis of the betrayal of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. The director uses rare newsreel footage of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata in conjunction with footage of the Tlatelolco massacre at the 1968 Olympic Games to comment on the failure of revolution in his own time. The Traitors (1973, 105 mins.), Gleyzer's only fiction film, is a compelling political thriller about the life of a trade union militant who is gradually corrupted by union bureaucracy during the Peronist movement. These films are joined by eight shorts that reflect Gleyzer's commitment to social change in Latin America: The Land Burns (1964, 12 mins.); Pottery Makers (1965, 25 mins.); It Happened in Hualfin (1966, 50 mins.), which comprises three shorts; Our Malvinas Islands (1966, 25 mins.); Swift (1971, 12 mins.); Don't Forgive, Don't Forget (1973, 30 mins.); The AA
Directed by: Gleyzer, Raymundo
Running time: 230
Year: 2008
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>A married, small-town factory manager grapples with his company's direfinancial situation while becoming involved in an unstable affair with amodern woman from Tehran. With Hemlock's open treatment of infidelity, this Iranian Fatal Attraction proved to be quite controversial in Iran, and also a box-office success. Director Behrooz Afkhami's elegant drama surpasses [Adrian] Lyne's thriller with his subtlety complexity and compassion and his vision of a world of moral ambiguity layered with" unexpected corruption and innocence (Peter Keough Boston Phoenix). Also known as Shokaran. In Persian with English subtitles. Behrooz Afkhami---Iran---2000---110 mins."
Directed by: Afkhami, Behrooz
Running time: 86
Year: 2000
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Discovered in 1923 by slapstick pioneer Mack Sennett, Harry Langdon quicklycame to rival silent comedians like Chaplin, Lloyd, and Keaton in popularity.Langdon's comic persona of the wide-eyed innocent bewildered by the worldaround him was developed in such classic shorts as Picking Peaches and His New Mamma, which have been restored to their full glory and included in this four-disc set. It also contains most of Langdon's seminal work for Sennett's studio and new restorations of several previously lost films, including Smile Please, The First 100 Years, The Luck o' the Foolish, The Hansom Cabman, All Night Long, Feet of Mud, The Sea Squawk, Boobs in the Wood, His Marriage Wow, Plain Clothes, Remember When, Lucky Stars, Saturday Afternoon, Fiddlesticks, Soldier Man, His First Flame, Knight Duty, Hooks and Jabs, and Love, Honor and Obey (the Law). Silent with original music USA---1924-1944---600 mins.
Directed by: Edwards, Harry
Running time: 600
Year: 1924
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Multimedia artist Nam June Paik broke the rules of art and television bybridging the gap between the two. Lessons from the Video Master offers three films that help illuminate Paik's art and life. The title film from video artist Skip Blumberg comprises 47 stylized but insightful interviews with Paik's friends, collaborators, and proteges. Recorded at the artist's memorial service, the film brings together such art-world luminaries as Merce Cunningham, Yoko Ono, and Paik's nephew, Ken Paik Hakuta. Bonus Art Video contains 17 additional interviews from New York City's art community, including video-art curator David Ross and avant-garde film pioneer Jonas Mekas, and features a video-within-a-video of Yoko Ono's performance for Paik at the Guggenheim Museum. Lastly, there's a nine-minute edit of Lessons from the Video Artist suitable for high-school and middle-school students. Skip Blumberg---USA---2006---93 mins.
Directed by: Blumberg, Skip
Running time: 93
Year: 2006
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>On Christmas Day, 1929, respected tobacco farmer Charlie Lawson shot his wifeand six of his children, then turned the gun on himself in one of the mostbrutal murder-suicides in Southern history. Though Charlie took his motives tothe grave, his crime sparked endless rumors, ghost stories, folk ballads, and even family feuds. Using historic photos, authentic bluegrass music, exclusive interviews with family and friends, and chilling re-creations, A Christmas Family Tragedy brings this North Carolina legend to the screen for the first time. A wonderful treasure trove of Southern oral history" (Mountain Matt Hodges---USA---2007---75 mins."
Directed by: Hodges, Matt
Running time: 75
Year: 2007
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>In Ulrich Kohler's first feature film, the director perfectly captures theangst and alienation of youth in this droll German drama. Paul (LennieBurmeister)--more slacker than soldier--goes AWOL from the German army andreturns to his parents' summer home. There he falls for his brother's girlfriend, a Danish B-movie actress. As offbeat as it is low key, Bungalow offers a window into the restless yet idle world of modern youth. The moving and minimalistic film of Ulrich Kohler is a throwback to" the New Wave of the 60's...a genuine discovery (Cahiers du Cinema). In Ulrich Kohler---Germany---2002---82 mins."
Directed by: Kohler, Ulrich
Running time: 82
Year: 2002
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>A documentary about two women who fall in love in a small Hungarian village,once a haven for the lesbian community. One lives in poverty, while the otheris married to an abusive and alcoholic husband who threatens to take her tocourt when he finds out about her secret. Biding her time until he's out of the picture, she and her children are eventually able to move in with her female lover. In Hungarian with English subtitles. Bodis Kriszia---Hungary---2006---50 mins.
Directed by: Kriszia, Bodis
Running time: 50
Year: 2006
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>A brilliant film. Denied a visa to shoot in Poland, director Godmilowconstructs a film over the bare bones of documentary footage while in NewYork, resulting in a deft dismemberment of the myth of documentary truth."The film portrays the birth of the Solidarity movement at the Gdansk shipyards through moving personal testimony and a chilling look at the psychology of a censor. ...like the best of Godard it is film criticism and social criticism at the same time" (In These Times). A Grand Jury Prize nominee at" Jill Godmilow---USA---1984---106 mins.
Directed by: Godmilow, Jill
Running time: 106
Year: 1984
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Like Italian neorealism before and the French New Wave after, the British FreeCinema movement of the 1950s was dedicated to the belief that film should be atool for personal expression, reflecting contemporary life, and inspiringsocial change. In other words, Watch your back bourgeois commercial cinema!" As compiled by the BFI this collection brings together 16 short and feature films that presaged British social realism reinvented "documentary and represent the best of Free Cinema: O Dreamland (Lindsay Anderson, 1953, 12 mins.), Momma Don't Allow (Karel Reisz/Tony Richardson, 1956, 22 mins.), Together (Lorenza Mazzetti, 1956, 49 mins.), Wakefield Express (Anderson, 1952, 30 mins.), Nice Time (Claude Goretta/Alain Tanner, 1957, 17 mins.), The Singing Street (N. Mclsaac/J.T.R. Ritchie/R. Townsend, 1952, 30 mins.), Every Day Except Christmas (Anderson, 1957, 39 mins.), Refuge England (Robert Vas, 1959, 27 mins.), Enginemen (Michael Grigsby, 1959, 17 mins.), We Are the Lambeth Boys (Reisz, 1959, 49 mins.), Food for a Blush (Elizabeth Russell, 1959, 30 mins.), One Potato Two Potato (Leslie Daiken, 1957, 21 mins.), March to Aldermaston (1959, 33 mins.), The Vanishing Street (Vas, 1962, 19 mins.), Tomorrow's Saturday (Grigsby, 1962, 17 mins.), and Great Britain---1952-1963---475 mins.
Directed by: Various
Running time: 441
Year: 1953
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>The continuation of Edgar Reitz's milestone film epic, Heimat 3 takes the story of the Simon Family into the modern era with the same passion and attention to character as the first two series. Hermann (Henry Arnold) and Clarissa (Salome Kammer), the star-crossed lovers of Heimat II meet in a hotel on the evening of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Caught up in the euphoria over the reunification of their country, the couple reunite as well. They settle in a romantic old house high above the Rhine Valley in the Hunsruck, which draws family and friends from far and wide. The 200-year-old, timber-framed house acts as a hub for the characters, whose stories of love, success, family, and death unfold amidst the uncertainty of the changing times. ...a masterpiece of European film-making" (The Independent). I"n Edgar Reitz---Germany---2004---680 mins.
Directed by: Reitz, Edgar
Running time: 454
Year: 2004
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Bunuel's overlooked neorealist melodrama deals with a corrupt landlord insearch of a thug to intimidate his restless tenants. El Bruto, played by PedroArmendariz, is a thick-headed slaughterhouse worker loyal to the exploiters.Bruto is lusted after by his employer's frustrated wife and at the same time longs for an innocent girl whose father he unfortunately beat to death. Filmed during Bunuel's exile in Mexico, El Bruto is part of a series of unique and expertly crafted films on low budgets and short production schedules" (David A. Cook, A History of Narrative Film). Features the bold black-and-white cinematography of Agustin Jimenez. In Spanish with English Luis Bunuel---Mexico---1952---83 mins.
Directed by: Bunuel, Luis
Running time: 81
Year: 1952
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Forough Farrokhzad, one of the greatest contemporary Persian poets" (Chris"Marker), became a legend in her own time for her innovative and controversialpoetry. In this exclusive two-pack, Farrokhzad's only film, The House IsBlack (1963, 22 mins.), is offered alongside Nasser Saffarian's The Mirror of the Soul (2000-2004), an extensive, three-part documentary on her life and work full of stark imagery that contrasts the lyrical poetry. In Farsi with English subtitles. Forough Farrokhzad/Nasser Saffarian---Iran---1963/2000-2004---174 mins.
Directed by: Farrokhzad, Forough
Running time: 152
Year: 2007
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>In this Iranian psychodrama from Dariush Mehrjui, a renowned author (HomayounErshadi) is suffering from writer's block. In flashbacks, we return to thebright and colorful Tehran of his childhood in the late 1940s, when a shy11-year-old boy was completely in awe of his 14-year-old cousin (Golshifteh Farahani). She was a tomboy, but also a ravishing beauty--and now she's his muse. With The Pear Tree, or Derakhte Golabi, Mehrjui offers a haunting, autobiographical account of childhood and a testament to the power of memory. Winner of the Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. In Persian with English subtitles. Dariush Mehrjui---Iran---1998---96 mins.
Directed by: Mehrjui, Dariush
Running time: 96
Year: 1998
Persian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>In this moving sometimes understatedly harrowing" (N.Y. Times)" documentary, able-bodied and disabled American and Vietnamese veterans participate in a 16-day, 1200-mile bicycle journey across a landscape where they were once locked in a bitter and bloody conflict. Former enemies ride together as one team, joined by well-known cyclist Greg LaMonde and Senator John Kerry, in an emotional journey of reconciliation, peace, and athletic achievement. Greater than any physical handicaps are the ghosts from their past, which Vietnam Long Time Coming works to exorcize. A production of Jerry Blumenthal/Peter Gilbert/Gordon Quinn---USA---1998---120 mins.
Directed by: Blumenthal/Gilbert/Q
Running time: 120
Year: 1998
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>At once brutal, bizarre, and funny, this slice-of-life documentary chroniclesthe everyday world of an everyday hero, Sheriff Ronald E. Hewitt of BrunwsickCounty, North Carolina. The unobtrusive cinema verite style not only seemscandid and fresh, but also captures the tones and textures of the American South. Sheriff is the first in the Work Series, a set of independent documentaries designed to create an on-going record of the American worker. Pointedly different from the sensationalism of Cops" (New York Post)." Daniel Kraus---USA---2006---76 mins.
Directed by: Kraus, Daniel
Running time: 76
Year: 2006
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Award-winning filmmaker Paul Leduc [Frida (1984)] directed this gritty musical drama about life in the ghettos of Mexico City during the 1980s. With a soundtrack of contemporary Mexican rock, the camera takes the viewer through the streets, bars and rock clubs in order to expose the hunger, repression, unhealthy conditions and violence in the marginal communities of Mexico's capital city. The tradition of a committed experimental cinema [remains] alive with...Paul Leduc" (Oxford History of World Cinema). Como" Ves? was an Ariel Award nominee for Best Actor in a Minor Role (Jose Rodriguez). In Spanish with English subtitles. Paul Leduc---Mexico---1985---75 mins.
Directed by: Leduc, Paul
Running time: 75
Year: 1985
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>This carefully devious and bewitching documentary" (Metro) stands out" among the prestigious entries in the Century of Writers Series from Arte, partly because of the film's subject--H.P. Lovecraft. He thrilled countless readers by creating his own imaginative worlds and mythologies in books like the Necronomicon, The Call of Cthulhu, and At the Mountains of Madness, becoming a legend in the process. Disgusted by life, Lovecraft intentionally avoided reality when writing, veering into the unknown and inspiring the fear that lurks in nightmares. Directors Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic respond with this unorthodox documentary that re-creates the atmosphere of claustrophobia, anxiety, and madness of Lovecraft's life and work. In French with English subtitles. Patrick-Mario Bernard/Pierre Trividic---France---1998---45 mins.
Directed by: Bernard/Trividic
Running time: 45
Year: 1998
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>An award-winning look at World War II Budapest. A Jewish family hides out fromNazi occupancy with an opera singer whose beautiful voice is said to protectall from capture. With Ildiko Bansagi, Franco Castellano, and David Zum.Director Andor Szilagyi was nominated for the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. In Hungarian with English subtitles. Andor Szilagyi---Hungary---2003---98 mins.
Directed by: Szilagyi, Andor
Running time: 98
Year: 2003
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Edgy indie director Masashi Yamamota (Junk Foo) captures the punk scene of 1980s Japan in this prickly early film. Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, Yamamota gets the most out of a cast of young toughs who more or less play themselves, while shooting on 16mm for an appropriately gritty style. A punk rocker leaves her son with her ex-husband and begins an unusual odyssey through Tokyo's underbelly. Each person she meets is stranger than the last, with each encounter more disturbing. Yami no Carnival was an Official Selection at the Berlin International Film Festival. In Japanese Masashi Yamamoto---Japan---1982---108 mins.
Directed by: Yamamoto, Masashi
Running time: 108
Year: 1982
Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>In his first feature, maverick indie director Jim Finn delivers a modern-daycult classic way outside the realm of traditional Hollywood fare. With histrademark ironic humor, Finn uses propaganda, news footage, models, historicimages, and guinea pigs to fashion a film with distinct visuals and a unique point of view. Interkosmos also includes hip choreographed numbers a la Busby Berkeley set to retro 1970s music. Called one of the best undistributed films of 2006 by Indiewire magazine and the Best Shoestring Sci-Fi of" Jim Finn---USA---2006---71 mins.
Directed by: Finn, Jim
Running time: 71
Year: 2006
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>When filmmaker Mariana Otero was a young child, her mother disappeared. Thefamily told Mariana and her sister, Isabel, that she had gone to work in Parisand never returned. Twenty-five years later, Otero's father reveals the truthabout her mother, confessing the secret he alone had carried for so long--her mother had died in a back-alley abortion. History of a Secret moves the viewer emotionally while simultaneously raising social and political questions. Painfully honest" (Leslie Felperin Variety). In French wit"h optional English subtitles. Mariana Otero---France---2003---95 mins.
Directed by: Otero, Mariana
Running time: 95
Year: 2003
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Arturo Ripstein, one of Mexico's most outstanding filmmakers, updated theGreek tragedy Medea for this award-winning tale about women suffering in a man's world. Poor and uneducated, Julia lives in a seedy barrio in Mexico City where she practices homeopathic medicine and performs abortions to support her family. When her husband abandons her for another woman, Julia's world crumbles. She's thrown out of her apartment by her landlord--soon to be her husband's new father-in-law--and might lose her children. With the help of her godmother, she plans to take revenge on her low-life, opportunistic husband. Shot mostly on hand-held DV, Such Is Life, or Asi es la Vida, is a timeless tale crafted in a contemporary style. Innovative" (Village Voice). In Spanish with English subtitles." Arturo Ripstein---Mexico---2000---98 mins.
Directed by: Ripstein, Arturo
Running time: 98
Year: 2000
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>In this authoritative documentary, director Pierre-Henry Salfati traces thehistory of the Talmud--the repository of millennia of Jewish wisdom. In doingso, he posits the question: What comprises this cardinal text of Judaism?Originally passed down orally from master to student, the Talmud is the hidden face of the Torah, or Old Testament. It is a vast body of legal, mythic, and philosophical texts, as well as a mixture of religious commentary and debate, history and science, anecdote and humor. No other text has had such aninfluence on Jewish life, detailing the principles, ethical codes, and laws that serve as a guide for everyday conduct. The film also guides the viewer through the history of Jewish communities, concluding with present-day New York. Remarkable" (CBS Tele). In French English and German with" Pierre-Henry Salfati---France---2006---55 mins.
Directed by: Salfati, Pierre-Henr
Running time: 55
Year: 2006
French/English/German
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Franz Kafka, renowned author of The Metamorphosis and The Trial, is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Plagued by sleepwalking, Kafka wrote almost exclusively at night. Small wonder that his classic novels resemble dreams or, more precisely, nightmares. Who Was Kafka?, or Wer War Kafka?, explores this aspect of his life and much about the secretive and legendary literary figure who, according to director Richard Dindo, wrote perhaps the most beautiful letters in the history of" literature. Using actors to play the people who knew Kafka best the film features "interviews" with historical figures who respond using the actual words they wrote about their unique relationships with the writer. "A marvel of thorough research" The Book Republic. In French English or Germ"an with optional English and French subtitles. Richard Dindo---France---2005---96 mins.
Directed by: Dindo, Richard
Running time: 96
Year: 2005
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Independent filmmaker Masashi Yamamota, known for his edgy dramas that capturethe restless spirit of Japanese youth, appropriates The Adventures ofRobinson Crusoe and transplants it to present-day Tokyo. The story begins when Kumi discovers mysterious ruins on the outskirts of the city. Now overgrown, the haunting atmosphere of the garden" draws her in consuming her with its beauty color and fantasy. Just like Crusoe on his deserted island Kumi is lost and isolated in Robinson's Garden. Shot by Tom DiCillo, director of Living in Oblivion and Jim Jarmusch's frequent cinematographer. "Robinson's Garden is a true original...funny unpredictable quixotic magic" (Nigel Andrews Financial Times). In Masashi Yamamoto---Japan---1987---119 mins."
Directed by: Yamamoto, Masashi
Running time: 119
Year: 1987
Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Semyon Aranovich's documentary is a brilliant assembly of eyewitness testimonyand rare archival photographs and materials. The film records theMachiavellian power plays between Zhdanov, Andreyev, Khrushchev, Malenkov,Suslov and Molotov as they maneuvered for power and prestige to gain the inside track to becoming Stalin's successor. The film is a chilling record of the inner workings of an authoritarian state. In Russian with English Semyon Aranovich---USSR---1990---67 mins.
Directed by: Aranovich, Semyon
Running time: 67
Year: 1990
Russian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, wasdeeply indebted to Japan for its aesthetic inspiration. This is the story ofhow he repaid that debt. Wright sought refuge in Japan when he faced publiccondemnation at home. For six tumultuous years, he struggled to complete the enormous commission of the Hotel Imperial in Tokyo, which helped turn his career around. During the construction of the building, he forged several relationships with Japanese architects who went on to alter Japan's cityscapesand mentor a new generation of architects. Wright's obsession with Japan, and vice versa, vividly reminds us that the creative spirit knows no borders. A meticulous and eminently scholarly look...boasting authenticity and intellectual integrity" (Chicago Tribune)." Karen Severns/Koichi Mori---USA/Japan---2005---126 mins.
Directed by: Severns, K/Mori, K
Running time: 126
Year: 2005
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>This much anticipated follow-up to the first Experiments in Terror is a frightful collection of rare horror shorts. These low-budget, grainy, ghoulish works are perfect for a night of screams, especially if you're in the mood for some smart, surreal, and experimental horror that knows all the generic conventions and exactly how to break them. Includes The Mesmerist (Bill Morrison), The Early 70s Horro Trailer (Damon Packard), Psych-Burn (J.X. Williams), Between 2 Deaths (Wago Kreider), Amor Peligrosa (Michella Silva), Hold My Scissors (Usama Alshaibi), Opus 5 (Lloyd M. Williams), The Fear (Angel Nieves), and She Sank on Shallow Bank (Clifton Childree/Nikki Rollason). Curated by Noel Lawrence, with assistance from Craig Baldwin. USA, 1961-2006, 95 mins.
Directed by: Various
Running time: 95
Year: 1961
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:54 -0400
]]>In the tradition of magic realism, Leonardo Ricagni's A Dios Momo uses the carnival atmosphere to transport viewers to an enchanted time and place where reality and dreams collide. Obdulio, an 11-year-old Afro-Uruguayan boy from the streets, can neither read nor write. He lives with his grandmother and supports them by selling newspapers. One evening, he discovers that the night watchman at the newspaper is a magical Maestro who introduces the boy to the power of literacy and the meaning of life. Against the backdrop of Uruguay's stimulating carnival, the Maestro teaches Obdulio with the lyrics of the murgas the songs of the carnival. Achieves a rich visual and spiritual sensibility unparalleled today" (AFI Fest). In Spanish with English subtitles. Leonardo Ricagni---Uruguay---2005---100 mins."
Directed by: Ricagni, Leonardo
Running time: 100
Year: 2005
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Once known as the All American Dog the story of the pit bull is as tragicas it is intriguing. Pit bulls have gone from being America'ssweethearts--companions to everyone from the Little Rascals to HelenKeller--to being branded killer canines. American Pitbull explores the evolution of the breed from an upper-class working dog and beloved companion to a deadly fighter. It also examines stereotypes associated with the breed and includes footage of dog fighting, protection training, dog shows, bully Marilyn Braverman---USA---2007---63 mins.
Directed by: Braverman, Marilyn
Running time: 63
Year: 2007
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Best described as the Hungarian Waiting for Guffman, Szamba follows Otto Szamba Sr., the center of cultural activities in a small town near Budapest. He organizes festivals, a rowing squad, a choir, and, most importantly, a community theatre group, which all the children of the town embrace. All except Otto Jr., ashamed of his father's tendency to overact on stage and in real life. After some detours, though, Otto Jr. ends up a student of the Budapest Drama School. Along with the theme of generational differences, the conflict of communism vs. capitalism is predominant in this delightful, comic drama by Robert Koltai. In Hungarian with English subtitles. Robert Koltai---Hungary---1996---100 mins.
Directed by: Koltai, Robert
Running time: 100
Year: 1996
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Xperimental Eros delivers a searing spectacle of celluloid sensuality for the pleasure of the body's largest sex organ--the brain! Using exotic tropes and erotic footage from the world's oldest genre, this program of ardent auteurs spins grindhouse dross into art-house gold with perverse panache. Curated by Noel Lawrence, with films by Jeff Krulik, Mark Street, Tom Palazzolo, Naomi Uman, Thomas Draschan and Stella Friedrichs, Lewis Klahr, Peggy Ahwesh, Julia Ostertag, and Oscar Perez. USA, 2007, 93 mins.
Directed by: Various
Running time: 93
Year: 2007
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>In this critically-acclaimed, absurdist comedy from Malaysian New Wavefilmmaker James Lee, the effects of alienation and consumerism in anincreasingly mechanized modern world spiral out of control. Teoh (Loh BakLai), a working stiff, is forced to buy a second-hand washing machine, which quickly breaks down. After multiple calls to customer service, and through some surreal narrative logic, a young woman (or the embodiment of his temperamental washing machine) arrives and becomes his live-in maid, whom heexploits and rents out to demented strangers. An absurdist allegory on the perils of secondhand ownership...contains Bunuelian flourishes aplenty" (David Ng Village Voice). In Mandarin and Cantonese with English subtitles. James Lee---Malaysia---2004---113 mins."
Directed by: Lee, James
Running time: 113
Year: 2004
Mandarin/Cantonese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>This controversial documentary created a storm in Russia by taking the cloakoff a violent, repressive period of Soviet history. Filmmaker Semyon Aranovichfound the last surviving personal bodyguard of Josef Stalin, who began workingfor the dictator in the 1930s. I Was Stalin's Bodyguard weaves together unprecedented, first-hand testimony with rare footage, including Stalin's home movies. What emerges is a singular portrait of a violent and complex era during which Stalin consolidated his power through brutal repressions, yet led the Soviet Union to victory in World War II. Aranovish has a nice sense of irony" (David Robinson London Times). In Russian with English Semyon Aranovich---USSR---1989---73 mins."
Directed by: Aranovich, Semyon
Running time: 73
Year: 1989
Russian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Over at the Big Ranch was one of the earliest box-office successes of Mexico's Golden Era and the first to demonstrate that Latin American audiences expected Mexican movies from Mexico, not duplicates of Hollywood productions. As a precursor of the charro film" and "comedia ranchera" genres Out at Big Ranch features singing cowboys golden-hearted bandits and beautiful senoritas. Popular radio singer Tito Guizar plays wandering ranch-hand Jose Francisco who falls in love with" duckling-turned-swan Cruz (Esther Fernandez). It's a shame the owner of Rancho Grande also has designs on her. In Spanish with English subtitles. Fernando De Fuentes---Mexico---1936---95 mins.
Directed by: De Fuentes, Fernando
Running time: 95
Year: 1936
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The Bubble Club sofa, BIC Cristal pen, Akari lamp, Hoover 150 vacuum cleaner,Citroen DS 19 automobile, and iMac computer embodied the two requirements of agreat design--they were innovative and aesthetically pleasing. Fortunately fortheir designers, they were also instant successes with the public and had a commanding influence on future product lines. Design not only explores the development and concept of each of these archetypal products, but uses each as a lens to examine a larger historical context. Combining archival images and film excerpts with music and other pieces of popular culture, this unique documentary outlines the social, political, and cultural climate in which each item was invented. Cleverly allows us to view the 20th century from a new angle" (L.A. Tribune). In French with optional English and" Danielle Schirman/Anna-Celia Kendall---France---2006---156 mins.
Directed by: Schirman/Kendall
Running time: 156
Year: 2006
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Amin Haghi, a young writer for Iran's most liberal magazine, is accused ofinsulting the state when he publishes his dead brother's war memoirs. As hesits in jail, his girlfriend and buddies try to make bail so they can be withhim while he awaits trial. After little success, someone hits upon the idea of renting out Amin's family home for special celebrations. The plan works until they inadvertently host a raucous party with alcohol and loud western music. Part love story, part social commentary, Party exposes the suffering of Iranian society at the hands of a repressive government, especially in relation to press censorship. Almost banned by authorities, this controversial drama was directed by Saman Moghadam (Siavash, Cafe Setareh), whose films entertain as much as they explore and critique. In Farsi with Saman Moghadam---Iran---2000---88 mins.
Directed by: Moghadam, Saman
Running time: 88
Year: 2000
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The directorial debut of Saman Moghadam (Cafe Setareh) broke a number" of barriers (New YorktTimes). This drama captures the mood of Iran jus"t after the Iran-Iraq war, in which a younger generation was less fervent about religion and more concerned with leading peaceful lives. Rock musician Siavash is set to play his first show with his band when he decides to visit the tomb of his father--martyred in the war--to seek his blessing. After the concert, Siavash learns his father is actually alive and has returned to Tehran with other POWs. Distraught and confused, the young man turns to his photojournalist girlfriend for support. The film was originally banned by authorities for featuring rock music and depicting public interactions between young men and women. In Persian with English subtitles. Saman Moghadam---Iran---1998---88 mins.
Directed by: Moghadam, Saman
Running time: 88
Year: 1998
Persian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>A breakthrough of major significance in ethnographic film" (Film"Quarterly), Two Laws is the story of an Aboriginal community from the remote Northern Territory of Australia told through their own eyes and through their own narrative traditions. With dramatic, sensual visuals and dreamlike pacing, the Aboriginal filmmakers trace the history of their struggle to reclaim their lands and the problems faced living under Two Laws"--one a centuries-old Aboriginal code the other the brutal rule of law imposed by" European settlers. This approach offers a completely different logic to documenting history and culture, and the result is a fascinating film that not only pushes past the boundaries of documentary, but challenges the stilted style of ethnographic film typically found on television. In Aboriginal Carolyn Strachan/Alessandro Cavadini---Australia---1981---140 mins.
Directed by: Strachan/Cavadini
Running time: 140
Year: 1981
Aboriginal with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Worlds apart from anime and close to experimental film, Japanese animatorNaoyuki Tsuji creates a distinctive universe with a few simple, hand-drawnlines in charcoal and pastel. What first appears to be childlike crudeness inhis animation is actually subtle, strange, and even haunting and frightening" (The Guardian). Tsuji's films captivate us because they are vague recollections of beguiling childhood dreams and memories--the wonder of the puppet show the mystery of clouds and the attraction of monsters. This" collection includes Trilogy About Clouds, A Feather Stares at the Dark, Experiment, Travel to the Lost World, Wake Up, and For Almost Forgotten Stories. In Japanese with English subtitles. Naoyuki Tsuji---Japan---1992-2005---47 mins.
Directed by: Tsuji, Naoyuki
Running time: 47
Year: 1992
Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>A week in the life of Allen Ginsberg spent with Hungarian writer, poet, andtranslator Istvan Eorsi, and a small camera crew in the streets of New York.Sharing thoughtful discussions with the famed American Beat poet, Eorsihimself was known for his sarcastic, often abrasive style and passionately held political views on revisionist Marxism and the 1956 Hungarian revolution, for which he was subsequently jailed. Eorsi died of leukemia in 2005, but his transnational engagement with the poetry is kept alive in this documentary.Vivid funny and filled with all manner of spontaneous poetry" (J. Gyula Gazdag---Hungary---1997---96 mins."
Directed by: Gazdag, Gyula
Running time: 96
Year: 1997
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>La Guerrilla y la Esperanza celebrates the life of Lucio Cabanas, who led one of the most important peasant revolts in Mexico's history. Teacher-turned-guerrilla leader Cabanas was beloved by the poor of South Mexico, scorned by his government, and closely watched by the CIA. In a seven-year campaign of theft, kidnappings, and shootouts, Cabanas acquired a mystique reminiscent of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. Ruthlessly gunned down in 1974 by the Mexican army, Cabanas is remembered fondly in the mountains of Guerrero where he still symbolizes commitment to the poor. Testimonies from former guerrilla fighters, companions, relatives, and historians tell his story and explain why there have been so many armed social uprisings in Mexico in the last century. The Guerilla & the Hope was nominated for a Silver Ariel for Best Documentary Feature. In Spanish with Gerardo Tort---Mexico---2005---111 mins.
Directed by: Tort, Gerardo
Running time: 111
Year: 2005
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>I am to the crime novel in specific what Tolstoy is to the Russian novel and"what Beethoven is to music, boasts James Ellroy an American crime fiction"writer who was both cursed and blessed by his mother's brutal murder in 1958.Haunted by the slaying, it became the focal point of his work. In this stylish documentary, narrated by Ellroy himself, the writer visits his dark places literally and figuratively, as he returns to his mother's murder scene and ruminates on the meaning of her death. As the author of L.A.Confidential and Black Dahlia, Ellroy expanded the boundaries of hard-boiled fiction while also tapping into the moody atmosphere of film Clara Kuperberg/Robert Kuperberg---France---2006---52 mins.
Directed by: Kuperberg, Clara/Rob
Running time: 52
Year: 2006
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>For her ambitious debut, documentary filmmaker Maria Finitzo followed fiveadolescent girls for two years, resulting in this authentic portrait of youngwomen at a pivotal point in their lives. Unlike the media, which depicts mostgirls of this age as passive, powerless, or overly sexualized, Five Girls focuses on the positive ways they adapt to challenges in their lives by understanding their choices, resisting pervasive cultural messages, and believing in their own strengths. The girls are all right" (People" Magazine). Produced in association with Kartemquin Films. Maria Finitzo---USA---2001---120 mins.
Directed by: Finitzo, Maria
Running time: 120
Year: 2001
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The second installment in this series of award-winning films from Africaincludes Kollo Sanou's Tasuma (2003, 90 mins., French and Jula with English subtitles), a comic look at the impact of Western colonialism on Africa. Retired from the French army, West African native Sogo waits patiently for his pension, which he plans to use to build a grain mill for the women of his village. When the money does't arrive, he and the villagers take matters into their own hands. Tasuma camouflages its razor-sharp indignation" with warmth and disarming grace (Village Voice). Next is Dani Kouyate's Sia the Dream of the Python (2001 96 mins. Bambara with English subtitles) a modern adaptation of a seventh-century African legend. A poor village decides it must make a human sacrifice to a mystical snake god to" guarantee a better future. Sia, the most beautiful woman in the village, is chosen for the ritual, but she runs away in revolt. Delivers a powerful commentary on how governments lie no matter who runs them" (New York Kollo Daniel Sanou/Dani Kouyate---Burkina Faso/France---2003/2001---186 min"s.
Directed by: Abdoulaye Ascofare / Drissa Toure
Running time: 186
Year: 2007
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The first in a series of award-winning films from Africa, which includesDrissa Toure's Haramuya (Burkina Faso/France, 1995, 87 mins., French and Bambara with English subtitles), a lively dramatic feature about cultural and economic disparities in the capital city of Burkina Faso. These social conflicts are revealed through the trials of a Muslim family caught between the traps of modernity and the sway of tradition. Haramuya is an urban chronicle a gallery of portraits in situations which create a colorful" mosaic (Cannes Film Festival). In Abbdoulaye Ascofare's Faraw! Mother of the Dunes (Mali1997 90 mins. Songhoi with English subtitles) a mother of three tries desperately to keep her family alive upon the return of her mentally and physically destroyed husband a political prisoner. Determined"to have her children survive without prostituting her beautiful daughter, her struggle symbolizes the plight of all African women trapped in a cycle of extreme poverty. One of the strongest portraits of female determination to Drissa Toure/Abbdoulaye Ascofare---Burkina Faso/France/Mali---1995/1997---17"7 mins.
Directed by: Abdoulaye Ascofare / Drissa Toure
Running time: 177
Year: 2007
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Kazuo Hara, who rattled the Japanese establishment with The Emperor's NakedArmy Marches On and Goodbye CP, turns his camera on controversial writer Mitsuharu Inoue in this powerful documentary. Originally intending to spend years on the project, Hara was forced to change his plan when he discovered Inoue was dying of cancer. The result is a moving work that captures the essence of this contentious writer's life and the significance of his death. Not only a tribute to a courageous man, A Dedicated Life also reveals Hara's dedication to outsiders, mavericks, and nonconformists. Riveting viewing...extremely moving" (Variety). In Japanese with Kazuo Hara---Japan---1994---157 mins."
Directed by: Hara, Kazuo
Running time: 157
Year: 1994
Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Cafe Setareh focuses on three women--Fariba, Saloomeh, and Moluk--in a triptych of warm-hearted, interwoven stories set in contemporary Tehran. Fariba operates a cafe, while her alcoholic, unemployed husband sponges off her; Saloomeh debates whether to marry Ebi, whose one good deed doesn't make up for his mean, controlling streak; and Moluk, a middle-aged landlady, pines for a man who has problems of his own. Directed by talented newcomer Saman Moghadam (Maxx). Subtle affectionately humorous and poignant...a" classic woman's picture (Los Angeles Times). In Persian with English Saman Moghadam---Iran---2005---102 mins."
Directed by: Moghadam, Saman
Running time: 102
Year: 2005
Persian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>This beautiful adventure shot on the savannahs of Kenya depicts a community'squest to bring rain to their land, ensuring their survival. A band of youngMasai warriors sets out to kill a mystical lion, which they are told will endthe drought plaguing their village. Barely teenagers, they are untested, unskilled, and unsure whether the lion actually exists. This debut fiction film from Pascal Plisson, a devoted nature documentarian, is the first picture to be solely populated by real-life Masai and spoken entirely in their nativetongue. A lush blend of the exotic and the deeply human" (Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune). In Maa with English subtitles. Pascal Plisson---Kenya/France---2004---94 mins."
Directed by: Plisson, Pascal
Running time: 94
Year: 2004
Maa with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Benedicte Lienard's visually inventive and socially conscious drama draws boldconnections between a woman imprisoned for labor violence (Severine Caneele,L'Humanite) and her co-workers at a large French factory. Lienard scrupulously documents the dehumanizing aspects of both worlds without letting her film descend into didacticism. Visually dazzling" (Variety). Also known as Une Part du Ciel. In French with English subtitles. Benedicte Lienard---France---2002---84 mins."
Directed by: Lienard, Benedicte
Running time: 84
Year: 2002
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>A collection of the major films of Luc Moullet, the unknown genius of theFrench New Wave and long-time Cahiers du Cinema critic. The set includes: The Smugglers (1967, 81 mins.), which exploits its low budget to offer a digressive and aggressive slapstick comedy; the psychedelic western A Girl Is a Gun (1971, 100 mins.), starring iconic actor Jean-Pierre Leaud; Brigitte and Brigitte (1966, 75 mins.), in which the titular heroines move to Paris to study cinema at the Sorbonne, featuring cameos by Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Andre Techine, and Sam Fuller; Up and Down (1992, 84 mins.), a French TV production that follows a group of cyclists struggling up the winding slopes of the Alps; Anatomy of a Relationship (1975, 79 mins.), a delirious dissection of two intellectuals who can't quite make their sex life work; and Genesis of a Meal (1978, 112 mins.), an economic comparison, from the production to consumption stage, of a can of Senegalese tuna, a French omelet, an Ecuadorian banana, and a reel of 35mm film--all staples in the director's diet. Moullet's films are a mixture" of Monty Python and Mike Leigh (Sight & Sound). In French with optional Luc Moullet---France---1966-1992---606 mins."
Directed by: Mullet, Luc
Running time: 604
Year: 1966
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>In this fractured fairy tale for adults, two thieves--Vaska and Vanya--stealthe czar's treasure from the Bank of St. Petersburg by opening the roof with asardine can opener taken from the nest of a griffin. And this is only thestart of their misadventures: Vaska is temporarily beheaded, the Red Guards are hot on their heels, and copious amounts of Vodka are consumed by all. Set in Soviet Russia, Vaska Easoff was derived from a mythical story passed among prisoners of the Communist labor camps. It imaginatively satirizes life under Communist rule, while harking back to classic Russian folktales. Visually dazzling" (Variety). In Russian and Hungarian with English Peter Gothar---Hungary---1996---86 mins."
Directed by: Gothar, Peter
Running time: 86
Year: 1996
Russian/Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Contemporary Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad became a legend in her own timefor her innovative and controversial writings. In this extensive, three-partdocumentary, Farrokhzad's life, work, and soul are laid bare. Director NasserSaffarian deftly combines interviews with family members and peers with footage of Farrokhzad shot by Bernardo Bertolucci. Saffarian digs deep into her personal and professional life to uncover new information about this outspoken artist. Includes The Green Cold, a revealing look at her private world, The Mirror of the Soul, an exploration of her controversial, sometimes erotic poetry, and Summit of the Wave, an overview of her theater and film work, especially her powerful documentary Nasser Saffarian---Iran---2000-2004---152 mins.
Directed by: Saffarian, Nasser
Running time: 152
Year: 2002
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Maverick documentary filmmaker Kazuo Hara once again criticizes the mores andcustoms of Japanese society in this unsentimental portrait of adults withcerebral palsy. Focusing on how the CP victims are generally ignored ordisregarded in Japan, Hara challenges his society's taboos about physical handicaps. Using a deliberately harsh style, with grainy black-and-white photography and out-of-sync sound, Hara brings a stark realism to his subject that is raw and fresh. Also known as Sayonara CP. In Japanese with Kazuo Hara---Japan---1972---82 mins.
Directed by: Hara, Kazuo
Running time: 82
Year: 1972
Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Exiled Chilean director Raul Ruiz offers up three films that showcase hisvisually intense, highly metaphysical style. In Three Crowns of theSailor (France, 1983, 117 mins.), a surreal drama based on the Chilo myth of Caleuche or The Ship of the Dead a sailor spins fantastical yarns of far-off brothels, opium dens, and exotic characters for a young boy who just committed murder. Sacha Vierny (Night and Fog) lends his beautiful black-and-white lensing to the avant-garde staple The Hypothesis of a Stolen Painting (France, 1979, 63 mins.), in which a pompous art collector guides a tour through a fantastic gallery of living images." As the human artworks begin to smirk and fidget a new level of spectatorship is introduced into this daring meditation on the relationship between words and images. An"d in The Suspended Vocation (France, 1978, 96 mins.), based on a Pierre Klossowski novel about his experiences in the seminary during the German Occupation, Ruiz uses a complex parallel narrative to offer a critical examination of the mysteries of the Catholic Church. In French with optional Raul Ruiz---France---1978-1983---276 mins.
Directed by: Ruiz, Raul
Running time: 276
Year: 2007
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The short stories of Nobel Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez inspiredDon't Fool with Love, a trilogy of torrid tales steeped in the style of Marquez's magic realism. In The Two Way Mirror (Carlos Garcia Agraz, 1990, 27 mins.), a young woman about to wed the son of a prominent family discovers that she can see through time in her bedroom mirror, which begins a steamy romance with a 19th-century soldier. In Saturday Night Thief (Jose Luis Garcia Agraz, 1992, 25 mins.), a lonely woman whose husband is away finds herself strangely attracted to the bandit who breaks into her mansion. And in Far Apart (1991, 27 mins.), famed Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea (Strawberry and Chocolate, Memories of Underdevelopment) spins a tragic yarn about two lovers' marriage plans that go awry one fateful night in 1956, and a letter received by the would-be bride 35 years later, leading her back. In Spanish with English subtitles. Carlos Garcia Agraz/Jose Luis Garcia Agraz/Tomas Gutierrez Alea---Mexico---1990-1992---91 mins.
Directed by: Agraz/Agraz/Alea
Running time: 91
Year: 1990
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Pugs are my life exclaims a passionate dog lover, and this amusingdocumentary reveals why. Friendly, warm, and with great personalities, theselittle dogs inspire abject devotion and loyalty in their owners. There are pugbooks, pug art, pug parks, pug rescue groups, and pug social clubs. A Pug's Life explores how these little canines are used for therapy, make perfect companions for children and adults, and attract customers to retail businesses. Lively, entertaining, and informative, this film will pug" (no" pug" intended) at the heart of every animal lover. As seen on PBS. Marilyn Braverman---USA---2003---50 mins."
Directed by: Braverman, Marilyn
Running time: 50
Year: 2003
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Emerging from the L.A. underground in the year 2000, a self-proclaimed video"band called TV Sheriff & The Trail Buddies hit the scene with their twisted"take on performance art and VJ remixing. They have since taken their uniqueact to venues worldwide, providing animated commentary on the state of mind control in the USA. The Trail Buddies focus on the banality of television, creating rhythmic collages from clips of absurd broadcast moments. Besides their virtuoso sampling, the madcap ensemble creates original (and hilarious!)karaoke-style ditties on mass-media manipulation. Not 4 Sale is the culmination of years of shredded/edited video-music compositions and live performances that lampoon as well as pay tribute to the world of TV commercials, game shows, televangelists and network news programs. USA---2007---97 mins.
Directed by: video band itself
Running time: 92
Year: 2007
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Georg Buchner's play, filmed several times before (including a memorableadaptation by Werner Herzog), is brought to the screen again with vivid,chilling results by Janos Szasz. Living in desperate poverty, harassed by hismanager at the railyard and ignored by his wife, troubled Woyzeck allows himself to be the subject of medical testing in order to support his family. He finally reaches his limit when he discovers his wife having an affair with a policeman and the betrayal pushes him to violence. The black-and-whitephotography effectively captures the bleak emotional landscape. A stark boldly expressive nod to the shadows and angles of silent-era German cinema" (Onion A.V. Club). Winner of the Felix Prize at the 1994 Berlin Film Janos Szasz---Hungary---1994---93 mins."
Directed by: Szasz, Janos
Running time: 93
Year: 1994
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The stunning feature debut of one of Mexico's leading female directors, MariaNovaro, offering a fresh perspective on motherhood, a prominent theme in LatinAmerican cinema. Lola is a young mother abandoned by the rock singer whofathered her daughter. Lonely and trapped in a life she did not choose, Lola vacillates back and forth between guilty responsibility and careless denial. A Berlin International Film Festival winner, Lola is a dark, daring drama of great truth and insight. A significant debut in contemporary cinema" (Variety). In Spanish with English subtitles. Maria Novaro---Mexico---1990---93 mins.
Directed by: Donner, Richard
Running time: 88
Year: 1969
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Cogent, complex, and classically composed, the documentaries of Johan van derKeuken reveal his lifelong curiosity about the ever-changing world and itsinhabitants. His films stretch the boundaries of both documentary andnarrative fiction, resulting in a uniquely personal style that is as daring as it is compassionate. Volume 2 features Amsterdam Global Village, an epic portrait of van der Keuken's hometown and the people who live there, as well as Brass Unbound, Sarajevo Film Festival Film, Time/Work, To Sang Fotostudio, Amsterdam Afterbeat, Ramon Gieling's documentary Living With Your Eyes, and Thierry Nouel's Johan van der Keuken and L'Entretien. Arguably Europe's most important documentary filmmaker" (New York Times). In Dutch English and French with" French, English, and Dutch subtitles. Spanish subtitles for Discs 2 and 3 only. Johan van der Keuken---Netherlands---1993-2001---535 mins.
Directed by: Van Der Keuken, Johan
Running time: 535
Year: 1993
French English Dutch
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>First-time director Mania Akbari explores the heartbreak and joy of romanticrelationships through the stories of seven couples searching for happiness.Comprising seven vignettes, the film features the same two actors in eachepisode, each time as different characters whose problems unfold in conversations, quarrels, and altercations. Some issues are universal--jealousy, adultery, abortion. Others reveal the personal hardships and political realities exclusive to modern-day Iran, and especially forwomen. Simultaneously wrenching and uplifting, private and universal, 20 Fingers reveals a director on the cutting edge of filmmaking in her country. Received the Cinema Digitale Award at the Venice International Film Mania Akbari---Iran---2004---72 mins.
Directed by: Akbari, Mania
Running time: 72
Year: 2004
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>In this intensely intimate documentary, filmmaker Kazuo Hara takes on a verydifficult subject: his former lover, Takeda Miyuki. A feminist bisexual in1970s Japan, Miyuki is a maverick in a rigid society driven by convention. Asmuch a participant in this film as he is the filmmaker, Hara follows Miyuki to Okinawa and documents her uncommon life as his feelings unravel in front of the camera. As Hara himself confessed, I like to make something happen and then shoot it." With its grainy black and white scenes and its out-of-synch"sound, Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 creates the illusion of a home movie, but its intimacy pushed the bounds of the documentary cinema in Japan. In Japanese with English subtitles. Kazuo Hara---Japan---1974---97 mins.
Directed by: Hara, Kazuo
Running time: 97
Year: 1974
Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Luc Moullet, original member of the French New Wave and long-time critic forCahiers du Cinema, directed these distinctive documentaries that resonate with his absurdist view and maverick vision. Anatomy of a Relationship (1975, 79 mins.) is a delirious dissection of the dilemmas of two intellectuals who can't quite make their sex life work. Moullet stars as himself in this fearless confessional about his relationship with his wife. Genesis of a Meal (1978, 112 mins.) involves an economic comparison, from the production to consumption stage, of a can of Senegalese tuna, a French omelet, an Ecuadorian banana, and a reel of 35mm film--all staples in Moullet's diet." "A powerful non-comic documentary" (Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader). In French with English subtitles." Luc Moullet---France---1975/1978---191 mins.
Directed by: Moullet, Luc
Running time: 191
Year: 1975
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>This absorbing documentary follows Kenzo Okuzaki--a veteran of Japan's WWIIcampaign in New Guinea--as he searches out those responsible for themysterious deaths of several soldiers in his unit. Though he holds EmperorHirahito accountable for all the suffering caused by WWII, he painstakingly tracks down former military officers and accuses them of specific war crimes, often times abusing them verbally and physically. Director Kazua Hara's subtle cinema verite not only captures the zeal of Okuzaki's lifelong mission, but also exposes the atrocities committed by the Japanese military against its own soldiers. The film created such controversy in Japan upon release that no major distributor would touch it. The most amazing piece of filmmaking" (Michael Moore). Winner of the Caligari Prize at the Berlin International Film" Festival. In Japanese with English subtitles. Kazuo Hara---Japan---1987---122 mins.
Directed by: Hara, Kazuo
Running time: 122
Year: 1987
Japanese with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Joaquina has never married, but she makes up for it by going to see silentmovies, letting her imagination run wild. One day, she takes her fantasies toofar and writes a letter to legendary western hero Tom Mix--the King of theCowboys--imploring him to save her small village from marauding bandits. Mi Querido Tom Mix features many of Mexico's veteran stars and character actors, including Ana Ofelia Murguia (The Garden of Eden), Federico Luppi (Pan's Labyrinth), and heartthrob Eduardo Palomo (Wild Heart). A charming conceit" (Time Out London). In Spanish with Carlos Garcia Agraz---Mexico---1991---120 mins."
Directed by: Agraz, Carlos Garcia
Running time: 120
Year: 1991
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>This violent, sultry update of Sophocles' classic tale of patricide and incestwas co-written by Nobel Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez (A Very Old Manwith Enormous Wings). Set in modern-day Columbia, the drama revolves around a local mayor sent to a small town in the Andes to negotiate peace among guerrilla revolutionaries, peasants, and the Columbian army. A torrid romance with the prickly widow of a warlord sparks the young man's tragic downfall. The stunning cinematography of the lush Columbian landscape comes courtesy of acclaimed cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain, Babel). In Spanish with English subtitles. Jorge Ali Triana---Mexico/Spain/Columbia---1996---100 mins.
Directed by: Triana, Jorge Ali
Running time: 100
Year: 1996
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Two early short films by Russian auteur Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) are collected in Elegy of the Land. Both of these moody, melancholy works emphasize the significance of the Russian land to its people on an almost spiritual level. Maria, made in memory of Russian peasant Maria Semionovna Voinova, serves as a requiem for a hard-working woman as well as a lament over the loss of her a way of life--after she died, her secrets and work methods died with her. The Last Day of a Rainy Summer, shot in 1978 on a collective farm, captures the daily routines of a community whose lifestyle was fading even as it was being chronicled. In Russian with optional English, French, Spanish, or Italian subtitles. Alexander Sokurov---USSR---1977-1988---66 mins.
Directed by: Sokurov, Alexander
Running time: 66
Year: 1977
Russian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>From Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) comes two shorts caught in the cross-section of painting and film. In Elegy of a Voyage (2002, 47 mins.), a rapturous meditation haunted by moonlight and falling snow" (Th"e Village Voice), Sokurov crosses vast terrain, sails the high seas, and stumbles through congested cities to arrive at the doors of the empty Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam. Only then does he discover that the goal of his voyage was to bask in the power of St. Mary's Square, a beautiful landscapeby Peter Saenredam. In Hubert Robert, A Fortunate Life (1996, 26 mins.), the director meditates on the work of French romantic artist Hubert Robert, whose paintings of lost ruins evoke the same nostalgia and lyricism of Sokurov's own moody films. In Russian with optional English, Spanish, and Alexander Sokurov---Russia---2002/1996---73 mins.
Directed by: Sokurov, Alexander
Running time: 73
Year: 2002
Russian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Adapted from a contemporary Hungarian best-seller by Zsuzsa Racz, this breezyromantic comedy features rising star Gabriella Hamori as the cute, quirky KataKeki. A successful career girl, Kata decides to stop doing good for others andfocus on her quest for Mr. Right. Her brother Miki and her friends try to keep her on the right track, but her mom continuously pressures her to settle down. Like Bridget Jones goes to Budapest" (Variety). In Hungarian with English Subtitles." Peter Bergendy---Hungary---2004---127 mins.
Directed by: Bergendy, Peter
Running time: 127
Year: 2004
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Luc Moullet, original member of the French New Wave and long-time Cahiersdu Cinema critic, directed these two idiosyncratic comedies with a modern eye and an absurdist wit. In Brigitte and Brigitte, the titular heroines meet by chance and move to Paris together, where they enroll at the Sorbonne and take crash courses in cinephilia. Costarring roles and amusing cameos by famous directors (Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Andre Techine, and Sam Fuller) only add to the film's charm. Up and Down, partly inspired by Dadaist playwright Alfred Jarry's The Passion Considered as an Uphill Bicycle Race, follows a group of cyclists as they struggle up the winding slopes of the Alps. Some cheat, some conduct business, and one even wears a tutu! Moullet's films are a mixture of Monty Python and Mike Leigh" (Sight &" Sound). In French with English subtitles. Luc Moullet---France---1966/1992---156 mins.
Directed by: Moullet, Luc
Running time: 156
Year: 1966
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>A visionary feature film from Riri Riza that revolutionized the Indonesianfilm industry. Set against a pulsating backdrop of modern-day Jakarta, thiselectrifying drama tells the story of a woman from a small-town in WestSumatra who moves to the big city. Pulled between the old and the new, between tradition and rejuvenation, Eliana's mother and her childhood home keep popping back into her cosmopolitan life. The same piquant energy as Wong Kar-Wai's Fallen Angels" (Variety). In Indonesian with English" Riri Riza---Indonesia---2002---86 mins.
Directed by: Riza, Riri
Running time: 86
Year: 2002
Indonesian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>From the mind of Luc Moullet, the unknown genius of the French New Wave, comesthis pair of riotous comedies that capture the movement's sense of dislocationand anarchy. Maybe the best film not made by Godard" (Jean-Marie Straub),The Smugglers is the story of two women who run packages and people between warring nations. A wacky take on the action-adventure tale the film exploits its low budget to offer a digressive and aggressive slapstick comedy. Jean-Pierre Leaud the iconic actor of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel series", stars as a gunslinger on the run in A Girl Is a Gun, a notorious, psychedelic French western that swings wildly between offbeat comedy and delirious experimentation. Like many nouvelle vague milestones, this tale of lust and revenge is heavily indebted to classic Hollywood films while toying with generic conventions at the same time. In French with English Luc Moullet---France---1967/1971---151 mins.
Directed by: Mullet, Luc
Running time: 151
Year: 1967
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>From Tahmineh Milani (Two Women) comes this irreverent romantic comedy with saucy dialogue and a pointed insight into modern marriage. Sayeh, an exasperated newlywed, stumbles into a psychiatrist's office, where she unloads about her chauvinist husband, Yousef, played by hunky Iranian star Mohammad Reza Golzar. But the immature Sayeh is not without blame--her constant bickering antagonizes Yousef instead of enlightening him. Variety describes Cease Fire as an Iranian Mr. and Mrs. Smith." In Far"si Tahmineh Milani---Iran---2006---105 mins.
Directed by: Milani, Tahmineh
Running time: 105
Year: 2006
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The first film by Hungarian director Istvan Szots tells the story of awoodcutter who moves his family into the serene mountains of Transylvania insearch of a better life, only finding tragedy instead. Deviating frommainstream comedies and melodramas of wartime Hungary, this film captures the hardships of people living in such a beautiful yet harsh environment. Also known as People of the Alps, the film was shot on location in Transylvania with a straightforward realist aesthetic and a devotion to the details of daily life, both of which made a sizeable impression on the emerging Italian Neorealists. Winner of the Biennale Award at the Venice Film Istvan Szots---Hungary---1942---90 mins.
Directed by: Szots, Istvan
Running time: 90
Year: 1942
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>A beautiful 20-year-old Gypsy girl, crippled in an accident, relives herobsessive, ultimately destructive sexual relationship with a marriedbusinessman through the diary she keeps. Structured through memories thatslowly reveal the price she paid for her passion, this is a dark yet sensual portrayal of the psychological depths of physical love. Also known as School of Sensitivity. Official Selection at the Prague Film Festival. Andras Solyom---Hungary---1995---90 mins.
Directed by: Solyom, Andras
Running time: 90
Year: 1995
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>When Mama Santos declares, Something bad is going to happen" in"Presagio, it becomes a bad omen rather than a mere statement. Her provincial town quickly transforms from a close-knit village into a virtual ghost town. Few townsfolk can find work; guilt and hatred permeate the community with devastating results. As Mama Santos (Anita Blanch) watches one resident after another vacate the premises, her self-fulfilling prophecy comes full circle. Written by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez, with photography by Gabriel Figueroa (Los Olvidados), and directed by Luis Luis Alcoriza---Mexico---1974---118 mins.
Directed by: Alcoriza, Luis
Running time: 118
Year: 1974
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>A powerful, true story of a West African refugee's fight to survive in aGerman city that does not welcome him is told in this fictionalizedreconstruction of the actual events. Frederic Otomo (Isaac de Bankole), animmigrant lacking the papers that would allow him to find proper employment, gets by with the aid of a Catholic charity. The target of verbal abuse and institutionalized racism, Otomo finally reaches his breaking point and physically assaults an intolerant subway attendant. Fleeing from the scene, hebecomes the target of a city-wide manhunt. A tough exploration of intolerance and dislocation" (A.O. ScottThe New York Times). In German with English Frieder Schlaich---Germany---1999---84 mins."
Directed by: Schlaich, Frieder
Running time: 84
Year: 1999
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>In the stunning debut feature from writer/director Paolo Franchi, a detached,lonely interpreter becomes obsessed with a doctor who lives opposite herapartment. She abandons everything to obsessively and secretly follow him,leading to an ambiguous, entangling love triangle between her, the doctor and the doctor's lover. In Italian with English subtitles. Paolo Franchi---Italy---2004---98 mins.
Directed by: Franchi, Paolo
Running time: 98
Year: 2004
Italian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>In October 1967, documentary filmmaker George Paul Csicsery was beaten bypolice at an antiwar demonstration in Oakland, California. Thirty years later,he set out to find the policemen who were working that day. His only clue--astartling news photograph of himself begin clubbed by stern-faced cops. Take a trip back to America's turbulent 1960s as Csicsery visits a group of retired Oakland, California, policemen, who recall their days battling antiwar demonstrators and Black Panthers. ...an intimate portrait of a pivotal time"George Paul Csicsery---USA---2005---60 mins.
Directed by: Csicsery, George P
Running time: 60
Year: 2005
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>With exceptional force, this riveting documentary depicts one of the mostcontroversial historical events of the 20th Century: the assassination of LeonTrotsky. Expelled from his homeland, Trotsky is allowed to reside in Mexicoafter Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo used their influence to assist his relocation. But tragedy unfolds when Ramon Mercader, one of Lenin's loyal followers, locates Trotsky's hiding place in Coyoacan. Through probing interviews and rare archival footage, the film probes Mercader's motivationsand his subsequent silence. Fascinating viewing" (Time Out London). In Jose Luis Lopez-Linares/Javier Rioyo---Spain---1996---96 mins."
Directed by: Linares, J/Rioyo, J.
Running time: 96
Year: 1996
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Masterfully remixed by comic cut-ups Jim Fetterley and Rich Bott, these wildlyinventive montages are jam-packed with uncanny juxtapositions, startlingdislocations, and ingenious visual rhymes. By re-editing elements assembledfrom the banal detritus of infomercials, corporate videos, and late-night TV, Fetterley and Bott scramble media codes and create a kind of tic-ridden, convulsive collage that re-invests conventional forms with subversive meanings. Animal Charm use sight and sound to generate a particular type of"laughter: the uncanny kind that overtakes you like a seizure (San Jim Fetterley/Rich Bott---USA---1996-2005---86 mins."
Directed by: Fetterley, J/Bott,R
Running time: 86
Year: 1998
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>A deft blend of comedy and pathos, Robert Koltai's film sets the tumultuouslives of twin circus clowns against watershed moments in 20th centuryHungarian history. Born and raised in a gypsy circus somewhere in thebackwaters of Eastern Europe, twin brothers and clowns Naphthalene and Dodo fall afoul of the local Communist Party when a joke goes awry. Dodo takes the fall for his hapless brother and lands in the gulag, while Naphthalene unwittingly sets in motion events that lead to revolution. ...an engaging"comedy of survival (The Los Angeles Times). In Hungarian with English Robert Koltai---Hungary---2004---95 mins."
Directed by: Koltai, Robert
Running time: 95
Year: 2004
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>Continuing his exploration of architecture as autobiography documentarianHeinz Emigholz focuses here on the work of Swiss artist, civil engineer, andlegendary bridge builder Robert Maillart. On a basic level, Maillart'sBridges is a study of reinforced concrete, which sounds admittedly dull on paper. However, Emigholz skews facts and dates in favor of freeform visual poetry, using shots of Maillart's revolutionary bridges to convey the creativity necessary to turn cold, hard concrete into curved, soaring, expressive structures. In doing so, the film captures our potential capacity to intuit life through the man-made forms around us" (Nicole Armour Film Comment). In German with English subtitles. Heinz Emigholz---Germany---2001---114 mins."
Directed by: Emigholz, Heinz
Running time: 114
Year: 2001
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>From his work in the fiction mode, documentary, and installation, Germanfilmmaker Harun Farocki has consistently explored ideas of language, ideology,perception, and contemporary audio-visual culture. In Indoctrination, Farocki records a five-day seminar designed to teach management executives how to better present themselves using basic rules of dialectics and rhetoric. Without use of titles, talking heads, narration, or other conventions of documentary, Farocki masterfully exposes how big business uses psychology and principles of rhetoric to sell ideas and products. In German with English Harun Farocki---Germany---1987---44 mins.
Directed by: Farocki, Harun
Running time: 44
Year: 1987
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>The exotic world of expatriate American writer Paul Bowles (The ShelteringSky) is brought to the screen in this beautifully photographed anthology based on three of his short stories. Bowles introduces each story and narrates the first. Merkala Beach" "Call at Corazon" and "Allal" are all haunting enigmatic tales that capture the essence of Bowles' vision of humanity and his love of strange colorful locales. In English Arabic and Berber with English Frieder Schlaich/Irene von Alberti---Germany---1995---91 mins."
Directed by: Schleich, Frieder
Running time: 91
Year: 1996
Arabic with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:53 -0400
]]>From his work in the fiction mode to documentary to installation, Germanfilmmaker Harun Farocki has consistently explored ideas of language, ideology,perception, and contemporary audio-visual culture. In An Image (EinBild), he chronicles the process of shooting a Playboy centerfold photo. Shot in four days at Playboy's photography studio in Munich, the film begins with the building of the set and follows through to the dismantling of the set at the end of the job. Farocki includes all phases of the photo shoot and shows the participation of the many people involved in making one photo. In so doing, he effectively strips the glamour and allure from the subject by focusing on the labor and orchestration behind it. A materialist documentary in the best sense of the world" (Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader). I"n Harun Farocki---Germany---1983---25 mins.
Directed by: Farocki, Harun
Running time: 25
Year: 1983
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>In this light-hearted musical comedy with a message, a North African pop groupcalled Rap Oriental uses music to triumph over the bigotry and violence intheir housing project on the outskirts of Paris. The band and their devotedfans are pitted against religiously conservative elders who want to stop the music. The film features Khaled and Cheb Mami, two real-life stars of rai music--a combination of North African sounds and western-style rap. The pair offers a message with a beat as they rock, groove, and ultimately soothe their'hood with their unique sound. In French with English subtitles. Mahmoud Zemmouri---France/Belgium/Switzerland---1997---85 mins.
Directed by: Zemmouri, Mahmoud
Running time: 85
Year: 1997
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>Juan, an older man of Mayan ancestry, falls victim to a mining accident andembarks on a hallucinatory journey in a Yucatan underground cave world. He isguided along by Vera, an attenuated blue spirit. Through an entirely uniqueseries of visual transformations, Juan is catapulted at once into the realm of Mayan mysticism and visions of the future. Overflowing with a pantheon of religious imagery through exquisite cinematography and seamlessly integrated computer animation, this visionary film opens up a world of narrative formsfor generations of filmmakers to come. In Mayan and Spanish with English Francisco Athie---Mexico/USA/France/Germany---2003---86 mins.
Directed by: Athie, Francisco
Running time: 86
Year: 2003
Mayan and Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>Director Peter Gardos (The Last Blues) interweaves three whimsical fables of Hungarian rural life in this award-winning drama. Adapted from the novel Star Farm by Ervin Lazar, the stories focus on life, death, and resurrection, and feature inventive visual techniques and thought-provoking endings reminiscent of O. Henry or Rod Serling. Set between the 1930s and 1950s, the tales serve as allegories for the historical events of the 20th century. In Hungarian with English subtitles. Peter Gardos---Hungary---2005---75 mins.
Directed by: Gardos, Peter
Running time: 75
Year: 2005
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>In the heart of the Louvre Museum, the Apollo Gallery offers a dazzlingdisplay of rich tapestries, monumental paintings, gilded ornamentation, andeven the French crown jewels. But over time, water damage had ruined parts ofthe vaulted ceiling, and grime had dulled the magnificent paintings. In 2002, a team of 60 specialists embarked on a monumental three-year restoration, which returned the Apollo Gallery to its former splendor. Documentary filmmaker Jerome Prieur (Origin of Christianity) chronicles the hard work and unique skills of the dedicated restoration experts who brought the Apollo back to life. Along the way, tantalizing highlights from the 800-year history of the Louvre offer a portrait" of the world's most famous museum. In Jerome Prieur---France---2004---85 mins."
Directed by: Prieur, Jerome
Running time: 165
Year: 2004
French with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>The dreams and struggles of three generations of a Hungarian Jewish family aredepicted in this award-winning drama. Against a backdrop of major 20th centuryevents, director Frigyes Godros mixes humor and tragedy with realism andfantasy as his characters survive war, Nazi tyranny, communism, and economic hardship. Five years in the making, Glamour is a remarkable historical epic that thrives on the intimacy of personal relationships. An elegant poetic fable... with a shimmering beauty" (Los Angeles Times). In" Hungarian with English subtitles. Frigyes Godros---Hungary---2000---110 mins.
Directed by: Godros, Frigyes
Running time: 110
Year: 2000
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>Set against a tumultuous backdrop of fear and violence, Haim Bouzaglo'sacclaimed films tells of a Tel Aviv playwright who attempts to make sense ofhis country's carnage and his own tangled personal life by writing a new play.When writer's block sets in, Haim seeks a creative spark by hiring a private eye to trail his documentary filmmaker girlfriend. Bouzaglo brings an original mix of filmmaking styles to this potent and challenging drama about the malaise of contemporary life in Israel. In Hebrew with English subtitles.Haim Bouzaglo---Israel/France---2005---103 mins.
Directed by: Bouzaglo, Haim
Running time: 103
Year: 2005
Hebrew with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>The ongoing saga LAUGHING IN THE WIND continues to enthrall its fans, with the secret gong fu societies battling it out for the infamous Pi Xie Swordplay Manual. Episodes 21 through 30 introduces Ling's encounter with the Four Masters of Mei Manor and the mysterious figure who reveals the final secret in mastering the Last Skill from the Pi Xie Swordplay Manual. The acclaimed television series, adapted from the novels of Jin Yong, popular author of the wuxia fantasy genre, aired on AZN Television in 16 million homes. Volume 3 is a must-have for the collection!
Directed by: Jianzhing, Huang
Running time: 250
Year: 2001
Mandarian with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>This romantic drama made headlines in Iran when its director was kidnapped byarch-conservatives and left to die in the desert. (He was later rescued.) Thestory follows Daniel, who is in love with fellow university student Mahtab,whose father is campaigning for segregated classes at the university. Daniel's association with an ultra-religious group and Mahtab's sympathies with the reformists push the couple further apart. After his love letter to Mahtab is made public, the couple flees Tehran for the countryside, but their attempt toreturn to the city is a nightmare through a dangerous wasteland. With Mohammad Reza Farutan. In Farsi with English subtitles. Ahmad Reza Darvish---Iran---2000---95 mins.
Directed by: Darvish, ahmadreza
Running time: 95
Year: 2000
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>The sensuality and stylized rituals popular with the residents of Buenos Airesare part of the complex art form called the tango. Director Jorge Zanadaexamines the unique role of this dance within Argentina's social and personallandscape, exploring issues of machismo and passion contained within the dance. With a special appearance by Robert Duvall. In Spanish with English Jorge Zanada---Argentina---1988---71 mins.
Directed by: Zanada, Jorge
Running time: 70
Year: 1988
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>History takes place before your eyes in Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujica'sfascinating film covering the 1989 fall of the Ceaucescu regime in Romania. Aradical, media-based chronology that condenses 125 hours of footage,Videograms of a Revolution carefully mediates perspective as it presents a picture of political turmoil as revealing and chilling as Eisenstein's October. A recorded spectacle of dramatic, operatic and grotesque character. In German with English subtitles. Harun Farocki/Andrei Ujica---Germany---1992---107 mins.
Directed by: Farocki, Harun
Running time: 107
Year: 1992
German with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>Iranian detective Mohammad Alavi (Ezatollah Entezami) continues to solvemurders even though the traumatic death of his wife and two daughters has lefthim psychologically scarred. When a corpse turns up with a mysteriousconnection to Alavi's private life, the detective finds himself battling his own inner demons even as he struggles to locate the killer. This ghostly, atmospheric police drama was written, directed, and produced by Hassan Hedayat. In Farsi with English subtitles.Hassan Hedayat---Iran---2002---100 mins.
Directed by: Hedayat, Hassan
Running time: 101
Year: 2003
Farsi with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>This rare example of classic Mexican cinema examines the corrupted ideals ofthe Revolution in the story of an opportunistic landowner who faces the choiceof remaining loyal to a general in Zapata's army and being financially ruinedor saving his own skin. The character of the general is clearly modeled on Zapata himself. In Spanish with English subtitles. Fernando de Fuentes---Mexico---1933---85 mins.
Directed by: de Fuentes, Fernando
Running time: 85
Year: 1933
Spanish with English Subtitles
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>Jill Godmilow's meditation on Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Linda Huntplays Alice B. Toklas and Linda Bassett is Gertrude Stein, in a personal dramaabout the two remarkable women who were the focal point of Paris expatriateculture and society. A life-affirming love-affirming joy affirming drama that's luminously filmed smartly written and acted with great charm" (Christian Science Monitor). Jill Godmilow---USA---1987---101 mins."
Directed by: Godmilow, Jill
Running time: 101
Year: 1987
English
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Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:52 -0400
]]>A classic WWII film, Geza von Radvanyi's gritty drama tells of a grayingmusician (Artur Somlay) who adopts misfit children who have been orphaned bythe war. Hiding out together in a bombed-out castle, the refugees come to relyon one another for friendship and survival. In Hungarian with English Geza von Radvanyi---Hungary---1947---100 mins.
Directed by: Radvanyi, Geza
Running time: 100
Year: 1947
Hungarian with English Subtitles
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