Films & Schedules - Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Garbage Dreams explores the rapidly disappearing way of life of the Zaballeen, Cairo's "garbage people."

Garbage Dreams looks at the hopes and dreams of a group of teenage boys whose livelihoods wholly depend on trash. As members of the Zaballeen, a Coptic Christian community on the outskirts of Cairo, they inhabit a small village constructed almost entirely of the garbage they sort for a living. For generations, Cairo has depended on “the garbage people” to collect their trash. The Zaballeen survive by recycling the city’s waste—80 percent of all the garbage they collect—creating what is arguably the world’s most efficient waste disposal system. In 2003, the city decided to replace the Zabelleen with private, multinational garbage disposal companies. Their giant waste trucks now line the streets, but they are contractually obligated to recycle only 20 percent of what they collect, leaving the rest to rot in giant landfills. The Zabelleen community is finding their way of life disappearing before their eyes.

First Feature Film.

Sponsored by World Affairs Council of Oregon.

82 Minutes     Digital    

Interests: Documentary Views, Global Classroom, Middle Eastern.

Heiran and Mahi are in love. He is Afghan, she is Iranian. Her father forbids her to see him, and thus begins a tale of love and prejudice, a modern-day, Middle Eastern Romeo and Juliet.

During the post-Soviet period of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, almost three million Afghans fled across the border into Iran, triggering prejudice and strife among their hosts. Heiran is one such refugee. Mahi, a successful 17-year-old student from a poor family herself, falls in love with Heiran. Her father, however, flies into a violent rage when he learns of their relationship and forbids Mahi to see Heiran. And that is only the beginning of the couple’s problems. When they flee to Tehran together, their hard-won bliss is soon threatened again. Heiran is a timeless tale of star-crossed lovers thrown into turmoil by family differences and cultural circumstances—a modern-day, Middle Eastern Romeo and Juliet.

First Feature Film.

88 Minutes     Digital    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Global Classroom, Middle Eastern.

Jools and Lynda Topp are twin sisters and one of New Zealand's most beloved performing duos. This affectionate portrait mixes remembrances of their childhood, testimonies from friends, fans, and colleagues, and examples of what the girls do best, a mix of lesbian folk songs and anarchist vaudeville.

One of New Zealand’s most cherished and charmingly irrepressible performing duos, twin sisters Jools and Lynda Topp are immensely popular with rednecks and left-wingers alike. Although they do not look identical, their voices virtually are, melding into a yodelling, country-and-western harmony all its own. Jools and Lynda introduce themselves during a performance full of music and happy memories. Colleagues and friends proceed to shine light on the special success of the sisters’ cheerful, radical lesbian love songs and anarchist vaudeville comedy. Pooley weaves performances and home movies from their carefree farm childhood with footage of the sisters during demonstrations against nuclear weapons, apartheid, and for gay rights, to fashion an affectionate, unforgettable portrait.

Filmography: Haunting Douglas (03), The Promise (05), Try Revolution (06).

Sponsored by Q Doc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival.

84 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary Views, Music, Queer.

Heliopolis follows the lives and frustrations of a host of characters living in Cairo's historic Heliopolis district.

This ensemble drama’s sharp critique of Egyptian society is matched by a nostalgia-drenched longing for life before the 1952 revolution. Using intertwining stories, Abdalla skillfully sheds light on the small struggles of everyday life in Cairo, and on the discontent that seems to pervade one particular district of the city. Criss-crossing Cairo’s historical Heliopolis neighborhood, we share the minor travails of various players over the course of a single day. Hany wants to procure a visa to travel abroad. Ali and Maha want to buy Hany’s apartment but must first negotiate gridlock. Grad student Ibrahim wants to interview an uncooperative subject. Hotel clerk Engy simply wants to be anywhere but Egypt. As they each fail to achieve their meager goals, Abdalla suggests that their individual frustrations stem from an underlying discontent endemic in Egyptian society.

First Feature Film.

96 Minutes    

Interests: New Directors, Narrative Feature, French Language, Middle Eastern.

A suburban family is forced to put their life in perspective and figure out what's worth fighting for in this sensitive, hilarious comedy from the director of Look Both Ways (PIFF 30).

Sarah Watt’s follow-up to her imaginative first film, Look Both Ways (PIFF 30), examines both the comedy and drama of suburban family life in Melbourne, and will resonate with anyone who has endured life’s daily little challenges only to get sideswiped by a massive one. Sacha Horler stars as Natalie, an average housewife dealing with everyday realities and family chaos: never-ending mortgage payments, raucous kids, family celebrations, and an absent-minded husband (Matt Day). Suddenly, fate throws an unexpected curve ball, and Natalie and her family must pull together as one in ways they could never have anticipated. Natalie’s year-long trial ensures that she has little choice but to laugh and cry, often at the same time, as the riches and meaning of a life worth fighting for come into focus.

Filmography: Look Both Ways (05).

Sponsored by KINK.FM.

92 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Comedy.

Valery Todorovsky's period-set musical Hipsters centers around a group of splashy young rebels living in Moscow in the 1950s.

Moscow, 1955. In the midst of strict Cold War Soviet conformity, nothing can stop a group of young “hipsters” from donning outrageous threads, adopting American nicknames, puffing up their pompadours, throwing back martinis, and reveling in forbidden jazz. Straight-laced 20-year-old Communist Youth Party member Mels finds these brazen renegades shocking until he falls under the spell of a pretty one and joins the new revolution. Soon he’s cavorting in the latest flashy fashions, sporting an enormous do, and wailing on the saxophone—all in an exuberant musical that delves into a chapter of Russian history little known to outsiders. Music and the common dream of America become a manifestation of freedom. The winner of four Nika Awards (Russia’s Oscar) including Best Film, Hipsters is universal in its celebration of self-expression and spirited opposition to conformity.

Filmography: Love (92), The Land of the Deaf (98), The Lover (02), My Stepbrother Frankenstein (04).

Sponsored by Hotel Modera.

125 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Music.

98 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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SHE WHO MEASURES

DIRECTOR: Veljko Popovic - (Croatia)

Put on a happy face or the scary clown will keep you in line.

7 Minutes    

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GOOD ADVICE

DIRECTOR: Andreas Tibblin - (Sweden)

Tired of his parents never listening to him, 10-year-old Rasmus decides to run away from home. But before leaving, he records a cassette tape for his yet-to-be-born new brother with advice on how to handle life.

15 Minutes    

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MADAGASCAR

DIRECTOR: Bastien Dubois - (France)

A visual travel journal demonstrating the importance of dance, death, and custom in a vibrant Malagasy society.

12 Minutes    

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MIRACLE FISH

DIRECTOR: Luke Doolan - (Australia)

Eight-year-old Joe has a birthday he will never forget. After friends tease him, he wishes everyone would just go away. He wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality.

18 Minutes    

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CAGES

DIRECTOR: Juan José Medina - (Mexico)

As an old man collects his traps in the desert, an unearthly spirit is stalking his own prey.

10 Minutes    

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SLAVES

DIRECTOR: David Aronowitsch, Hanna Heilborn - (Sweden)

The harrowing stories of Abouk, 9, and Machiek, 15, who were abducted by a government-sponsored militia in Sudan and used as slaves in their war effort.

15 Minutes    

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THE ARMOIRE

DIRECTOR: Jamie Travis - (Canada)

In the third installment of his Saddest Children in the World trilogy, following Why the Anderson Children Didn’t Come to Dinner and The Saddest Boy in the World, a young boy descends into an abyss of secrets, fantasies, and memory when he realizes that his best friend has gone missing.

21 Minutes    

Sweetgrass takes on the mythology of the American West as it observes a seasonal last roundup of sheep by ranchers in Montana.

Lucien Castaing-Taylor, who teaches in Harvard’s Visual Anthropology department, and Ilisa Barbash, of Harvard’s Peabody Museum, describe themselves as “recordists” rather than filmmakers, as they capture a family and their animals in their final season herding sheep in Montana’s spectacular Absaroka-Beartooth mountain range. The herders work like cowboys out of the old West, but unlike cattle, stubborn sheep can be hilarious to watch. From the cockeyed sight of a massive sheep drive down a small town’s empty main drag, to a herder pouring his heart out on a cell phone at the top of a monumental vista, Castaing-Taylor and Barbash sharpen their sense of humor as well as their all-embracing lens to create an unforgettable cinematic experience. “A really intimate, beautifully shot examination of the connection between man and beast.”—The New York Times.

First Feature Film.

Sponsored by Alaska Airlines.

105 Minutes     Digital    

Interests: New Directors, Documentary Views, Global Classroom.

Leonidas is a small-town cop who yearns to solve important crimes in the big city. However, with the mysterious death of the town drunk, Leonidas' subsequent investigation reveals that there is more to this sleepy beach community than he first imagined.

Leonidas, a young, ambitious police officer, is assigned to a remote Greek island in the Aegean. He dreams of solving important, big-city crimes, but there are few to be found in the sleepy community where he is reduced to menial chores. Each day at the town café, Leonidas and the locals watch the beautiful Angeliki, the small island’s most famous daughter, as she hosts a popular talk show on national TV. These dull rituals are shattered when the island experiences what appears to be an actual crime: the island drunk, Zacharias, is found dead at the base of a cliff. Jumping at the chance to do some sleuthing, Leonidas soon finds clues that tie the victim to Angeliki, who returns to the island and joins the investigation. As romance blooms between Leonidas and Angeliki, they learn that everyone on the island has their own Zacharias, and their stories play out hilariously in Leonidas’ imagination.

First Feature Film.

84 Minutes    

Interests: New Directors, Narrative Feature, Comedy.

A powerful crime drama set in Jaffa’s multi-ethnic Ajami neighborhood, a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

Winner of the Best Film, Director, and Screenplay awards at this year’s Israeli Film Academy ceremony, this powerful collaboration between Shani (Israeli) and Copti (Palestinian) offers a unique perspective on the myriad complexities of the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ajami is a tough Jaffa neighborhood, rife with tension. In this multi-ethnic stew, a powerful Bedouin clan wages a violent vendetta against a poor family that has offended its honor. A teenage worker from the occupied territories desperately tries to raise money to help his ailing mother. A Jewish police detective struggles with the disappearance of his brother. An affluent Palestinian and his Jewish girlfriend dream about the future. As these gripping stories intersect, we witness the dramatic collisions in a world of sustained, machismo-fueled chaos.

First Feature Film.

This year’s Israeli submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest.

120 Minutes    

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, Jewish, Middle Eastern.