Films & Schedules - S

Oskar is a devoted family man who, on a whim, decides to cheat on his wife. Thus begins a downward spiral of comedic tragedy that finds him out of a job and in a series of loveless, problematic affairs.

Oskar (Jirí Machácek) is a devoted father, beloved husband, and popular television weatherman. He seems to have it all, but decides that he has fallen out of love with wife Zuzana—mainly because her nose is too big. Oskar cheats on her with the family’s dim Hungarian nanny, his first step on a downward spiral that finds him out of a job and in a series of loveless, problematic affairs. Whatever mid-life quest Oskar is on is not yielding any satisfaction. In the meantime, Zuzana has no problem finding a new partner in divorced single father Matej, aided in no small part by Oskar’s parents. Matej likes her nose just fine. Full of fine details and subtle wit, Hrebejk’s “unromantic” ensemble comedy film skirts tragedy for farce as it explores the mysteries of the male psyche and the tensions between change and stability in a society that manifests both at the same time.

Selected Filmography: Divided We Fall (00), Pupendo (03), Up and Down (04), Beauty in Trouble (06), Teddy Bear (07).

88 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Comedy.

A lonely orphan's life is transformed by an extraordinary woman who teaches him to conquer grief and discover the magic in nature and himself.

Set on the beautiful Irish coast, Sarin’s warm, emotional film tells a story of acceptance, kindness, and the healing power of love. Eight-year-old Tomas’ gentleness makes his life difficult. His helpful nature is interpreted as weakness and the other boys at the orphanage bully him. Then one day, a kind woman named Maire sweeps in and infuses his once-cheerless existence with love, laughter, and the belief in magic. After Maire whisks him away to her home on enchanted Corrie Island off the West Coast, Tomas grows and comes into his own—but Maire’s reserved husband can’t hide his lack of interest in the child. Just when Tomas begins to come out of his shell and see the goodness in the world and the people around him, Maire’s delicate health takes a turn for the worse. Will her husband, who has not accepted Tomas as his son, be able to step up to the responsibility of caring for Tomas as Maire has done?

Filmography: Cold Comfort (89), Deluxe Combo (04), Partition (07).

100 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Family Fare.

An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war, and terror to establish its dominance.

“Based on the best-selling book by Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine seeks to explain the rise of disaster capitalism: the exploitation of moments of crisis in vulnerable countries by governments and big business. The film traces the doctrine’s beginnings in the radical theories of Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, and its subsequent implementation over the past 40 years in countries as disparate as Augusto Pinochet’s Chile, Boris Yeltsin’s Russia, Margaret Thatcher’s Great Britain, and most recently through the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Filmmakers Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross use a brand of artistic license to present a cinematic experience that takes this theory to a new audience. Warning: After viewing this film, you may interpret our world history in a new light.”—Sundance Film Festival.

Selected Filmography: Butterfly Kiss (95), Wonderland (99), 9 Songs (04), The Road To Guantanamo (05), A Mighty Heart (07).

82 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary Views, Literature.

90 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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STARS DON’T TWINKLE IN OUTER SPACE

DIRECTOR: Peter Thwaites - (Great Britain)

A young boy’s fantasy about a trip to a strange planet in a rocket ship morphs into a different kind of trip altogether as reality sets in.

10 Minutes    

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PLEASE SAY SOMETHING

DIRECTOR: David O’Reilley - (Ireland/Germany)

A troubled relationship between a cat and mouse set in the distant future.

10 Minutes    

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RUNAWAY

DIRECTOR: Cordell Barker - (Canada)

Happy passengers are having a great time on a crowded train, oblivious to the fate that awaits them around the bend.

9 Minutes    

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POSTE RESTANTE

DIRECTOR: Marcel Lozinski - (Poland)

What happens to letters addressed to Santa? To deceased relatives? To God? The birth, delivery, and reincarnation of undeliverable letters in Poland.

14 Minutes    

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GRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEEPING BEAUTY

DIRECTOR: Nicky Phelan - (Ireland)

Granny O’Grimm, a seemingly sweet old lady, loses the plot as she tells her version of Sleeping Beauty to her terrified granddaughter.

6 Minutes    

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NEXT FLOOR

DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve - (Canada)

During an opulent and luxurious banquet, complete with hordes of servers and valets, eleven pampered guests participate in what appears to be ritualistic gastronomic carnage.

12 Minutes    

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ALMA

DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Blaas - (Spain)

Alma, a little girl, skips through the snow-covered streets of a small town. Her attention is caught by a strange doll in an antique toy shop window. Fascinated, Alma decides to enter…

5 Minutes    

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THE GROUND BENEATH

DIRECTOR: Rene Hernandez - (Australia)

Kaden’s troubles give way to self-discovery through a young girl and boy who loiter on his street.

20 Minutes    

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    

81 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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HOUSE OF SOUND

DIRECTOR: Vanessa Renwick -

Homage to the House of Sound, a North Portland record store and community anchor razed in 2008.

11 Minutes    

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LAST THROES

DIRECTOR: Sal Strom -

Political undertones are the binding agents in an aural and visual collage.

4 Minutes    

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MISSED ACHES

DIRECTOR: Joanna Priestley -

An ode to the fallibility of spell-check.

4 Minutes    

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SACK LUNCH

DIRECTOR: Sean Whiteman -

A shirtless man in a windowless bathroom talks some sense into the world.

10 Minutes    

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122 RANDOM SECONDS

DIRECTOR: Karl Lind -

A real-time doc that encourages you to “keep Portland weird” and always carry your camera.

2 Minutes    

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THE MOUSE THAT SOARED

DIRECTOR: Kyle Bell -

A famous flying mouse reflects on his humble beginnings in this high-altitude adventure in aerodynamics.

6 Minutes    

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SEAGULLS AND WAVES

DIRECTOR: Brian Libby -

Music by Colleen playfully seasons contemplative footage of the title subjects.

6 Minutes    

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AXIOMS OF A DISHWASHER

DIRECTOR: Vance Malone -

Philosophic musings on the most thankless job in the kitchen.

7 Minutes    

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FAMILY HISTORY

DIRECTOR: Shelley Jordon -

New experience is filtered through perceptions of past experiences.

5 Minutes    

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LAST YEAR

DIRECTOR: Jarratt Taylor -

What feels like a loosely edited home movie evokes the moods, more than the events, of a year in review.

5 Minutes    

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ASCENDING THE GIANTS

DIRECTOR: John Waller -

Charming arborists tackle Oregon’s tallest trees.

12 Minutes    

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DON’T WORRY, IT’S A NEW CENTURY

DIRECTOR: Jeff Guay -

In this wry homage to a seminal Northwest short, a narrator explores the concept of “idea recycling.”

9 Minutes    

92 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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WHATEVER TURNS YOU ON

DIRECTOR: Declan Cassidy - (Ireland)

The well-ordered running of an electronics store is disrupted when a homeless man arrives to make a purchase.

4 Minutes    

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TEN FOR GRANDPA

DIRECTOR: Doug Karr - (Canada/United States)

Was Grandpa a manipulative antihero or simply a victim of the McCarthy-era witch hunt?

7 Minutes    

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THIS IS HER

DIRECTOR: Katie Wolfe - (New Zealand)

“This is me. This is my husband. And this is the bitch who will one day steal him and ruin my life.”

12 Minutes    

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THIS WAY UP

DIRECTOR: Adam Foulkes - (Great Britain)

Laying the dead to rest has never been so much trouble.

9 Minutes    

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NETHERLAND DWARF

DIRECTOR: David Michôd - (Australia)

Harry really wants a rabbit; Harry’s dad really wants his wife back. They’ve both forgotten that they already have each other.

15 Minutes    

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SHORT TERM 12

DIRECTOR: Destin Daniel Cretton - (United States)

Denim, the supervisor for a residential facility housing 15 kids affected by child abuse, begins to realize that, in a lot of ways, he is no different from the children he tries to help.

22 Minutes    

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THE DINNER

DIRECTOR: Karchi Perlmann - (Hungary)

A day in the life of a small rural Hungarian family during the riots of September 2006. “A stewed-up existential, cultural and political pot of goulash.”

23 Minutes    

A program of experimental films presented by Cinema Project and the Northwest Film Center.

A program of experimental films presented by Cinema Project and the Northwest Film Center.

80 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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LUMPHINI 2552

DIRECTOR: Tomonari Nishikawa - (United States/Japan)

Black-and-white images of plants and trees taken with a 35mm still camera at Bangkok’s Lumphini Park construct an emotional rhythm and illusion of movement of beautiful defamiliarization.

3 Minutes    

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SHINONOME OMOGO ISHIZUCHI

DIRECTOR: Shiho Kano - (Japan)

A travelogue of images inspired by filmmaker Mansaku Itami, including visits to Shinonome Shrine, Omogo Valley, and Ishizuchi Mountain in Ehime, Japan.

15 Minutes    

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BLOCK B

DIRECTOR: Chris Chong Chan Fui - (Malaysia)

A stationary camera looks from one apartment block in a Kuala Lumpur neighborhood directly onto another. As a modernist interchange of private and public space, Block B attempts to grasp the scope and use of monolithic architecture.

20 Minutes    

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TREES OF SYNTAX, LEAVES OF AXIS

DIRECTOR: Daïchi Saïto - (Canada/Japan)

Accompanied by the contrapuntal violin of Malcolm Goldstein, Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis examines the natural language of a familiar landscape: the formations of maple trees and the spaces they inhabit as poetic expressions of visual and aural patterns.

10 Minutes    

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EMPIRE BORDERS

DIRECTOR: Chen Chieh Jen - (Taiwan)

Chen Chieh Jen explores the various and sundry checks that Taiwanese citizens must endure when applying for a U.S. visa and how the “empire” employs every means to maintain an imperialist control.

27 Minutes    

The true story of 17-year-old Sicilian Rita Atria who confessed all she knew about the inner workings of the Palermo Mafia after her father and brother were murdered.

Recounting a major turning point in Sicily’s war against organized crime, The Sicilian Girl is an eloquent, gripping crime drama, inspired by the true story of a young girl who broke ranks to testify against the Mafia. On a November morning in 1991, 17-year-old Rita Atria (Veronica D’Agostino) approached the chief prosecutor of Palermo (Gerard Jugnot), intent on vindicating her father and brother’s mafia-related deaths, and ready to tell all. It was the first time that a daughter of a mafia family openly rebelled against the traditionally male-dominated organization. Repudiated and threatened by her boyfriend, her hometown, and even her mother (Lucia Sardo), Rita is forced to leave Sicily and move to Rome—but she knows that her betrayal must be avenged.

Filmography: One Girl Against the Mafia (04).

Cultural Partner: Italian Cultural Institute, San Francisco.

110 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature.

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.

Sons of Cuba follows three boys at the prestigious Havana Boxing Academy as they prepare for the 2006 National Boxing Championship of Under-12’s.

Sons of Cuba is set in the legendary Havana Boxing Academy, no ordinary institution: this is a boarding school that handpicks nine-year-old boys and turns them into the best boxers in the world. The results have been stunning—Cuba has dominated Olympic boxing for the past quarter of a century. The boys’ duties extend far beyond the ring: they are groomed not only as world-class fighters, but also as international symbols of their country. Castro dubs them “the standard bearers of the Revolution.” Lang follows three young hopefuls through eight dramatic months of training and schooling as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives, Cuba’s National Boxing Championship for Under-12’s. During the season, crisis strikes: Fidel Castro, the boys’ leader and inspiration, is taken ill, and all of Cuba’s Olympic boxing champions defect to the USA, leaving the boys contemplating a future which is altogether different from the one they have been taught to believe in.

First Feature Film.

88 Minutes     Digital    

Interests: Documentary Views, Global Classroom, Spanish Language.

Strongman is a moving story of determination and heart in the face of the hard facts of life.

South Brunswick, New Jersey, is home to Stanley “Stanless Steel” Pleskun, the self-proclaimed “Strongest Man in the World at Bending Steel and Metal.” He can leg-press two-ton trucks, bend pennies with his fingers, and perform many other homemade acts of extreme strength, concentration, and focus. But Stan, now middle-aged, needs a plan, for as Levy’s affectionate portrait reveals, success—in both his professional and personal life—takes another kind of strength and savvy. Filmed over the course of several years as Stan struggles to be taken more seriously than a kids’ birthday party attraction, maintain his rocky relationship with his girlfriend, and stay on the bright side, the one thing that can’t weaken is attitude. The winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival, Strongman is a moving story of determination and heart in the face of the hard facts of life.

First Feature Film.

Sponsored by Bingo Lewis.

113 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary Views.

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.