Films & Schedules - Saturday, February 16, 2013

In 1950s Prague, police detective Hakl is investigating a jewelry store heist, until East German State police specialist Zenke arrives and takes over. Zenke believes that members of the Jewish community are responsible and that an underground ring may be smuggling funds to Zionist terrorists in Israel. Unconvinced, Hakl continues his own investigation. But which version of the truth do the Communist authorities prefer to find? Ondříĉek spins a suspenseful noir tale of standing up to the mistrust and fear in Stalinist, postwar Czechoslovakia. (106 mins.)

In 1950s Prague, police detective Hakl is investigating a jewelry store heist, until East German State police specialist Zenke arrives and takes over. Zenke believes that members of the Jewish community are responsible and that an underground ring may be smuggling funds to Zionist terrorists in Israel. Unconvinced, Hakl continues his own investigation. But which version of the truth do the Communist authorities prefer to find? Ondříĉek spins a suspenseful noir tale of standing up to the mistrust and fear in Stalinist, postwar Czechoslovakia. (106 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Loners (00), One Hand Can’t Clap (03), Grandhotel (06)

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

In Czech and German with English subtitles.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, German Language.

After experiencing heartbreak, Rupert uses a book of magic to invoke a spell to shield him from emotion forever. (8 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

After experiencing heartbreak, Rupert uses a book of magic to invoke a spell to shield him from emotion forever. (8 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Nathan died during World War I, but a strange collector imprisoned his shadow and gave him a second life. (20 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Nathan died during World War I, but a strange collector imprisoned his shadow and gave him a second life. (20 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

A newborn’s destiny hangs in the balance as grownups come to terms with what they cannot have. (19 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

A newborn’s destiny hangs in the balance as grownups come to terms with what they cannot have. (19 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Bruce Mertz is the kind of guy who lights up the lives of those around him—quite literally—when every holiday season he transforms his house into a beacon with 50,000 colorful lights and himself into Mr. Christmas. (15 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Bruce Mertz is the kind of guy who lights up the lives of those around him—quite literally—when every holiday season he transforms his house into a beacon with 50,000 colorful lights and himself into Mr. Christmas. (15 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Michael Fassbender stars in this dark, suspenseful tale of a professional safe cracker who encounters a hitch while on the job. (13 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Michael Fassbender stars in this dark, suspenseful tale of a professional safe cracker who encounters a hitch while on the job. (13 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Sponsored by Red Giant.

86 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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PITCH BLACK HEIST

DIRECTOR: John Maclean - (Great Britain)

Michael Fassbender stars in this dark, suspenseful tale of a professional safe cracker who encounters a hitch while on the job. (13 mins.)

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THE BOY IN THE BUBBLE

DIRECTOR: Kealan O’Rourke - (Ireland)

After experiencing heartbreak, Rupert uses a book of magic to invoke a spell to shield him from emotion forever. (8 mins.)

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MR. CHRISTMAS

DIRECTOR: Nick Palmer - (United States)

Bruce Mertz is the kind of guy who lights up the lives of those around him—quite literally—when every holiday season he transforms his house into a beacon with 50,000 colorful lights and himself into Mr. Christmas. (15 mins.)

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WRITTEN IN INK

DIRECTOR: Martin Rath - (Poland)

This compelling story of a man trying to get back in touch with his sister after 14 years asks the question, “Can one change what has already been written in ink?” (11 mins.)

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DEATH OF A SHADOW

DIRECTOR: Tom Van Avermaet - (Belgium/France)

Nathan died during World War I, but a strange collector imprisoned his shadow and gave him a second life. (20 mins.)

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HATCH

DIRECTOR: Christoph Kuschnig - (Austria/United States)

A newborn’s destiny hangs in the balance as grownups come to terms with what they cannot have. (19 mins.)

This compelling story of a man trying to get back in touch with his sister after 14 years asks the question, “Can one change what has already been written in ink?” (11 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

This compelling story of a man trying to get back in touch with his sister after 14 years asks the question, “Can one change what has already been written in ink?” (11 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

The European Film Academy’s Best European Youth Film and the Dutch submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Kauwboy tells the story of 10-year-old Jojo who lives alone with his security guard father, a sometimes volatile man of few words. Missing his absent mother, a country singer said to be away touring, worried Jojo finds solace in an unexpected friendship with a baby jackdaw that has fallen from its nest. A tender portrait of a young boy trying to come to terms with a family that’s not what it once was and struggling to find a balance between reality...

The European Film Academy’s Best European Youth Film and the Dutch submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Kauwboy tells the story of 10-year-old Jojo who lives alone with his security guard father, a sometimes volatile man of few words. Missing his absent mother, a country singer said to be away touring, worried Jojo finds solace in an unexpected friendship with a baby jackdaw that has fallen from its nest. A tender portrait of a young boy trying to come to terms with a family that’s not what it once was and struggling to find a balance between reality and desire, this cinematic, emotionally astute film sensitively explores issues of loss and sorrow while painting a joyfully upbeat picture of acceptance and love. (81 mins.)

First Feature.

In Dutch with English subtitles. Appropriate for ages 10+.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: New Directors, Narrative Feature, Family Fare.

Song Fang’s remarkable directorial debut, in which she travels from Beijing to Nanjing for a visit with her family (many of whom play themselves), gracefully expounds on several poignant topics: how an adult child’s relationship with her parents changes as they grow older and how to negotiate one’s place as a single woman in a world of married couples. Song, who many will remember for her wonderful performance as Juliette Binoche’s nanny and aspiring filmmaker in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Flight of the Red Balloon (PIFF 2008), perfectly captures the rhythms of brief sojourns home, trips filled with reunions (both joyful and...

Song Fang’s remarkable directorial debut, in which she travels from Beijing to Nanjing for a visit with her family (many of whom play themselves), gracefully expounds on several poignant topics: how an adult child’s relationship with her parents changes as they grow older and how to negotiate one’s place as a single woman in a world of married couples. Song, who many will remember for her wonderful performance as Juliette Binoche’s nanny and aspiring filmmaker in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Flight of the Red Balloon (PIFF 2008), perfectly captures the rhythms of brief sojourns home, trips filled with reunions (both joyful and heart-wrenching), reminiscences, and moments of feeling painfully out of place. (91 mins.)

First Feature.

Winner of the Best First Feature Prize at this year’s Locarno Film Festival.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: New Directors, Asian.

80 Million is set in the autumn of 1981, 10 days before the proclamation of martial law in Poland. Three members of the anti-Communist union movement in Wroclaw miraculously manage to withdraw 80 million zlotys (circa $2 million US then) from the organization’s bank account, just before it is blocked by the authorities. With Security Service agents on their trail, a tense cat-and-mouse game that involves wily clergy, black market money changes, and committed Solidarity activists unfolds with inspirational drama and surprising twists and turns. Less a political film than a heist-thriller and dark comedy, this entertaining film is this...

80 Million is set in the autumn of 1981, 10 days before the proclamation of martial law in Poland. Three members of the anti-Communist union movement in Wroclaw miraculously manage to withdraw 80 million zlotys (circa $2 million US then) from the organization’s bank account, just before it is blocked by the authorities. With Security Service agents on their trail, a tense cat-and-mouse game that involves wily clergy, black market money changes, and committed Solidarity activists unfolds with inspirational drama and surprising twists and turns. Less a political film than a heist-thriller and dark comedy, this entertaining film is this year’s Polish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (102 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Suspended (87), Dismissed From Life (92), The Little Moscow (08)

Sponsored by the Polish Library Association and the Polish Festival Nonprofit Organization, Portland.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, Comedy.

Staunch loner Roberto, owner of a small hardware store in Buenos Aires, is shaken out of his solitary daily routine of collecting absurd newspaper clippings and visiting his parents’ grave when Chinese immigrant Jun literally falls into his life out of the back of a cab. Through a series of events that go against Roberto’s better judgment, the out-of-work Jun moves in with him, which proves a nightmare for Roberto as he makes increasingly desperate (and also touching and hilarious) attempts to get rid of his new roommate. Borensztein’s warm, endearing film offers a heartfelt reminder that friendship can crop...

Staunch loner Roberto, owner of a small hardware store in Buenos Aires, is shaken out of his solitary daily routine of collecting absurd newspaper clippings and visiting his parents’ grave when Chinese immigrant Jun literally falls into his life out of the back of a cab. Through a series of events that go against Roberto’s better judgment, the out-of-work Jun moves in with him, which proves a nightmare for Roberto as he makes increasingly desperate (and also touching and hilarious) attempts to get rid of his new roommate. Borensztein’s warm, endearing film offers a heartfelt reminder that friendship can crop up between the strangest, most mismatched, and plain old grumpiest of odd couples. (98 mins.)

Filmography: Sin Memoria (10)

Winner of the Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Film Awards at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina.

In Spanish and Mandarin.

Sponsored by Hotel Modera.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Spanish Language, Comedy.

Winner of the Grand Prize at the Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival and a New York Film Festival selection, Esparza’s lyrical film captures the reality of the life of a migrant worker who struggles on both sides of the border. Pedro returns home to a small mountain village in Guerrero after years of working in the US. His daughters feel more distant than he imagined, and his wife Teresa is delighted that he’s back but troubled by their circumstances. With the money he has earned, he can create a better life for his family and maybe even start...

Winner of the Grand Prize at the Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival and a New York Film Festival selection, Esparza’s lyrical film captures the reality of the life of a migrant worker who struggles on both sides of the border. Pedro returns home to a small mountain village in Guerrero after years of working in the US. His daughters feel more distant than he imagined, and his wife Teresa is delighted that he’s back but troubled by their circumstances. With the money he has earned, he can create a better life for his family and maybe even start the band with his cousins he has dreamed about for years. But work back home remains scarce and the temptation of heading back north of the border remains as strong as ever. (110 mins.)

First Feature.

Sponsored by the Consulate of Mexico in Portland.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: New Directors, Narrative Feature, Spanish Language.

Marilyn Monroe may live as Hollywood’s most iconic sex symbol, but beneath the character she created and perfected was also one of the most self-possessed and ambitious artists in the industry. Drawing on Monroe’s never-before-revealed diaries and letters and never-before-seen footage and photographs, including materials from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates, Garbus presents a fresh, vivid portrait of a savvy, disciplined, intellectually curious woman who, for all her tragic personal complexities (recounted in poignant detail as well), was much more than her glamorous stereotype. Expanding the conventions of traditional documentary, Garbus weaves in readings of Monroe’s writings by...

Marilyn Monroe may live as Hollywood’s most iconic sex symbol, but beneath the character she created and perfected was also one of the most self-possessed and ambitious artists in the industry. Drawing on Monroe’s never-before-revealed diaries and letters and never-before-seen footage and photographs, including materials from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates, Garbus presents a fresh, vivid portrait of a savvy, disciplined, intellectually curious woman who, for all her tragic personal complexities (recounted in poignant detail as well), was much more than her glamorous stereotype. Expanding the conventions of traditional documentary, Garbus weaves in readings of Monroe’s writings by a surprising range of actresses and actors, emerging with an overall appreciation that will surprise even the most informed Monroe students. (105 mins.)

Selected Filmography: The Farm: Angola, USA (98), The Execution of Wanda Jean (02), Bobby Fisher Against the World (11)

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Documentary.

Leyla and Kaveh are a mysterious pair from Tehran, traveling the mountainous countryside in their Lexus coupe to push big bags of money on the locals. This turns out to be not so easy but fascinating to watch as the cagey couple invent increasingly brazen stratagems to place cash in the hands of the wary, proud, or indifferent. Will they push things too far? Are they losing sight of their mission? What exactly is their mission? This bold, perversely fascinating comedy-drama unfurls with unexpected force amid subtle themes of power, privilege, and corruption. “Setting the scene is a brilliantly shot...

Leyla and Kaveh are a mysterious pair from Tehran, traveling the mountainous countryside in their Lexus coupe to push big bags of money on the locals. This turns out to be not so easy but fascinating to watch as the cagey couple invent increasingly brazen stratagems to place cash in the hands of the wary, proud, or indifferent. Will they push things too far? Are they losing sight of their mission? What exactly is their mission? This bold, perversely fascinating comedy-drama unfurls with unexpected force amid subtle themes of power, privilege, and corruption. “Setting the scene is a brilliantly shot comic opener that starts the game over-the-top, in a tone which only gets shriller and wilder as the story goes on. By far the director’s most daring work.”—Hollywood Reporter (100 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Abadan (04), Men at Work (06), Canaan (08)

Modest Reception is co-presented by the Global Film Initiative and is part of the Global Lens 2013 film series.

Sponsored by Javanan Magazine, Portland.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Middle Eastern, Comedy.

“Paradise on earth? Through writer and narrator Werner Herzog’s lens, that is what Bakhtia, a village on the river Yenisei in Russia’s far north might seem like in this breathtaking, rich, and frequently funny documentary. He and first-time director Vasyukov capture the local people—nearly always in companionship with their dogs—making their own tools, trapping sable, felling trees to build boats, fishing, harvesting food, and holding ceremonies for the turning of the seasons. Sharing their perspectives on greed, war, and mortality, as Herzog notes: They live off the land and are self-reliant, truly free. … No rules, no taxes, no government,...

“Paradise on earth? Through writer and narrator Werner Herzog’s lens, that is what Bakhtia, a village on the river Yenisei in Russia’s far north might seem like in this breathtaking, rich, and frequently funny documentary. He and first-time director Vasyukov capture the local people—nearly always in companionship with their dogs—making their own tools, trapping sable, felling trees to build boats, fishing, harvesting food, and holding ceremonies for the turning of the seasons. Sharing their perspectives on greed, war, and mortality, as Herzog notes: They live off the land and are self-reliant, truly free. … No rules, no taxes, no government, no laws, no bureaucracy, no phones, no radio, equipped only with their individual values and standard of conduct.”—Telluride Film Festival (90 mins.)

Selected Documentary Filmography: Land of Silence and Darkness (71), La Soufrière (77), Lessons of Darkness (92), Grizzly Man (05), Cave of Forgotten Dreams (10)

Sponsored by Zeitgeist Northwest.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: German Language, Documentary.

Estonia, 1994. Soviet occupation has ended, but not the grip of Stalinist memories or the new hold of the Russian Mafia. Aliide, who has lived through a generation where a sentence to Siberian prison camps was all too regular, encounters Zara, a young girl who has exhaustedly escaped the clutches of sex slavery. Though from different eras, both women are haunted by their own tragic pasts and a dark history that binds them. Based on the award-winning novel of the same title by Sofi Oksanen, this unflinching family drama, a story of sex trafficking, violent abuse, betrayal, and loss, is...

Estonia, 1994. Soviet occupation has ended, but not the grip of Stalinist memories or the new hold of the Russian Mafia. Aliide, who has lived through a generation where a sentence to Siberian prison camps was all too regular, encounters Zara, a young girl who has exhaustedly escaped the clutches of sex slavery. Though from different eras, both women are haunted by their own tragic pasts and a dark history that binds them. Based on the award-winning novel of the same title by Sofi Oksanen, this unflinching family drama, a story of sex trafficking, violent abuse, betrayal, and loss, is this year’s Finnish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (125 mins.)

Selected Filmography: The Resident (11)

Sponsored by the Finlandia Foundation and the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature.

“Time is nature’s way of preventing everything from happening at once,” Einstein once said. But how do we really get our heads wrapped around it? Swiss/Canadian filmmaker Peter Mettler takes the challenge with a probing, playful meditation on the elusive nature of time. From the 27-mile-long particle accelerator in Switzerland where scientists seek to probe regions of time we cannot see to frozen-in-time lava flows in Hawaii, from the time-stands-still disintegration of downtown Detroit to a Hindu funeral rite near the place of Buddha’s enlightenment, Mettler explores our perceptions, dreams the future, and celebrates the wonder of the everyday in...

“Time is nature’s way of preventing everything from happening at once,” Einstein once said. But how do we really get our heads wrapped around it? Swiss/Canadian filmmaker Peter Mettler takes the challenge with a probing, playful meditation on the elusive nature of time. From the 27-mile-long particle accelerator in Switzerland where scientists seek to probe regions of time we cannot see to frozen-in-time lava flows in Hawaii, from the time-stands-still disintegration of downtown Detroit to a Hindu funeral rite near the place of Buddha’s enlightenment, Mettler explores our perceptions, dreams the future, and celebrates the wonder of the everyday in visually spectacular fashion. (109 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Picture of Light (94), Gambling, Gods, and LSD (02), Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands (09)

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Documentary.

It is estimated that between 2005 and 2010 more than 30,000 Africans set off for Europe in small boats, with more than 5,000 dying on the journey. La Pirogue is the moving story of a group of Senegalese taking the chance in hopes of a better life. Baye Laye is the captain of a fishing pirogue—an open-top, wooden boat—who dreams of earning a better living for his family. When he is offered to lead one of the many pirogues that head from Dakar to Spain via the Canary Islands, he reluctantly accepts the job, knowing the dangers that lie ahead....

It is estimated that between 2005 and 2010 more than 30,000 Africans set off for Europe in small boats, with more than 5,000 dying on the journey. La Pirogue is the moving story of a group of Senegalese taking the chance in hopes of a better life. Baye Laye is the captain of a fishing pirogue—an open-top, wooden boat—who dreams of earning a better living for his family. When he is offered to lead one of the many pirogues that head from Dakar to Spain via the Canary Islands, he reluctantly accepts the job, knowing the dangers that lie ahead. Adroitly capturing the dilemmas and dangers facing these desperate men, La Pirogue is a powerful depiction of a story that is universally human. (87 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Toubab Bi (92), TGV (98)

In French with English subtitles.

Sponsored by Chipotle.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Family Fare, French Language.

Assayas’s evocative portrait of the upheaval in France in the early 1970s is seen through the eyes of a group of youth living in suburban Paris amidst a whirlwind of new politics, art, and sex. Gilles is a high school student torn between left-wing activism and his aspiration to become a painter or filmmaker. He and his friends take to the streets in running battles with the police, continuing the struggle that in May 1968 took France to the brink of revolution. When someone is badly injured, Gilles and his friends must flee to Italy, where they live a bohemian...

Assayas’s evocative portrait of the upheaval in France in the early 1970s is seen through the eyes of a group of youth living in suburban Paris amidst a whirlwind of new politics, art, and sex. Gilles is a high school student torn between left-wing activism and his aspiration to become a painter or filmmaker. He and his friends take to the streets in running battles with the police, continuing the struggle that in May 1968 took France to the brink of revolution. When someone is badly injured, Gilles and his friends must flee to Italy, where they live a bohemian life drifting between parties, rallies, and agitprop film screenings. But while politics are central, the group discovers that at their age, everything is mutable, every day holds new possibilities, and life awaits the curious … (122 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Irma Vep (96), Les Destinées (00), Boarding Gate (07), Summer Hours (08)

Winner of the Best Screenplay Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Sponsored by TV5Monde and King Estate Winery.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, French Language, Art, History.

This year’s Hungarian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar chronicles the final days of a Romany family living in a provincial Hungarian backwater. Hoping to reunite with their father in Canada before the ethnic violence that has recently claimed many neighbors’ lives finds them too, time is growing short as the authorities turn a blind eye to the persecution. Fliegauf blends neo-realistic elements—the actors are non-professionals recruited from local villages—with atmospheric sound design and expressionistic use of music. “The film’s three leads are tracked by a roving camera in a naturalistic style reminiscent of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant;...

This year’s Hungarian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar chronicles the final days of a Romany family living in a provincial Hungarian backwater. Hoping to reunite with their father in Canada before the ethnic violence that has recently claimed many neighbors’ lives finds them too, time is growing short as the authorities turn a blind eye to the persecution. Fliegauf blends neo-realistic elements—the actors are non-professionals recruited from local villages—with atmospheric sound design and expressionistic use of music. “The film’s three leads are tracked by a roving camera in a naturalistic style reminiscent of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant; as in that film, the mundane is contrasted with the horrific, here highlighting the ingrained nature of racism and the isolating effects of poverty.”—Sydney Film Festival (86 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Forest (03), Milky Way (07), Womb (10)

Winner of the Jury Grand Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature.

Set in 1990s Montreal, Laurence Anyways narrates the story of Laurence, a handsome high school teacher and writer who is madly in love with his girlfriend, Fred, a film producer. Their joyful life is turned upside down when Laurence announces his transsexuality and his choice to live as a woman. Fred vows to support Laurence during his transition, but the couple’s new lifestyle clashes with friends, family, and society in general. Told with a visual flair and signature style that bespeaks 23-year-old Dolan’s astonishing talent, Laurence is, above all, an epic, 10-year love story that examines a couple’s inability to...

Set in 1990s Montreal, Laurence Anyways narrates the story of Laurence, a handsome high school teacher and writer who is madly in love with his girlfriend, Fred, a film producer. Their joyful life is turned upside down when Laurence announces his transsexuality and his choice to live as a woman. Fred vows to support Laurence during his transition, but the couple’s new lifestyle clashes with friends, family, and society in general. Told with a visual flair and signature style that bespeaks 23-year-old Dolan’s astonishing talent, Laurence is, above all, an epic, 10-year love story that examines a couple’s inability to exist without each other. “This big, dreamy, audacious picture has large questions about relationships and identity. Can anyone be true to his or her inner self in the context of romantic love?”—Tara Brady, Irish Times (168 mins.)

Filmography: I Killed My Mother (09), Heartbeats (10)

Sponsored by QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Queer.

Welcome to the surreal and wild world of Carmina, a crass 58-year-old bar owner in Seville. When the insurance company refuses to pay up following a series of robberies, Carmina (director León’s real-life mother) has to find an alternative way of getting the money back to support her family. While she waits in her kitchen for her plan to develop, the chain-smoking Carmina reflects on her life, deeds, and miracles and feeds the goat that lives with her. A box office phenomenon in Spain, León’s charming and wild film won the Special Jury Prize, Audience Award, and Best Actress Award...

Welcome to the surreal and wild world of Carmina, a crass 58-year-old bar owner in Seville. When the insurance company refuses to pay up following a series of robberies, Carmina (director León’s real-life mother) has to find an alternative way of getting the money back to support her family. While she waits in her kitchen for her plan to develop, the chain-smoking Carmina reflects on her life, deeds, and miracles and feeds the goat that lives with her. A box office phenomenon in Spain, León’s charming and wild film won the Special Jury Prize, Audience Award, and Best Actress Award at the Málaga Film Festival. (70 mins.)

First Feature.

Co-sponsored and organized by PRAGDA with support from the Embassy of Spain, Washington; American Airlines; and the Secretary of State for Culture-Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Spanish Language, Comedy.

Renato Zucchelli lives in the beautiful mountain farmlands just outside Milan. He is the last traveling shepherd in the region, the last man tending sheep in Lombardy, an area ever consumed by urbanization. Renato has a dream: to lead his flock into the heart of Milan to meet children who have never seen someone like him, showing them that dreams and freedom will always exist as long as there is still room to believe in a last shepherd. At once funny, touching, and serious, The Last Shepherd is ultimately a warm and endearing portrait of a man, his dog, his...

Renato Zucchelli lives in the beautiful mountain farmlands just outside Milan. He is the last traveling shepherd in the region, the last man tending sheep in Lombardy, an area ever consumed by urbanization. Renato has a dream: to lead his flock into the heart of Milan to meet children who have never seen someone like him, showing them that dreams and freedom will always exist as long as there is still room to believe in a last shepherd. At once funny, touching, and serious, The Last Shepherd is ultimately a warm and endearing portrait of a man, his dog, his family, and his sheep, who conquer a city with nothing more than the power of imagination. (76 mins.)

First Feature.

Sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute, San Francisco and the Italian Film Commission, Los Angeles.

Interests: New Directors, Family Fare, Documentary.

Von Trotta’s film is an intelligent and powerful dramatization of the life of the philosopher and writer Hannah Arendt, whose The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) made her famous in philosophical circles before her controversial chronicle in The New Yorker of Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s 1961 trial for war crimes shot her to broader international celebrity. Focusing on the Eichmann era, Barbara Sukowa perfectly embodies the academic Arendt, who observes that it is the ordinariness of Eichmann (“He looks like a nobody”) that leads her to fashion her most startling concept—the “banality of evil”—while her reporting on collaborating German Jews causes a...

Von Trotta’s film is an intelligent and powerful dramatization of the life of the philosopher and writer Hannah Arendt, whose The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) made her famous in philosophical circles before her controversial chronicle in The New Yorker of Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s 1961 trial for war crimes shot her to broader international celebrity. Focusing on the Eichmann era, Barbara Sukowa perfectly embodies the academic Arendt, who observes that it is the ordinariness of Eichmann (“He looks like a nobody”) that leads her to fashion her most startling concept—the “banality of evil”—while her reporting on collaborating German Jews causes a firestorm of protest. “What could have been a dry, intellectually ponderous film is given flesh and blood, resulting in a drama that is both stirring and emotionally rewarding.”—London Film Festival (113 mins.)

Selected Filmography: The Second Awakening of Christa Klages (78), Sister, or The Balance of Happiness (79), Rosa Luxemburg (86), The Promise (95), Rosenstrasse (03)

Sponsored by Zeitgeist Northwest.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, German Language, History, Literature.

3 Million is a documentary for soccer lovers, but also for anyone who likes to root for the underdog. Like many countries, Uruguay’s heart stops and starts with the fate of its beloved soccer team. In this joyous documentary about the passion of soccer, the iconic Uruguayan musician Jaime Roos and his (Dutch) photographer son Yamandu follow the national team’s 2010 World Cup run to the electric semi-finals in South Africa. From Kimberley to Johannesburg to Cape Town to Pretoria, Jaime and Yamandu uncover truths about the players and the excitement of memorable games with the world’s top teams, as...

3 Million is a documentary for soccer lovers, but also for anyone who likes to root for the underdog. Like many countries, Uruguay’s heart stops and starts with the fate of its beloved soccer team. In this joyous documentary about the passion of soccer, the iconic Uruguayan musician Jaime Roos and his (Dutch) photographer son Yamandu follow the national team’s 2010 World Cup run to the electric semi-finals in South Africa. From Kimberley to Johannesburg to Cape Town to Pretoria, Jaime and Yamandu uncover truths about the players and the excitement of memorable games with the world’s top teams, as well as reveal their own relationship, which has its own suspense and surprise. A music-infused, father-son road trip in celebration of the powerful uniting force of sport. (135 mins.)

First Feature.

Sponsored by OPB and SP Newsprint.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: New Directors, Family Fare, Spanish Language.

World War II is drawing to a close. Furious fighting is exhausting both the Soviet and Nazi forces. The more the Soviet army advances, the more often “White Tiger,” a huge, indestructible Nazi tank, appears on the battlefield. Emerging from the smoke of combat, it ruthlessly destroys the adversary and then swiftly vanishes. The Soviets decide they must build an extraordinary tank—with a team headed by a commander who was nearly burnt alive. Although he no longer remembers his own name, he has gained the ability to understand the mystical language of tanks ... The pursuit of the monster begins....

World War II is drawing to a close. Furious fighting is exhausting both the Soviet and Nazi forces. The more the Soviet army advances, the more often “White Tiger,” a huge, indestructible Nazi tank, appears on the battlefield. Emerging from the smoke of combat, it ruthlessly destroys the adversary and then swiftly vanishes. The Soviets decide they must build an extraordinary tank—with a team headed by a commander who was nearly burnt alive. Although he no longer remembers his own name, he has gained the ability to understand the mystical language of tanks ... The pursuit of the monster begins. Who will win in this duel? “This strange, potent war movie plays like Moby Dick on the Eastern front, with a score by Richard Wagner. The strong aesthetic and suspenseful action sequences should wow audiences worldwide.”—Variety (104 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Jazzman (84), American Daughter (95), The Rider Named Death (04), Ward No. 6 (09)

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, History.