Films & Schedules - O

A deadbeat Israeli inventor and his estranged teenage daughter try to reconcile their differences in this delicate blend of poignant coming-of-age drama and offbeat comedy. After years living in California with her mother and stepfather, sharp-witted but introverted 13-year-old Libi returns to Israel to spend time with her unemployed and homeless father Shaul. With the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War, Shaul devises a scheme to put a roof over their heads by posing as war refugees until they are taken in by a well-off family in Jerusalem. As the masquerade wears thin, the bemusing circumstances give way to a...

A deadbeat Israeli inventor and his estranged teenage daughter try to reconcile their differences in this delicate blend of poignant coming-of-age drama and offbeat comedy. After years living in California with her mother and stepfather, sharp-witted but introverted 13-year-old Libi returns to Israel to spend time with her unemployed and homeless father Shaul. With the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War, Shaul devises a scheme to put a roof over their heads by posing as war refugees until they are taken in by a well-off family in Jerusalem. As the masquerade wears thin, the bemusing circumstances give way to a bourgeoning father-daughter bond forged by a shared talent for telling “off-white lies.” (86 mins.)

First Feature.

Winner of the Best Actor Award and nominated for six other Israeli Ophirs including Best Film, Director, and Screenplay.

Sponsored by the Consulate of Israel and San Francisco.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Middle Eastern, Comedy.

Filled with breathtaking shots of the Himalayan countryside, Tibetan filmmaker Tseden offers an emotional allegory about urbanization and generational conflict. On a visit to a frontier town, middle-aged Gonpo decides to sell his faithful Tibetan mastiff to a Chinese trader who specializes in procuring dogs for wealthy landowners as status symbols. Gonpo’s father, Akhu, disturbed by his son’s lack of regard for their dog, purchases the animal back, initiating the simple storyline revolving around the dog’s destiny and the ensuing familial dynamics. Rich with commentary on the evolving conflict within Tibetan culture and a way of life that is quickly...

Filled with breathtaking shots of the Himalayan countryside, Tibetan filmmaker Tseden offers an emotional allegory about urbanization and generational conflict. On a visit to a frontier town, middle-aged Gonpo decides to sell his faithful Tibetan mastiff to a Chinese trader who specializes in procuring dogs for wealthy landowners as status symbols. Gonpo’s father, Akhu, disturbed by his son’s lack of regard for their dog, purchases the animal back, initiating the simple storyline revolving around the dog’s destiny and the ensuing familial dynamics. Rich with commentary on the evolving conflict within Tibetan culture and a way of life that is quickly giving way to outside forces, Old Dog poetically surfaces the conflicted views of a culture’s future. (88 mins.)

Filmography: The Silent Holy Stones (05), The Search (09)

Sponsored by Chipotle.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Family Fare, Asian.

Despite the stark choices around them, three Havana teens defiantly maintain their self-worth and dreams for a better future. After a run-in with a tourist puts the police on his tail, hotheaded Raul impulsively decides it’s time to escape to Florida and begins planning with his friend Elio. When Elio’s twin sister Lila discovers what the two are up to, her dismay gives way to a decision to join them on the perilous sea journey. Brimming with the nervous energy of Havana’s restless youth and the evocative cinematography of the sun-bleached capital, One Night follows one sweltering day, full of...

Despite the stark choices around them, three Havana teens defiantly maintain their self-worth and dreams for a better future. After a run-in with a tourist puts the police on his tail, hotheaded Raul impulsively decides it’s time to escape to Florida and begins planning with his friend Elio. When Elio’s twin sister Lila discovers what the two are up to, her dismay gives way to a decision to join them on the perilous sea journey. Brimming with the nervous energy of Havana’s restless youth and the evocative cinematography of the sun-bleached capital, One Night follows one sweltering day, full of hope and fraught with tensions, that burns to a shocking climax. (90 mins.)

First Feature.

Winner of the Best New Narrative Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Actor Awards at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Sponsored by the Heathman Hotel.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: New Directors, Narrative Feature, Spanish Language.

Novelist Tony faces the most difficult obstacle yet to publishing his magnum opus: his publishers. (11 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS III: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Novelist Tony faces the most difficult obstacle yet to publishing his magnum opus: his publishers. (11 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS III: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

A young Israeli boy, the last to be picked for soccer teams but the one who owns the ball, finds an unusual friendship with someone on the Palestinian side of the West Bank separation wall. But can a wordless, gaze-free relationship survive with only a ball between them? (22 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS I: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

A young Israeli boy, the last to be picked for soccer teams but the one who owns the ball, finds an unusual friendship with someone on the Palestinian side of the West Bank separation wall. But can a wordless, gaze-free relationship survive with only a ball between them? (22 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS I: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Based on the true, headline-news story of Genevieve Lhermitte, Our Children unfolds the riveting story of Murielle (Émilie Dequenne, winner of the Best Actress Award in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section), a Belgian schoolteacher caught in a claustrophobic domestic nightmare. Struggling financially, she and her Moroccan immigrant husband Mounir are forced to move in with his adoptive father, Dr. Pinget. When the couple begin to have children, the house starts to feel small and suffocating, and the pressure to please both men—each domineering in his own way—gradually overwhelms Murielle, leading to a shocking act of liberation....

Based on the true, headline-news story of Genevieve Lhermitte, Our Children unfolds the riveting story of Murielle (Émilie Dequenne, winner of the Best Actress Award in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section), a Belgian schoolteacher caught in a claustrophobic domestic nightmare. Struggling financially, she and her Moroccan immigrant husband Mounir are forced to move in with his adoptive father, Dr. Pinget. When the couple begin to have children, the house starts to feel small and suffocating, and the pressure to please both men—each domineering in his own way—gradually overwhelms Murielle, leading to a shocking act of liberation. This year’s Belgian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Lafosse’s direction of this perverse narrative of patriarchal power and female oppression is like steel wrapped in silk. (111 mins.)

Filmography: Private Madness (04), Private Property (06), Private Lessons (08)

Sponsored by Stella Artois.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature.

This year’s Japanese submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar tells the moving story of a family divided by the historic political conflicts between Korea and Japan. During Japan’s colonial rule of Korea before World War II, thousands of Koreans were brought to Japan where they suffered painful discrimination. After the war, thousands chose to be repatriated to North Korea in hope of a better life. Few managed to escape their fateful choice. Japanese-Korean director Yong-hi Yang, born in Japan but from a North Korean family, tells the story of her brother Son-ho, who after living in North Korea...

This year’s Japanese submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar tells the moving story of a family divided by the historic political conflicts between Korea and Japan. During Japan’s colonial rule of Korea before World War II, thousands of Koreans were brought to Japan where they suffered painful discrimination. After the war, thousands chose to be repatriated to North Korea in hope of a better life. Few managed to escape their fateful choice. Japanese-Korean director Yong-hi Yang, born in Japan but from a North Korean family, tells the story of her brother Son-ho, who after living in North Korea for 25 years after leaving Japan at age 16, is given rare permission to visit his Japanese family and receive specialized medical care. Under the tense surveillance of a North Korean agent, Son-ho must come to grips with whether he has a place in either culture. (100 mins.)

Filmography: Dear Pyongyang (05), Sona, the Other Myself (09)

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, Asian, History.