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Friday, February 1 at 6 p.m. (5 p.m. Opening Reception)
MONSIEUR LAZHAR
Canada, 2011; Directed by: Philippe Falardeau
PG-13, 94 minutes, in French
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Monsieur Lazhar tells the poignant story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher. Bachir Lazhar (Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, offers the school his services as a substitute teacher and is quickly hired. As he helps the children heal, he also learns to accept his own painful past. This moving film features exquisite performances by Fellag and a stunning ensemble of child actors.
More information about the film.
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Friday, February 1 at 8 p.m.
PINA
Germany/France/UK, 2011; Directed by: Wim Wenders
PG, 103 minutes, in German
In modern dance since the 1970s, few choreographers have had more influence in the medium than the late Pina Bausch. This film explores the life and work of this artist while we see her company perform her most notable creations where basic things like water and dirt take on otherworldly qualities in their dancing. In this exhilarating film, acclaimed director Wim Wenders captures the raw, heart-stopping intensity of the movement and transforms it into a transcendent cinematic experience. Germany’s official entry for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Pina offers an indelible image of an artist who went the full distance in her uncommonly rich creative life. (Shown in 2-D.)
More information about the film.
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Saturday, February 2 at 5 p.m.
HABEMUS PAPUM (WE HAVE A POPE)
Italy/France, 2011; Directed by: Nanni Moretti
Not Rated, 102 minutes, in Italian
Nanni Moretti joins forces with the great French actor Michel Piccoli to tell the story of Melville, a cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next Pope. Never the front runner and completely caught off guard, he panics as he's presented to the faithful in St. Peter's Square. To prevent a world wide crisis, the Vatican’s spokesman calls in an unlikely psychiatrist, who is neither religious or all that committed, to find out what is wrong with the new Pope. What follows is a marvelous insight into the concept of a human being existing behind the title of God's representative on Earth.
More information about the film.
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Saturday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. (7 p.m. Reception)
MEDIANERAS (SIDEWALLS)
Argentina/Spain/Germany, 2011; Directed by: Gustavo Taretto
Not Rated, 95 minutes, in Spanish
Sidewalls is a clever romantic comedy examining with charm how the architecture of a city conditions the lives of two of its residents. Taretto pays homage to the city of Buenos Aires as he reflects on how urban chaos, as well as new technologies, can unite people but also keep them apart (as the sidewalls of the title). Mixing animation, photography and graphic art, he reveals the characters’ isolation and anxieties that are a staple of modern life in a noisy city that nonetheless has an irresistible charm.
More information about the film.
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Sunday, February 3 at 2 p.m.
EHKY YA SCHEHERAZADE (SCHEHERAZADE, TELL ME A STORY)
Egypt, 2009; Directed by: Yousry Nasrallah
Not Rated, 135 minutes, in Arabic
Karim and Hebba are a young married and loving couple. Both have great careers. Karim is just about to be appointed editor-in-chief a major government-owned newspaper. Hebba is a television show host with a successful political talk show on a privately owned network. Karim is told that he will only be appointed if his wife avoids political topics on her show. He persuades her to make programs on ordinary people instead. But her "non-political" programs become even more repugnant to the authorities causing Hebba, a storyteller, to become a story herself.
More information about the film.
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Friday, February 8 at 6 p.m.
HAIYANG TIANTANG (OCEAN HEAVEN)
China, 2010; Directed by: Xue Xiaolu
Not Rated, 94 minutes, in Mandarin
A single father with terminal cancer prepares to face death, and struggles to ensure that his autistic son will be well cared for after he is gone in this emotionally-charged family drama starring Jet Li. David was only seven when his mother died. Now, at 22, he still doesn't seem to register that she is never coming home. His father Sam (Li) works at an aquarium. With the help of their benevolent neighbors, David has managed to give his son a good life. But now Sam is dying, and soon David will be all alone. As his condition rapidly deteriorates, Sam attempts to provide David with the tools and lessons he will need to function independently in society.
More information about the film.
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Friday, February 8 at 8 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Reception)
ALMANYA - WILLKOMMEN IN DEUTSCHLAND (WELCOME TO GERMANY)
Germany, 2011; Directed by: Yasemin Samdereli
Not Rated, 101 minutes, in German
This film tells the story of guest worker number one-million-and-one, a man named Hüseyin Yilmaz, and his family. "Who or what am I - German or Turk?" asks six-year-old Cenk Yilmaz when neither his Turkish nor his German schoolmates pick him for their respective football teams. In an attempt to comfort Cenk, his 22-year-old cousin, Canan, tells him the story of their grandfather, Hüseyin, who came to Germany at the end of the sixties as a 'guest worker' and who later brought his wife and children to 'Almanya'. Without warning one night, Hüseyin surprises his loved ones with the news that he now wants to return to the old country. This marks the beginning of a journey full of memories, arguments and reconciliations - until the family trip takes an unexpected turn.
More information about the film.
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Saturday, February 9 at 6 p.m.
LE CHAT DU RABBIN (THE RABBI'S CAT)
France/Austria, 2011; Directed by: Joann Sfar/Antoine Delesvaux
Not Rated, 89 minutes, in French
Algiers, 1920s. Rabbi Sfar has more than one problem. His beautiful daughter Zlabya is becoming a teenager and above all, his parrot-killing cat has just started talking. The delivery of a box from Russia further complicates things when a painter is discovered inside, more dead than alive. He is on a quest for a hidden tribe and its mythical city in Africa. Convinced that the city exists, he sets off on an incredible adventure, taking with him the Rabbi, his cat, a wise old Arab Sheikh and an eccentric Russian millionaire. (Animated)
More information about the film.
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Saturday, February 9 at 8 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Reception)
POULET AUX PRUNES (CHICKEN WITH PLUMS)
France/Germany/Belgium, 2012;
Directed by: Vincent Paronnaud/Marjane Satrapi
PG-13, 93 minutes, in French
Teheran, 1958. Since his beloved violin was broken, Nasser Ali Khan, one of the most renowned musicians of his day, has lost all taste for life. Finding no instrument worthy of replacing it, he decides to confine himself to bed to await death. As he hopes for its arrival, he plunges into deep reveries, with dreams as melancholic as they are joyous, taking him back to his youth and even to a conversation with Azraël, the Angel of Death, who reveals the future of his children... As pieces of the puzzle gradually fit together, the poignant secret of his life comes to light: a wonderful story of love which inspired his genius and his music...
More information about the film.
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