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Friday, 18 January 2008

7:30 pm —

A very short film about a very messy girl...

Feature Film:  Tuya's Marriage (Tuya De Hun Shi)

2006, China, 96 min

Mandarin, subtitled

Directed by: Wang Quan'an

Filmed in Mongolia, this tells the tale of increasing hardship in making a living raising livestock given increasing desertification. Hator has become paralyzed from the harsh work of digging for water, and Tuya, his wife, is given a dire medical prognosis. So the two families of the pair come together, and counsel the couple to divorce so that Tuya can marry someone who can support the family. Tuya agrees on the condition that the new husband must accept Hator into the family. The film explores love and faithfulness, very beautiful.

WINNER at Berlin Film Festival

Golden Bear, Ecumenical Jury

WINNER at Chicago International Film Festival

Silver Hugo

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Saturday, 19 January 2008                afternoon | evening

Feature Film:  Mother of Mine (Äideistä Parhain)

2005, Finland/Sweden, 111 min

Finnish/Swedish, subtitled

Directed by:  Klaus Härö

Flashback to WWII, when a Finnish boy is sent to Sweden for safety. Complications: the host family recently lost their only child, a daughter, in a drowning accident. Issues of abandonment, love, reconciliation.

WINNER at Cairo International Film Festival

Golden Pyramid

WINNER at Palm Springs International Film Festival

Audience Award

WINNER at Satellite Awards

Outstanding Motion Picture, Foreign Film

WINNER at Viareggio EuropaCinema

Platinum Audience Award

WINNER at Lübeck Nordic Film Days

Baltic Film Prize for a Nordic Feature Film

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2 pm —

Film Short:  Getting My Goat

2005, USA, 2 min

Directed by:  Eva Saks

A short film for anyone who's ever had an argument.

Feature Film:  Witnesses

2003, Croatia, 88 min

Serbo-Croatian, subtitled

Directed by:  Vinko Bresan

This film won the Peace Award at the Berlin Festival. It takes place during a 24 hour period, circling ever deeper into the effect of war on a small community, ambiguities between "friend" and "foe," and its sense of responsibilities.

WINNER at Berlin International Film Festival

Peace Award

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention

WINNER at Film by the Sea International Film Festival

Film and Literature Award

WINNER at Jerusalem Film Festival

In Spirit for Freedom Award

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A delicious short film about a little girl who learns empathy from a pastry.

A wonderful comedy involving strangers recently moved into a clannish community, and the romance of the son with a local girl who is deaf.

WINNER at Berlin International Film Festival

FIPRESCI Prize

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Sunday, 20 January 2008                 afternoon | evening

A profoundly moving superimposition of videos of today over videos from fifty years ago, giving a sense of sacredness in the everyday--very beautiful film, giving a sense of the intersection of time and eternity in "the spirit of places."

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A wonderful story of a father who wants almost more than anything for his 14 year old son to win a movie audition in a city far from their small village. Sometimes you have to go far away to discover the treasures you have at home.

WINNER at Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival

Silver Dolphin (Best Screenplay)

WINNER at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

East of West Award

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Meet the quintessential American “pizza man”: An immigrant from El Salvador who makes Italian pizza at the California Pizza Oven in New York City. A Slice of Life!

A father, estranged for reasons we are not told from his terminally ill son, learns that the son had wanted very much to finish filming Chinese folk opera in the rural interior. So he decides to do this for him. . .

WINNER at Hong Kong Film Awards

Hong Kong Film Award (Best Asian Film, China)

WINNER at San Diego Film Critics Society Awards

SDFCS Award (Best Foreign-Language Film)

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Monday, 21 January 2008                 afternoon | evening

10 am —

A short, post-modern screwball comedy about a custody battle.

Feature Film: Opal Dream

2005, Australia/UK, 86 min

Directed by:  Peter Cattaneo

A heartwarming family film about a girl with imaginary friends, and a town with imaginary hopes of getting rich quick from individual opal mining.

NOMINATED at Dinard British Film Festival

Golden Hitchcock

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2 pm —

A SESAME STREET Letter of the Day: Alphabet Zelda looks for Z. Initial airings during the 2004-2005 season of Sesame Street.

Feature Film:  Dreams of Dust (Rêves de Poussière)

2006, France/Burkina Faso, 86 min

French, subtitled

Directed by: Laurent Salgues

Set in Burkina Faso, a Nigerian man whose life has been broken by the loss of his daughter and rejection by his wife arrives at the gold mining fields. Superlative photography, and a deep study of character.

NOMINATED at Sundance Film Festival

Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema, Dramatic)

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7 pm —

Kylie Goldstein was born in China… now she's part of an American family.

Feature Film:  The Namesake

2006, US/India, 122 min

Directed by:  Mira Nair

A first-generation man whose parents emigrated from India struggles with his dual identity.

NOMINATED at Casting Society of America, USA

Best Feature Film Casting - Drama