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Home , Charlotte Rampling, Daria Nicolodi, Deep Red, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Adjani, Jeanne Moreau

DREYER, CARL THEODOR ...... 9 INDEX THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC ...... 9 KIEŚLOWSKI, KRZYSZTOF ...... 16 ARGENTO, DARIO ...... 2 FASSBINDER, RAINER WERNER ...... 10 THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE...... 16 THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE .... 2 THREE COLORS: BLUE ...... 16 ...... 10 ...... 2 THREE COLORS: WHITE ...... 17 PHENOMENA ...... 3 FELLINI, FEDERICO...... 10 THREE COLORS: RED ...... 17 ...... 3 8½ ...... 10 LOACH, KEN ...... 18 BRESSON, ROBERT ...... 4 LA DOLCE VITA ...... 11 ...... 18 PICKPOCKET ...... 4 FREARS, STEPHEN ...... 11 MALLE, LOUIS ...... 18 A MAN ESCAPED...... 4 MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE ...... 11 ...... 18 CAMPION, JANE ...... 5 GODARD, JEAN-LUC ...... 12 GOODBYE CHILDREN ...... 19 THE PIANO ...... 5 MY LIFE TO LIVE ...... 12 THE LOVERS ...... 19 CAVANI, LILIANA ...... 5 GREENAWAY, PETER ...... 12 ÔSHIMA, NAGISA ...... 20 ...... 5 DROWNING BY NUMBERS ...... 12 IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES ...... 20 CHAPLIN, CHARLES ...... 6 A ZED & TWO NOUGHTS ...... 13 OZU, YASUJIRÔ ...... 20 THE CIRCUS ...... 6 HERMAN, MARK ...... 13 TOKYO STORY ...... 20 CITY LIGHTS ...... 6 BRASSED OFF ...... 13 POTTER, SALLY ...... 21 THE GOLD RUSH ...... 7 HERZOG, WERNER ...... 14 THE GREAT DICTATOR ...... 7 ORLANDO ...... 21 THE KID ...... 8 AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD ...... 14 RESNAIS, ALAIN ...... 21 MODERN TIMES ...... 8 ...... 14 ...... 21 THE VAMPYRE ...... 15 MONSIEUR VERDOUX ...... 9 JARMAN, DEREK ...... 15 CARAVAGGIO...... 15

1

Argento, Dario

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage Italy | 1970 | 98 min Featuring: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Eva Renzi A notorious serial killer is on the loose in . Sam, an American writer visiting the city become the sole witness to a murder attempt on a woman in a gallery. The woman survives but the police fail to find any evidence leading them to the killer. Sam finds several leads on his own and quickly become obsessive with finding the mysterious killer. The directorial debut of what came to be the uncrowned king of Italian horror, , with a haunting score by .

Deep Red Italy | 1975 | 126 min Featuring: , , Musician Marcus Daly become the sole witness to a brutal murder on his way home from work late one night. He arrives at the scene too late to help the victim. While talking to the police at the crime scene, Marcus start to notice how the apartment looks staged, like something has been rearranged. As the murderer continues the killing spree, Marcus and reporter Gianni set out to find clues that will lead them to the perpetrator. Deep Red mark the first-time collaboration between the director and Academy Award nominated screenwriter Bernardino Zapponi. It also marks the first collaboration with Italian rock group Goblin who have successfully been scoring soundtracks for Italian films ever since.

2

Phenomena Italy | 1985 | 116 min Featuring: Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, Dario Nicolodi Close to a prestigious boarding school in Switzerland the body of a dead tourist turns up beheaded. Months later young and beautiful Jennifer Corvino arrives at the school, unaware of these previous events. Jennifer’s interest for insects and the fact that she is prone to sleepwalking soon make her the target of ridicule from her classmates. During one of her sleepwalks Jennifer witnesses another murder and wakes up alone in the forest remembering nothing but fragments of the night. Phenomena is a murder mystery starring Academy Award winning Jennifer Connelly and the brilliant Donald Pleasence, with scenes that will have you hold your breath in suspense.

Suspiria Italy | 1977 | 98 min Featuring: , Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci Clueless about what is to come, young Suzy Bannion arrives at the airport in to enroll in a prestigious ballet academy. Arriving late at night, in the midst of a thunderstorm, however makes for a not so pleasant welcome. She gets to witness a student fleeing in a state of terror. As Suzy’s semester starts, she quickly realizes something is wrong, and her time at the Academy turns into a supernatural nightmare, paved with a series of sinister murders. Italian -director Dario Argento has been unanimously praised throughout the 20th century as the greatest at his craft. Suspiria is widely considered his magnum opus, embodying the essence of modern horror cinema.

3

Bresson, Robert

Pickpocket France | 1959 | 75 min Featuring: Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri Michel goes to a horse race to make some easy money. Though for a simple pickpocket like Michel, the easy money doesn’t come from horse-betting. On his way from the tracks he is, however, arrested. And as we know, when once fallen in to crime the way back is a tough one. Pickpocket deals with a man who struggles with balancing his thiefdom with his personal life, involving family, love and loss. was one of the favorites of Cahiers du cinema and regarded as one of the first auteurs in European film history. His colleague Jean-Luc Godard once stated that “Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is the German music.”

A Man Escaped Un condamné à mort s’est échappé ou Le vent soufflé oú il veut France | 1956 | 99 min Featuring: François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock It is 1943 in Lyon, France. Resistance fighter Fontaine is captured by the Nazis and brought to a prison full of other spies and Nazi-opponents. It is cold, Fontaine is malnourished and the sounds of executions of captives cut like knives through the prison walls. Fontaine’s only alternative to death is to plot for the most extraordinary escape in film history. Bresson’s magnum opus A Man Escaped earned the director his first Best Director-award at the , and is considered the original prison break-feature – its impact is enormous and undeniable.

4

Campion, Jane

The Piano New Zealand/Australia | 1993 | 121 min Featuring: , , , Sam Neill In the mid-nineteenth century, mute woman Ada leaves Scotland for New Zealand due to an arranged marriage, and with her is only her daughter Flora and her beloved piano. Life didn’t pan out as Ada would have wanted, and her boredom is turned into torment when her husband Stewart sells the piano to a despicable neighbor, George. Missing her piano, Ada gives George piano lessons and slowly grows fonder of him… Eight time Academy Award nominee (three wins) The Piano is one of the most highly regarded pieces of modern cinema, and marks the breakthrough of widely celebrated director .

Cavani, Liliana

The Night Porter Italy/USA | 1974 | 118 min Featuring: , , Philippe Leroy, It has gone twelve years since the end of World War II when former SS officer Max and Holocaust survivor Lucia meet again. In the concentration camps, Max tormented Lucia, but also acted as her protector – as they also had a sexual relationship. Now, Max works as a night porter at a hotel. Lucia is married to an orchestra conductor. By chance they meet again, and while Max has spent his past years eliminating evidence of his crimes, Lucia as a first-hand witness is beyond elimination. Instead, they resume their sadomasochistic relations from past times.

5

Chaplin, Charles

The Circus USA | 1928 | 72 min Featuring: Charles Chaplin, Alan Garcia, Merna Kennedy With a stolen wallet and watch in his pocket, a penniless and hungry tramp is mistaken for a pickpocket. He’s chased by both the police and the actual thief, and flees into the middle of a circus performance – unknowingly becoming the hit of the show. The tramp keeps on making unintentional comedic success, and is too in love with the ringmaster’s daughter to grasp the situation he’s in. With his second feature film “The Circus”, Chaplin won his first Academy Award for versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing. It is today considered one of Chaplin’s foremost comedies.

City Lights USA | 1931 | 81 min Featuring: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee Straying the city streets, our Little Tramp happens upon a blind flower girl. Being blind, she can’t see his real self, and mistakes him for a rich man. How convenient, since the Tramp falls in love with the girl. Later on, he saves a drunken millionaire from drowning. The millionaire becomes his best friend, and the Tramp is one step closer to being who the flower girl thinks he is. How inconvenient, that the millionaire no longer recognizes the tramp when he’s sober… Friendship and social ranking are not always as they seem. In this world of a disenchanted bourgeoisie, a tramp can be king and a blind girl his queen. “City Lights” is one of Chaplin’s greatest accomplishments, with a final scene that has been called the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid.

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The Gold Rush USA | 1925 | 69 min Featuring: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray A lone prospector seeking fame and fortune goes to Klondike to find his riches. Calm and content he goes about his business, until another prospector, just as famished as himself, begins mistaking him for a giant chicken. Shoe laces become spaghetti and bread rolls become ballet shoes, in a strange world where Chaplin, the alchemist, turns gold into poetry. “The Gold Rush” has been said to be the outstanding gem of all Chaplin’s pictures, receiving two Academy Award nominations upon its re-release in 1942. It has also been ranked the second greatest film in history.

The Great Dictator USA | 1940 | 120 min Featuring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie After 20 years hospitalized, a barber wounded in WWI finally returns home. Upon his return, he is approached by cruel Dictator Adenoid Hynkel and his troops, who is out to persecute both the barber as well as the rest of the Jewish community. In this visionary and razor-sharp satire, Chaplin points to the madness going on in Europe at the time. It made a mark in film history, the same way as history made its mark in the film. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Writing as well as two actor Awards. It has also won plenty of international awards through the years, both for its impact, its laughs and for its spot-on social critique.

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The Kid USA | 1921 | 53 min Featuring: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan Chaplin’s to-be-classic Little Tramp unwillingly takes in an abandoned baby. After a rough start, where only his conscience keeps them together, he quickly softens up to the boy. After a few years, they make the most loyal team living together. That is until when the boy gets ill, and social services wants to take him away from the tramp… Chaplin’s first feature length film is widely considered one of the greatest films of the silent era, and was a huge success when first released – being the second-highest grossing film of 1921.

Modern Times USA | 1936 | 89 min Featuring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman A model factory worker has a nervous breakdown due to the infernal production rate and productivity demands. Going slightly mad from the experience, the worker goes from hospital, to prison, and then finally unemployment. He is now a gear without purpose in the modern industrialized society. After a highly unusual, and somewhat criminal series of events, the worker runs off with an orphaned girl with the aim to find a way back into society. “Modern Times” is a thoughtful and harsh critique of the industrialization process that put people out of work and turned occupational burnout into a public health issue. It is arguably Chaplin’s funniest socially conscious feature, and remains one of his most-loved to date.

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Monsieur Verdoux USA | 1947 | 124 min Featuring: Charles Chaplin, Mady Corell, Allison Roddan After being laid off from his work as a benk teller, Henri Verdoux decides to become the master of an unusual kind of romance scams. Luring women with riches and happy-ever-afters, through slick lies about his identity, he engages in relationships with only one certain actual motif: to kill them. Inspired by the true story of French serial killer Henri Désiré Landu, Chaplin made this black comedy in the aftermath of World War II, which proved ill- suited for a dark film such as this. However, in hindsight it is regarded as not only a unique proof of Chaplin’s diversity, but also a milestone in black comedy.

Dreyer, Carl Theodor

The Passion of Joan of Arc La passion de Jeanne d’Arc France | 1928 | 110 min Featuring: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley It’s late spring in 1431, and Joan of Arc is captured to stand trial for heresy by the French clerical court. The judges try in every way to shake her belief that she’s doing God’s work, but to no success. Not even the threatening torture chamber will bring her to giving up her fight. The Passion of Joan of Arc is arguably the magnum opus of Carl Theodor Dreyer, the Danish director who was to become one of the most influential in film history. Following its major critical success, The Passion of Joan of Arc has ever since consistently been considered one of the greatest films ever made.

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Fassbinder, Rainer Werner

Querelle /France | 1982 | 108 min Featuring: Brad Davis, , Sailor Querelle arrives to the coastal town Brest in southern France, and starts to repeatedly visit an odd bordello. The owner, Lysistrate, provides an unusual kind of gambling, that lets the winner make love to her – while the loser instead gets to make love with her husband. Meanwhile, Querelle discovers that his own brother is Lysistrate’s lover, and he himself always lose the dice games on purpose… German avant-garde director has been awarded at most of the significant film festivals internationally, and Querelle was nominated for maybe the finest prize of them all; the in Venice, where legendary director Marcel Carné withdrew from his duty as President of the Jury following his disappointment in the fact that Querelle did not get picked as a winner.

Fellini, Federico

8½ Otto e mezzo Italy | 1963 | 138 min Featuring: , , Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo Guido Anselmi, an Italian director, has a hard case of writer’s block. He is pressured by people’s expectations as well as his conscience to come up with something, and both his mistress, his wife, his producer and all of his friends pressure him as well. Guido retreats into dreams to shelter himself from the pressure, to finally find inspiration to make his new film, and face the world. 8½ earned Fellini his third Academy Award, and has since become the master-class example on meta-moviemaking. A magnificent film that timelessly convey the human condition with an art few other directors can match.

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La Dolce Vita Italy | 1960 | 174 min Featuring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux Tabloid reporter Marcello Rubini finds himself trapped in a shallow high-society existence. His dreams of writing something important are kept on hold due to the money and fame that accompany his position. Marcello romanticizes the true love but hardly even reacts upon his girlfriend overdosing pills. Instead his wealthy jet set lifestyle draws him towards brief encounters and particularly the Swedish-American star actress Sylvia, in a fruitless search for love and happiness. As winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival as well as an Academy Award, and featuring Golden Globe winners Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg in its leads, La Dolce Vita remains one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time.

Frears, Stephen

My Beautiful Laundrette UK | 1985 | 97 min Featuring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Saeed Jaffrey, The Thatcher era was a tough one for people in the periphery of the British society. Young Pakistani man Omar Ali lives in London’s southern suburbs, and is assigned the task of managing a run-down laundrette after having worked briefly for his uncle. After getting involved with the Pakistani community of London, Omar is attacked by a gang of right- wing extremist street thugs. It turns out their leader is Omar’s childhood friend Johnny, and the two work together to overcome their dissensions by resuming not only their old friendship, but also an interrupted romantic relationship. My Beautiful Laundrette won several awards for Hanif Kureishi’s beautiful screenplay and was the first film to earn three-time Academy Awarded actor Daniel Day-Lewis any awards. Addressing issues as homophobia and racism, My Beautiful Laundrette is as relevant today as it was in Thatcher’s England.

11

Godard, Jean-Luc

My Life to Live Vivre sa vie : film en douze tableaux France | 1962 | 80 min Featuring: , Sady Rebbot, André S. Labarthe Young Nana decides to leave her husband and her infant son with hope to pursue an acting career. Unable to succeed, Nana is forced towards prostitution to earn enough money for a bearable life. When her first pimp is to sell Nana to another one, a gunfight ensues and Nana is tragically killed. In My Life to Live, Nana’s short life is told in 12 brief episodes each preceded by an intertitle. Of all directors emerging through or from the , Jean-Luc Godard is the foremost. Through his career, Godard has been awarded uncountable festival awards, and 2011 he was received the Honorary Award at the Oscars.

Greenaway, Peter

Drowning by Numbers UK/Netherlands | 1988 | 118 min Featuring: Bernard Hill, Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson, Joely Richardson Cissie Colpitts seems to have some trouble with her way to flirtatious husband, and decides to drown him. Her daughter and her niece, both also called Cissie Colpitts, are equally dissatisfied with their respective husbands, and decide to follow in Cissie Colpitts senior’s footsteps. By numbers, the three husbands are drowned, in this slightly absurd, -like Greenaway dramedy. By its release Drowning by Numbers won awards for its direction and artistic contribution at Cannes Film Festival and Seattle International Festival, as well as the Audience Award at Warsaw International Film Festival.

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A Zed & Two Noughts UK/Netherlands | 1985 | 115 min Featuring: Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon, Andréa Ferréol, Frances Barber When a weird car accident with a white swan occurs, zoologist-twins Oswald and Oliver Deuce are left widowed, while driver Alba Bewick gets away with only a lost leg. The brothers’ grief leads to a fixation with death and the natural decay of animal flesh, and when their obsession reaches its culmination, they have decided to analyze the decay of a human – Alba Bewick. A Zed & Two Noughts marks the first collaboration with cinematographer Sacha Vierny, who would shoot every Greenaway-movie until his passing 2001. Vierny was referred to, by Greenaway, as his most important collaborator.

Herman, Mark

Brassed Off UK/USA | 1996 | 107 min Featuring: Ewan McGregor, Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Stephen Tompkinson Grimley Colliery Brass band is as old as the mine the musicians work. But when the pit is to be closed, what will happen to the band? The workers must fight for the town’s future, and get an extra injection of energy with the arrival of flugelhorn player Gloria, and maybe it’s just enough to make it through the national competition… Brassed Off received several critics and festival awards all over Europe, and makes for a tremendous example of how the typical British has a tendency to transcend its national borders with great success.

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Herzog, Werner

Aguirre, the Wrath of God Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes Germany | 1972 | 94 min Featuring: , , In the 1500’s, a few decades after the decline of the Inca empire, a Spanish expedition leaves the mountains of in search of gold and riches. Following the Amazon River, the expedition soon stumbles upon great difficulties and someone has to take command of the group. The task falls upon the ruthless Don Lope de Aguirre, whose eyes see nothing but the wealth they search for. But the question remains, if the expedition will find the golden city of El Dorado, or if Don Aguirre is to lead them to further death and destruction. Aguirre won several critics’ and festival awards and marks the first collaboration between and his lead man Klaus Kinski, a pair that would gain unlimited praise and a certain cult following for decades.

Fitzcarraldo Germany | 1982 | 157 min Featuring: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy There is no end to what Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald would do for his obsession; the art of opera. His grand plan is to build an opera house in the jungle, involving the hauling of an enormous river boat across a small mountain with the help from local Indians. But first he needs to find funds for his megalomaniac scheme, which he plans to do by making a fortune in the rubber business… Fitzcarraldo was nominated for both a BAFTA award and a Golden Globe in the Best Foreign Film categories, and Herzog won another Best Director award in Cannes for this somewhat absurd, yet majestic feature. The film is derived from the historic events of rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald.

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Nosferatu the Vampyre Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht Germany | 1979 | 107 min Featuring: Klaus Kinski, , The classic tale of Count Dracula retold in a way that only Werner Herzog could do. In , Germany, Lucy and Jonathan Harker is a happily married couple. Jonathan, working as a real estate agent, is sent to Transylvania for a business meeting with Count Dracula, who has shown interest in a house in Wismar. Confident and eager to make the sale, Jonathan makes his way to Dracula despite the villagers’ advice to return home. When Jonathan shows Count Dracula a photograph of his wife, the Count promptly decides to buy – but is it for better or for worse? Loved by critics both now and then, has been well praised for its horror elements as well for portraying the very tragic loneliness of the vampire’s being. Upon its release, it was nominated for the at the Berlin International Film Festival, and awarded with a Silver Bear at the same.

Jarman, Derek

Caravaggio UK | 1986 | 93 min Featuring: Sean Bean, Nigel Terry, , Noam Almaz, Dexter Fletcher Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio gained the support of Cardinal Del Monte early in his career, proceeding to develop a new style of painting to portray his surrounding world in a more realistic way. Meanwhile his art sprouts, he gets involved in a love affair with his model Ranuccio, and another with Ranuccio’s girlfriend. A love triangle that inevitably leads to deceit and further on even murder… Caravaggio is ’s reimagined semi-fictionalized biopic of the Italian painter, famous from his brilliant but nearly blasphemous paintings. Upon its world premiere at Berlin International Film Festival, it received both the C.I.D.A.L.C. Award and the Silver Bear for its beautiful visual style.

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Kieślowski, Krzysztof

The Double Life of Véronique La double vie de Véronique France/Poland | 1991 | 98 min Featuring: Irène Jacob, Halina Gryglaszewska, Wladyslaw Kowalski Weronika lives in Poland. Véronique lives in . Though not knowing each other, they happen to be identical. Not only is it their looks that are the same, but also their lives seems to be weirdly intertwined – through a mysterious, emotional bond connecting the two of them, transcending language and geography. Kieślowski received both the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes Film Festival, and Irène Jacob in the double lead roles was awarded for Best Actress. The Double Life of Véronique is as memorable for Sławomir Idziak’s stylized cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner’s intriguingly haunting soundtrack, as it is for is enchanting drama.

Three Colors: Blue Trois couleurs: Bleu France/Poland | 1993 | 94 min Featuring: , Benoît Régent, , Florence Pernel, Guillaume De Tonquédec The first part in Kieślowski’s Tricolour trilogy is the sad story of Julie who struggles to find a way back to life after the death of her family. But instead of locking herself up in the past, Julie takes her chance to a new beginning – turning the story into one about freedom as much one about solitude and grief, why it has been called an anti-tragedy. The Three Colors trilogy is regarded as one of the most important works in the European film canon. This opening part won the Special Jury Award at Chicago International Film Festival, as well as three César Awards and no less than seven awards at .

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Three Colors: White Trois couleurs: Blanc France/Poland | 1994 | 87 min Featuring: Zbigniew Zamachowski, , Janusz Gajos, Jerzy Stuhr Karol Karol is divorced by his wife due to the humiliating fact that he was never able to consummate the marriage. Along with his wife he also loses his money, his residency and his friends. As a beggar in the subways of Warsaw, Karol begins his way of restoring equality by making elaborate plans to exact revenge. Through all his tragicomic mishaps, Karol fails to let his inner self get beat down in an anti- comedy about revenge as a way to equality. This second part in Kieślowski’s Three Colors trilogy won the Silver Berlin Bear at Berlin International Film Festival, and was met with wide critical acclaim. Featuring Academy Award nominee Julie Delpy as Karol’s ex-wife.

Three Colors: Red Trois couleurs: Rouge France/Poland | 1994 | 99 min Featuring: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder, Jean-Pierre Lorit The final entry in the Three Colors trilogy sets its focus on Valentine, a university student and part-time model. Over time Valentine happens to befriend a reclusive retired judge, whose main daytime distraction is to spy on his neighbors eavesdrop on their private telephone conversations. What begins with aversion later is transformed into fondness and friendship. In this anti-romance third part of the trilogy, the previous two films as well as this one all reach their common conclusion, when the main characters from the three films are the sole survivors in a maritime accident. Three Colors: Red was nominated for three Academy Awards and six César Awards, of which it won one. It also received Best Foreign Film by a dozen festivals and critics societies. The full trilogy has been placed in top positions in several rankings of both trilogies but also in “greatest movies” lists.

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Loach, Ken

Land and Freedom UK/Spain | 1995 | 109 min Featuring: , Rosana Pastor, Icíar Bollaín, Tom Gilroy When David Carr is lying on his deathbed, his granddaughter discovers old letter, newspapers and other documents regarding his life. Following is a flashback in which his story is told, where he as a young unemployed communist leaves his hometown of Liverpool to fight the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. Joining the International Bridages, and further on enlisting in a semi-Trotskyist POUM militia, Carr fights alongside his equals – amongst them finding friendship as well as love. Internationally well-renowned and praised British director was awarded with both the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. Malle, Louis

Elevator to the Gallows Ascenseur pour l’échafaud France | 1958 | 91 min Featuring: Jeanne Moreau, , Florence is madly in love with ex-soldier Julien and they secretly make a scheme to kill her husband – Julien’s boss – Simon. All details are well thought through. But after staging Simon’s suicide in his office, Julien finds himself trapped in the office elevator and fails to make the agreed rendezvous with Florence. Meanwhile, Julien’s car is stolen outside the building and the thieves end up shooting a tourist at a motel. Both crimes’ evidence points to one man... “Elevator to the Gallows” was Malle’s feature film debut, when he was only 24 years old. The film is considered an important work at the base of the French New Wave and European New Modern Cinema. Notable is also the breakthrough of Jeanne Moreau and haunting score by Miles Davis.

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Goodbye Children Au revoir les enfants France | 1987 | 104 min Featuring: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette In France during World War II, 12-year old Julien reluctantly returns for his second semester at a Catholic boarding school. On the first night there, he meets a new boy named Jean in the dormitory. Jean is one of three Jewish refugees that the headmaster has decided to shelter at his school. The two boys start off as rivals, both being exceptionally intelligent, but end up as best friends. An unlucky chain of events results in the Gestapo paying a visit to the school, and the film tells how ignorance and only one unthinking moment can have consequences more serious than a boy could ever imagine. ’s part autobiographical movie “Goodbye Children” was heavily awarded with a BAFTA Film Award for Best direction, 7 César Awards and 3 David Awards.

The Lovers Les amants France | 1958 | 89 min Featuring: Jeanne Moreau, Alain Cuny, Jean-Marc Bory Jeanne Tournier is the bored upper-class wife of a provincial newspaper publisher, whom she leaves to run off with her young Parisian lover Raoul. Eventually Jeanne grows tired of Raoul and his constant polo-playing too. When a weekend in the countryside is crowned with a handsome stranger coming along for the ride home, Jeanne surprises both herself and Raoul by leaving him for the stranger. Malle’s second movie featuring Jeanne Moreau sent them both to stardom, winning the New Cinema Award and the Special Jury Prize as well as being nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival.

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Ôshima, Nagisa

In the Realm of the Senses Ai no korîda Japan/France | 1976 | 109 min Featuring: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima Based on a true story from the early 1900’s. A man and his servant begin an affair, turning into an obsession so strong it has them forsake everything else, including life itself. In the Realm of the Senses is a story of mad obsession, sexual tension and violent terror. Highly controversial at its first release, the film was initially prevented from Japanese release. Putting France as the main production country allowed it however, though censored. In the Realm of the Senses remains one of the world cinema classics of the 70’s erotic thrillers.

Ozu, Yasujirô

Tokyo Story Tôkyô monogatari Japan | 1953 | 136 min Featuring: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura Elderly couple Shikichi and Tomi leave their small hometown to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Koichi is a doctor with his own clinic, and Shige has her own beauty parlor. Though they don’t see each other very often, the children seem moderately happy with the visit, always busy they don’t even find time to show their parents around the city. The only one who takes her time with the elders is Noriko, the wife of their deceased son. Yasujirô Ozu is undoubtedly the biggest name in Gendaigeki cinema, the Japanese drama genre, and Tokyo Story is most likely his foremost work. In 2012, it was voted the best film of all time in a poll of film directors by Sight & Sound magazine.

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Potter, Sally

Orlando UK | 1992 | 94 min Featuring: Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Quentin Crisp Orlando is the lavish fantastical tale that follows the adventures of a young androgynous aristocrat during the 17th century, who after a strange encounter with Queen Elizabeth I goes on a picaresque journey and fruitlessly blunders through love. Strangely enough, Orlando does this for 200 years, without any visible aging. Sally Potter’s stunning adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s classic novel is a feast for both the eyes and the mind. It won several awards in Venice, one BAFTA award and was nominated for two Academy Awards. It also helped to launch the career of Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton who mesmerized the whole world with her portrayal of Orlando.

Resnais, Alain

Hiroshima mon amour France/Japan | 1959 | 90 min Featuring: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud A French actress is in Japan, to work on a film about peace and the impact of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A Japanese man, an architect, lost his family in the bombing. The two meet for a one- night-stand, upon which she recalls her lover during the war, a young German soldier. Hiroshima mon amour is the poetic remembrance of a terrifying historical event, the bombing of Hiroshima. It is Resnais’ first full-length feature and has been dubbed proto-new wave for its role in the origin of the French New Wave Cinema. BAFTA-awarded and Academy Award nominee.

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