THE 22ND ANNUAL WASHINGTON, DC INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL APRIL 24 – MAY 4, 2008 THE WASHINGTON, DC INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

A world of films…a window into our world. Whether experienced in movie theaters, on DVDs or television in our homes, on our iPods or computers, films are the major communications media of our time. Hollywood films dominate commercial cinema. However, scores of talented filmmakers around the globe produce thou- sands of quality films that speak with a different voice, provide a different point of view, and tell different stories. Presenting these films in the nation’s capital is the purpose of Filmfest DC. Photo: Chad Evans Wyatt Film festivals are a journey of Tony Gittens, Festival Director and Shirin Ghareeb, Assistant Director discovery, a visual and thought provoking adventure into how people see and interpret our world. Every Filmfest DC is different and every film is unique from every other film in the festival. Together, they comprise an amazing representation of human imagination, commitment and talent. The festival has two special focuses this year — Politics & Film and New Latin Ameri- can Cinema. Obviously, politics are especially prominent during this election season and we wanted to explore the role affairs of state play in people’s every day lives. Latin American filmmakers are always a treasure trove of inventive storytelling. The di- verse selection of new work we have gathered from the Spanish-speaking world (in- cluding Spain) are moving, humorous, and insightful. None of this would be possible without the many dedicated people who have shared their time and talents with Filmfest DC. To all of our sponsors, staff, and volunteers, we owe an immense amount of gratitude. Films evoke beauty, mystery, and fun. We produce this festival for you and invite you to join us for this celebration honoring the art form we so love. We trust you will find the festival entertaining and enlightening and look forward to seeing you at the movies.

Anthony Gittens, Director Washington, DC International Film Festival and Executive Director, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities 1 THEATRES AND TICKETS TABLE OF CONTENTS

Theatre Locations Tickets Opening Night ...... 4 General Admission is $10.00. AMC Mazza Gallerie Special Admissions are noted. 5300 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Closing Night...... 5 Take Metro Red line to Friendship Heights. Tickets are available Street parking available. through Tickets.com by calling (800) 955-5566 Festival Guide ...... 6-9 Avalon Theatre between 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM Monday 5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW – Sunday, and online at www.tic kets.com. Film Descriptions ...... 10-25, 30-41 Take Metro Red line to Friendship Heights. No Tickets.com sales the day of the Street parking available. show. Festival Schedule ...... 26-29 Landmark's E Street Cinema Tickets may also be purchased online at 555 11th Street, NW the Filmfest DC Web site www.filmfestdc. Take Metro Red, Orange, or Blue line to org and at all Olsson's Books and Thanks ...... 42-43 Metro Center. Theatre entrance on E Street Records and CD Game Exchange stores. between 10th and 11th Streets. Three hours Print Sources ...... 44-45 reduced-rate parking available in adjacent Tickets are also available at each garage with validation, Monday through theatre one hour before the first show of Friday after 6 PM and anytime on weekends. the day. Cash or check sales only at the Sponsors...... 46-47 theatres. Free events are on a first Regal Cinemas Gallery Place come, first serve basis, with no reserva- 701 7th Sreet, NW tions accepted or tickets required. Index...... 48 Take Metro Blue, Green, Orange, Red, or Yel- low lines to Gallery Place/Chinatown. Three Passes hours free parking with validation at Gallery Place Parking on 6th Street between G and H. Director’s Pass: Ten-ticket package val- ued at $100.00 will be discounted to Other Locations $80.00. Busboys & Poets Weekday Pass: Four-ticket package valued at $40.00 will be discounted to 2021 14th Street, NW $30.00. Admission to screenings Take Metro Green line to U Street/Cardozo. Monday through Thursday. Historic Lincoln Theatre Both passes vailable through 1215 U Street, NW Tickets.com by phone and online only Take Metro Green or Yellow Take Metrobus (not applicable for Opening and Clos- Line to U Street/Cardozo. or Metrorail ing Nights or Special Events). to Filmfest DC French Embassy 4101 Reservoir Road NW For more information go to Street parking available. National Gallery of Art filmfestdc.org www.filmfestdc.org East Building Auditorium, 4th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Take Metro Green or Yellow Line to 202 234 film National Archives/Navy Memorial. 202 234 FILM

2 3 OPENING NIGHT CLOSING NIGHT Two Ladies Shall We Kiss? Dans la vie Un baiser s’il Philippe Faucon vous plait France, 2007, 73 minutes, color Emmanuel Mouret “The world could France, 2007, 100 minutes, color learn a thing or two “Before a kiss has been about getting along given,” someone says near from the two ladies the clever conclusion of this in this nicely ob- delightfully droll comic served film about an romp, “nobody knows if it’ll unlikely friendship,” be big or small.” And said the Hollywood therein, as we all know, lies Reporter. Refresh- the challenge. One day, on a ingly low-key and Nantes street corner, local naturalistic, Two Gabriel (Michael Cohen) Ladies is a benevo- bumps into fabric designer Emilie (Julie Gayet), who’s new in town. One thing lent, affecting drama leads to another, and they have dinner. Nervously asking for a good night kiss, about diversity and Gabriel is instead regaled with a story: it seems that one of her chums, lab worker tolerance. Set in France, the film introduces us to a young, modern Arab nurse, Se- Judith (Virginie Ledoyen), became unexpectedly involved with her best friend, lima (Sabrina Ben Abdallah), who cares for an elderly Jewish woman. Despite her schoolteacher Nicolas (mopey auteur Emmanuel Mouret). Wishing to spare Judith’s reputation for being difficult, Esther (Ariane Jacquot) ends up getting along well partner Claudio (Steffano Accorsi) from the pain of separation, they endeavor to set with Selima. Although from different cultures and religions, they both share an Al- him up with Nicolas’ newly jilted significant other, Caline (Frederique Bel). Prob- gerian background. Selima then brings her mother, Halima (Zohra Mouffok) into lem is, the more Judith and Nicolas attempt to quantify and quash their l’amour fou, the mix to help care and cook for Esther. The two charming elderly women get making everyone happy in the process, the more variables of the heart spring up to along well, but tensions come to a head when Halima is ostracized in her neighbor- bring them together. One of the runaway hits of FFDC 2007 was Change of Address, hood for financing a pilgrimage to Mecca with the money she’s earning. Two Ladies the charmingly eccentric story of crossed lovers from the filmmaker who, with his is full of marvelous moments and engaging surprises. If there’s an over-arching fourth feature, has only solidified his place in modern French cinema as a distinctive theme to this year’s selection, it may well be the understanding that comes from tol- cross between Eric Rohmer and Woody Allen. For anyone who’s ever entered into erance. With that in mind, there’s no better Opening Night presentation than the an affair against their better judgment, and for anyone who’s found themselves en- keenly observed Two Ladies. —Eddie Cockrell meshed in emotional entanglements from which there seems to be no escape, Shall IN FRENCH AND ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES We Kiss? was made to make you feel better about that predicament. For the rest of us, it’s just a fitting finale to another great 2 weeks of film. See you next year.— Thurs., April 24, 7:00 PM, Historic Lincoln Theatre, followed by gala reception, $40.00 Eddie Cockrell IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Sponsored by ★ In Person: Director Philippe Faucon, Stars Ariane Jacquot and Sun., May 4, 4:00 PM, Regal Cinemas, ✚ Co-Presented with Zohra Mouffok, and Producer Yasmina Nini-Faucon followed by a party at Bar Louie, $15.00 the Embassy of France

4 5 FILMFEST DC HIGHLIGHTS FILMFEST DC HIGHLIGHTS New Latin American Cinema The filmmakers of Latin America continue to be a rich source of exciting, inventive cinema. While film production in many Latin American countries is Politics & Film tiny and not considered a major industry, Brazil, Argentina, and Film can play a key role in bridging the gap Mexico have long histories of producing both populist box office between cultures. It can make us aware of hits and initiating groundbreaking movements like the Third Cinema approaches to the human experience other and Cinema Novo. Often made on relatively minuscule budgets, in than our own. No matter where we live, gov- small markets and under difficult circumstances, these films demon- ernment plays in our daily lives — often to OFFICIAL SPONSOR strate a wealth of talent and imagination. OF NEW LATIN our benefit, often not. The subject is unavoid- AMERICAN CINEMA able. Not just during election season and not This Filmfest selection is by no means a comprehensive only in the nation’s capital, but whereever Children of Glory, p. survey. There are many Latin American countries not represented here. This people come together. is because our city is fortunate to have Washington’s Latin American Film Festival, which presents an excellent wide-ranging The works gathered in this series are diverse, yet each seems to ask the same La Antenna, p.10 program every year. Films in this series question: What happens to the human spirit, the personal sense of self, in the were selected because they represent face of power politics? Does this engagement make us more committed (Chil- themes related to national identity while dren of Glory), or corrupt (Mon colonel)? Is politics always confrontational (War addressing wider concerns. & Democracy) or can it call forth the best in us (Beyond the Call)? Some of the filmmakers in this series are straightforward (The Bread Winner), while others tell Basic Sanitation, the Movie humorously a story where power dynamics lurk in the background (Buddha Collapsed). tells of a small group’s struggle to make a relevant movie, an experience shared by Like all of the films in the Filmfest DC, the Politics & Film series gives a view so many filmmakers from this region. The from the inside, and not surprisingly, what we see there is humanity not too un- Pope’s Toilet depicts one man’s continuous like our own. frustration as he tries to take advantage of Basic Sanitation, the Movie, p.11 perceived new economic opportunities. The haves and have-nots in La Zona are separated by an actual wall and clash when one side accidentally interacts with Directors’ Roundtable another. Is it worth going home again, Each year, a group of international filmmakers asks Calle Santa Fe? These films are both entertaining and insightful. They are rooted converge at Filmfest DC for screenings of their in the national cultures, people and reali- films and interaction with each other and our ties of a geographical area, but speak a audiences. Join the festival’s guest directors universal language. for an informal discussion of their working styles and the contrasting conditions under which their films are made.

Sat., April 26, 4:00 PM Visit any Latin Concepts Restaurant including Ceviche or the Chi Cha Lounge for a free Free appetizer or cocktail with your Latin Cinema ticket stub throughout the Festival, $10 value. Busboys & Poets, FREE www.latinconcepts.com

6 7 FILMFEST DC HIGHLIGHTS FILMFEST DC HIGHLIGHTS

Patti Smith Capital Focus Award

Every year, Filmfest DC focuses The Capital Focus Award is a juried competition of selected films on the collaboration of music deserving of increased recognition. Films in competition were and film by showcasing a number of fea- selected by the Festival’s Programming Committee and the winner tures and documentaries highlighting major will be determined by a jury of accomplished film professionals. international musical artists. Films selected for this year’s competition are:

Global Rhythms is made possible thanks to ❉ The Girl by the Lake (Italy) Tuya’s Marriage, p.20 the support of 94.7 The Globe. ❉ Late Bloomers (Switzerland) Don’t miss the special presentation of ❉ Paloma Delight (Algeria/France) Patti Smith: Dream of Life ❉ The Pope's Toilet (Uruguay/Brazil) with special guest star Patti Smith. www.947theglobe.com Global Rhythms Sponsored by ❉ Tuya's Marriage (China) April 25, 9:30 PM, Historic Lincoln 94.7 The Globe ❉ Unfinished Stories (Iran) Theatre (see page 33 for details) Listen to win tickets to the screenings! ❉ We Are Together (UK) ❉ La Zona (Spain/Mexico) Festival Feté! The Awards Jury is comprised of: French Embassy screening of Tell No One and a reception w Susan Barocas, Competition Coordinator on April 30. See details on page 37. w Manjula Kumar, Smithsonian Institution w Arnie Lutzker, Entertainment Attorney w Andrew Mencher, Programming Filmfest DC for Director, Avalon Theatre LEGEND KIDS w Peggy Parsons, Curator, Department of Film Look for the following icons Programs, National Gallery of Art throughout the catalog. FREE screening of 1,2,3…Leon Capital Global from France for children Focus Rhythms Circle Audience Award 3 years old Award Founded by Ted and Jim Pedas, Washington’s Circle Theatres New Latin and up. Cinema set the standard for innovative quality film programming. Filmfest DC will American for Seniors See details present an award to the feature film voted the most popular by our audience. Cinema on page 31. Ballots will be available after each screening. Filmfest Politics & DC for Film Kids The winners for both the Circle Audience Award and the Capital Focus Award will be announced on Closing Night.

Free Free Free

8 9 AmericanEast Avatars: Ballerina Hesham Issawi The First Person of New Media Bertrand USA, 2007, 111 minutes, color This program will look at new developments in Normand digital media art. Works will explore the con- When he’s not trying to pre- cepts of the first person, identity, and commu- France, 2007, vent his son from converting nication in the digital age. 77 minutes, color to Christianity or police his Sneak Peek A portrait of five teenaged daughter’s druggie different Russian friends, Egyptian restaurateur Shawn Rider, 2008, 5.5 minutes A special sneak peek exclusive for FFDC attendees! ballerinas from the Moustafa juggles the demands Mariinsky Theatre, formerly known as the of his run-down café with tan- What It Means To Be From Idaho Kirov Ballet, Ballerina captures the sublime gled family obligations. And Shawn Rider and Sarah Wichlacz, 2003, 4 minutes glamour of the form in all its resplendent glory. Video elements use animated still photographs, text, although everyone’s against the Behind the ravishing performances lies the dis- idea of him opening a classy and location-specific audio to create an abstract video poem. cipline and rigor involved in the training of joint with Jewish pal Sam, some of Russia’s pre-eminent dancers. The his- Muslim Moustafa has faith— 10 Simple Steps to Your Own Virtual tory of the ballet is the history of Russia; past until a gung-ho FBI agent de- Sweatshop superstars such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna tains him at the airport. Jeff Crouse and Stephanie Rothenberg, Pavlova, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, established Proving once again that com- 2008, 8 minutes the reputation of Russian dancers as some of This short explores the growing intersection between edy is the best medicine, the best in the world. The ethereal creatures of AmericanEast is a tonic for labor, emerging virtual economies, and real-life com- modities through the creation of a designer jean silk and steel that glitter and glissade onstage racial intolerance and suspi- sweatshop in the metaverse Second Life. seem worlds away from the sweat, pain, and cion, an affirmation of Arab- Involuntary Reception hard work of the rehearsal studio—but one American pride and resolve in the land of the free. With a strong cast headlined by Tony Shalhoub, cannot exist without the other. Scenes from Kristin Lucas, 2000, 17 minutes who won an Emmy for his television role as Monk, Anthony Azizi from Lost and Commander In some of the most famous ballets are given Chief, and co-scripter Sayed Badreya, AmericanEast maintains a palpable tension between social A double-image, double-edged report from a young woman lost in the telecommunications ether. breathtaking life as the women perform around point-making and workaday soap opera. The result is a solid, homegrown Muslims-in-our-midst the world.—26th Vancouver International Film Stranger Comes to Town tale.—Ronnie Scheib, Variety Festival, ‘07 Jacqueline Goss, 2007, 29 minutes Sat., April 26, 7:00 PM, Regal Cinemas They say there are only two stories in the world: IN RUSSIAN, ENGLISH, AND FRENCH WITH Sun., April 27, 5:00 PM, Regal Cinemas ENGLISH SUBTITLES ★ man goes on a journey, and stranger comes to town. In Person: Director Hesham Issawi and Stars Anthony Azizi, Sayed Badrya, and Nasser Faris Fri., April 25, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Mon., April 28, 6:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema ✚ Co-Presented with the Issa Family Foundation and Majida Mourad Sat., April 26, 7:00 PM, Avalon Theatre ★ In Person: Curator Joanna Raczynska and Director Shawn Rider ★ In Person: Director Bertrand Normand La Antena Basic Sanitation, the Movie Esteban Sapir Saneamento basico, o filme Argentina, 2007, 98 minutes, black and white Jorge Furtado Fans of Guy Maddin, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and the silent film aesthetic in Brazil, 2008, 112 minutes, color general won’t want to miss Argentine writer-director Esteban Sapir’s thrilling In order to stem “the smell of poop” in the river that runs through the Ital- homage to the form. La Antena takes place in “Year XX,” where the popula- ian immigrant village of Crystal Line in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul, Ma- tion of the “City without a Voice” has become brainwashed by the broadcasts and products of Mr. rina Marghera Figueiredo applies for government money to build a new TV (Alejandro Urdapilleta) to the point where no one, save the faceless mystery woman in Mr. TV’s sewer. Unfortunately, there are no funds allocated for sanitation, but there is broadcasts, can speak. When she’s kidnapped, it’s up to The Inventor (Rafael Ferro) and a group of a sizeable grant available to make a 10-minute fiction video. After much bickering with affable hus- patriots to save the day. As visually imaginative as Lang’s landmark, as feverish as any of Maddin’s band Joaquim and dad Otaviano, they decide to write and produce “The Sewer Monster” as a way to personal and impassioned sagas, La Antena also pays tribute to such film icons as Dziga Vertov, Dick get the money to clean the river. After a series of critical and commercial successes, including FFDC Tracy, the brothers Melies and Quay, The Bride of Frankenstein, and a host of others. This is a film favorites Two Summers and The Man Who Copied, director Jorge Furtado has made an affectionate, with an imagination at once wild and boundless.—Eddie Cockrell comic romp about endearingly star-struck locals who pay their extras in bananas and shoot in se- quence because they don’t know what editing is.—Eddie Cockrell IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES ✚ Co-Presented with the IN PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Embassy of Argentina ✚ Tues., April 29, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Co-Presented with the Wed., April 30, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Fri., April 25, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Embassy of Brazil Sat., April 26, 7:00 PM, Regal Cinemas 10 11 Beyond the Call Blood Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame Adrian Belic Brothers Buddha as sharm foru rikht USA, 2006, 81 min- Tiantang Hana Makhmalbaf utes, color kou Iran, 2007, 81 minutes, color A rousing docu- Alexi Tan Winner of the Crystal mentary about Bear for the best first fea- Taiwan/China/Hong Kong, three profane ture and the Peace Film 2007, 95 minutes, color thrill-seekers on Award at the 2008 a sacred mission Sergio Leone goes to Berlin International Film to cut through Shanghai in this Festival, Buddha Col- humanitarian red widescreen underworld saga set in 1930s China lapsed Out of Shame pos- tape to deliver by way of a studio backlot and produced by sesses an innocent food, medicine, and supplies to civilians in the John Woo. Three smalltown chums—romantic simplicity that belies the world’s trouble spots, Beyond the Call profiles Feng (Daniel Wu), ambitious armbreaker Kang shrewd eloquence of its former U.S. Army medic Ed Artis and the work (Liu Ye), and Kang’s kid brother Hu (Tony anti-war message. In of his organization, Knightsbridge Interna- Yang)—head off to Shanghai for money and March of 2001, the Tal- tional. “We’re not in the God business,” the women; landing at the Gate of Paradise night- iban blew up a massive club, they’re soon working for the ruthless Boss plain-talking Artis proclaims. “We don’t want pair of fifth-century Hong (Sun Honglei) and ogling his lover, beau- to change their politics or religion. It must be Buddhas carved into the tiful club singer Lulu (Shu Qi). In short order, high adventure and it must be humanitarian. side of a mountain in blood is boiling and bullets are flying as action And it’s got to be in an area where few would central Afghanistan’s set pieces vie with Deco musical numbers. With ever go. If it doesn’t hit that criteria, we’re not Bamyan valley. Six-year- stunning craft services by production designer interested.” Or, later, as he more succinctly puts old Baktay lives with her Alfred Lau (2046), veteran costumer Tim Yip it, “Look around. You see any other sumbitch (A Better Tomorrow, Crouching Tiger, Hidden family in the caves sur- here?” Genghis Blues co-director Adrian Belic Dragon), and cinematographer Michel Taburi- rounding the gaping followed Artis and his two equally eccentric col- aux, this is an extraordinary package. A good, holes where the statues leagues to Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand, old-fashioned, highgloss crime melodrama.— used to be. Determined to attend the girls’ school across the river, the beautiful child must trade and the Philippines. The images he captures are Eddie Cockrell stolen eggs for pen and paper while enduring the cruel taunts of local boys.—Eddie Cockrell incredible and inspirational.—Eddie Cockrell IN MANDARIN AND FRENCH WITH ENGLISH IN FARSI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES SUBTITLES Sat., April 26, 4:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Mon., April 28, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Sun., April 27, 3:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Fri., April 25, 9:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., May 3, 7:00 PM, AMC Mazza Gallerie ★ In Person: Director Adrian Belic Sat., April 26, 10:00 PM, Regal Cinemas The Bread Winner Calle Santa Fe Sonia Nassery Cole Carmen Castillo USA, 2007, 23 minutes, color Chile/France/Belgium, 2007, 163 minutes, color and black and white In 2004, activist and filmmaker Sonia Nassery Cole, in Kabul to coordi- Calle Santa Fe was the Santiago street where filmmaker Carmen Castillo and nate relief efforts on behalf of her Afghanistan World Foundation, found her companion, MIR leader Miguel Enriquez, were hiding out when discov- her taxi stuck in traffic. As she inched forward, a 9-year-old boy, Farouk, ered by Pinochet’s forces a year after the coup of September 11, 1973. Enriquez offered to sell her newspapers and calendars. Haunted by the purity of the was killed, and the injured and pregnant Castillo was sent into exile. Before smile she received in return, Cole spent the next 3 days trying to track the these tragedies occurred, the street was also the place of her greatest happiness: youth down and subsequently made this documentary about one boy’s ef- living with her children and the man she loved, fighting on the right side of forts to support a family whose patriarch was disabled by the Soviets dur- history, and embracing domesticity. Although Castillo has since returned to ing their 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.—Eddie Cockrell Chile as a visitor, she has made her life in Paris as an activist. Her film is a frequently agonized at- IN DARI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES tempt to come to terms with her loss, her country, and the ultimate meaning of her long exile. It is also an acute examination, sparing herself least of all, of the successes and failures of the left.—26th Sat., April 26, 5:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema, Immediately followed by a panel. Vancouver International Film Festival, 2007 ★ In Person: Director Sonia Nassery Cole and Marco Vincenzino, founder and director of the Global IN SPANISH AND FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Strategy Project Fri., April 25, 9:00 PM, Avalon Theatre Sun., April 27, 7:30 PM, Avalon Theatre 12 13 Chaos Children of Glory The Edge of Heaven Egg Heya fawda Szabadsag szerelem Auf der anderen seite Yumurta Youssef Chahine, Krisztina Goda Fatih Akin Semih Kaplanoglu Khaled Youssef Hungary/United Kingdom, Germany/Turkey, 2006, 123 minutes, color 2007, 120 minutes, Turkey/Greece, 2007, France/Egypt, 2007, 98 minutes, color 126 minutes, color A sweeping historical color This film is a won- A passionate condemnation of societal corrup- epic set against the Winner of the screenplay prizes derful, sensitive, tion and apathy daringly pitched and played as backdrop of the 1956 at the 2007 realistic, and poetic an overheated melodrama, Chaos is the subver- Hungarian revolu- Cannes festival return to one’s sive new film from the grand master of Egyptian tion, Krisztina Goda’s powerfully realized and the European Film Awards, The Edge of past. It is also the art cinema, Youssef Chahine. Following a tu- Heaven thrums with the urgent business of full journey of a city multuous riot in a lower-middle-class Cairo drama is remarkable for its immense sweep, uncanny attention to lives being led even as cultural divides are grap- man back to his roots and memories. Yusuf neighborhood between students and violent pled with. Hamburg University professor Nejat, (Nejat Isler), a bookstore owner and poet living cops, district attorney Sherif throws cases out as detail. Student protest leader Viki (Kata Dobo) and water polo star Karci (Ivan Fenyo) fall in at first bemused to find his father involved with in Istanbul, receives a phone call informing him fast as they come in. Meanwhile, brutal police Yeter, a hard-as-nails Turkish prostitute, is hor- love as the violence escalates. Both resolve to re- that his mother has died. He returns to his chief Hatem screams “I am the government!” at rified when tragedy strikes and Yeter is acciden- sist in their own way—she by staying home and hometown, after several years of absence, to the prisoners he throws into a secret under- tally killed by his dad. Partly out of curiosity fighting and he by journeying to the Melbourne arrange the funeral. In his family home he ground cell. When a woman, schoolteacher and partly to assuage his guilt, Nejat sets off to meets Ayla (Saadet Isil Aksoy), the young Nour, comes between them, the battle for power Olympics, where the Hungarian team really did Istanbul to find Yeter’s daughter, Ayten. Unbe- engage in a ferocious match with the Russians. woman who took care of his mother during the turns almost operatic. The populist Chaos ring- knownst to him, she’s a political activist be- last years of her life. The poet notices the young The scope of the fighting in the streets of Bu- friended by Lotte, the liberated daughter of ingly answers the question posed by Variety’s Jay woman’s charm and is touched by it. Contact dapest is truly impressive, while the relationship more conservative and middle-class Susanne. As Weissberg: “Why make a movie about police between the two is almost non-verbal, but there between Viki and Karci has the ring of truth; these lives dovetail and criss-cross, The Edge of brutality and corruption when the people who is a growing understanding between them. their blossoming love is completely believable Heaven explores the conundrum of the contem- need to see it are filling the multiplexes?” Pre- When Ayla tells Yusuf about his mother’s last cisely.—Eddie Cockrell amidst the carnage. Goda’s film stands as a fit- porary immigrant. Clearly, the time is right for ting, and wonderfully cinematic monument to the ascension of German-born Turkish film- wish, he at first hesitates to fulfill it, but later IN ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES the courage demonstrated by the Hungarian maker Fatih Akin, who offers a benevolent look agrees and the two set off on a mission.—2008 ★ In Person: Asaad Kelada, television producer people.—2008 Palm Springs Film Festival at multicultural challenges in today’s world Rotterdam Film Festival and director and protegé of Youssef Chahine IN HUNGARIAN AND RUSSIAN WITH ENGLISH from a card-carrying insider.—Eddie Cockrell IN TURKISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES ✚ Co-Presented with the Center for the Global SUBTITLES IN GERMAN, TURKISH, AND ENGLISH WITH Sun., April 27, 2:30 PM, Regal Cinemas South, American University ENGLISH SUBTITLES Mon., April 28, 8:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Tues., April 29, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Fri., May 2, 8:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Wed., April 30, 8:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Fri., May 2, 9:00 PM, AMC Mazza Gallerie ✚ Co-Presented with the AFOT/The American Sat., May 3, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Friends of Turkey The Contestant Emma’s Bliss El concursante Emma’s glueck Rodrigo Cortes Sven Taddicken Spain, 2007, 88 minutes, color Germany, 2006, 101 minutes, color Winner of the Critics Award at the most recent “I don’t need anybody,” feral farmgirl Emma (dazzling newcomer Jordis Malaga festival, The Contestant is a high-octane satire of materialism and the global banking system, Triebel) tells local cop and would-be suitor Henner (Hinnerk Schone- the white-hot directorial debut of young Rodrigo Cortes stars Leonardo Sbaraglia as economics lec- mann), despite the fact she’s insolvent and is about to lose the spread. turer Martin. Winning the largest TV quiz show prize ever, the hapless new moneybags discovers his Enter, via a spectacular auto wreck, distraught used-car salesman Max (Juergen Vogel), on the run profession can teach him nothing about navigating the treacherous waters of the nouveau riche. Mar- with ill-gotten dealership cash and the pancreatic cancer that’s going to kill him. From this unlikely tin turns to a deceitful lawyer and a Marxist economist for help; the latter has a monstrously funny pairing comes an unpretentious love story orchestrated by second-time director Sven Taddicken (My sequence in which he explains how banks exist only to terrorize the average guy. Ironically, Cortes’ Brother, the Vampire) to portray the spectacular chemistry of the two leads with trademark widescreen background in advertising imbues the film with the same kind of glossy, rapid-fire aesthetic he’s imagination. Winner of the coveted Bavarian Film Award as well as the audience prize at the 2006 meant to be condemning, which adds to the fun.—Eddie Cockrell Hamptons International Film Festival, Emma’s Bliss is possessed of a certain felicitousness that is IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES memorable and infectious.—Eddie Cockrell

Thurs., May 1, 8:45 PM, Regal Cinemas IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Fri., May 2, 9:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Sun., April 27, 8:00 PM, Avalon Theatre Tues., April 29, 8:30 PM, Avalon Theatre 14 15 Elite Squad Fados Tropa de elite Carlos Saura Jose Padilha Spain/Portugal, Brazil, 2007, 118 minutes, color 2007, 92 minutes, color Elite Squad is a controver- More than 15 sial winner of the top years ago, leg- prize at this year’s Berlin endary Spanish Film Festival. In the director Carlos slums of Rio de Janeiro, Saura initiated the drug-dealing lowlifes a series of mu- and the Brazilian police sical documen- have a tangled, volatile re- taries that has lationship. The 100-man resulted in such BOPE elite squad of law- popular and enforcing commandos has riveting titles as its own death’s-head logo Flamenco and on black uniforms, appro- the Oscar®- priate gear for a task force nominated whose mission is to shoot Tango. Fados first and ask questions continues in later. Team leader Nasci- the tradition; mento (Wagner Moura, Saura has set himself the challenge of painting a faithful portrait of the Portuguese soul through its light years removed from most emblematic musical genre. Using Lisbon as a backdrop, the film explores the intricate relation- the genial country bumpkin he plays in Basic Sanitation, the Movie) is about to retire but first must ship between the music and the city and fado’s evolution over the years from its African and Brazilian deal with a pair of idealistic rookies, a brutal drug dealer, and a rave party that brings the unstable origins to the new wave of modern fadistas. The film features one of the finest world-music sound- factions together. Elite Squad is the memorable first dramatic feature for director Jose Padilha, whose tracks to date, gathering the best of new Portuguese talent like Mariza and Camané, foreign legends Bus 174 was an audience favorite at the 2003 FFDC. The film is also Brazil’s top-grossing film of like Caetano Veloso and Chico Buarque, up-and-coming stars Lila Downs and Lura, and a dozen 2007, a visceral, polarizing thrill ride in which law has very little to do with order.—Eddie Cockrell others.—26th Vancouver International Film Festival, 2007 IN PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Thurs., May 1, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Sat., May 3, 9:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Fri., May 2, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., May 3, 7:00 PM, Regal Cinemas

Empties The Fall Vratne lahve Tarsem Singh Jan Sverak India/United Kingdom/USA, 2006, 118 minutes, color and black and white Czech Republic/United Kingdom/Denmark, 2007, 100 minutes, color This unclassifiable work from music video superstar Tarsem Singh From the father–son writing–directing–acting team behind the Oscar®- is easily the most visually innovative in recent memory. He has cre- winning Czech film Kolya comes a mellow new dramatic comedy about ated 2 hours of astonishing images with color palettes that literally the challenge of relationships against the backdrop of unwanted societal dazzle the viewer with their complexity. Roy Walker, an injured change. Having left teaching on less than amicable terms, cantankerous stunt man, is convalescing in an austere hospital. A respite from Prague horndog Josef Tkaloun (screenwriter Zdenek Sverak) finds himself stuck at home with long- his deep depression comes in the form of a little girl named suffering linguist wife Eliska (Daniela Kolarova). He ends up in the beer bottle return department of Alexandria, who broke her arm while picking apples. They make a a new big-box supermarket, where he can observe and insert himself in the lives of co-workers, deal: he will tell her the most fantastic story imaginable and she friends, and strangers. Conceived as the conclusion of a trilogy that began with Elementary School will steal morphine from the hospital pharmacy for him, just in case he cannot take it any more. So (childhood) and continued with the phenomenally successful Kolya (middle age), the message of begins an extraordinary tale featuring five heroes, each from a different corner of the globe. The Fall Empties is “be true to yourself at any cost”—even if you’re a natural contrarian.—Eddie Cockrell was filmed in 23 countries and features a cast of thousands. This is the power of cinema at its grand- est and most expansive. Awe awaits.—2007 Toronto International Film Festival IN CZECH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Fri., May 2, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Fri., May 2, 8:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., May 3, 7:00 PM, Avalon Theatre ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of the Czech Republic 16 17 Fiestapatria Great American Heavy Metal Luis R. Vera Entertainers in Baghdad Chile/Peru, 2007, 102 minutes, color Michael Chertok Free Eddy Moretti, Suroosh Alvi Ex-Army officer Antonio (Nelson Brodt) and his wife Isabel (Marcela Various years, 75 minutes Canada/USA, 2007, 92 minutes, color Osorio) are throwing a party on Independence Day at their weekend house to celebrate the marriage of their daughter Macarena (Adela Michael Chertok has pre- This documentary about one band’s attempts to Secal) to young Alvaro (Tiago Correa). Arriving for the festivities, Al- sented archival film pro- survive, much less gig, in war-torn Iraq answers varo’s Uncle Ernesto (Patricio Contreras) drops a bombshell involving grams throughout the the question “What’s the heavy-metal music Isabel’s past—and that’s not the party’s only revelation. Peripatetic 56- U.S. and in Europe and scene like in Baghdad?” Acrassicauda is a quar- year-old Chilean-born writer-director Luis R. Vera (Miss Amerigua, Canada. He returns to tet named for the Latin word meaning “black Bastards in Paradise) has always been a proponent of novelistic storylines that twist and turn amongst FFDC this year with a scorpion.” Although an engaging group of characters. Add to that his abiding interest in the political ups and downs of his tribute to Hollywood and early television, fea- they managed but home country, and Fiestapatria emerges as one celebration full of surprises.—Eddie Cockrell turing remarkable performers from the world of three shows prior to IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES music and dance. Featured singers include Ella the 2003 invasion, Fitzgerald, the young Sarah Vaughan, Jimmy they were smart Wed., April 30, 8:45 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Rushing (Mister Five by Five himself), Nat enough to pen “The Thurs., May 1, 8:45 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema “King” Cole and his trio, Dinah Washington, Youth of Iraq,” an Helen Humes, and the incomparable Billie anthemic tribute to Holiday. The program then segues into the im- Saddam Hussein The Girl by the Lake mortals of jazz dance, featuring performances that kept the dicta- by Tip, Tap & Toe (and the sen- tor’s pressure largely off them and their music. La ragazza del lago sational slide technique of Ray- The band’s most affable and eloquent Andrea Molaioli mond Winfield), Whitey’s spokesman is bassist Firas al Lateef, whose firm Lindy Hoppers, the comedy rejection of sectarian violence—he’s a Sunni, his Italy, 2007, 95 minutes, color dance of Stump and Stumpy, wife’s Shiite—is as political as the film gets. In an idyllic village in the Nicholas Brothers, Peg Leg Otherwise, co-director and onscreen narrator the Italian Dolomites, Bates, John Bubbles, and Bill Suroosh Alvi is more interested in the band’s a pretty young girl has “Bojangles” Robinson. The day-to-day survival as they regroup in Damas- been found dead. Vet- show’s climax is a review of per- cus, Syria, to cut their first sides. “What’s the eran Inspector Gio- formers who mix music and humor: Fats vibe now?” Alvi asks at one point, suggesting vanni Sanzio (Toni Waller, Louis Jordan, Martha Davis, Cab Cal- that this isn’t your father’s wartime documen- Servillo), an outsider, loway, and the one and only Louis Armstrong. tary.—Eddie Cockrell begins to work the case. The more he and Tues., April 29, 10:00 AM, Avalon Theatre, FREE Fri., April 25, 9:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Sun., April 27, 8:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema local native son Si- boldi (Fausto Maria Sciarappa) dig, the The Home Song Stories more locals they find with opportunity and Tony Ayres motive. This absorb- Australia, 2007, 103 minutes, color ing thriller, which This affecting drama of immigration and assimilation speaks to everyone bears plot echoes of who’s ever searched for a better life. Writer-director Tony Ayres’ percep- the woefully under- tive autobiographical drama, which is dedicated to his mother, follows rated Gone Baby Gone Tom’s tumultuous childhood with sister May (Irene Chen) as the chil- and even Away From Her, is confidently adapted from Karin Fossum’s Norwegian novel “Don’t Look dren follow their restless single mother Rose (Joan Chen) from 1964 Back,” the first in an extraordinarily successful series of police procedurals featuring Inspector Con- Hong Kong to Melbourne to Sydney and back to Melbourne, where in rad Sejer. Anchored by Servillo’s complex, nuanced performance, the crisp widescreen photography 1971 they settle—if that’s the word—with patient sailor Bill (Steven Vi- of Argentinian Ramiro Civita, and a resonantly ethereal score by Teho Teardo, this absorbing proce- dler) and his suspicious mother Norma (Kerry Walker). By now a seasoned 10, Tom is all too aware dural won two awards at the 2007 Venice festival. Molaioli sets a troubled tone from the start, sug- of Rose’s tempestuous behavior and the path down which it’s taking her family. When illegal Chinese gesting that this idyllic landscape holds disturbing possibilities.—Jay Weissberg, Variety immigrant Joe (Qi Yuwu) enters the picture, the fragile balance is disrupted.—Eddie Cockrell IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH, CANTONESE, AND MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES ✚ Sat., April 26, 7:00 PM, AMC Mazza Gallerie Sun., April 27, 8:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Co-Presented with the Wed., April 30, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Mon., April 28, 8:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Embassy of Australia

18 19 I Just Didn’t Do It I’ll Show You the Town Jade Warrior Soredemo boku wa yattenai Harry A. Pollard Jadesoturi/Yu Zhanshi Masayuki Suo USA, 1925, 103 minutes, black and white Antti-Jussi Annila Japan, 2007, 143 minutes, Finland/The Netherlands/China/Estonia, With live musical accompaniment: Free color Premiere of new organ score by 2006, 104 minutes, color It was a surprise that Dennis James Jade Warrior is an often bizarre, Masayuki Suo made bracing, and wildly successful English comedic actor Reginald Denny nothing for 10 years resettled in Hollywood when he was 28 and im- mixture of a traditional Chi- after Shall We Dance?, mediately became a beloved star of many now- nese martial-arts film and la- his hit comedy-drama forgotten American comedies. In I'll Show You conic Finnish auteur cinema about the closeted the Town, a poor young professor (Denny) is in- that nails its central conceits so world of Japanese terrupted from his work on a book and be- perfectly that it feels entirely ballroom dancing. comes caught in a web of scandal and disgrace. natural for a contemporary Even more surprising, he has broken his long si- After extricating himself with some fast talking Finn to be fighting an ancient lence with this impassioned drama about the and high stepping, he eventually finds his true demon in medieval China. A structural weaknesses and blatant hypocrisy of love. Declared one reviewer in 1925, “There are sad-sack part-time ironmonger Japan’s legal system. Kaneko Teppei is traveling situations here that defy anyone to keep a has been abandoned by his to his first job interview on a crowded Tokyo straight face.”—Stanford Theatre Foundation girlfriend. When she tries to train when he’s accused of groping a schoolgirl. Collection The system urges him to confess and have done dump his collection of Asian with it, but he protests his innocence and knick-knacks at a local antique Sat., April 26, 4:00 PM, National Gallery of Art, dealer, she sets off a chain of plunges into a months-long nightmare of im- FREE events that implicates them in prisonment, court hearings, adjournments, re- ★ In Person: Pianist Dennis James enactments, and interviews with lawyers and a mythical history. The iron- cops. This is a sober, gripping account of the monger turns out to be a ma- way a system perpetuates itself—a system, that jestic prince, destined to fight is, without juries, in which judges are promoted the last of the great demons, an unnameable force that keeps human beings in bondage. Sensational on the basis of the number of guilty verdicts swordplay and fantastical happenings converge simultaneously on a rural house outside Helsinki and they reach.—26th Vancouver International Film in the misty mountains of remote China until the truth about a puzzling contemporary archaeologi- Festival, 2007 cal find is finally revealed.—Noah Cowan, 2006 Toronto International Film Festival IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN FINNISH AND MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Tues., April 29, 8:15 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Wed., April 30, 8:00 PM, Avalon Theatre Wed., April 30, 8:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Fri., May 2, 8:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema

In the Name of God Jazz in the Diamond District Khuda ke liye Lindsey Christian Shoaib Mansoor USA, 2007, 79 minutes, color Pakistan, 2007, 171 minutes, color Directed with flair by Duke Ellington School for the Arts graduate In the Name of God is the controversial new film that has gar- Lindsey Christian and shot entirely in the District of Columbia, Jazz nered international tension for tackling delicate issues of reli- in the Diamond District thrums with the insider sights and pulsating gious intolerance and cultural frictions. In contemporary Lahore, sounds of Washington, a.k.a. the Diamond District. Ambitious a rift develops between two musician brothers: Sarmad (Fahwad young singer Jasmine “Jazz” Morgan, who works at Ben’s Chili Bowl, Khan) aligns with a fundamentalist sheikh, while Mansoor (Shaan) moves to Chicago. Meanwhile, defies her doctor dad and spends one long summer immersed in the their uncle in London tricks his westernized daughter, Mary (Pakistani model Iman Ali) into an D.C. music scene. Triumphing at an impromptu audition in front of arranged marriage to Sarmad. In the wake of 9/11, their lives are thrown into upheaval. The highest- a packed audience, she becomes the lead singer of the hottest group grossing domestic film of all time, In the Name of God recently became the first Pakistani film in in town, The District Legend Band. But, as Jazz learns from manager decades to open commercially in India.—Eddie Cockrell Gabe and shady MC Flight, ambition comes with a price. The IN URDU AND ENGLISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES propulsive go-go soundtrack features music from UnCalled 4 Experience, hip-hop stars Likeblood Entertainment, and R&B chanteuse Chris. —Eddie Cockrell ❋ Sun., April 27, 12:30 PM, Avalon Theatre ★ In Person: Director Lindsey In Person: Director Shoaib Now four direct flights to Christian Tues., April 29, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Mansoor and Star Shaan Pakistan, effective May ʼ08 Sun., April 27, 4:30 PM, Regal Cinemas 20 21 The Journey: Katyn King of Ping Pong Late Bloomers The Greek American Dream Andrzej Ping pong Die herbstzeitlosen kingen Maria Iliou Wajda Bettina Oberli Jens Jonsson Greece, 2007, Poland, 2007, Switzerland, 2006, 87 minutes, color and 121 minutes, color Sweden, 2007, 90 minutes, color 120 minutes, color black and white One of the Final In the “determined underdog” tradition A happy hymn Five in this year’s Winner of the ® of The Full Monty, to all things Foreign Film Academy Award field, Katyn of- Sundance World Cinema jury Calendar Girls, and Hellenic, pro- fers a path of catharsis through the trauma of prizes for best Chocolat comes this ducer-director Maria Iliou’s The Journey is the history. Made by 81-year-old grand master of dramatic feature rich Swiss confec- lovingly told, meticulously researched story of Polish filmmakers Andrzej Wajda, the film tells and the gauzy tion about realizing how the 400,000 Greek immigrants who the long-suppressed story of the killing of 20,000-plus Polish military officers— including pastels of Askild Vik Edvardsen’s widescreen your dreams. Nine flooded through Ellis Island from the 1890s to the director’s father—by Russian troops at the photography, King of Ping Pong is, to swipe an months after her grocer husband’s passed away, the 1920s played a key role in making America end of World War II. Katyn opens with two observation from Variety critic Dennis Harvey, 80-year-old former seamstress Martha great without losing sight of who they were and groups of panicked citizens colliding on a a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and My Life (Stephanie Glaser) decides to transform their from whence they came. Fanning out from bridge: one is fleeing the Nazis, the other, vic- as a Dog. As spring break commences in the modest shop in her picturesque Emmental Val- shoeshine parlors and street vending in New tims of Stalinism, are fleeing the Russians. Af- deep freeze of his snowbound Swedish village, ley village into a saucy lingerie business called York to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, terward, Wajda follows the fates of four families portly 16-year-old dweeb Rille is on the cusp of “Little Paris.” The new enterprise shocks her Chicago, Detroit and beyond, the first wave of whose lives are pulled apart after the atrocity it- great change. An introspective disciplinarian circle of gal chums and obnoxiously pious min- Greeks who arrived in America had to over- self and the 1945 Soviet cover-up of it. Four of who coaches ping pong at the local youth cen- ister son, all of whom, of course, have dirty come prejudice from the U.S. government, Wajda’s works have been nominated for an ter to a gaggle of kids including his more extro- laundry of their own. Switzerland’s official which initially classified them as Orientals, to Academy Award for best foreign language film. verted and popular younger brother Erik, Rille entry for this year’s foreign film Oscar® sweep- the Ku Klux Klan, who saw them as not quite In 2000, he received an honorary Oscar® from also broods a lot about the home beauty parlor stakes, this immensely assured, finely calibrated white. Marrying dazzling archival footage to the the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci- business being ineptly set up by his big-boned feature film is an across-the-board crowd- picaresque narration of a dozen or so Greek ences. Wajda also won the Palme d’Or at the mother and whether his emotionally erratic oil pleaser, a mellow yet wry reverie on small-town scholars, historians, politicians, and artists, The Cannes Film Festival in 1981 for Man of rigger father is really his dad. Debuting director politics and family that wears its heart proudly on its, uh, garter.—Eddie Cockrell Journey is a celebration of Greece and a tribute Iron.—Eddie Cockrell Jens Jonsson emerges with a hermetically sealed to the success of Greek Americans.—Eddie IN POLISH, RUSSIAN, AND GERMAN WITH world view of hyperreal adolescent shenani- IN HIGH GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES ENGLISH SUBTITLES gans.—Eddie Cockrell Cockrell Fri., May 2, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre IN SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Fri., April 25, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., May 3, 9:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Thurs., May 1, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Sun., April 27, 7:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Fri., May 2, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of ★ In Person: Director Maria Iliou ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of Poland Sat., May 3, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Switzerland

Kill Them All Lost Moon Matar a todos Khoya khoya chand Esteban Schroeder Uruguay/Chile/Argentina, 2007, 97 minutes, color Sudhir Mishra India, 2007, 125 minutes, color In this political thriller, Julia Gudari (Roxana Blanco), a prosecutor in Montevideo, is appointed to investigate the report of a Chilean citizen who sought help from the Uruguayan police before myste- The Golden Age of Hindi cinema in India is the backdrop for the love story be- riously disappearing. Her investigation sets in motion a strange chain of events that point to an inter- tween actress Nikhat (Soha Ali Khan) and writer-director Zafar (Shiney Ahuja). national conspiracy connected to Pinochet’s regime. As she probes deeper, Julia discovers that her As Nikhat goes from fledgling extra to starlet, Zafar liberates her from the father, General Gudari, and her brother, also a captain in the Uruguayan army, may know more than stronghold of a powerful actor, but as she climbs the ladder of success to star- they are willing to disclose about the case. Working alongside exiled Chilean journalist Jimenez dom, he starts to use her for himself as well. Not unlike the glamorous heyday of Hollywood, this magic (Patricio Contreras), Julia starts to piece together the dangerous puzzle. Her search for truth leads her world of 1950s Bollywood was filled with harsh realities on the road to stardom. It was an industry to confront her own unresolved past and tests the boundaries of her closest relationships. The film flooded with passion as actors put their lives on the line every time they made a film, and an exhilarat- has the immediate pull and urgency of real-world political intrigue, personal and familial betrayals, ing era populated by awe-inspiring legends—moguls and divas with their scandals, tragedies, and public and dirty deals. —2008 Palm Springs Film Festival triumphs—who wanted nothing less than immortality.—2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival IN HINDI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Sat., April 26, 3:00 PM, Avalon Theatre Sat., April 26, 4:30 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., May 3, 4:00 PM, Avalon Theatre Sat., May 3, 4:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema 22 23 Made in Jamaica Madrigal Mister Foe Jérôme Fernando Perez Hallam Foe Laperrousaz Spain/Cuba, 2007, David Mackenzie France/USA, 2006, 112 minutes, color 120 minutes, color United Kingdom, 2007, 95 minutes, color Here’s the ac- Jamaica is a Packed with stylish detail, this adaptation of Peter Jinks’ novel claimed new is an unforgettable gem. Hallam (Jamie Bell) lives with his fa- nation of only 3 film from Ha- ther and stepmother in a lavish but lonely country home. His million people, vana Suite au- projects include spying on the neighbors in flagranté and try- yet its music can teur Fernando ing to implicate his stepmother in his mother’s mysterious be heard in every Perez. Good- death. Time to leave home, perhaps, but a new life in Edinburgh brings new confusion, in the corner of the world. Creatively, it is a super- looking but in- comely form of Kate (Sophia Myles). Brilliantly directed by David Mackenzie, the maverick talent power, and Made in Jamaica shows why. The secure Javier is a behind Young Adam and Asylum, Mister Foe is a fiercely original romance, as charming on the surface film brings together a dream list of musicians, wannabe writer as it is dark at heart. It’s also a major breakthrough for both of its young stars, whose charisma and including Gregory Isaacs, who offers a majestic and actor in a chemistry fairly leap off the screen.—2007 Edinburgh Film Festival elegy to slain musician Bogle, Bounty Killer, theater group in which girlfriends Eva and who speculates on what drives young men from Angel also perform. One night, they are playing Thurs., May 1, 9:00 PM, Avalon Theatre poor neighborhoods to gun violence, and Lady to a single audience member, overweight teen Sat., May 3, 9:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Saw, who explains how liberating it is to out- Luisita, who stands up mid-act and leaves. perform men when it comes to raw, sexual Javier tracks the God-fearing, morgue-working, lyrics. Sound systems pound out deep-bass “rid- romantic Luisita down to her apartment, where Mon colonel the two of them indulge in the first of several dims” on street corners, in yards, and on Ja- Laurent Herbiet maica’s famous beaches, as Bunny Wailer, Beres leisurely conversations. Javier reports back to Eva, who half-jokingly suggests that he should Hammond, Third World, Toots, and Capleton France, 2007, 111 minutes, seduce and then poison Luisita so they can have chant lyrics of resistance and redemption. The color and black and white her apartment. Instead, Javier finds himself cu- crowd is always a part of the show, and this film Co-written by Costa riously drawn to the ugly duckling Luisita. The delivers all the shocking outfits and eye-pop- last 20 minutes of the film portray an action- Gavras, master of the ping circumlocutions of the human body in- packed, erotic vision of a Havana in 2020 in political thriller (Z, trinsic to the dance hall.—Cameron Bailey, which bodily pleasures are the only ones left.— Missing), and long- 2006 Toronto International Film Festival Jonathan Holland, Variety time collaborator Jean- Claude Grunberg, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Fri., April 25, 6:30 PM, Historic Lincoln Theatre Mon colonel is amongst Sat., May 3, 9:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Tues., April 29, 8:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema ★ the very few French In Person: Producer Charlotte Lawrence Thurs., May 1, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema films to address mili- tary misdeeds during the Algerian War. The Matador When sensitive lieu- tenant Guy Rossi Stephen Higgins, Nina Gilden Seavey (Robinson Stévenin) USA, 2008, 75 minutes, color finds himself under the A crooked grin the highlight of his boyish good looks, 21- command of no-non- year-old David Fandila, “El Fandi,” has wanted to be a sense colonel Raoul bullfighter since commandeering his mother’s dishtowels Duplan (Olivier Gour- for faux corridas in the back garden of his childhood met), the stage is set home in Granada, Spain. With a dancer’s grace, ice water for a monumental battle of wills that tests both men. Rossi—left-wing, a lawyer by training—is alter- in his veins, and a rock and roll approach to the centuries-old tradition, “El Fandi” is poised to be- nately intimidated and seduced by the nerve and sheer drive of his superior, who will stop at nothing come just the 13th matador in hundreds of years to notch up 100 bullfights in a 5-month season. To to win this unwinnable war. Rossi becomes a useful and initially willing tool for Duplan, but, at a those who reject the ritual as what an admirer calls “beautiful savagery with an artistic grace,” Fandila certain point, the colonel crosses the line, with wide-ranging repercussions. The colonel has all the points out “at Christmas, turkeys are carved, then eaten… It’s a free country.” The newest film from trademarks of the smart, political filmmaking that Laurent Herbiet, like so many of us, has clearly Washingtonian Nina Gilden Seavey, whose The Ballad of Bering Strait won the Audience Award at appreciated in Gavras’ masterworks.—Piers Handling, 2006 Toronto International Film Festival FFDC 2002, The Matador is the riveting, 3-year story of Fandila’s rise to the top.—Eddie Cockrell IN FRENCH AND ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Fri., April 25, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Mon., April 28, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas ★ In Person: Producer and Co-Director Nina Gilden Seavey Tues., April 29, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Wed., April 30, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas 24 25 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

6:30 PM The Tracey 5:30 PM The Bread 4:30 PM The Other Side Thursday April 24 Mongol, p.30 Monday April 28 Fragments Winner of the Mirror: 6:00 PM Avatars: The First 7:00 PM Opening Night Landmark’s E St. With Panel Bob Dylan Live at Person of New the Newport Folk Gala: Two Ladies Cinema Landmark’s E St. Media In Person: Director 8:30 PM We Are Together Cinema Festival, 1963-65 Landmark’s E St. Avalon Theatre Philippe Faucon, Landmark’s E St. 6:30 PM Takva: A Man’s Cinema Stars Ariane Cinema Fear of God 5:00 PM AmericanEast 6:00 PM Roming Jacquot and Zohra Regal Cinemas 9:00 PM Calle Santa Fe Avalon Theatre Avalon Theatre Mouffok, and Avalon Theatre 7:00 PM AmericanEast 5:00 PM Silent Light 6:30 PM Buddha Producer Yasmina Avalon Theatre Collapsed Out Nini-Faucon 9:00 PM Heavy Metal in Regal Cinemas of Shame Baghdad 7:00 PM Ballerina 5:30 PM Ploy Historic Lincoln Avalon Theatre Theatre Landmark’s E St. Avalon Theatre 9:30 PM The Pope’s Toilet Landmark’s E St. Landmark’s E St. Cinema 6:30 PM The Matador Cinema 7:00 PM Basic Sanitation Cinema Regal Cinemas 9:00 PM La Zona Regal Cinemas 5:30 PM The Pope’s Toilet Friday April 25 Regal Cinemas 9:30 PM Roming Landmark’s E St. 6:30 PM Tuya’s Marriage 7:00 PM The Girl by Landmark’s E St. 6:30 PM Ballerina Avalon Theatre Cinema 9:15 PM Takva: A Man’s the Lake Cinema Avalon Theatre Fear of God 9:30 PM Tuya’s Marriage 7:00 PM Katyn AMC Mazza 6:30 PM Unfinished Sky 6:30 PM Basic Sanitation Avalon Theatre Landmark’s E St. Regal Cinemas Gallerie Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas 9:30 PM Blood Brothers Cinema 7:30 PM Calle Santa Fe Avalon Theatre 8:15 PM Ploy 6:30 PM Katyn Regal Cinemas 10:00 PM Blood Brothers Landmark’s E St. Regal Cinemas 9:30 PM Patti Smith: Regal Cinemas 7:45 PM The Show Must Cinema Tuya’s Go On 6:30 PM Made in Jamaica Dream of Life Marriage, Sunday April 27 Landmark’s E St. 8:20 PM A Secret Historic Lincoln Historic Lincoln p.39 Cinema Avalon Theatre Theatre Theatre 12:30 PM In the Name of God 8:00 PM Emma’s Bliss 8:30 PM Children of Glory 6:30 PM Mon colonel Landmark’s E St. Saturday April 26 Avalon Theatre Avalon Theatre Avalon Theatre Cinema 1:00 PM Filmfest DC for 8:00 PM Heavy Metal in 6:30 PM Oh-Oku: The 2:00 PM Filmfest DC for 8:30 PM The Home Song Kids Baghdad Women of the Kids Stories ❋ 1, 2, 3…Leon! ❋ Landmark’s E St. Inner Palace 1, 2, 3…Leon! Regal Cinemas Avalon Theatre Avalon Theatre Cinema Landmark’s E St. 7:00 PM The Show Must 8:30 PM Unfinished 2:30 PM Egg 8:00 PM The Home Song Cinema 3:00 PM Lost Moon Stories Go On Regal Cinemas Stories Avalon Theatre Landmark’s E St. Avalon Theatre 3:00 PM Beyond the Call Regal Cinemas Ballerina, p.11 4:00 PM Directors’ Cinema 8:30 PM La Zona Landmark’s E St. Roundtable ❋ Regal Cinemas 7:30 PM The Tracey Cinema Busboys & Poets Fragments 4:00 PM I’ll Show You Landmark’s E St. 3:00 PM The Night James Brown Saved You, the Living, p.41 the Town ❋ Cinema National Gallery Boston 9:00 PM Mongol Regal Cinemas of Art AMC Mazza Gal- 3:30 PM The War on 4:00 PM Short Cuts lerie Democracy Regal Cinemas 9:15 PM Silent Light Landmark’s E St. 4:30 PM Beyond the Call Avalon Theatre Cinema Landmark’s E St. 9:30 PM The Night James 4:30 PM Jazz in the Dia- Cinema Brown Saved mond District 4:30 PM Kill Them All Boston Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas

26 27 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Tuesday April 29 6:30 PM PVC-1 6:30 PM Madrigal 6:30 PM Fados 9:00 PM With Your Landmark’s E St. Landmark’s E St. Regal Cinemas Permission 10:00 AM Cinema for Cinema Cinema Landmark’s E St. Seniors 6:30 PM King of Ping Cinema Great American 6:30 PM Tell No One 6:30 PM Oh-Oku: Pong Entertainers ❋ Followed by a The Women of Regal Cinemas the Inner Palace Avalon Theatre reception 6:30 PM Late Bloomers Saturday May 3 Regal Cinemas 6:30 PM La Antena 6:30 PM Unfinished Avalon Theatre 4:00 PM Lost Moon 6:30 PM The Orchestra of Landmark’s E St. Stories Avalon Theatre Piazza Vittorio 6:30 PM The Orchestra of Cinema Avalon Theatre Piazza Vittorio 4:00 PM Short Cuts Landmark’s E St. The 8:00 PM Jade Warrior Landmark’s E St. Regal Cinemas 6:30 PM Egg Cinema Matador Avalon Theatre Cinema Regal Cinemas 4:30 PM Kill Them All p.24 6:30 PM In the Name 6:30 PM Tell No One Landmark’s E St. of God Late Bloomers, p.23 AMC Mazza Cinema 9:00 PM Made in Jamaica Regal Cinemas Gallerie 4:30 PM The Other Side of Regal Cinemas 6:30 PM Mon colonel 6:30 PM Timecrimes the Mirror: Bob 9:00 PM One Hundred Avalon Theatre Landmark’s E St. Dylan Live at the Nails Cinema Newport Folk AMC Mazza 6:30 PM Tricks Festival, 1963-65 Gallerie Landmark’s E St. 8:30 PM Chaos Avalon Theatre Cinema Avalon Theatre 9:00 PM Youssou N’Dour: 5:00 PM The War on Return to Goree 6:30 PM We Are Together 8:30 PM The Fall Democracy Landmark’s E St. Avalon Theatre Regal Cinemas Landmark’s E St. Cinema 8:15 PM I Just Didn’t Do It 8:30 PM Jade Warrior Cinema 9:15 PM Timecrimes Landmark’s E St. Landmark’s E St. 6:30 PM Chaos Landmark’s E St. Cinema Cinema Avalon Theatre Cinema 8:15 PM You, the Living 8:30 PM One Hundred 6:30 PM King of Ping 9:30 PM The Elite Squad Regal Cinemas 6:30 PM Paloma Delight Nails Pong 8:30 PM Children of Glory Avalon Theatre Avalon Theatre Avalon Theatre 8:30 PM Emma’s Bliss Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas 9:30 PM Mister Foe Avalon Theatre 8:45 PM The Contestant 9:00 PM The Contestant 7:00 PM Buddha 8:30 PM I Just Didn’t Do It Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas Avalon Theatre 8:30 PM Madrigal Landmark’s E St. Collapsed Out 8:45 PM Fiestapatria 9:00 PM The Edge of Landmark’s E St. Cinema of Shame Sunday May 4 Cinema Landmark’s E St. Heaven AMC Mazza 8:30 PM Paloma Delight Cinema AMC Mazza Gallerie 4:00 PM Closing Night 8:30 PM A Secret Avalon Theatre Event 8:45 PM Youssou N’Dour: Gallerie 7:00 PM Empties Avalon Theatre Shall We Kiss? 8:45 PM Fiestapatria Return to Goree Avalon Theatre Landmark’s E St. Landmark’s E St. Regal Cinemas Wednesday April 30 7:00 PM Fados Cinema Cinema 6:30 PM La Antena Regal Cinemas ❋ 8:45 PM Unfinished Sky 9:00 PM Mister Foe Events marked with an Landmark’s E St. 7:00 PM PVC-1 Regal Cinemas Avalon Theatre asterisk are free. Cinema Landmark’s E St. 9:00 PM Tricks All programs are subject to change. 6:30 PM The Girl by Cinema Thursday May 1 Avalon Theatre Take Metrobus the Lake 7:00 PM With Your or Metrorail to Avalon Theatre 6:30 PM The Elite Squad 9:00 PM You, the Living Avalon Theatre Regal Cinemas Permission Filmfest DC 6:30 PM The Matador Landmark’s E St. Regal Cinemas 6:30 PM The Journey: Cinema The Greek Friday May 2 9:00 PM Late Bloomers 6:30 PM Mongol American Dream 6:30 PM Empties Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas Avalon Theatre www.filmfestdc.org Youssou N’Dour, p.41 202 234 film 28 29 Mongol The Night James One Hundred Nails 1, 2, 3, Leon! Free Sergei Bodrov Brown Saved Boston: Centochiodi Catherine Buffat, Pierre-Luc Kazakhstan, 2007, 126 minutes, color The Director’s Cut Ermanno Olmi Granjon, Jean-Luc Gréco, Pascal Le One of this year’s Italy, 2007, 93 minutes, Nôtre, Christa Moesker, Tali Oscar® finalists for David Leaf color France, various years, best foreign film, USA, 2008, 66 minutes, color and Echoes of The Da 45 minutes, animation Mongol is Russian di- black and white Vinci Code abound rector Sergei Bodrov’s For children 3 years Here’s the newest documen- in what director and older muscular story of the tary from David Leaf, whose Ermanno Olmi has boy who grew up to previous music-related films vowed is his last A charming collection become Genghis include The U.S. vs. John movie testament, of five short movies Khan. Nine-year-old Lennon and Beautiful which harkens back to some of his earliest work featuring endearing Temudgin sets off Dreamer: Brian Wilson and characters and stories with his father, a in its simplicity and divinity. A librarian at the the Story of SMiLE. The day after the assassina- University of Bologna makes a shocking discov- that will charm adults khan, to search for a tion of Dr. Martin Luther King, America’s inner bride. Traveling ery: 100 ancient volumes from the library’s sto- and children alike! Full cities were on fire and the city of Boston looked ried collection have been laid to waste, nailed to of imagination and cre- across the region’s to James Brown to help stop it from exploding stark and beautiful tundra, Temudgin sees a girl the floor and torn into pieces. All signs lead to ativity and set in a magical atmosphere, these and imploding. The Night James Brown Saved an odd culprit: a young, well-established uni- tales will delight and capture your attention whom he proclaims to be his wife, although his Boston focuses on James Brown’s extraordinary, versity professor who has apparently vanished with visual beauty and bold graphics. The sto- choice runs counter to his father’s wishes. history-making concert at the Boston Garden into thin air. Actually, he has taken refuge in an ries are simple yet touch on deeper themes such Temudgin’s life instantly changes when a group on April 5, 1968, putting the events of that day as family, adoption, friendship, and love (with a of Tartars poison his father. Even though he is into the context of the times, telling the dra- old ruin on the banks of the Po River, where he princess, of course). next in line to rule, the rest of the tribe refuses matic story of what happened that night, and interacts with the inhabitants of a nearby town to accept leadership from a young boy. An epic spotlighting this crucial moment in the life and and is greeted as a reincarnation of Christ. DUBBED IN ENGLISH of courage and resourcefulness follows as the career of James Brown. Up to that moment, When the professor volunteers to pay a fine boy becomes a man, finds the girl whom he had Sat., April 26, 2:00 PM, Avalon Theatre, FREE James Brown had been a great artist, a success- levied on the community for presumed unau- Sun., April 27, 1:00 PM, Avalon Theatre, FREE chosen as his bride all those years ago, and thorized constructions on the Po, the Cara- ful businessman, a civil rights activist, and an ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of France gradually reasserts his claim to the leadership of American patriot. On April 5, 1968, he became binieri find him out.—26th Vancouver his kingdom.—Piers Handling, 2007 Toronto a hero.—2008 South by Southwest Film Festival International Film Festival, 2007 International Film Festival IN ITALIAN, PO VALLEY DIALECT, AND ENGLISH IN MONGOLIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Sat., April 26, 9:30 PM, Regal Cinemas WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Sun., April 27, 3:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., April 26, 9:00 PM, AMC Mazza Gallerie ★ Fri., May 2, 8:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Wed., April 30, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas In Person: Director David Leaf and Producer Sat., May 3, 9:00 PM, AMC Mazza Gallerie Eric Kulberg Oh-oku: The Women of the Inner Palace The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio Oh-oku L’orchestra di piazza vittorio Toru Hayashi Agostino Ferrente Japan, 2006, 126 minutes, color Italy, 2006, 90 minutes, color The time is 1713. Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu has recently died, leaving behind an infant ruler heir. The In 2001, producer/director Agostino Ferrente created the Apollo transition of monarchical power was fairly painless, but the shuffling of administrative and related pow- 11 Group to save Rome’s historic Apollo Theater from being ers within Edo’s inner court proved less so. Nothing’s more salaciously entertaining than political scan- turned into a bingo parlor. Then he came up with the idea of dal, save political scandal amongst power-hungry women. In the history of Japan, no such scandal has forming a resident orchestra in the Apollo—with professional matched the proportions of the Ejima-Ikushima Affair, a tale of dirty dealings, illicit relationships, and musicians and beginners—drawn from the residents of the Piazza political maneuverings involving the Oh-oku, or shogun’s harem. Oh-oku: The Women of the Inner Vittorio neighborhood and surrounding area populated by 60 Palace has everything one would expect from a big-budget period picture: Beautiful cinematography, ethnic groups. A real-life fairy tale, this charming cinemato- stunningly ornate costumes, exquisitely detailed sets, and an historically accurate narrative concerning graphic diary gains much strength from its story of world brother- royal court cat-fights, complete with the political intrigue and double crosses one would expect to find hood and peace in the name of music.—2008 Palm Springs Film Festival in the most hostile of female environments.—Chris Nelson, Dreamlogic.net IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES ★ In Person: Director Agostino Ferrente Thurs., May 1, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema ✚ Fri., April 25, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Fri., May 2, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Co-Presented with the Italian Cultural Institute Thurs., May 1, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas 30 31 The Other Side of the Paloma Delight Patti Smith: Dream of Life with Patti Smith in Person Mirror: Bob Dylan Delice paloma Steven Sebring Live at the Newport Folk Nadir Mokneche USA, 2008, 109 minutes, color and black and white Festival 1963–65 Algeria/France, 2007, Winner of the cinematography prize at 134 minutes, color Sundance for director Steven Sebring Murray Lerner Newly-sprung and Phillip Hunt, Patti Smith: Dream USA, 2007, 83 minutes, black from prison after of Life is a hypnotic plunge, a breathing and white 3 years behind collage of this legendary musician/ bars for an un- “This is a young man poet/painter/activist’s philosophy and specified crime, who grew out of a need,” artistry that feels as if it sprang directly wily con-woman goes a line of the famous from her soul. A punk pioneer, Patti Madame Aldjeria introduction of Bob Smith’s fierce poetry and rock music (Algerian treasure Biyouna—just Biyouna) is met Dylan at his first New- shook up New York’s 1970s under- by sisters Scheherazade (Nadia Kaci) and Mina port Folk Festival in ground scene, and her work continues (Fadila Ouabdesselam). The story then flashes 1963, and truer words have rarely been spoken. to be stirred organically by her rigorous back to the halcyon days when the shakedown Across the three festivals at which he played, mind, beloved artistic touchstones, and artist ran her scams from a penthouse apartment Dylan flowers as both an artist and a genera- world events. Shot over 11 years, the overlooking Algiers. Hunky bird-watching son tional spokesman. The climax of this ascension, film travels Smith’s mystical interior Riyad (Daniel Lundh) is immediately attracted of course, was July 25, 1965, when Dylan to mom’s newest protégé, Paloma (Aylin Prandi), terrain—the ideas, losses, and memo- strapped on an electric guitar and, with the Paul even as the beautiful newcomer learns the ropes ries and traces her outward adventures. Butterfield Blues Band backing him up (note the by helping in a scheme to get the goods on a phi- Layered with mesmerizing recitations, late Michael Bloomfield ripping out those leads), landering theater owner so his wife won’t lose music, and narration, the fluid journey changed the face of rock and roll. This first-ever everything in the divorce. Director Nadir incorporates performances, graveyard Dylan at Newport compilation features all or Mokneche has constructed a clever and uplifting pilgrimages and political rallies, part of nearly 20 songs. This is the defining doc- analogy for survival and strength as Madame archival nuggets, and vérité moments ument, both for Dylanologists and younger fans Aldjeria overcomes the odds by implementing with her working-class parents, chil- curious about the enduring cultural icon known one last score. By turns glibly funny and reso- dren, and friends.—2008 as Bob Dylan.—Eddie Cockrell nantly sad, this raconteurish dramedy fully lives Sundance Film Festival up to its name.—Eddie Cockrell Sun., April 27, 4:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Sat., May 3, 4:30 PM, Avalon Theatre IN FRENCH & ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Fri., April 25, 9:30 PM, Lincoln Theatre ★ In Person: Director Murray Lerner for April 27 Wed., April 30, 8:30 PM, Avalon Theatre ★ In Person: Patti Smith and Director screening Thurs., May 1, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Steven Sebring

Ploy The Pope’s Toilet Pen-ek Ratanaruang El bano del papa Thailand/The Netherlands, 2007, 100 minutes, color Cesar Charlone, Enrique Fernandez Married restaurateurs Wit and Dang are exhausted after Uruguay/Brazil/France, 2007, 97 minutes, color flying back to Thailand from the states to attend a fu- The Pope is coming to Melo, a poor Uruguayan village on the Brazilian border, and everyone’s get- neral. In search of cigarettes, Wit ends up in the hotel ting ready. Chief among occupations is petty smuggling, where men ride bicycles laden with necessi- bar drinking coffee with 18-year-old Ploy, whom he in- ties through the brush country across the border, dodging customs officers. The film centers on vites to their room for a shower and a nap despite his schemer and dreamer Beto, his long-suffering wife, and their adolescent daughter, who dreams of a wife’s suspicious nature. Meanwhile, bartender Nut better life as a TV announcer. Beto hatches a plan to build an outhouse along the Pope’s travel route meets maid Tum in an empty room for a steamy en- and charge pilgrims for the privilege of using his facility. As Beto desperately tries to smuggle in his counter. What is real, and what is a jetlag-induced fever new toilet in time for the great event, his bicycle is stolen by a ruthless customs agent. Will Beto dream? Some will see the story as a, um, ploy by writer-director Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Invisible Waves) make it back to Melo in time? Just how many pilgrims will show up, and will they finally make Melo to show the (non-explicit) sex. Others will argue the reverse: the sex is icing on a many- layered, slow- rich?—Brenda Benthien, 32nd Cleveland International Film Festival, 2008 baked cake of ominous imagination and unfettered desire.—Eddie Cockrell IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN THAI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Sat., April 26, 9:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema ✚ Co-Presented with the Center for the Sun., April 27, 5:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Sun., April 27, 5:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Global South, American University Mon., April 28, 8:15 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema 32 33 PVC-1 A Secret Stathos Stathoulopoulos Claude Miller Colombia, 2007, 81 minutes, color France, 2007, 105 minutes, color and black and white Shot in one continuous 85-minute take by a Greek-born, A Secret, based on a best-selling autobiographical novel by Columbian-raised, first-time producer-director who trained for Phillippe Grimbert, tells the story of a boy's uncovering a dark 3 months to operate the video camera strapped to his body, secret about his family's past. Set in several time periods, the film PVC-1 is based on true events. In rural Columbia, a woman and focuses on young Francois, a sickly and solitary boy who cannot her family are the victims of a sadistic burglary. The criminals fit understand his father’s remoteness and critical tendencies. A a plastic explosive device around the woman’s neck and threaten to blow her up unless they get ran- family friend finally reveals to him the shattering story that traces the meeting of his parents during som money. Unfolding in real time, the film perfectly captures the woman’s desperation and horror the tumultuous Occupation of World War II and the secrets that both his parents keep from him. as she frantically searches for help. Stathoulopoulos has created a compelling work that highlights the This secret involves illicit passion, jealousy, and the loss of loved ones to the scourge of the Holo- rampant terrorism that many Latin Americans live with daily. PVC-1 was presented in the Directors’ Fortnight at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.—Cleo Cacoulidis, Bright Lights Film Journal caust. A Secret is Claude Miller's 13th feature and caps a career that began in the 1970s with such milestone films as The Best Way to Walk and This Sweet Sickness.—31st Montreal World Film Festival IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Wed., April 30, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Sat., May 3, 7:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Mon., April 28, 8:20 PM, Avalon Theatre Tues., April 29, 8:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Roming Short Cuts Jirí Vejdelek Czech Republic/Romania/Slovakia, 2007, 107 minutes, color Home Polska Roadmovie Roming traces the madcap misadventures of three Roma men as they journey in a broken truck from Acasa Bartosz Grudziecki northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Slovakia. Beyond its slapstick road-movie trappings, Germany/Poland, 2007, 30 minutes, 35mm however, is a portrait of a nomadic culture searching for identity and acceptance. Jura is a modern Paul young man who excels in Negoescu This critical and humor- his university studies. His Romania, 2007, ous psycho- father, Roman, invites 14 minutes, video him on a cross-country drama about This short features conversations between a road trip, but there is a naïveté and Bucharest taxi driver and his passenger, who is catch: the men are going prejudice headed home for the holidays. to meet the woman tracks an whom Jura is destined to IN ROMANIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES affluent marry. Jura’s father German couple driving through Poland in arranged the set-up back Run search of the woman’s former pen pal. IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES when Jura was still a Mark Albiston child. Shocked, Jura New Zealand, 2007, 15 minutes, 35mm spurns Roman’s request, but eventually relents. It A brother and sister learn how to confront The Mozart of Pickpockets will be a much wilder their fears. Philippe Pollet-Villard ride for Jura than antici- France, 2006, 31 minutes, 35mm pated, thanks to loose- Ver Llover cannon family friend A pair of unlucky thieves find that their for- Stano, who seems to at- Elisa Miller tune changes when they take in a deaf home- less boy. This film is a 2008 Oscar® winner for tract trouble for a living. Mexico, 2007, 13 minutes, live-action short. The proceedings have a 35mm wacky, Rabelaisian quality, helped greatly by the laugh-out-loud performances.—Dimitri Eipides, IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Two teenagers plan 2007 Toronto International Film Festival their escape to the big city. This short was a Sat., April 26, 4:00 PM, Regal Cinemas IN CZECH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Cannes Palm d’Or winner in 2007. Sat., May 3, 4:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., April 26, 9:30 PM, Avalon Theatre ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Mon., April 28, 6:00 PM, Avalon Theatre of the Czech Republic

34 35 The Show Must Go On Takva: A Man’s Fear of God Wooahan segye Ozer Kiziltan Han Jae-rim Turkey/Germany, 2006, 100 minutes, color South Korea, 2007, 110 minutes, color Actor Erkan Can brings incredible authenticity to the role of a simple If “The Sopranos” had featured more out-and-out comedy, the results might man who is faced with the ruination of the naive beliefs that have formed have resembled the South Korean underworld saga The Show Must Go On. There’s hardly a more the mainstay of his life. In the oldest part of Istanbul, humble, God-fear- bumbling gangster in all of South Korea than Kang In-gu (Song Kang-ho, star of The Host). A de- ing Muharrem works as a grunt to a businessman selling sacks and de- voted family man whose wholesale produce business masks the real estate scams of his gang, the votes his spare time to praying. When the sheik notices his honesty and Dogs, Kang must balance the demands of his bloody business with daughter Hee-soon’s puberty, wife devotion, Muharrem is offered the job of administrator to the sect’s finan- Mi-ryung’s desire for a new house, and a natural befuddlement at the world that suggests he’s in the cial dealings. He accepts the job but eventually realizes, as he collects rents wrong line of work. When rival gang the Jaguars threaten to disrupt the balance of power, Kang must from very impoverished people and is expected to turn a blind eye to make some hard decisions. Expanding on a supporting character he first developed in the 1997 hit what he considers trespasses against holy law, that it involves actions that he finds morally repugnant, No. 3, Song is terrific as a man whose ambitions far outstrip his brain power.—Eddie Cockrell and a crisis of faith tears him apart.—Sheila Seacroft, Neil Young’s Film Lounge IN KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN TURKISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Sat., April 26, 7:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Fri., April 25, 9:15 PM, Avalon Theatre Sun., April 27, 7:45 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Sat., April 26, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre

Silent Light Tell No One Stellet licht Ne le dis a personne Carlos Reygadas Guillaume Canet Mexico/France/The Netherlands, 2007, 144 minutes, color France, 2006, 126 minutes, color In a Mennonite community on the outskirts of Chihuahua, Mexico, Johan, a husband and father, Tell No One is an intricately plotted, expertly breaks the rules of his community by falling in love and having an affair with another woman. Johan made, superbly performed thriller. Eight years has been honest with his wife about his adultery, but this does little to reconcile the conflicts that after wife Margot (Mairie-Josee Cruze) was plague him. Jonas’ inner turmoil is played out against the everyday habits and rituals of the family murdered during a midnight swim, pediatri- and the community—mealtimes, prayers, and tender moments that punctuate the day. Although cian Dr. Alex Beck (Francois Cluzet) finds these elements and the casting of nonprofessional actors could suggest an ethnographic tone, Carlos himself a suspect once again. He must elude Reygadas’ control and mastery of image and sound leave no doubt that we are watching cinema at its the police and some shady thugs as he figures most carefully and artfully constructed. Silent Light won the Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Fes- out who’s sending him surveillance footage of tival.—Sandra Hebron, 2007 Times BFI 51st London Film Festival Margot—who appears to be very much alive. IN PLAUTDIETSCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES As this is the second feature from actor- turned-director Guillaume Canet, it’s no sur- Sat., April 26, 9:15 PM, Avalon Theatre Sun., April 27, 5:00 PM, Avalon Theatre prise to see French mainstays Andre Dussollier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Nathalie Baye, and Jean ✚ Co-Presented with the Mexican Cultural Institute Rochefort in the solid supporting cast. With an eclectic soundtrack and shelf full of awards in France, Tell No One is stylishly, thoroughly engrossing.—Eddie Cockrell IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Wed., April 30, 6:30 PM, Embassy of France, followed by a reception; tickets $15.00 Fri., May 2, 6:30 PM, AMC Mazza Gallerie ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of France

Special Event: The Wednesday, April 30 screening will be followed by a reception at the Embassy of France. Tickets: $15.00.

36 37 Timecrimes The Tracey Fragments Tuya’s Marriage Unfinished Sky Los cronocrimenes Bruce McDonald Tuyade hunshi Peter Duncan Nacho Vigalondo Canada, 2007, 77 minutes, Wang Quanan Australia, 2007, Spain, 2007, 88 minutes, color China, 2006, 86 minutes, color 94 minutes, color color “My name is Tracey Tuya’s Marriage, a stun- In the rugged and “Time flies here,” says Berkowitz, just a nor- ningly photographed remote Beaudesert Clara, the companion mal girl who hates her- saga of survival, is uni- region of Queens- of Hector, as they self.” The troubled versally enthralling. On land, sheepherder leisurely move into a teen, played by white- the spartan, unforgiving and widower John country house in hot Juno star Ellen plains of Inner Mongo- Woldring Page, is anything but northern Spain. She lia, Tuya (Yu Nan) (William McInnes, from Look Both Ways) is ordinary: she’s a run- doesn’t know the half of it: Hector’s about to labors mightily as a startled to discover an Afghani wo-man, Tah- away in search of her embark on a bizarre journey. Seeing a woman shepherd to support her meena (Dutch actress Monic Hendrickx) younger brother as a young son and kind opposite the house, he goes to investigate and is bruised and bloody, staggering up the road to blizzard bears down on husband, Bater, who was stabbed by a bandaged stranger. Staggering to a his house. At first wary of one another, the two the unnamed Canadian urban wasteland. But disabled years before while digging a well. nearby research laboratory, he meets a moon- soon grow close, and Waldren discovers the rea- “this is not some kind of, like, abuse story, When Tuya is diagnosed with lumbar disloca- son for her presence in Australia. Longtime lighting scientist, who tricks him into a proto- Okay?” Tracey barks. “I don’t cry over spilt tion after helping lift a truck off a pinned FFDC patrons may be forgiven for a slight case type device that sends him back 90 minutes in milk, you know?” For all her expletive-laden neighbor, Tuya and Bater decide to divorce so time. Then things get really strange; how many bluster, she’s still a tender 15, and, like legions Tuya can find a physically fit man to care for of déjà vu, as Unfinished Sky is a subtle and Hectors can the world hold? A brain-teaser with of runaways before, she finds the world a cold, them all. The procession of suitors isn’t exactly moving remake of The Polish Bride, a hit of the echoes of Memento and other exercises in the hard place. Perpetual Canadian maverick film- what they had in mind, however. Help eventu- 1999 festival. Hendrickx reprises her film debut manipulation of time, Timecrimes is the brain- maker Bruce McDonald employs a dazzlingly ally comes, from a source at once unlikely and role with fiery beauty, and director Peter Dun- child of writer-director Vigalondo, who’s assured split-screen style to visualize Tracey’s inevitable. Detailing the hard calculus of sur- can—whose Children of the Revolution was also thought out his elaborate construct with clock- shattering anger, while Maureen Medved’s re- vival, Tuya’s Marriage is leavened with gentle a FFDC favorite—understands the geopolitical work precision. With a Hollywood remake re- markably authentic dialogue and voiceover rural humor as well as Yu’s tremendous appeal forces that result in traumatic immigration and portedly in the works, here’s a sterling rings utterly true to an adolescent’s lament. as a woman of strength and character, commit- the unlikely emotional bonds that can form in opportunity to be among the first American au- Winner of the Manfred Salzgeber prize at the ted to standing by her man even as she searches the most unforgiving of places.—Eddie Cockrell diences to experience this utterly original new 2007 Berlin festival, The Tracey Fragments is an determinedly for new opportunities.—Eddie IN ENGLISH AND DARI Spanish film.—Eddie Cockrell of-the-moment milestone in contemporary Cockrell Canadian cinema.—Eddie Cockrell Mon., April 28, 6:30 PM, Regal Cinemas IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Wed., April 30, 8:45 PM, Regal Cinemas Fri., May 2, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Fri., April 25, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Sat., April 26, 9:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of Australia Sat., May 3, 9:15 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Sat., April 26, 7:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Mon., April 28, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema

Tricks Unfinished Stories Sztuczki Ravayat haye na tamam Andrzej Jakimowski Pourya Azarbayjani Poland, 2007, 96 minutes, color Iran, 2007, 76 minutes, color The story of two children in search of their father may seem rather “Where are you going at this ungodly hour?” a cabbie asks one of three unrelated conventional, but that story is enriched by a sense of space and women whose traumatic nocturnal sojourns in a freezing cold Tehran form the rhythm in Tricks. Stefek is convinced that the man boarding a train every morning at the same hour connective tissue of this moody and intense O. Henry-like chain reaction of re- is his father, who had left home before he was born. His sister Elka has suffered from her father’s solve in the face of prejudice. “There are all kinds of wolves out there.” For teenaged Setareh, the chal- abandonment and doesn’t wish to hear about him. Most sequences focus on different relationships: lenge is getting through to her boyfriend by cell phone as their parents argue with each other; a kindly Stefek and his “father,” who establish an oddly affectionate relationship in the train station; Elka and soldier helps, but not enough. Meanwhile, pregnant Hengameh has been thrown out by her angry hus- her boyfriend; and Stefek and his sister’s boyfriend. The sequences comment on contemporary life in band and searches for answers. Finally, a penniless new mother tries to escape the hospital bill with her a small Polish town, with its rituals, gossips, and surprises. Tension arising in the background could baby. The wolves, of course, are the men who alternately prey upon and placate these women, and direc- equally lead to a happy or an unhappy ending. The utterly poetic sequence that tor Pourya Azarbayjani washes the soundtrack in the jarring noises of the unforgiving city. “Take care of concludes the film is a perfect answer to this dilemma.—Gregory Valens, The Hollywood Reporter yourself,” Setareh’s friend urges, but the deck is stacked against her.—Eddie Cockrell IN PERSIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Tues., April 29, 6:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Thurs., May 1, 9:00 PM, Avalon Theatre Mon., April 28, 8:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Wed., April 30, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre 38 39 The War on We Are Together Youssou N’Dour: You, the Living Democracy Thina simunye Return to Goree Du levande Paul Taylor Roy Andersson John Pilger, Chris Retour a goree United Kingdom, Pierre-Yves Borgeaud Sweden/Germany/France/ Martin 2007, 86 minutes, Denmark/Norway/Japan, United Kingdom, 2007, 96 min- color Switzerland/Luxembourg, 2007, 110 minutes, color 2007, 92 minutes, color utes, color and black and white Music and The Grammy-winning Senegalese singer Yous- Is there a better way Australian-born, Lon- family are the sou N’Dour takes us on a musical journey. to try to explain don-based journalist twin corner- Guided in his mission by his friend, the blind humankind in its John Pilger has been, and stones of the pianist Moncef essence than to is, a vocal critic of American foreign policy. children living at the Agape Orphanage in Genoud, Youssou combine 50 short Like a rail-thin, deeply tanned version of South Africa. In some fashion, they are the N’Dour travels across stories about a mul- from Atlanta to New Michael Moore, complete with a sing-song de- same thing, or as 12-year-old Slindile Moya titude of aspects of Orleans and then livery that drips with irony (but without the says, “Singing makes me think of home, be- life? Perhaps, but cause that was where I learned to sing.” Scenes from New York on to nothing can come baseball cap), Pilger’s polemical style attracts as Bordeaux and Luxem- many critics as supporters. In The War on of the choir rehearsing for a series of concerts in close to Roy Andersson’s view of it. You, the London (including one with Alicia Keys and bourg, performing his songs, which are im- Living defies definition, classification, and, at Democracy, Pilger begins with a spirited defense mersed in the culture of jazz and gospel. of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. He then Paul Simon) are juxtaposed with those of the times, reason. Throughout this existential jour- Moya children visiting their parents’ graves. Rehearsing with some of the world’s most ex- ney, we meet housewives, criminals, girls with moves on to explore U.S. participation in the However, the film never strays into easy senti- ceptional musicians, he then prepares to return crushes, drunks at a bar, and dogs being fates of other Central and Latin American ment, partly because the children’s determina- to Africa to perform a concert in Goree, an is- dragged across a street. As elaborately staged countries, including El Salvador, Nicaragua, tion and resiliency outshine even the most land off the coastline of Senegal that sits at the and composed as Andersson’s previous film, the Chile, and Bolivia. His ongoing verbal tussle despairing of circumstances. Winner of the Au- crossroads of the centuries-old trade route con- award-winning Songs From the Second Floor, with former CIA Latin American division head dience Award and Special Jury Prizes at the necting Europe and West Africa, Christianity each subsequent scene leaves the viewer longing Duane R. Clarridge is a confrontational high- Tribeca Film Festival, the Amnesty Interna- and Islam, infamous as a former center of the for more answers but delivers more questions. light. Provocative in the most volatile sense of tional Film Festival, and the One World Inter- Atlantic slave trade, from where many Africans Andersson, living up to his reputation as a bril- the word, The War on Democracy is Pilger’s in- national Film Festival, the film is partnered were deported to the Americas. An uplifting liant auteur, leaves it up to us how to interpret evitable stepping stone to a broader audi- with Bono’s One Organization.—2007 Vancou- and heartwarming documentary.—Keith Shiri, the meaning of the scenes, using our own lives ence.—Eddie Cockrell ver International Film Festival 2007 Times BFI 51st London Film Festival as a guide.—32nd Cleveland International Film IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH WITH IN ENGLISH & FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Festival, 2008 ENGLISH SUBTITLES Fri., April 25, 8:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Thurs., May 1, 8:45 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema IN SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES Tues., April 29, 6:30 PM, Avalon Theatre Sun., April 27, 3:30 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Sat., May 3, 9:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema ✚ Co-Presented with the Center for the Global Tues., April 29, 8:15 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., May 3, 5:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of Switzerland Thurs., May 1, 9:00 PM, Regal Cinemas South, American University With Your Permission La Zona Til doden os skiller The zone Paprika Steen Rodrigo Plá Denmark/Sweden, 2007, 95 minutes, color Spain/Mexico, 2007, 95 minutes, color and black and white Resolutely deadpan, slyly surreal, and achingly subversive, With Your Permission is probably the funniest La Zona, the feature directing debut of Rodrigo Plá, deals with film you’ll see about domestic difficulties this year. The film is the much-anticipated new collaboration class in a chilling, effective manner. The opening shot suc- between actress-turned-director Paprika Steen (The Celebration) and prolific screenwriter Anders Thomas cinctly sets up the class divide as the camera moves from inside Jensen (The King is Alive, The Green Butchers), who worked together on director Susanne Bier’s Open a clean, gated community in Mexico City and up over the high wall and barbed wire to look down Hearts. Insecure Jan Bundgaard (Lars Brygmann), a disciplinarian at his job running a Denmark–Sweden on the cramped, rundown homes on the other side of the barricade. Security cameras topping the ferryboat eatery who suffers from tinnitus, is regularly beaten by his stay-at-home wife, Bente (Sidse Ba- fences watch to make sure no one from the outside gets in. Calling this a “gated community” is not bett Knudsen), who’s frustrated because her operatic career never took off. When his boss insists he enter entirely accurate. It looks more like a fortress, with massive metal gates protecting the rich homeown- therapy, Jan’s too embarrassed to go to the victim’s session and ends up with two wife-beaters, mechanics ers from the riffraff outside. When a thunderstorm causes a freak accident and power outage that al- Alf (Rasmus Bjerg) and Rudy (Nikolai Kopernikus). Hiring the thick-witted thugs to kill Bente, Jan’s lows a trio of youth to infiltrate the fortress and attempt a robbery, the residents take the law into shocked to discover the duo’s taken a shine to her—at his expense.—Eddie Cockrell their own hands to avenge the would-be robbers.—Beth Accomando, KPBS San Diego IN DANISH AND SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Fri., May 2, 9:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Fri., April 25, 9:00 PM, Regal Cinemas Sat., May 3, 7:00 PM, Landmark’s E St. Cinema Mon., April 28, 8:30 PM, Regal Cinemas ✚ Co-Presented with the Embassy of Spain 40 41 THANK YOU THANK YOU

Filmfest DC Festival Staff Tommie Adams Jr., Con- Programmers Line Jumper and Crystal Palmer stance Blackwell, Andrew Mayor’s Office of Motion Board of Directors Tony Gittens Tony Gittens Security Camera Davis, Martina Gauss, Picture and Television Kandace Laass, Chair Festival Director Senior Programmer Trailers Bertha Hall, Charles Development Dan Corrigan, Producer Max N. Berry Shirin Ghareeb Kovatch, Jonathan Lifland, Shirin Ghareeb Mark Traver, Director Sarah Taylor Attorney-at-Law Assistant Festival Director Donné Malloy-Murray, Jared Traver Monument Films Allied Advertising Bruce Snyder, Zipper Alberto Casciero Jared Traver Shorts & Local Film Programs Ted Cooper, Elvis Waterman Viloski, Bahram Zandi Director, Learning Resources Technical Director & Special Thanks to… Regal Entertainment Group Division, UDC Theatre Managers Programmer Programming Roland Celette Joia Jefferson Nuri Advisors Ambassador Clovis Maksoud Bonnie Cohen Billy Raum Antoine Sebire Director, Center for the Public Relations Embassy of France Anthony Gittens Technical Coordinator Antoine Sebire Global South, American Embassy of France Director, Filmfest DC Connie Poole Juan Garcia De Oteyza University Kendra Anderson Marketing & Sponsorship Executive Director, Manjula Kumar Mexican Cultural Institute Coordinating Assistant Coordinator Carolyn Naifeh DC Commission on the Arts Smithsonian Institution George Firmeza March & Associates and Humanities Amy Schomberg Aisha Davis Peggy Parsons Mariangela Bittencourt-Emilio Print Traffic Coordinator Opening & Closing Night Stan Collendar Stephen X. Graham National Gallery of Art Embassy of Brazil Qorvis Communications President, Crosshill Financial Galas Producer Marcia Carlson Erju Ackman Jane Scott Group, Inc. Susan Barocas Rita Venturelli Hospitality & Guest Travel Embassy of Australia Capital Focus Award Michele Giacalone Arnold P. Lutzker Coordinator Festival Catalog Lutzker & Lutzker LLP Coordinator Marcello Cima Italian Cultural Institute Claire Decamps Embassy of Argentina Richard Seidel Eddie Cockrell John M. Mendonca Jacqueline Lenchek Opening Night Gala Senior Editor Partner, KPMG LLP Guest Services Jorge Sobredo Not Pictured Jill Tunick Curro Tardio Linda Posell Tommie Adams, Jr. Jennifer Cover Payne Varissa McMickens Editor Embassy of Spain Director, Cultural Alliance of Directors’ Roundtable Andrew Davis Volunteer Coordinator Mary Pettigrew Vilma Anyzova Claire Decamps Greater Washington Sandy Hassan Jane Fox ampersand graphic design Embassy of the Czech Republic Ted Pedas Jane Fox Cinema for Seniors Martina Gauss Assistant Volunteer Sandy Hassan President, Circle Films, Inc. John Hall Matt Dawson Sylvia Blume John Hall Coordinator Goethe-Institut Washington Jacque Jones Print Runner Illustrator Alan Rubin Charles Kovatch Bill McLeod Christine Washington Jacqueline Lenchek Film Consultant Chad Evans Wyatt Volunteer Consultant Festival Web Site Embassy of Switzerland Varissa McMickens Robert Sacheli Photographer Connie Poole Tuan Tran Antoine Khalife Billy Raum Creative Services Manager, Robyn Thoelke Latasha Banks, Dasha Webmaster Unifrance Bruce Snyder American Occupational Jacque Jones Halkin, Courtney Thomas, Jared Traver Therapy Association Theatre Coordinator Linda Blackaby Jill Tunick Dee Wong Zipper Viloski Marilyn Weiner Interns San Francisco International President, Screenscope Film Festival Photo: Chad Evans Wyatt

42 43 PRINT SOURCES PRINT SOURCES

Chaos Fiestapatria Katyn Mongol The Pope’s Toilet Timecrimes You, The Living Features Pyramide Films Luis R. Vera Productions TVP S.A. Picturehouse Bavaria Film Magnolia Pictures Swedish Film Institute T: 01 42 96 01 01 T: 56 32 275 5589 T: 4822 547 6139 T: 212 303 1720 T: 49 0 89 64 99 0 T: 212 924 6701 T: 46 8 665 12 08 AmericanEast E: distribution@pyramide- E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: acquisitions@magpictures. swedishfilm.org Distant Horizon films.com luisrvera.com international.tvp.pl picturehouse.com bavaria-film.de com T: 323 848 4140 pyramidefilms.com magpictures.com Youssou N’Dour: E: [email protected] The Girl by the Lake Khoya Khoya Chand The Night James PVC-1 Return to Goree distant-horizon.com Children of Glory Intramovies Adlabs Films Brown Saved Boston IFC Films The Tracey Fragments ArtMattan Productions Fortissimo Films T: 39 06 807 72 52 T: 91 22 284 23 333 Universal Media Inc. T: 917 542 6200 THINKFilm T: 212 864 1760 La Antena T: 31 20 627 32 15 E: [email protected] E: rohit.ahluwalia@ T: 202 234 7292 E: [email protected] T: 212 444 7900 E: [email protected] MDC International E: [email protected] intramovies.com adlabsfilms.com E: [email protected] ifcfilms.com E: info@thinkfilmcompany africanfilm.com T: 4930 264 979 00 fortissimo.nl adlabsfilms.com .com E: [email protected] Great American Oh-Oku: The Women Roming thinkfilmcompany.com La Zona mdc-int.de The Contestant Entertainers Kill Them All of the Inner Palace MediaPRO Distribution Wild Bunch Distribution Lazona Films Chertok Associates M-Appeal World Sales Pony Canyon Inc. T: 0040 31 82 56 014 Tricks T: 01 53 10 42 50 Avatars: The First T: 916 697 644 T: 845-461-7986 T: 49 30 61 50 75 05 T: 81 03 5521 8048 E: mediaprodistribution@ M-Appeal World Sales E: [email protected] Person of New Media E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] mediasat.ro T: 49 30 61 50 75 05 wildbunch-distribution.com E: [email protected] lazona.eu m-appeal.com ponycanyon.co.jp mediaprodistribution.com E: [email protected] Heavy Metal in m-appeal.com Ballerina The Edge of Heaven Baghdad King of Ping Pong One Hundred Nails A Secret Shorts Wide Management Strand Releasing VICE Films/VBS.tv Swedish Film Institute Intramovies UGC International Tuya’s Marriage T: 33 1 53 95 04 64 T: 310 836 7500 T: 718 233 6518 T: 46 8 665 12 08 T: 39 06 807 72 52 T: 08 92 70 00 00 Music Box Films E: wide@widemanagement E: strand@strandreleasing E: [email protected] swedishfilm.org E: [email protected] E: [email protected] T: 312 492 9364 Acasa Hi Film Productions .com .com vbs.tv intramovies.com ugc.fr musicboxfilms.com widemanagement.com strandreleasing.com Late Bloomers T: 40 21 2524867 The Home Song Stories Catpics Coproductions 1, 2, 3, Léon! Shall We Kiss Two Ladies E: [email protected] Basic Sanitation Egg Fortissimo Films T: 0041 44 455 99 00 Folimage TF1 International Pyramide Films hifilm.ro Casa de Cinema de Porto Kaplan Film Production T: 31 20 627 32 15 E: [email protected] T: 33 0 4 75 78 48 68 T: 33 1 41 41 28 37 T: 01 42 96 01 01 Alegre T: 90 212 291 2995 E: [email protected] catpics.ch E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: distribution@pyramide- The Mozart of T: 51 3316 9245 E: [email protected] fortissimo.nl folimage.fr cinema.tf1.fr films.com Pickpockets E: distribuidora@casacinepoa kaplanfilmproduction.com Made in Jamaica pyramidefilms.com Kareproductions .com.br casacinepoa.com.br I Just Didn’t Do It CInemavault The Orchestra of I’ll Show You T: 01 58 53 55 00 The Elite Squad Pony Canyon Inc. T: 416 363 6060 Piazza Vittorio the Town Unfinished Sky E: [email protected] Beyond the Call The Weinstein Company T: 81 03 5521 8048 E: [email protected] Red Envelope Entertainment UCLA Film and Television Fortissimo Films WadiRum Productions T: 646 862 3400 E: [email protected] cinemavault.com T: 310 734 2900 Archive T: 31 20 627 32 15 Polska Roadmovie Walker + Worm Film GbR T: 415 716 0660 E: [email protected] ponycanyon.co.jp netflix.com T: 310 206-5388 E: [email protected] E: [email protected] weinsteinco.com Madrigal E: [email protected] fortissimo.nl T: 089 649 81 252 wadirum.com In the Name of God Wanda Vision The Other Side of the cinema.ucla.edu E: [email protected] Emma’s Bliss Geo Films T: 91 35 28 376 Unfinished Stories w2-film.de Blood Brothers Mirror: Bob Dylan Live The Match Factory T: 91 21 111 436 111 E: [email protected] at the Newport Folk The Show Must Sheherazad Media Fortissimo Films T: 49 221 292 102 0 [email protected] wanda.es Go On International Run T: 31 20 627 32 15 E: sales@the-match- Festival T: 98 21 22 863 260 61 The New Zealand Film geo.tv MLF Productions, Inc. Lotte Entertainment E: [email protected] factory.com The Matador E: sheherazad@smediaint Commission T: 212 581 6772 T: 0 2 34 70 3508 fortissimo.nl the-match-factory.com Jade Warrior Matador Films .com T: 64 4 382 7680 E: [email protected] lotteent.co.kr Rezo Films T: 212.801.9200 smediaint.com E: [email protected] The Bread Winner Empties T: 01 42 46 46 30 E: [email protected] Silent Light nzfilm.co.nz Afghanistan World Foundation Portobello Pictures matadorthefilm.com Paloma Delight E: [email protected] Les Films du Losange BAC Films The War on Democracy T: 310 820 3577 T: 44 0 20 7605 1396 Coach 14 Ver llover rezofilms.com T: 33 1 44 43 87 10 T: 33 1 53 53 52 52 E: info@afghanistan E: mail@portobellopictures Mister Foe T: 33 147 00 10 60 Centro de Capacitacion E: [email protected] bacfilms.com worldfoundation.org .com Jazz in the Diamond Magnolia Pictures E: [email protected] Cinematografica filmsdulosange.fr afghanistanworld portobellopictures.com District T: 212 924 6701 Takva: A Man’s Fear coach14.com T: 52 55 41 55 0090 foundation.org Soblu Productions E: acquisitions@magpictures. of God E: [email protected] Fados com Patti Smith: We Are Together T: 202 641 4501 Dream of Life The Match Factory ccc.cnart.mx Buddha Collapsed Out Latido Films E: [email protected] magpictures.com T: 49 221 292 102 0 Palm Pictures of Shame T: 34 915 488 877 Palm Pictures T: 212 320 3600 soblu.com Mon Colonel T: 212 320 3600 E: sales@the-match- Wild Bunch Distribution E: [email protected] factory.com palmpictures.com T: 01 53 10 42 50 latidofilms.com The Journey: The Greek Pathe Distribution palmpictures.com T: 331 40 76 91 69 the-match-factory.com With Your Permission E: [email protected] American Dream Ploy wildbunch-distribution.com The Fall Proteus E: sales@patheinternational. Tell No One Danish Film Institute Roadside Attractions com Fortissimo Films T: 3374 3400 T: 30 693 240 0632 T: 31 20 627 32 15 Music Box Films Calle Santa Fe T: 323 882-8490 E: proteusnonprofit@ pathe.com T: 312 492 9364 E: [email protected] Wild Bunch Distribution E: info@roadsideattractions E: [email protected] dfi.dk earthlink.net fortissimo.nl musicboxfilms.com T: 01 53 10 42 50 .com thejourneygreek E: [email protected] roadsideattractions.om americandream.org wildbunch-distribution.com

44 45 THANK YOU THANK YOU MAJOR SPONSORS OFFICIAL SPONSORS

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46 47 INDEX

AmericanEast...... 10 Madrigal ...... 24 Antena, La...... 10 Matador, The...... 24 Avatars: The First Person of Mister Foe...... 25 New Media ...... 11 Mon colonel ...... 25 Ballerina ...... 11 Mongol ...... 30 Basic Sanitation, The Movie ...... 11 Night James Brown Saved Boston, The ...30 Beyond the Call ...... 12 Oh-Oku: The Women of Blood Brothers...... 12 the Inner Palace...... 30 Bread Winner, The ...... 12 One Hundred Nails ...... 31 Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame ...... 13 1, 2, 3, Léon!...... 31 Calle Santa Fe ...... 13 Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio, The...... 31 Chaos ...... 14 Other Side of the Mirror: Children of Glory ...... 14 Bob Dylan Live…...... 32 Contestant, The ...... 14 Paloma Delight...... 32 Edge of Heaven, The ...... 15 Patti Smith: Dream of Life...... 33 Egg...... 15 Ploy ...... 32 Elite Squad, The ...... 16 Pope’s Toilet, The ...... 33 Emma’s Bliss ...... 15 PVC-1 ...... 34 Empties...... 16 Roming ...... 34 Fados...... 17 Secret, A...... 35 Fall, The...... 17 Shall We Kiss?...... 5 Fiestapatria...... 18 Shorts...... 35 Girl by the Lake, The ...... 18 Show Must Go On, The ...... 36 Great American Entertainers ...... 19 Silent Light...... 36 Heavy Metal in Baghdad...... 19 Takva: A Man’s Fear of God...... 37 Home Song Stories, The ...... 19 Tell No One ...... 37 I’ll Show You the Town...... 20 Timecrimes ...... 38 I Just Didn’t Do It ...... 20 Tracey Fragments...... 38 In the Name of God ...... 20 Tricks...... 38 Jade Warrior ...... 21 Tuya’s Marriage...... 39 Jazz in the Diamond District ...... 21 Two Ladies ...... 4 Journey: The Greek American Unfinished Sky ...... 39 Dream, The ...... 22 Unfinished Stories ...... 39 Katyn ...... 22 War on Democracy, The...... 40 Kill Them All...... 22 We Are Together...... 40 King of Ping Pong...... 23 With Your Permission...... 40 Late Bloomers...... 23 You, The Living...... 41 Lost Moon ...... 23 Youssou N’Dour: Return to Goree ...... 41 Made in Jamaica...... 24 Zona, La ...... 41

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