Already booked in December:
Girl Cut in Two – Dec. 17-24
Happy-Go-Lucky – Dec. 26-Jan 1
Ashes of Time Redux – action - Wong Kar Wai
http://www.sonyclassics.com/ashesoftimeredux/trailer.html
Wong Kar Wai works his magic in this long planned "reworking" of his legendary, romantic and one and only martial arts film, previously unreleased in North America. Set in ancient China, Ouran Feng (Leslie Cheung) is a fallen swordsman who is afraid of love after having his heart broken. But the bounty hunters that work for him, like "Blind Swordsman" (Tony Leung Chio Wai) and Hung Chi (Jacky Cheung), discover the intangible secret of true love while Ouyang retains his attitude towards his fighters and the precious lessons that they have taught.
Blindness – drama – Fernando Meirelles
http://www.blindness-themovie.com/
The Constant Gardener director Fernando Meirelles joins forces with Canadian writer/director/actor Don McKellar to bring Portuguese Nobel Prize winner José Saramago's 1995 novel to the big screen in this large-scale philosophical thriller. An epidemic of blindness pushes society to the breaking point after sweeping through a modern metropolis and crossing borders into the outside world. A Brazilian/Canadian co-production shot in São Paulo and Toronto, Blindness features a script by producer and co-star McKellar, who optioned the novel alongside Rhombus Media's Niv Fichman.
Bottle Shock – comedy - Randall Miller
http://www.bottleshockthemovie.com/
Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Paris wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world's best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect Chateau Montelena. Yet despite the fact that Jim's Napa Valley vineyard has great potential, his son, Bo (Chris Pine), doesn't seem to have much interest in the family business. Most days, Jim and Bo can be found trading blows in their backyard boxing ring -- their attempts to knock a bit of sense into one another usually amounting to naught. Meanwhile, in Paris, British expatriate Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) finds necessity dictating that he educate Parisians on the latest wines to come out of California. Steven owns the Académie du Vin, and is eager to travel to the United States in order to ensure that he has conducted his research properly. Little did Steven and Jim realize that they were both on course for a chance meeting that would revolutionize the wine industry while opening up a whole new world of possibilities for wine lovers everywhere.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas – drama - Mark Herman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3I7fdJkutI
Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, and Asa Butterfield star in Little Voice writer/director Mark Herman's adaptation of John Boyne's novel concerning the forbidden friendship that between an eight year old German boy and a Jewish concentration camp prisoner in World War II-era Germany. The innocent son of a high-ranking Nazi commandant, Bruno has been largely shielded from the harsh realities of the war. When Bruno discovers that his father has been promoted and that their family will be moving from Berlin into the countryside, he doesn't take the news well. Increasingly bored in his sprawling yet dreary country abode and forbidden by his mother from exploring the back yard, young Bruno searches for something to do while his older sister plays with dolls and vies for the attention of handsome Lieutenant Kotler (Rupert Friend). One day, bored and gazing out his bedroom window, Bruno spies what first appears to be a nearby farm; his parents refuse to discuss it, and all of the inhabitants there are curiously clad in striped pajamas. But while Bruno's mother naively believes the "farm" to be an internment camp, her husband has sworn under oath never to reveal that it is in fact an extermination camp specifically designed to help the Nazis achieve their horrific "Final Solution." Eventually defying his mother's rules and venturing out beyond the back yard, Bruno arrives at a barbed wire fence to find a young boy just his age emptying rubble from a wheel barrel. Like Pavel, the kitchen worker who cooks all of Bruno's meals, the young boy is wearing striped pajamas. His name is Shmuel, and before long the two young boys have become fast friends. But the closer these two boys become, the more Bruno becomes awakened to the horrors unfolding all around them. His mother is catching on quickly as well, a fact that causes great tension in her marriage to Bruno's father. Later, after Bruno swipes a piece of cake for Shmuel, Lt. Kotler accuses the Jewish boy of stealing and delivers a swift punishment. When Bruno's father announces that the young boy and his mother will be going to live with their aunt in Heidelberg, Bruno grabs a shovel and makes way for the camp, setting into motion a tragic and devastating sequence of events.
Brideshead Revisited – drama - Jullian Jarold
http://bridesheadrevisited-themovie.com/
Matthew Goode, alongside Michael Gambon and Oscar winner Emma Thompson, stars as Capt. Charles Ryder, an officer stationed at England's Brideshead Castle during World War II, in this big-screen adaptation of the classic novel by Evelyn Waugh. The suspenseful drama builds as Captain Ryder becomes infatuated with the castle's owners, the aristocratic Marchmain family -- particularly their grown son, Sebastian Flyte, and his elegant sister, Julia.
Bustin' Down the Door – documentary - Jeremy Gosch
http://www.bustindownthedoor.com/flash.html
During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was not ready for revolution. Surfing was never to be the same again. Narrated by Edward Norton.
Choose Connor – drama - Luke Eberl
http://www.strandreleasing.com/films/trailer.asp?BusinessUnitID={7533CDA9-E7C5-4586-AAA5-14ABF2E3F6B2}&ProjectID={C82B9408-E8C4-49E8-B4B3-C166C970621A}
A politically-savvy fifteen-year-old learns the true nature of politics after accepting the position as youth campaign spokesman for a determined congressman in the feature directorial debut of twenty-year-old actor-turned-director Lucas Elliot. When Congressman Lawrence Connor (Steven Weber) speaks before an assembly of high school students during his run for the Senate, the enthusiastic and well-informed response that he gets from fifteen-year-old student Owen (Alex D. Linz) results in an invitation to join the campaign as Connor's youth spokesman. Subsequently exploited in a tireless campaign that includes television commercials, posters, radio advertisements, and speaking engagements, Owen growing distaste for the cut-throat world of politics prompts him to reconsider his career or risk losing his innocence.
Christmas Tale, A – drama - Arnaud Desplechin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgpcUPyAhno
Abel and Junon had two children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Victim of a rare genetic condition, Joseph's only hope was a bone marrow transplant. As they and Elizabeth were incompatible, his parents conceived a third child in the hope of saving their son. But little Henri too was unable to help his brother, and Joseph died at the age of seven. The Vuillard family has never recovered. Many years have passed, and family relationships are more strained than ever. In particular, those between Elizabeth, authoritarian head of the family and Henri, a cynical drop out who divides his time between women and drink. After a violent argument, Elizabeth banishes her feckless brother, cutting him off from his nephew, her son Paul - a tortured adolescent beset by serious mental problems. Masterfully directed and acted, by turns savage, bittersweet, darkly comic and unbearably moving, A CHRISTMAS TALE shows internationally acclaimed Desplechin at the height of his powers.
Dark Streets - drama/thriller - Rachel Samuels
http://www.darkstreetsmovie.com/
A naïve playboy investigating the suspicious death of his wealthy father finds his charmed life as owner of the hottest nightclub in town suddenly spiraling into disaster in this shadowy film noir fever dream from director Rachel Samuels. Gabriel Mann, Bijou Phillips, Izabella Miko, and Elias Koteas headline a film featuring music by Aaron Neville, Etta James, Dr. John, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, and more.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father – documentary - Kurt Kuenne
http://www.dearzachary.com/trailer/index.php
Shortly after his best friend, Dr. Andrew Bagby, was slain by jealous ex-girlfriend Dr. Shirley Turner, filmmaker Kurt Kuenne was shocked to learn that Turner was pregnant with Bagby's unborn child. Hoping to create a film that would serve as both a memorial to Bagby and an introduction to the father the boy would never know, Kuenne quickly began production on a film celebrating the life of his late friend. Traveling across the entire continental United States, Kuenne made it his personal mission to interview everyone who had ever known his best friend so their memories would be captured on camera before they faded. Meanwhile, upon learning that Turner had fled to Newfoundland, Bagby's devastated parents uprooted their entire lives and relocated to the easternmost providence of Canada in order to fight for the future of their newborn grandson, Zachary. During the production, however, the Canadian government freed Turner on bail as she awaited extradition to the United States. Unfortunately, during that crucial time, the situation took a turn for the worse -- a turn that could have been prevented had the Canadian justice system heeded all the warning signs.
Doubt – drama - John Patrick Shanley
http://www.doubt-themovie.com/
When the principal (Meryl Streep) of a Bronx Catholic High School accuses a popular priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of pedophilia, a young nun caught in between the feuding pair become hopelessly swept up in the ensuing controversy. John Patrick Shanley adapts his own play for the screen under the guidance of producer Scott Rudin (The Queen, Notes on a Scandal).
The Duchess – drama - Saul Dibb
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=pOKjNhXqAJc
Director Saul Dibb takes the helm for this period drama adapted from Amanda Foreman's best-selling novel Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, documenting the romantic entanglements of a beautiful celebrity (Keira Knightley) whose unhappy marriage to the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) threatens to erupt into scandal when she falls for an enterprising young politician.
Everybody Wants to be Italian – comedy - Jason Todd Ipson
http://www.roadsideattractions.com/Catalog/Trailer.asp?BusinessUnitID={3134273E-EA18-4451-AC2B-40C0CC73ED2D}&ProjectID={15DC8B3A-6F0E-4C76-9D0A-9D3B4C0607A4}
A lovelorn urbanite who has spent nearly a decade trying to win back his ex-girlfriend gets involved in a romantic case of mistaken ethnicity in director Jason Todd Ipson's warmhearted relationship comedy. It's been eight years since Jake's girlfriend left him, and despite the fact that she's now married with three children, he refuses to move on. Fed up with their depressive pal's unwillingness to let go of the past, Jake's friends set him up on a blind date with a beautiful Italian woman from Boston's North End. Though Jake is convinced that such a woman would never even consider dating a non-Italian, a quick crash course in how to fake it may prove just the trick to helping him learn to love once again.
Fear(s) of the Dark - animation/mystery - Blutch/Marie Caillou
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=70oVIphkXcw
IFC Films Presents A Film by : BLUTCH, CHARLES BURNS, MARIE CAILLOU, PIERRE DI SCIULLO, LORENZO MATTOTTI, RICHARD MCGUIRE, ROMAIN SLOCOMBE, JERRY KRAMSKY, MICHEL PIRUS, ETIENNE ROBIAL. Fear(s) of the Dark is a unique collection of fearful tales by the world's most cutting-edge, acclaimed graphic artists. Their intertwined stories make up an unprecedented epic where phobias, disgust and nightmares come to life and reveal Fear at its most naked and intense.
Frontrunners – documentary - Carolina Suh
http://www.frontrunnersthefilm.com/
As the teenage politicians at one of the most prestigious publics schools in the United States begin campaigning for the position of student body president, filmmaker Caroline Suh draws parallels between high-school politics and their real-world counterpart. It seems that the only difference between these burgeoning politicians and the folks vying for a position in the White House is that after a long day of tireless campaigning and endless photo ops, these youngsters have to do their homework, prepare for their SATs, and send out college applications. As the election begins to unfold, it quickly becomes apparent that these teenagers possess a keen understanding of how everything from platforms and strategy to charisma and hairstyle factor into a successful campaign.
House of Sleeping Beauties – drama - Vadim Glowna
http://www.houseofthesleepingbeauties.com/trailer/quicktime7/trailer_sub.html
Director Vadim Glowna explores such complicated issues as loneliness, guilt, remembrance, mourning, sex, death, and dying in this adaptation of Yasunari Kawabata's novel concerning a most unusual bordello catering to a most unlikely clientele. Edmond is a lonely man in his late sixties. On the advice of his older friend Kogi, Edmond visits a bordello that allows elderly men the rare opportunity to lie down beside beautiful, youthful women. The girls are narcotized before each session, ensuring that they never awaken to actually meet the clients. Presiding over this mysterious establishment is the 60-year-old Madame, a woman who assumes the caring role of mother to both the girls and the men who come to be with them. Each time Edmond lies down next to one of the girls, memories of his previous life come flooding back. Edmond wants nothing more than to disappear silently into death while basking in the glorious perfection of youth. One night, by chance, Edmond observes Madame and her helpers disposing of a corpse. But while Edmond becomes morally conflicted about what he has seen, he cannot stop himself from returning to the bordello. When Edmond begins questioning Madame about the incident, the mystery only seems to deepen.
I.O.U.S.A. – documentary - Patrick Creadon
http://www.roadsideattractions.com/Catalog/Trailer.asp?BusinessUnitID={BDC8C46C-7B42-42EA-AE44-4E14387B8A7D}&ProjectID={09D5EE3C-B50F-4D99-A9EA-5A1C7875C4B1}
As the United States faces unprecedented financial crises, filmmaker Patrick Creadon explores just how America got to be in the economic mess that it finds itself in, eventually detailing just what the nation would have to do in order to prevent a bad situation from turning into an all-out financial disaster from which no citizen could escape.
I've Loved You So Long – drama - Philipe Claudel
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxB-g9PmXE&feature=related
Their relationship fractured when older sister Juliette is sentenced to 15 years in prison, two siblings wage an emotional battle to rebuild their relationship, overcome the secrets that keep them apart, and finally express the thoughts that have lain dormant for well over a decade. The moment Juliette was convicted, her parents declared that they wanted nothing to do with her. Now, after 15 years behind bars, Juliette is a free woman and in desperate need of a human connection. When Juliette's younger sister, Léa, is approached by a prison social worker and asked if she would be willing to provide her recently paroled sibling with a place to live, she doesn't hesitate to open her doors and share her home. But Léa is happily married with two adopted daughters, and her husband, Luc, is uneasy with the arrangement. Still, the house is large, the couple is used to having company, and the two young girls are thrilled to have a new aunt. As Juliette gets settled, Léa does her best to make her feel welcome. Likewise, Léa's colleague Michel and emigrant couple Samir and Kaïsha also offer to help Juliette readjust to life on the outside. Along the way, Juliette slowly begins to emerge from her shell and Léa realizes just how much she missed her sister. Perhaps if she can put aside her feelings of guilt long enough to truly understand her sister's plight, these two strangers can finally remember what it means to be family.
Late Bloomer – thriller - Go Shibata
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=feP-jSwM-40
Go Shibata's stylish and stark depiction of a disabled man's quest for normalcy -- and studied pursuit of revenge. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Mad Detective – action - Johnny To, Wai Ka-fai
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=636
A missing police gun is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner, WONG (LeeKwok Lun), vanished earlier while pursuing a suspect in the mountains. His partner, CHI-WAI (Lam Ka Tung), miraculously returned unharmed and the hot shot Regional Crime Unit Inspector, HO (Andy On), is in charge of the investigation. HO knows the only chance he has in cracking the case is to ask for help from his mentor/former boss BUN (Lau Ching Wan), a gifted criminal profiler now living in seclusion with his wife MAY (Kelly Lin). BUN puts himself in the victim's place, literally, and his unorthodox approach has put doubt in HO's mind who feels betrayed when BUN's investigation goes beyond his imagination. What begins as a quest for answers has now taken a schizophrenic turn where truth and lies, reality and delusions intertwine...
Milk – biopic - Gus Van Sant
http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/milk/
Director Gus Van Sant brings the real-life tale of Harvey Milk, the slain gay activist and politician, to the big screen, care of Focus Features and actor Sean Penn, who plays the title role. Dustin Lance Black provides the script, with Groundswell Productions handling the financing duties. Josh Brolin co-stars as Dan White, a political opponent who shot and killed both Milk and San Francisco mayor George Moscone in 1978. Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, and James Franco round out the cast.
Momma's Man – drama - Azazel Jacobs
http://kino.com/mommasman/index.html
A grown man locked into an extended state of arrested adolescence returns to the nest while concocting a series of excuses as to why he cannot return to his wife and child in this existential comedy drama from filmmaker Azazel Jacobs. Mikey was preparing to board an airplane bound for California when he suddenly found himself fleeing from the airport and returning to the comfort of his parents' New York home. Even Mikey isn't sure exactly why he made the snap decision not to go home, all he knows is that he can't quite muster the courage to go back and assume the responsibilities of your typical family man. Of course, Mikey's doting mother is more than happy to enable her son's indecision -- and his father remains as emotionally distanced as ever -- but as time goes on, the grown-up man-child finds it increasingly difficult to make the choice between going back to reality, or drifting ever further into his second adolescence.
One Day You'll Understand – drama - Amos Gitai
http://kino.com/onedayyoullunderstand/index.html
A middle-aged man studying the "Mur de Noms" in modern-day France recalls the time twenty-years prior when he and his mother were viewing the trial of Klaus Barbie with rapt attention in this introspective drama from director Amos Gitai. The year was 1987, and Rivka lived with her son Victor in a disheveled apartment littered with antiques and memorabilia. The opening session in the trial against the so-called "butcher of Lyon" is being televised, and Rivka is struggling to keep her emotions under control as she prepares dinner. Meanwhile, Victor sits in his office attempting to assemble his family tree. But he too is watching the trials, and doesn't seem to hear a word spoken to him by his secretary. As mother and son sit down for dinner together, there mere mention of Barbie's trial is enough to cause Rivka to excuse herself from the table.
Order of Myths – documentary - Margaret Brown
http://www.theorderofmyths.com/index2.html
The first Mardi Gras in America was celebrated in Mobile, Alabama in 1703. in 2007, it is still racially segregated. Filmmaker Margaret Brown ("Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt"), herself a daughter of Mobile, escorts us into the parallel hearts of the city's two carnivals. With unprecedented access, she traces the exotic world of secret mystic societies and centuries-old tradition and pageantry; diamond-encrusted crowns, voluminous, hand-sewn gowns, surreal masks and enormous paper mache floats. Against this opulent backdrop, she uncovers a tangled web of historical violence and power dynamics, elusive forces that keep this hallowed tradition organized along enduring color lines.
Rachel Getting Married – drama - Jonathan Demme
http://www.sonyclassics.com/rachelgettingmarried/trailer.html
When Kym (Anne Hathaway) returns to the Buchman family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie Dewitt), she brings a long history of personal crisis and family conflict along with her. The wedding party's abundant cast of friends and relations have gathered for an idyllic weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym - with her black-comic one-liners and knack for bombshell drama - is a catalyst for long-simmering tensions in the family dynamic. Filled with the rich and eclectic characters that have always been a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films, Rachel Getting Married paints a strikingly perceptive and sometimes hilariously family portrait. Director Demme, first-time writer Jenny Lumet, and the stellar acting ensemble leaven the drama of these difficult but compelling people with wry affection and generosity of spirit.
Save Me – drama - Robert Crary
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=C4l1qzffGQM
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and in this look at one of the most polarizing religious and sexual debates in America, filmmaker Robert Cary attempts to reconcile homosexuality with Christianity. Mark (Chad Allen) is a young gay man who has fallen into a dangerous cycle of hard drugs and risky sex. Recognizing that his sibling may not have the strength to pull himself back from the edge, Mark's brother checks him into the Genesis House Christian retreat in New Mexico -- a place far removed from the temptations of the big city. Genesis House is run by a deeply spiritual, middle-aged couple named Gayle (Judith Light) and Ted (Stephen Lang). After losing a battle with sin back when she was young, Gayle has dedicated her entire life to rescuing young homosexuals from their own inner demons. In order to help Mark through the process, Gayle assigns Scott (Robert Gant) -- one of the program's advanced "fifth phasers" -- as the newcomer's mentor. When Gayle notices that Mark and Scott's relationship is intensifying, she sees the development as a threat and fights back in order to prevent her carefully controlled world from falling apart. The spectre of damnation looming constantly over their shoulders, Mark and Scott are finally forced to confront the truth about their own true natures.
A Secret – drama - Claude Miller
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=TbikfSMr_r4
Adapted from Philippe Grimbert's bestselling novel, A SECRET (UN SECRET) is a story of passion and guilt in troubled times, which unfolds as a young teenager uncovers the truth about his parents' past. He finds out that before the war, his father Maxime (Patrick Bruel of The Comedy of Power, O Jerusalem) was married to Hannah (Ludivine Sagnier of 8 Women, Swimming Pool, A Girl Cut in Two, Love Songs) when he fell madly in love with his mother Tania (Cecile de France of The Russian Dolls, Avenue Montaigne). As a young Jewish couple living in Nazi-occupied France, Maxime and Tania had to make difficult choices to survive the war and the Holocaust.
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed in the Mountains – documentary - Gonzalo Arijón
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/displaytrailer.php?directoryname=stranded&size=high&extension=mov
It is one of the most astonishing and inspiring survival tales of all time. On October 13, 1972, a young rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay, boarded a plane for a match in Chile—and then vanished into thin air. Two days before Christmas, 16 of the 45 passengers miraculously resurfaced. They had managed to survive for 72 days after their plane crashed on a remote Andean glacier. Thirty-five years later, the survivors returned to the crash site—known as the Valley of Tears—to recount their harrowing story of defiant endurance and indestructible friendship. Previously documented in the 1973 worldwide bestseller Alive (and the 1993 Ethan Hawke movie of the same name), this shocking true story finally gets the cinematic treatment it deserves. Visually breathtaking and crafted with riveting detail by documentary filmmaker (and childhood friend of the survivors) Gonzalo Arijon with a masterful combination of on-location interviews, archival footage and reenactments, Stranded is by turns hauntingly powerful and spiritually moving.
Synecdoche, New York – comedy - Charlie Kaufman
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=xWVuzfOvlIw
A wild-eyed theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) attempts to build a life-sized replica of New York City in preparation for an ambitious play in the feature directorial debut of notoriously quirky screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, and Emily Watson co-star in a tale of one man's quest to stage the ultimate love letter to the Big Apple.
Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne) - drama - Guillaume Canet
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi669647129/
Eight years ago, Margot Beck was murdered by a serial killer. Though the killer has confessed to eight of these murders, he has always denied to be responsible for Margot's death. However, the specific mutilations found on her body seem to remove all doubts over his guilt. Today, Alexandre Beck, her husband, is still deeply psychologically injured by the loss of Margot. He temporarily escapes his memories during the day by immersing himself completely in his work as a pediatrician. Outside of that, only the friendship he has formed with Hélène Perkins saves him from total isolation from the rest of the world. But when two new bodies are uncovered near where Margot's body was discovered, Margot's case is reopened. At the same time, Alexandre receives a strange e-mail with a link to a video-surveillance web-cam and a time at which to watch it...
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers – drama - Wayne Wang
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=GQrQ_vSJ2pQ
Wayne Wang's intimate drama A Thousand Years of Good Prayers stars Henry O as Mr. Shi, a Chinese man who, after the death of his wife, decides to travel to the United States in order to see his estranged daughter for the first time in over a decade. Their time together is awkward at first, seeing each other only at dinner when he cooks for her. Shi spends his days taking in the strange culture, improving his language skills, and making a friend in an Iranian woman. Eventually his persistent attempts to forge a connection with his daughter lead to some buried issues bursting forth between the pair.
Towelhead – drama - Alan Ball
http://wip.warnerbros.com/towelhead/
Six Feet Under creator and American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball makes his feature directorial debut with this screen adaptation of author Alicia Erian's controversial novel Towelhead. Jasira (Summer Bishil) is a 13-year-old Arab-American who's contending with the pains of adolescence when her life takes a sudden and unexpected turn. Sent to live with her stern Lebanese father, Rifat (Peter Macdissi), by her self-absorbed mother (Maria Bello), Jasira finds herself struggling to adjust to life in the suburbs while contending with racism and hypocrisy at every turn. Rifat lives in a modest, suburban Dallas home next to racist reservist Mr. Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart) and meddling expectant mother Melina (Toni Collette). Adjusting to life in the suburbs isn't easy for young Jasira, though she tries her hardest to adapt to the unfamiliar environment by striking up casual conversations with her curious new neighbors. In the process, Jasira finds herself increasingly attracted to hormone-driven African-American teen Thomas (Eugene Jones). When Rifat finds out that his daughter's new boyfriend is black, he vehemently condemns the relationship. As America launches its initial invasion of Iraq, Jasira finds herself caught up in a potentially explosive situation that is only compounded by her raging hormones and the snooping of her pregnant, busybody neighbor.
Trouble the Water – documentary - Carl Deal and Tia Lessin
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq426VjZD1E
Relegated to the role of refugees in their own country the moment the levees broke, New Orleans residents Kimberly and Scott Roberts document their harrowing struggle against the forces of nature and the evils of man as they nobly attempt to rebuild their lives amidst one of the greatest natural disasters ever to befall the United States. Kimberly Rivers Roberts is a musician and filmmaker who was living in New Orleans with her husband, Scott, when the force of Hurricane Katrina transformed their once-happy hometown into a waterlogged wasteland. In the aftermath of the disaster, the nightly news was filled with images of looting and chaos. Now, as the masses finally receive the opportunity to witness events from an insider's perspective, it quickly becomes apparent that the rampaging waters were only the beginning of the problem, and that the ineptitude of the government and the media in dealing with the disaster did nearly as much damage to New Orleans as the forces of Mother Nature.
Waltz With Bashir - animation/drama - Ari Folman
http://www.sonyclassics.com/waltzwithbashir/
One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images …
What Just Happened – comedy - barry levinson
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=krFKQvNVDno
Inspired by the personal memoirs of Hollywood producer Art Linson, Barry Levinson's fictional showbiz comedy stars Robert De Niro as a struggling movie producer who has just suffered through his second divorce, and slowly finds his soul being ground up in the machinations of the Hollywood machine. Ben (De Niro) is an aging producer whose career was already on a downward turn when his personal life went straight into the toilet. Not only is Ben juggling two ex-wives and a daughter who seems to have grown up overnight, but his colleagues seem to take pleasure in watching him suffer while he attempts to complete his latest film on an impossible schedule.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
September Advisory Meeting Candidates
American Teen – documentary - Nanette Burstein
http://www.americanteenthemovie.com/
In this biting cinéma vérité, director Nanette Burstein follows a group of four Indiana high-school seniors as they navigate the social mazes of adolescence, prepare for graduation, and generally deal with the often surprising and strange situations that arise simply from being 17. Incorporating intimate footage, interviews, and animation, Burstein reveals all the gritty details about life as a teenager in Midwestern America, from drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure to cliques, first love, and heartbreak.
Ashes of Time Redux – action - Wong Kar Wai
http://www.sonyclassics.com/ashesoftimeredux/trailer.html
Wong Kar Wai works his magic in this long planned "reworking" of his legendary, romantic and one and only martial arts film, previously unreleased in North America. Set in ancient China, Ouran Feng (Leslie Cheung) is a fallen swordsman who is afraid of love after having his heart broken. But the bounty hunters that work for him, like "Blind Swordsman" (Tony Leung Chio Wai) and Hung Chi (Jacky Cheung), discover the intangible secret of true love while Ouyang retains his attitude towards his fighters and the precious lessons that they have taught.
Baghead – comedy - Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
http://www.sonyclassics.com/baghead/
Two screenwriting couples head to a remote cabin in the woods, hoping that the change of scenery will get the creative juices flowing. Amid the solitude, the dynamics of their relationships are revealed as they strive to write their masterworks. Complicating matters though, is the lurking presence of a strange man who wears a bag over his head. Brothers Jay and Mark Duplass wrote and directed this offbeat follow-up to 2005's The Puffy Chair.
Blindness – drama - Fernando Meirelles
http://www.blindness-themovie.com/
The Constant Gardener director Fernando Meirelles joins forces with Canadian writer/director/actor Don McKellar to bring Portuguese Nobel Prize winner José Saramago's 1995 novel to the big screen in this large-scale philosophical thriller. An epidemic of blindness pushes society to the breaking point after sweeping through a modern metropolis and crossing borders into the outside world. A Brazilian/Canadian co-production shot in São Paulo and Toronto, Blindness features a script by producer and co-star McKellar, who optioned the novel alongside Rhombus Media's Niv Fichman.
Bottle Shock – comedy - Randall Miller
http://www.bottleshockthemovie.com/
Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Paris wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world's best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect Chateau Montelena. Yet despite the fact that Jim's Napa Valley vineyard has great potential, his son, Bo (Chris Pine), doesn't seem to have much interest in the family business. Most days, Jim and Bo can be found trading blows in their backyard boxing ring -- their attempts to knock a bit of sense into one another usually amounting to naught. Meanwhile, in Paris, British expatriate Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) finds necessity dictating that he educate Parisians on the latest wines to come out of California. Steven owns the Académie du Vin, and is eager to travel to the United States in order to ensure that he has conducted his research properly. Little did Steven and Jim realize that they were both on course for a chance meeting that would revolutionize the wine industry while opening up a whole new world of possibilities for wine lovers everywhere.
Brideshead Revisited – drama - Jullian Jarold
http://bridesheadrevisited-themovie.com/
Matthew Goode, alongside Michael Gambon and Oscar winner Emma Thompson, stars as Capt. Charles Ryder, an officer stationed at England's Brideshead Castle during World War II, in this big-screen adaptation of the classic novel by Evelyn Waugh. The suspenseful drama builds as Captain Ryder becomes infatuated with the castle's owners, the aristocratic Marchmain family -- particularly their grown son, Sebastian Flyte, and his elegant sister, Julia.
Bustin' Down the Door – documentary - Jeremy Gosch
http://www.bustindownthedoor.com/flash.html
During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was not ready for revolution. Surfing was never to be the same again. Narrated by Edward Norton.
Choke – comedy - Clark Gregg
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=yMZ3Mi1vT-w&feature=related
Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) has got some problems -- when he's not haunting sexual-addiction meetings to bed women, he masquerades as a choking victim in restaurants to gather money from unsuspecting strangers for his ailing mother (Anjelica Huston). But what happens when this messed up Colonial-era theme-park attendant finds Mrs. Right in the guise of his mother's doctor -- and how is he to tell her that he fears he is the next coming of Jesus Christ? Based on Chuck Palahniuk's (Fight Club) pitch-black comedic novel, Choke is adapted and directed by David Mamet alumni Clark Gregg, whose career spans stage, screen, and TV work as well as a screenplay credit for Robert Zemeckis's 2000 thriller What Lies Beneath.
Chris and Don: A Love Story – documentary -Tina Mascara
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=5hb5pFoAh-U
Guido Santi and Tina Mascara's documentary Chris and Don. A Love Story traces the romantic relationship between writer Christopher Isherwood and painter Don Bachardy. The filmmakers utilize interviews with Don himself, as well as personal documents belonging to Isherwood, in order to show how the duo nurtured each other's artistic instincts while establishing a deep emotional bond that survived even after Isherwood's passing.
Diminished Capacity – comedy - Terry Kinney
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=776
Director Terry Kinney's delightfully poignant and bittersweet comedy poses the question: How much is a good memory worth? That's the question that faces newspaper editor Cooper (Matthew Broderick) after a debilitating concussion takes him from the political pages to comic strip detail. Looking for answers, he travels home to Missouri where his now senile Uncle Rollie (Alan Alda) is on the verge of losing his home. When a valuable baseball card is thrown into the mix, these two men along with a motley group of hometown friends, including Cooper's high school sweetheart, Charlotte (Virginia Madsen) , head to a memorabilia expo to make the deal of a century, diving headfirst into a snakepit of slick salesmen, crooked dealers, and rabid fans revealing that there are some things in life that you can't put a price on. Diminished Capacity also stars Dylan Baker, Louis C.K. and Bobby Cannavale in hilarious supporting roles
The Duchess – drama - Saul Dibb
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=pOKjNhXqAJc
Director Saul Dibb takes the helm for this period drama adapted from Amanda Foreman's best-selling novel Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, documenting the romantic entanglements of a beautiful celebrity (Keira Knightley) whose unhappy marriage to the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) threatens to erupt into scandal when she falls for an enterprising young politician.
Elegy – drama - Isabel Coixet
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M0CFAC2k0LA
Driven by Isabel Coixet's visually assured and deeply observant direction "Elegy" charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated college professor and a young woman whose beauty both ravishes and destabilizes him. As their intimate connection transforms them - more than either could imagine - a charged sexual contest evolves into an indelible love story. With humanistic warmth, wry wit and erotic intensity, Elegy explores the power of beauty to blind, to reveal and to transform. Starring Oscar-nominee Penelope Cruz and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, with extraordinary supporting performances form Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard, Elegy is based on Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Roth's short novel The Dying Animal
Elite Squad – action - Jose Padhila
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=cb-rUfBTQ1g
ELITE SQUAD is an intense and astonishing look at Rio de Janeiro's notorious favelas, the volatile slums on the edge of the city, presenting an intimate look at the city's vast and intricate web of corruption. The elite BOPE force (State Police Special Operations Battalion) combats drug trafficking, keeping order has its price though and their actions make it difficult to distinguish right from wrong and justice from revenge. BOPE Captain Nascimento (Wagner Moura) is facing a crisis: in addition to the pressures of fighting within war zones, the Captain must find and train his own replacement so he can escape the day to day violence and be close to his wife who is about to give birth to their first child. Two of the force's newest recruits, are childhood friends: one is quick on the trigger to maintain order and the other refuses to compromise his ideals. Together they are the perfect replacement. Alone they may not have what it takes to survive.
Everybody Wants to be Italian –comedy- Jason Todd Ipson http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=6-MNdf25G3s
A lovelorn urbanite who has spent nearly a decade trying to win back his ex-girlfriend gets involved in a romantic case of mistaken ethnicity in director Jason Todd Ipson's warmhearted relationship comedy. It's been eight years since Jake's girlfriend left him, and despite the fact that she's now married with three children, he refuses to move on. Fed up with their depressive pal's unwillingness to let go of the past, Jake's friends set him up on a blind date with a beautiful Italian woman from Boston's North End. Though Jake is convinced that such a woman would never even consider dating a non-Italian, a quick crash course in how to fake it may prove just the trick to helping him learn to love once again.
Fear(s) of the Dark - animation/mystery
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=70oVIphkXcw
IFC Films Presents A Film by : BLUTCH, CHARLES BURNS, MARIE CAILLOU, PIERRE DI SCIULLO, LORENZO MATTOTTI, RICHARD MCGUIRE, ROMAIN SLOCOMBE, JERRY KRAMSKY, MICHEL PIRUS, ETIENNE ROBIAL. Fear(s) of the Dark is a unique collection of fearful tales by the world's most cutting-edge, acclaimed graphic artists. Their intertwined stories make up an unprecedented epic where phobias, disgust and nightmares come to life and reveal Fear at its most naked and intense.
Filth and Wisom – comedy – Madonna
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=DqpSaFjViXY
Madonna's directorial debut, FILTH AND WISDOM, is a hilariously sexy tale of three roommates who must delve into mischievous and naughty behavior in pursuit of bigger and brighter futures. A Ukrainian immigrant, A.K. (Eugene Hutz), finances his dreams of 'trans-continental superstardom' with his band, Gogol Bordello, by turning tricks as a role-playing cross dresser. As A.K. literally whips the privileged of London into shape, he also secretly pines for the object of his affection, Holly (Holly Weston), an aspiring ballerina looking for her big break while moonlighting as a slippery stripper. Meanwhile, Juliette (Vicky Mclure) steals medicine from her pharmaceutical job in hopes of quenching her dreams of helping Africa's youth. FILTH AND WISDOM is every bit as erotic and playful as it is poignant and touching, revealing the universal struggles we all face in our pursuits of happiness.
Frozen River – drama - Courtney Hunt
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=90_D5nNNvQw
A desperate single mother living in upstate New York resorts to smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States as a means of making ends meet in first-time feature director/screenwriter Courtney Hunt's emotionally wrenching drama, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Ray Eddy is in an impossible position; it's two days before Christmas and her husband has suddenly disappeared with all of the family savings. Now, as the newly single mother of two realizes the futility of attempting to cover the house payments on her meager Yankee One Dollar Store wages, her children are forced to exist on a nutritionally devoid diet of popcorn and Tang. Deciding that her only hope for survival is to find a man who will support her and her children, Ray sets out to find a husband but instead makes the acquaintance of street-smart Mohawk Lila Littlewolf. Lila, too, has been struggling to keep her head above water amidst economic despair, and has recently stumbled across a rather unconventional solution to her dire financial situation. Lately, Lila has been earning a living by smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S., but her tribal elders vehemently disapprove of the scheme and have recently attempted to stop it by forbidding the local auto dealers from selling her a car. As fate would have it, Ray's Dodge Spirit may just be the only thing the destitute mother can count on anymore, and as this unlikely pair gas up the tank for a daring dash across the iced-over St. Lawrence River, their fates become forever intertwined in ways that neither could have ever anticipated.
Fugitive Pieces – drama - Jeremy Podeswa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRbiet9jR4
Author Anne Michaels's poetic novel comes to the screen courtesy of director Jeremy Podeswa in this period drama concerning a Holocaust survivor who remains eternally haunted by the uncertain fate of his beloved sister. Athos (Rade Sherbedgia) is an archeologist conducting a dig in Nazi-occupied Poland. When Athos discovers a seven-year-old boy named Jakob (Robbie Kay) hiding near the work site, he smuggles the frightened boy back to Greece and promises to shelter him when the Nazis come knocking there as well. Having previously witnessed the brutal massacre of his family at the hands of Hitler's henchmen, Jakob longs to find out what fate befell his sister, Bella (Nina Dobrev) -- who wasn't executed with the majority of his other relatives but subsequently disappeared without a trace. After the war, Athos and Jakob emigrate to Toronto in hopes of starting a new life. But even after all these years, Jakob (Stephen Dillane) can't seem to shake the grief of losing his family and not knowing what ever became of Bella. Later, when Jakob marries the radiant Alex (Rosamund Pike), the bright-eyed beauty does her best to illuminate the dark corners within her husband's soul. To maintain one's connection to ghosts requires a certain shunning of the living, however, and only when Jakob discovers the strength to let go of his painful past will he finally be able to move forward into the future.
Full Grown Men - comedy/drama - David Munro
http://www.fullgrownmenthemovie.com/klickable/klickable.html
The youthful delusions of a wistful husband and father prompt him to seek out a childhood friend and embark on a soul-searching journey of self discovery to the one place where no adult demands will be made of him in director David Munro's surreal second coming-of-age comedy. Alby (Matt McGrath) is having an early mid-life crisis. Convinced that the only way to overcome his current malaise is to seek out his childhood pal Elias (Judah Friedlander) and set out on the open road, Alby leaves behind his wife and son in hopes of recapturing the glory of his youth. Unfortunately for Alby, Elias is all grown up now, and isn't exactly overjoyed to see the "best friend" whose rosy vision of childhood largely came from the fact that he made Elias the unwitting butt of his every joke. When Alby learns that Elias is taking a group of disabled drama students on a trip to the local amusement park, Elias has no choice but to let his pushy pal come along for the ride. What follows is a pensively hilarious look life as seen through the eyes of a man who can't seem to move past his youth, and the effect that a student clown bartender (Amy Sedaris), a disgruntled former amusement park employee (Alan Cumming), a retired water park mermaid (Debbie Harry), and a whole host of colorful characters have in helping Alby to bridge the gap between the glory days of his past, and an uncertain future.
Girl Cut in Two – drama - Claude Chabrol
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=756
The French master of suspense Claude Chabrol returns with the razor-sharp, darkly seductive, A GIRL CUT IN TWO. Gabrielle Deneige (Ludivine Sagnier of SWIMMING POOL) is an independent, ambitious TV weather girl torn between her love of a distinguished author several decades her senior (Francois Berleand), and the attentions of a headstrong, potentially unstable young suitor (Benoit Magimel). An unspoken past between the two men heightens tensions, and though she's initially certain of her love for one them, the see-saw demands and whims of both men keep confusing - and darkening - matters. Before long she's encountering emotional and societal forces well beyond her control, inexorably leading to a shocking clash of violence and passion. Inspired by the sensational Gilded Age murder of Madison Square Garden architect Stanford White, A GIRL CUT IN TWO is trademark Chabrol: fiendishly entertaining and impossible to shake.
Hell Ride - action - Larry Bishop
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=jHglhwcwO8I
Veteran AIP genre star Larry Bishop (son of famed Rat Packer Joey Bishop) directs and stars in this gritty revenge tale concerning a biker gang that rallies to avenge the violent murder of a fellow gang member. An homage to such classic biker films as Chrome and Hot Leather and Angel Unchained, Hell Ride was conceived when director Bishop was invited to Quentin Tarantino's home to view a print of The Savage Seven. Upon realizing that there hadn't been a true biker film in years, the pair quickly contacted Bob Weinstein and conspired to produce a lean and mean two-wheeled revenge flick that would more than make up for lost time.
Humboldt County – comedy - Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=s9kc-oFiv_I
An ambitious and straight-laced young man falls in with a group of stoners and aging hippies in this independent comedy drama. Peter Hadley (Jeremy Strong) is a medical student in his early twenties whose dreams of a residency at a prestigious teaching hospital are dashed when he flunks out of a class taught by his father (Peter Bogdanovich). Trying to blot out his awful day, Peter heads to a jazz club, where he ends up going home with Bogart (Fairuza Balk), the sexy singer with the band. The next day, Peter tags along with Bogart as she pays a visit to her family, and is soon stranded with her aunt and uncle as she heads back into the city. Jack (Brad Dourif) and Rosie (Frances Conroy) are former academics-turned-bohemian dropouts who live in a remote and idyllic community near California's redwood forests, where they support themselves by growing marijuana. Also living with Jack and Rosie are Max (Chris Messina), Bogart's sometime boyfriend, and Charity (Madison Davenport), Max's young daughter. While Peter clearly doesn't fit in with Jack, Rosie, and their friends at first, before long he develops an appreciation and respect for their way of life as he ponders his future, but the risks of their profession become equally clear to him, and Max is looking for a big score so he and Charity can move on. Humboldt Country was the first feature film from the writing and directing team of Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs.
I.O.U.S.A. – documentary - Patrick Creadon
http://www.roadsideattractions.com/Catalog/Trailer.asp?BusinessUnitID={BDC8C46C-7B42-42EA-AE44-4E14387B8A7D}&ProjectID={09D5EE3C-B50F-4D99-A9EA-5A1C7875C4B1}
As the United States faces unprecedented financial crises, filmmaker Patrick Creadon explores just how America got to be in the economic mess that it finds itself in, eventually detailing just what the nation would have to do in order to prevent a bad situation from turning into an all-out financial disaster from which no citizen could escape.
I Served the King of England – comedy - Jiri Minzel
http://www.sonyclassics.com/iservedthekingofengland/trailer.html
Despite the 1997 death of longtime friend and Closely Watched Trains collaborator Bohumil Hrabal, 1960s-era Czech New Wave filmmaker Jirí Menzel enters into a postmortem collaboration with the famed author in this pitch-black comedy detailing the shrewd rise of an ambitious waiter. All diminutive manservant Jan Dite (Ivan Barnev) ever wanted was to be filthy rich and to preside over his very own hotel. As a young man coming of age in the 1930s, Jan was preoccupied by beautiful women and awestricken by the fact that anyone, be they rich or poor, would bend to their knees to pick up a coin. With World War II fast approaching and the Germans steadily taking occupation of Czech territory, the opportunistic servant begins his rapid ascent up the hospitality ladder by working for a number of high-profile figures. Though Jan was never a man to settle down with just one woman, his growing attraction to Aryan beauty Liza (Julia Jentsch) soon finds the aspiring hotelier proposing marriage. Of course, a blueblood Teuton like Liza could never wed a man unable to provide proof of his German heritage, but that doesn't stop Jan from doing his best to please her in the bedroom. Later, when Liza is killed retrieving a box of valuable stamps acquired during her stint at the Russian front, Jan uses the valuable collector's items to purchase the very hotel in which he used to work. Unfortunately for Jan, good luck is always followed by bad news, and it's not long before his life's ambition comes crumbling down all around him.
I've Loved You So Long – drama - Philipe Claudel http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxB-g9PmXE&feature=related
Their relationship fractured when older sister Juliette is sentenced to 15 years in prison, two siblings wage an emotional battle to rebuild their relationship, overcome the secrets that keep them apart, and finally express the thoughts that have lain dormant for well over a decade. The moment Juliette was convicted, her parents declared that they wanted nothing to do with her. Now, after 15 years behind bars, Juliette is a free woman and in desperate need of a human connection. When Juliette's younger sister, Léa, is approached by a prison social worker and asked if she would be willing to provide her recently paroled sibling with a place to live, she doesn't hesitate to open her doors and share her home. But Léa is happily married with two adopted daughters, and her husband, Luc, is uneasy with the arrangement. Still, the house is large, the couple is used to having company, and the two young girls are thrilled to have a new aunt. As Juliette gets settled, Léa does her best to make her feel welcome. Likewise, Léa's colleague Michel and emigrant couple Samir and Kaïsha also offer to help Juliette readjust to life on the outside. Along the way, Juliette slowly begins to emerge from her shell and Léa realizes just how much she missed her sister. Perhaps if she can put aside her feelings of guilt long enough to truly understand her sister's plight, these two strangers can finally remember what it means to be family.
Late Bloomer – thriller - Go Shibata
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=feP-jSwM-40
Go Shibata's stylish and stark depiction of a disabled man's quest for normalcy -- and studied pursuit of revenge. In Japanese with English subtitles.
The Linguists – documentary - Seth Kramer, Daniel Miller
http://www.thelinguists.com/
In a time when over 7,000 distinct languages are spoken around the world, professors David Harrison and Gregory Anderson navigate treacherous terrain and travel to the furthest reaches of the globe to research forgotten and hidden languages. As colonialism and economic unrest spread, the new generations begin to abandon their ancestral languages, and their cultures are passively suppressed. But their legacy is not lost thanks to Harrison and Anderson, and now amateur linguistics can follow along as these two adventurous ethnographers observe a Kallawaya healing ritual in Bolivia, attend a traditional ceremony in a remote village in India, and set their sights on Siberia to document these languages before they are lost forever. Together, Harrison and Anderson speak over twenty-five languages, and though their mission is a serious one, they always attempt to maintain a sense of levity as they explore how disappearing languages serve as an indicator of the disappearing traditions and heritage of Indigenous people everywhere.
Mad Detective – action - Johnny To, Wai Ka-fai
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=636
A missing police gun is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner, WONG (LeeKwok Lun), vanished earlier while pursuing a suspect in the mountains. His partner, CHI-WAI (Lam Ka Tung), miraculously returned unharmed and the hot shot Regional Crime Unit Inspector, HO (Andy On), is in charge of the investigation. HO knows the only chance he has in cracking the case is to ask for help from his mentor/former boss BUN (Lau Ching Wan), a gifted criminal profiler now living in seclusion with his wife MAY (Kelly Lin). BUN puts himself in the victim's place, literally, and his unorthodox approach has put doubt in HO's mind who feels betrayed when BUN's investigation goes beyond his imagination. What begins as a quest for answers has now taken a schizophrenic turn where truth and lies, reality and delusions intertwine...
Man on Wire – documentary - James Marsh
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YW1b3G2MN3Q
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan… James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.”
Mister Foe - drama/comedy - David MacKenzie
http://misterfoemovie.com/
With Hallam Foe, British director Peter MacKenzie and scripter Ed Whitmore adapt the 2002 roman of the same name, a quirky, bittersweet, coming-of-age psychodrama by Peter Jinks. The character of the title is the 17-year-old son (Jamie Bell) of a wealthy Scotch businessman father (Ciaran Hinds). Still rattled by the death of his mom (who drowned in a nearby loch), Hallam retreats into a deep-seated fantasy world. He harbors amorous feelings for his new stepmother Verity (Claire Forlani) until he gradually concludes that she murdered his biological mother. Hallam nonetheless lets himself be seduced into an affair with Verity, and is so repulsed by this transpiration that he flees to Edinburgh. His life turns a corner, however, when he spots - and instantly becomes infatuated with - Kate (Sophia Myles), a local girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to his mother. After he talks her into giving him a routine job in the kitchen of the hotel that she manages, they become romantically involved, ever so gradually, which spells trouble for Hallam's emotional state by thoroughly overwhelming and confusing him -- and deeper trouble still still when Kate's married lover (Jamie Sives) discovers that Hallam has been spying diligently on Kate from his perch in a nearby belltower. Ewen Bremner co-stars as the bellhop supervisor at the hotel.
Momma's Man – drama - Azazel Jacobs
http://kino.com/mommasman/index.html
A grown man locked into an extended state of arrested adolescence returns to the nest while concocting a series of excuses as to why he cannot return to his wife and child in this existential comedy drama from filmmaker Azazel Jacobs. Mikey was preparing to board an airplane bound for California when he suddenly found himself fleeing from the airport and returning to the comfort of his parents' New York home. Even Mikey isn't sure exactly why he made the snap decision not to go home, all he knows is that he can't quite muster the courage to go back and assume the responsibilities of your typical family man. Of course, Mikey's doting mother is more than happy to enable her son's indecision -- and his father remains as emotionally distanced as ever -- but as time goes on, the grown-up man-child finds it increasingly difficult to make the choice between going back to reality, or drifting ever further into his second adolescence.
Moving Midway – documentary - Godfrey Cheshire
http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_movingmidway.html
Godfrey Cheshire's richly observed film about his family's Southern plantation - and the colossal feat of moving it to escape urban sprawl - is a thoughtful and witty look at the lingering remnants and still-powerful mythology of plantation culture and the antebellum South. An award-winning film critic turned film maker, Cheshire uses the relocation of his family's North Carolina plantation house to embark on a surprising and multi-layered journey. While observing the elaborate, arcane preparations for moving a centuries-old house over fields and a rock quarry, unexpected human drama - from both the living and the dead - emerges. And a chance encounter leads Cheshire and his cousins to discover a previously unknown African American branch of the family (who have their own take on Midway and its legacy). Through the use of movies and music, and by turning the camera on himself and his family, Cheshire examines the Southern plantation in American history and culture, and how the racial legacy from the past continues into the present.
No Regret – drama - Leesong Hee-Il
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=QjMzt2KoNPQ
A working-class South Korean homosexual and a factory owner's engaged son embark on a clandestine love affair in director Hee-il Leesong's heartfelt tale of forbidden love. The first-ever South Korean feature by an openly gay filmmaker, No Regret begins as orphan Lee Su-min (Yeong-hun Lee) leaves behind both his rural orphanage and one-time lover. Later finding work at a Seoul factory and sharing an apartment with an unquestionably heterosexual workmate, Lee supplements his income by working nights as a driver for hire. When drunken fare Jae-min Song (Han Lee) makes a tentative pass at Lee during a late-night ride home, the uninterested driver rejects the obvious come-on. As it turns out, Song is the son of the factory's CEO. Later, when a round of layoffs is announced at the factory and Lee's name appears on the list, Song offers to help the struggling worker, to no avail. Subsequently earning his keep as a lap-dancer at a local strip joint, Lee is disturbed to see Song appear at the club and threatens to kill him if he ever dares return. Though Song's parents are pressuring him into marriage, the reluctant groom has no interest in taking a bride, and gradually begins to form a relationship with the down-on-his-luck dancer. Despite the comfort they find in one another's company, simmering class differences soon propel their doomed affair toward a tragic conclusion.
Order of Myths – documentary - Margaret Brown
http://www.theorderofmyths.com/index2.html
The first Mardi Gras in America was celebrated in Mobile, Alabama in 1703. in 2007, it is still racially segregated. Filmmaker Margaret Brown ("Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt"), herself a daughter of Mobile, escorts us into the parallel hearts of the city's two carnivals. With unprecedented access, she traces the exotic world of secret mystic societies and centuries-old tradition and pageantry; diamond-encrusted crowns, voluminous, hand-sewn gowns, surreal masks and enormous paper mache floats. Against this opulent backdrop, she uncovers a tangled web of historical violence and power dynamics, elusive forces that keep this hallowed tradition organized along enduring color lines.
Ping Pong Playa – comedy - Jessica Yu
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=977
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu makes her feature comedy debut with PING PONG PLAYA, a hilarious and warm-hearted tale about embracing one's culture while still breaking down stereotypes. Christopher "C-dub" Wang (Jimmy Tsai) is a suburban guy who sports an urban swagger, waxes political on all things Asian American, and clings to pipe dreams of a career as a pro basketball player. C-dub lives at home, works a dead-end job, and squirms in the shadow of his older brother, Michael, a doctor and ping pong champion. With a family-run store devoted to all things ping pong, the Wangs' entire world revolves around the sport. But when the Wang family livelihood is threatened by a rival ping pong player's attempts to lure the kids away, C-dub begins to take things more seriously. With the National Golden Cock Tournament coming up and an injured Michael unable to defend his title, C-dub must become the player he pretends to be and defend his family's ping pong dynasty.
Rachel Getting Married – drama - Jonathan Demme
http://www.sonyclassics.com/rachelgettingmarried/trailer.html
When Kym (Anne Hathaway) returns to the Buchman family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie Dewitt), she brings a long history of personal crisis and family conflict along with her. The wedding party's abundant cast of friends and relations have gathered for an idyllic weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym - with her black-comic one-liners and knack for bombshell drama - is a catalyst for long-simmering tensions in the family dynamic. Filled with the rich and eclectic characters that have always been a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films, Rachel Getting Married paints a strikingly perceptive and sometimes hilariously family portrait. Director Demme, first-time writer Jenny Lumet, and the stellar acting ensemble leaven the drama of these difficult but compelling people with wry affection and generosity of spirit.
Save Me – drama - Robert Crary
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=C4l1qzffGQM
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and in this look at one of the most polarizing religious and sexual debates in America, filmmaker Robert Cary attempts to reconcile homosexuality with Christianity. Mark (Chad Allen) is a young gay man who has fallen into a dangerous cycle of hard drugs and risky sex. Recognizing that his sibling may not have the strength to pull himself back from the edge, Mark's brother checks him into the Genesis House Christian retreat in New Mexico -- a place far removed from the temptations of the big city. Genesis House is run by a deeply spiritual, middle-aged couple named Gayle (Judith Light) and Ted (Stephen Lang). After losing a battle with sin back when she was young, Gayle has dedicated her entire life to rescuing young homosexuals from their own inner demons. In order to help Mark through the process, Gayle assigns Scott (Robert Gant) -- one of the program's advanced "fifth phasers" -- as the newcomer's mentor. When Gayle notices that Mark and Scott's relationship is intensifying, she sees the development as a threat and fights back in order to prevent her carefully controlled world from falling apart. The spectre of damnation looming constantly over their shoulders, Mark and Scott are finally forced to confront the truth about their own true natures.
Secret, A – drama – Claude Miller
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=TbikfSMr_r4
Adapted from Philippe Grimbert's bestselling novel, A SECRET (UN SECRET) is a story of passion and guilt in troubled times, which unfolds as a young teenager uncovers the truth about his parents' past. He finds out that before the war, his father Maxime (Patrick Bruel of The Comedy of Power, O Jerusalem) was married to Hannah (Ludivine Sagnier of 8 Women, Swimming Pool, A Girl Cut in Two, Love Songs) when he fell madly in love with his mother Tania (Cecile de France of The Russian Dolls, Avenue Montaigne). As a young Jewish couple living in Nazi-occupied France, Maxime and Tania had to make difficult choices to survive the war and the Holocaust.
Secret Lives of Bees – adventure - Gina Prince-Bythewood
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=yS7dKBEqtzo
Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson star as two friends who run away from home in order to solve the mystery surrounding one of their mothers in this adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's best-selling coming-of-age novel, The Secret Life of Bees. Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys co-star in picture as three sisters who take the two girls in and teach them to care for and raise bees. Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball) provides the adaptation as well as the direction for the Overbrook Entertainment production.
Synecdoche, New York – comedy - Charlie Kaufman
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=xWVuzfOvlIw
A wild-eyed theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) attempts to build a life-sized replica of New York City in preparation for an ambitious play in the feature directorial debut of notoriously quirky screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, and Emily Watson co-star in a tale of one man's quest to stage the ultimate love letter to the Big Apple.
Tell No One – drama - Guillaume Canet
http://musicboxfilms.com/tellnoone/
Based on Harlan Coben’s international best selling thriller about pediatrician Alexandre Beck who still grieves the murder of his beloved wife Margot Beck eight years earlier. When two bodies are found near the scene of the crime, the police reopen the case and Alex becomes a suspect again. The mystery deepens when Alex receives an anonymous e-mail with a link to a video clip that seems to suggest Margot is somehow still alive and a message to "Tell No One."
Thousand Years of Good Prayers – drama - Wayne Wang
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=GQrQ_vSJ2pQ
Wayne Wang's intimate drama A Thousand Years of Good Prayers stars Henry O as Mr. Shi, a Chinese man who, after the death of his wife, decides to travel to the United States in order to see his estranged daughter for the first time in over a decade. Their time together is awkward at first, seeing each other only at dinner when he cooks for her. Shi spends his days taking in the strange culture, improving his language skills, and making a friend in an Iranian woman. Eventually his persistent attempts to forge a connection with his daughter lead to some buried issues bursting forth between the pair.
Towelhead – drama - Alan Ball
http://wip.warnerbros.com/towelhead/
Six Feet Under creator and American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball makes his feature directorial debut with this screen adaptation of author Alicia Erian's controversial novel Towelhead. Jasira (Summer Bishil) is a 13-year-old Arab-American who's contending with the pains of adolescence when her life takes a sudden and unexpected turn. Sent to live with her stern Lebanese father, Rifat (Peter Macdissi), by her self-absorbed mother (Maria Bello), Jasira finds herself struggling to adjust to life in the suburbs while contending with racism and hypocrisy at every turn. Rifat lives in a modest, suburban Dallas home next to racist reservist Mr. Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart) and meddling expectant mother Melina (Toni Collette). Adjusting to life in the suburbs isn't easy for young Jasira, though she tries her hardest to adapt to the unfamiliar environment by striking up casual conversations with her curious new neighbors. In the process, Jasira finds herself increasingly attracted to hormone-driven African-American teen Thomas (Eugene Jones). When Rifat finds out that his daughter's new boyfriend is black, he vehemently condemns the relationship. As America launches its initial invasion of Iraq, Jasira finds herself caught up in a potentially explosive situation that is only compounded by her raging hormones and the snooping of her pregnant, busybody neighbor.
Transsiberian - crime/drama - Brad Anderson
http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/transsiberian/videos.html
When an American couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) traveling from China to Moscow on the Trans-Siberian Railway meets an outwardly friendly couple (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara) traveling the same route, deception soon gives way to murder in The Machinist director Brad Anderson's tense tale of international intrigue. Ben Kingsley and Thomas Kretschmann co-star as a pair of Russian police officers striving to solve the case and stop the rising body count.
Trouble the Water – documentary - Carl Deal and Tia Lessin
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq426VjZD1E
Relegated to the role of refugees in their own country the moment the levees broke, New Orleans residents Kimberly and Scott Roberts document their harrowing struggle against the forces of nature and the evils of man as they nobly attempt to rebuild their lives amidst one of the greatest natural disasters ever to befall the United States. Kimberly Rivers Roberts is a musician and filmmaker who was living in New Orleans with her husband, Scott, when the force of Hurricane Katrina transformed their once-happy hometown into a waterlogged wasteland. In the aftermath of the disaster, the nightly news was filled with images of looting and chaos. Now, as the masses finally receive the opportunity to witness events from an insider's perspective, it quickly becomes apparent that the rampaging waters were only the beginning of the problem, and that the ineptitude of the government and the media in dealing with the disaster did nearly as much damage to New Orleans as the forces of Mother Nature.
Trumbo – documentary - Peter Askin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KP8lqj-lZ4s
A documentary adaptation of the popular regional theatrical monologue -- in which such heavyweights as Paul Newman, Nathan Lane, and Joe Mantegna essayed the lead on various occasions -- Trumbo recounts the life and times of legendary Hollywood scribe-turned-HUAC scapegoat Dalton Trumbo. As with its source production, the film takes as its base material highly personal, detailed, and emotive letters written by Dalton Trumbo to his son, Christopher; the latter, in turn, molded the missives into a screenplay for this production. Here, however, in lieu of one actor portraying Dalton, a number of celebrities take turns narrating from the script, including Lane, Paul Giamatti, Brian Dennehy, Donald Sutherland, and others. As a visual accompaniment, the film intercuts home-movie footage from the Trumbos' lives; incisive interview material with Trumbo, his family, friends, and collaborators; and haunting glimpses of the HUAC trial hearings with the Hollywood Ten, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy; as well as extracts from The Sandpiper, Johnny Got His Gun, Spartacus, and other productions authored by Trumbo. Peter Askin, who helmed the stage play, directs.
Up the Yangtze – documentary - Yung Chang
http://www.uptheyangtze.com/trailer.php
Director Yung Chang uses the construction of China's massive Three Gorges Dam as a springboard to better understanding the social hierarchies and changing times in his homeland in this documentary focusing on the luxury cruise ship that carries predominately Western tourists down the Yangtze River. Constructed as a symbol of modern progress in China, the Three Gorges Dam has forced millions of common people out of their ancestral homes, and will soon swallow up numerous nearby towns and villages. Despite the fact that the government has funded alterative housing for the dislocated families, however, many citizens make their way to higher ground feeling as if they have been duped by the powers that be. In order to truly understand how this affects the people, Chang focuses on telling the stories of middle-class scion Chen Bo Yu (renamed "Jerry" by the cruise line) and Yu Shui (who answers to the call of "Cindy" while on duty). As the ship sets sail, this hard-working pair do their best to familiarize themselves with Western social cues, striving to perform to the best of their abilities, and ponder the prospects of a brighter future.
What Just Happened – comedy - Barry Levinson
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=krFKQvNVDno
Inspired by the personal memoirs of Hollywood producer Art Linson, Barry Levinson's fictional showbiz comedy stars Robert De Niro as a struggling movie producer who has just suffered through his second divorce, and slowly finds his soul being ground up in the machinations of the Hollywood machine. Ben (De Niro) is an aging producer whose career was already on a downward turn when his personal life went straight into the toilet. Not only is Ben juggling two ex-wives and a daughter who seems to have grown up overnight, but his colleagues seem to take pleasure in watching him suffer while he attempts to complete his latest film on an impossible schedule.
Wonderful Town – drama - Aditya Assarat
http://kino.com/wonderfultown/index.html
In the wake of Thailand's 2004 tsunami, Ton (Supphasit Kansen), a big-city architect overseeing the construction of a resort in a small coastal town, embarks on star-crossed romance with a chambermaid named Na (Anchalee Saisoontorn). Writer-director Aditya Assarat sublimely crafts this poetic tale, which juxtaposes the images of the devastation found prominently in southern Thailand with the hope and promise of Ton and Na's newfound love.
Elsa and Fred – comedy – Marcos Carnevale
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=B1MlpAmbudM
After his wife dies, reserved septuagenarian Alfredo (Manuel Alexandre) moves into a small Madrid apartment, where sparks fly with his neighbor Elsa (China Zorrilla), a fiery 82-year-old widow who christens him "Fred." Elsa's wild insouciance lures Fred into a whirlwind romance -- and a celebration of life -- in this award-winning romantic comedy from Spain and Argentina.
The Singing Revolution – documentary – James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9PmZo-2jo
After enduring WWII-era brutalization by Hitler's Nazi Party and decades of repressive Soviet dictatorship, the tiny Eastern European nation of Estonia began to declare its independence from Communist rule in the late 1980s. Over a five year period, beginning in 1986, hundreds of thousands of Estonians began to systematically and repeatedly gather in public venues to collectively sing illegal patriotic songs, declaring their desire for national independence but never resorting to violence amid their protests. Uncoincidentally, Estonia was indeed one of the first nations to break away from the Soviet Union in the events leading up to the fall of the Iron Curtain. The documentary The Singing Revolution chronicles this extraordinary yet seldom told chain of events.
http://www.americanteenthemovie.com/
In this biting cinéma vérité, director Nanette Burstein follows a group of four Indiana high-school seniors as they navigate the social mazes of adolescence, prepare for graduation, and generally deal with the often surprising and strange situations that arise simply from being 17. Incorporating intimate footage, interviews, and animation, Burstein reveals all the gritty details about life as a teenager in Midwestern America, from drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure to cliques, first love, and heartbreak.
Ashes of Time Redux – action - Wong Kar Wai
http://www.sonyclassics.com/ashesoftimeredux/trailer.html
Wong Kar Wai works his magic in this long planned "reworking" of his legendary, romantic and one and only martial arts film, previously unreleased in North America. Set in ancient China, Ouran Feng (Leslie Cheung) is a fallen swordsman who is afraid of love after having his heart broken. But the bounty hunters that work for him, like "Blind Swordsman" (Tony Leung Chio Wai) and Hung Chi (Jacky Cheung), discover the intangible secret of true love while Ouyang retains his attitude towards his fighters and the precious lessons that they have taught.
Baghead – comedy - Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
http://www.sonyclassics.com/baghead/
Two screenwriting couples head to a remote cabin in the woods, hoping that the change of scenery will get the creative juices flowing. Amid the solitude, the dynamics of their relationships are revealed as they strive to write their masterworks. Complicating matters though, is the lurking presence of a strange man who wears a bag over his head. Brothers Jay and Mark Duplass wrote and directed this offbeat follow-up to 2005's The Puffy Chair.
Blindness – drama - Fernando Meirelles
http://www.blindness-themovie.com/
The Constant Gardener director Fernando Meirelles joins forces with Canadian writer/director/actor Don McKellar to bring Portuguese Nobel Prize winner José Saramago's 1995 novel to the big screen in this large-scale philosophical thriller. An epidemic of blindness pushes society to the breaking point after sweeping through a modern metropolis and crossing borders into the outside world. A Brazilian/Canadian co-production shot in São Paulo and Toronto, Blindness features a script by producer and co-star McKellar, who optioned the novel alongside Rhombus Media's Niv Fichman.
Bottle Shock – comedy - Randall Miller
http://www.bottleshockthemovie.com/
Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Paris wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world's best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect Chateau Montelena. Yet despite the fact that Jim's Napa Valley vineyard has great potential, his son, Bo (Chris Pine), doesn't seem to have much interest in the family business. Most days, Jim and Bo can be found trading blows in their backyard boxing ring -- their attempts to knock a bit of sense into one another usually amounting to naught. Meanwhile, in Paris, British expatriate Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) finds necessity dictating that he educate Parisians on the latest wines to come out of California. Steven owns the Académie du Vin, and is eager to travel to the United States in order to ensure that he has conducted his research properly. Little did Steven and Jim realize that they were both on course for a chance meeting that would revolutionize the wine industry while opening up a whole new world of possibilities for wine lovers everywhere.
Brideshead Revisited – drama - Jullian Jarold
http://bridesheadrevisited-themovie.com/
Matthew Goode, alongside Michael Gambon and Oscar winner Emma Thompson, stars as Capt. Charles Ryder, an officer stationed at England's Brideshead Castle during World War II, in this big-screen adaptation of the classic novel by Evelyn Waugh. The suspenseful drama builds as Captain Ryder becomes infatuated with the castle's owners, the aristocratic Marchmain family -- particularly their grown son, Sebastian Flyte, and his elegant sister, Julia.
Bustin' Down the Door – documentary - Jeremy Gosch
http://www.bustindownthedoor.com/flash.html
During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was not ready for revolution. Surfing was never to be the same again. Narrated by Edward Norton.
Choke – comedy - Clark Gregg
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=yMZ3Mi1vT-w&feature=related
Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) has got some problems -- when he's not haunting sexual-addiction meetings to bed women, he masquerades as a choking victim in restaurants to gather money from unsuspecting strangers for his ailing mother (Anjelica Huston). But what happens when this messed up Colonial-era theme-park attendant finds Mrs. Right in the guise of his mother's doctor -- and how is he to tell her that he fears he is the next coming of Jesus Christ? Based on Chuck Palahniuk's (Fight Club) pitch-black comedic novel, Choke is adapted and directed by David Mamet alumni Clark Gregg, whose career spans stage, screen, and TV work as well as a screenplay credit for Robert Zemeckis's 2000 thriller What Lies Beneath.
Chris and Don: A Love Story – documentary -Tina Mascara
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=5hb5pFoAh-U
Guido Santi and Tina Mascara's documentary Chris and Don. A Love Story traces the romantic relationship between writer Christopher Isherwood and painter Don Bachardy. The filmmakers utilize interviews with Don himself, as well as personal documents belonging to Isherwood, in order to show how the duo nurtured each other's artistic instincts while establishing a deep emotional bond that survived even after Isherwood's passing.
Diminished Capacity – comedy - Terry Kinney
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=776
Director Terry Kinney's delightfully poignant and bittersweet comedy poses the question: How much is a good memory worth? That's the question that faces newspaper editor Cooper (Matthew Broderick) after a debilitating concussion takes him from the political pages to comic strip detail. Looking for answers, he travels home to Missouri where his now senile Uncle Rollie (Alan Alda) is on the verge of losing his home. When a valuable baseball card is thrown into the mix, these two men along with a motley group of hometown friends, including Cooper's high school sweetheart, Charlotte (Virginia Madsen) , head to a memorabilia expo to make the deal of a century, diving headfirst into a snakepit of slick salesmen, crooked dealers, and rabid fans revealing that there are some things in life that you can't put a price on. Diminished Capacity also stars Dylan Baker, Louis C.K. and Bobby Cannavale in hilarious supporting roles
The Duchess – drama - Saul Dibb
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=pOKjNhXqAJc
Director Saul Dibb takes the helm for this period drama adapted from Amanda Foreman's best-selling novel Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, documenting the romantic entanglements of a beautiful celebrity (Keira Knightley) whose unhappy marriage to the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) threatens to erupt into scandal when she falls for an enterprising young politician.
Elegy – drama - Isabel Coixet
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M0CFAC2k0LA
Driven by Isabel Coixet's visually assured and deeply observant direction "Elegy" charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated college professor and a young woman whose beauty both ravishes and destabilizes him. As their intimate connection transforms them - more than either could imagine - a charged sexual contest evolves into an indelible love story. With humanistic warmth, wry wit and erotic intensity, Elegy explores the power of beauty to blind, to reveal and to transform. Starring Oscar-nominee Penelope Cruz and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, with extraordinary supporting performances form Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard, Elegy is based on Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Roth's short novel The Dying Animal
Elite Squad – action - Jose Padhila
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=cb-rUfBTQ1g
ELITE SQUAD is an intense and astonishing look at Rio de Janeiro's notorious favelas, the volatile slums on the edge of the city, presenting an intimate look at the city's vast and intricate web of corruption. The elite BOPE force (State Police Special Operations Battalion) combats drug trafficking, keeping order has its price though and their actions make it difficult to distinguish right from wrong and justice from revenge. BOPE Captain Nascimento (Wagner Moura) is facing a crisis: in addition to the pressures of fighting within war zones, the Captain must find and train his own replacement so he can escape the day to day violence and be close to his wife who is about to give birth to their first child. Two of the force's newest recruits, are childhood friends: one is quick on the trigger to maintain order and the other refuses to compromise his ideals. Together they are the perfect replacement. Alone they may not have what it takes to survive.
Everybody Wants to be Italian –comedy- Jason Todd Ipson http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=6-MNdf25G3s
A lovelorn urbanite who has spent nearly a decade trying to win back his ex-girlfriend gets involved in a romantic case of mistaken ethnicity in director Jason Todd Ipson's warmhearted relationship comedy. It's been eight years since Jake's girlfriend left him, and despite the fact that she's now married with three children, he refuses to move on. Fed up with their depressive pal's unwillingness to let go of the past, Jake's friends set him up on a blind date with a beautiful Italian woman from Boston's North End. Though Jake is convinced that such a woman would never even consider dating a non-Italian, a quick crash course in how to fake it may prove just the trick to helping him learn to love once again.
Fear(s) of the Dark - animation/mystery
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=70oVIphkXcw
IFC Films Presents A Film by : BLUTCH, CHARLES BURNS, MARIE CAILLOU, PIERRE DI SCIULLO, LORENZO MATTOTTI, RICHARD MCGUIRE, ROMAIN SLOCOMBE, JERRY KRAMSKY, MICHEL PIRUS, ETIENNE ROBIAL. Fear(s) of the Dark is a unique collection of fearful tales by the world's most cutting-edge, acclaimed graphic artists. Their intertwined stories make up an unprecedented epic where phobias, disgust and nightmares come to life and reveal Fear at its most naked and intense.
Filth and Wisom – comedy – Madonna
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=DqpSaFjViXY
Madonna's directorial debut, FILTH AND WISDOM, is a hilariously sexy tale of three roommates who must delve into mischievous and naughty behavior in pursuit of bigger and brighter futures. A Ukrainian immigrant, A.K. (Eugene Hutz), finances his dreams of 'trans-continental superstardom' with his band, Gogol Bordello, by turning tricks as a role-playing cross dresser. As A.K. literally whips the privileged of London into shape, he also secretly pines for the object of his affection, Holly (Holly Weston), an aspiring ballerina looking for her big break while moonlighting as a slippery stripper. Meanwhile, Juliette (Vicky Mclure) steals medicine from her pharmaceutical job in hopes of quenching her dreams of helping Africa's youth. FILTH AND WISDOM is every bit as erotic and playful as it is poignant and touching, revealing the universal struggles we all face in our pursuits of happiness.
Frozen River – drama - Courtney Hunt
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=90_D5nNNvQw
A desperate single mother living in upstate New York resorts to smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States as a means of making ends meet in first-time feature director/screenwriter Courtney Hunt's emotionally wrenching drama, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Ray Eddy is in an impossible position; it's two days before Christmas and her husband has suddenly disappeared with all of the family savings. Now, as the newly single mother of two realizes the futility of attempting to cover the house payments on her meager Yankee One Dollar Store wages, her children are forced to exist on a nutritionally devoid diet of popcorn and Tang. Deciding that her only hope for survival is to find a man who will support her and her children, Ray sets out to find a husband but instead makes the acquaintance of street-smart Mohawk Lila Littlewolf. Lila, too, has been struggling to keep her head above water amidst economic despair, and has recently stumbled across a rather unconventional solution to her dire financial situation. Lately, Lila has been earning a living by smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S., but her tribal elders vehemently disapprove of the scheme and have recently attempted to stop it by forbidding the local auto dealers from selling her a car. As fate would have it, Ray's Dodge Spirit may just be the only thing the destitute mother can count on anymore, and as this unlikely pair gas up the tank for a daring dash across the iced-over St. Lawrence River, their fates become forever intertwined in ways that neither could have ever anticipated.
Fugitive Pieces – drama - Jeremy Podeswa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRbiet9jR4
Author Anne Michaels's poetic novel comes to the screen courtesy of director Jeremy Podeswa in this period drama concerning a Holocaust survivor who remains eternally haunted by the uncertain fate of his beloved sister. Athos (Rade Sherbedgia) is an archeologist conducting a dig in Nazi-occupied Poland. When Athos discovers a seven-year-old boy named Jakob (Robbie Kay) hiding near the work site, he smuggles the frightened boy back to Greece and promises to shelter him when the Nazis come knocking there as well. Having previously witnessed the brutal massacre of his family at the hands of Hitler's henchmen, Jakob longs to find out what fate befell his sister, Bella (Nina Dobrev) -- who wasn't executed with the majority of his other relatives but subsequently disappeared without a trace. After the war, Athos and Jakob emigrate to Toronto in hopes of starting a new life. But even after all these years, Jakob (Stephen Dillane) can't seem to shake the grief of losing his family and not knowing what ever became of Bella. Later, when Jakob marries the radiant Alex (Rosamund Pike), the bright-eyed beauty does her best to illuminate the dark corners within her husband's soul. To maintain one's connection to ghosts requires a certain shunning of the living, however, and only when Jakob discovers the strength to let go of his painful past will he finally be able to move forward into the future.
Full Grown Men - comedy/drama - David Munro
http://www.fullgrownmenthemovie.com/klickable/klickable.html
The youthful delusions of a wistful husband and father prompt him to seek out a childhood friend and embark on a soul-searching journey of self discovery to the one place where no adult demands will be made of him in director David Munro's surreal second coming-of-age comedy. Alby (Matt McGrath) is having an early mid-life crisis. Convinced that the only way to overcome his current malaise is to seek out his childhood pal Elias (Judah Friedlander) and set out on the open road, Alby leaves behind his wife and son in hopes of recapturing the glory of his youth. Unfortunately for Alby, Elias is all grown up now, and isn't exactly overjoyed to see the "best friend" whose rosy vision of childhood largely came from the fact that he made Elias the unwitting butt of his every joke. When Alby learns that Elias is taking a group of disabled drama students on a trip to the local amusement park, Elias has no choice but to let his pushy pal come along for the ride. What follows is a pensively hilarious look life as seen through the eyes of a man who can't seem to move past his youth, and the effect that a student clown bartender (Amy Sedaris), a disgruntled former amusement park employee (Alan Cumming), a retired water park mermaid (Debbie Harry), and a whole host of colorful characters have in helping Alby to bridge the gap between the glory days of his past, and an uncertain future.
Girl Cut in Two – drama - Claude Chabrol
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=756
The French master of suspense Claude Chabrol returns with the razor-sharp, darkly seductive, A GIRL CUT IN TWO. Gabrielle Deneige (Ludivine Sagnier of SWIMMING POOL) is an independent, ambitious TV weather girl torn between her love of a distinguished author several decades her senior (Francois Berleand), and the attentions of a headstrong, potentially unstable young suitor (Benoit Magimel). An unspoken past between the two men heightens tensions, and though she's initially certain of her love for one them, the see-saw demands and whims of both men keep confusing - and darkening - matters. Before long she's encountering emotional and societal forces well beyond her control, inexorably leading to a shocking clash of violence and passion. Inspired by the sensational Gilded Age murder of Madison Square Garden architect Stanford White, A GIRL CUT IN TWO is trademark Chabrol: fiendishly entertaining and impossible to shake.
Hell Ride - action - Larry Bishop
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=jHglhwcwO8I
Veteran AIP genre star Larry Bishop (son of famed Rat Packer Joey Bishop) directs and stars in this gritty revenge tale concerning a biker gang that rallies to avenge the violent murder of a fellow gang member. An homage to such classic biker films as Chrome and Hot Leather and Angel Unchained, Hell Ride was conceived when director Bishop was invited to Quentin Tarantino's home to view a print of The Savage Seven. Upon realizing that there hadn't been a true biker film in years, the pair quickly contacted Bob Weinstein and conspired to produce a lean and mean two-wheeled revenge flick that would more than make up for lost time.
Humboldt County – comedy - Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=s9kc-oFiv_I
An ambitious and straight-laced young man falls in with a group of stoners and aging hippies in this independent comedy drama. Peter Hadley (Jeremy Strong) is a medical student in his early twenties whose dreams of a residency at a prestigious teaching hospital are dashed when he flunks out of a class taught by his father (Peter Bogdanovich). Trying to blot out his awful day, Peter heads to a jazz club, where he ends up going home with Bogart (Fairuza Balk), the sexy singer with the band. The next day, Peter tags along with Bogart as she pays a visit to her family, and is soon stranded with her aunt and uncle as she heads back into the city. Jack (Brad Dourif) and Rosie (Frances Conroy) are former academics-turned-bohemian dropouts who live in a remote and idyllic community near California's redwood forests, where they support themselves by growing marijuana. Also living with Jack and Rosie are Max (Chris Messina), Bogart's sometime boyfriend, and Charity (Madison Davenport), Max's young daughter. While Peter clearly doesn't fit in with Jack, Rosie, and their friends at first, before long he develops an appreciation and respect for their way of life as he ponders his future, but the risks of their profession become equally clear to him, and Max is looking for a big score so he and Charity can move on. Humboldt Country was the first feature film from the writing and directing team of Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs.
I.O.U.S.A. – documentary - Patrick Creadon
http://www.roadsideattractions.com/Catalog/Trailer.asp?BusinessUnitID={BDC8C46C-7B42-42EA-AE44-4E14387B8A7D}&ProjectID={09D5EE3C-B50F-4D99-A9EA-5A1C7875C4B1}
As the United States faces unprecedented financial crises, filmmaker Patrick Creadon explores just how America got to be in the economic mess that it finds itself in, eventually detailing just what the nation would have to do in order to prevent a bad situation from turning into an all-out financial disaster from which no citizen could escape.
I Served the King of England – comedy - Jiri Minzel
http://www.sonyclassics.com/iservedthekingofengland/trailer.html
Despite the 1997 death of longtime friend and Closely Watched Trains collaborator Bohumil Hrabal, 1960s-era Czech New Wave filmmaker Jirí Menzel enters into a postmortem collaboration with the famed author in this pitch-black comedy detailing the shrewd rise of an ambitious waiter. All diminutive manservant Jan Dite (Ivan Barnev) ever wanted was to be filthy rich and to preside over his very own hotel. As a young man coming of age in the 1930s, Jan was preoccupied by beautiful women and awestricken by the fact that anyone, be they rich or poor, would bend to their knees to pick up a coin. With World War II fast approaching and the Germans steadily taking occupation of Czech territory, the opportunistic servant begins his rapid ascent up the hospitality ladder by working for a number of high-profile figures. Though Jan was never a man to settle down with just one woman, his growing attraction to Aryan beauty Liza (Julia Jentsch) soon finds the aspiring hotelier proposing marriage. Of course, a blueblood Teuton like Liza could never wed a man unable to provide proof of his German heritage, but that doesn't stop Jan from doing his best to please her in the bedroom. Later, when Liza is killed retrieving a box of valuable stamps acquired during her stint at the Russian front, Jan uses the valuable collector's items to purchase the very hotel in which he used to work. Unfortunately for Jan, good luck is always followed by bad news, and it's not long before his life's ambition comes crumbling down all around him.
I've Loved You So Long – drama - Philipe Claudel http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxB-g9PmXE&feature=related
Their relationship fractured when older sister Juliette is sentenced to 15 years in prison, two siblings wage an emotional battle to rebuild their relationship, overcome the secrets that keep them apart, and finally express the thoughts that have lain dormant for well over a decade. The moment Juliette was convicted, her parents declared that they wanted nothing to do with her. Now, after 15 years behind bars, Juliette is a free woman and in desperate need of a human connection. When Juliette's younger sister, Léa, is approached by a prison social worker and asked if she would be willing to provide her recently paroled sibling with a place to live, she doesn't hesitate to open her doors and share her home. But Léa is happily married with two adopted daughters, and her husband, Luc, is uneasy with the arrangement. Still, the house is large, the couple is used to having company, and the two young girls are thrilled to have a new aunt. As Juliette gets settled, Léa does her best to make her feel welcome. Likewise, Léa's colleague Michel and emigrant couple Samir and Kaïsha also offer to help Juliette readjust to life on the outside. Along the way, Juliette slowly begins to emerge from her shell and Léa realizes just how much she missed her sister. Perhaps if she can put aside her feelings of guilt long enough to truly understand her sister's plight, these two strangers can finally remember what it means to be family.
Late Bloomer – thriller - Go Shibata
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=feP-jSwM-40
Go Shibata's stylish and stark depiction of a disabled man's quest for normalcy -- and studied pursuit of revenge. In Japanese with English subtitles.
The Linguists – documentary - Seth Kramer, Daniel Miller
http://www.thelinguists.com/
In a time when over 7,000 distinct languages are spoken around the world, professors David Harrison and Gregory Anderson navigate treacherous terrain and travel to the furthest reaches of the globe to research forgotten and hidden languages. As colonialism and economic unrest spread, the new generations begin to abandon their ancestral languages, and their cultures are passively suppressed. But their legacy is not lost thanks to Harrison and Anderson, and now amateur linguistics can follow along as these two adventurous ethnographers observe a Kallawaya healing ritual in Bolivia, attend a traditional ceremony in a remote village in India, and set their sights on Siberia to document these languages before they are lost forever. Together, Harrison and Anderson speak over twenty-five languages, and though their mission is a serious one, they always attempt to maintain a sense of levity as they explore how disappearing languages serve as an indicator of the disappearing traditions and heritage of Indigenous people everywhere.
Mad Detective – action - Johnny To, Wai Ka-fai
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=636
A missing police gun is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner, WONG (LeeKwok Lun), vanished earlier while pursuing a suspect in the mountains. His partner, CHI-WAI (Lam Ka Tung), miraculously returned unharmed and the hot shot Regional Crime Unit Inspector, HO (Andy On), is in charge of the investigation. HO knows the only chance he has in cracking the case is to ask for help from his mentor/former boss BUN (Lau Ching Wan), a gifted criminal profiler now living in seclusion with his wife MAY (Kelly Lin). BUN puts himself in the victim's place, literally, and his unorthodox approach has put doubt in HO's mind who feels betrayed when BUN's investigation goes beyond his imagination. What begins as a quest for answers has now taken a schizophrenic turn where truth and lies, reality and delusions intertwine...
Man on Wire – documentary - James Marsh
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YW1b3G2MN3Q
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan… James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.”
Mister Foe - drama/comedy - David MacKenzie
http://misterfoemovie.com/
With Hallam Foe, British director Peter MacKenzie and scripter Ed Whitmore adapt the 2002 roman of the same name, a quirky, bittersweet, coming-of-age psychodrama by Peter Jinks. The character of the title is the 17-year-old son (Jamie Bell) of a wealthy Scotch businessman father (Ciaran Hinds). Still rattled by the death of his mom (who drowned in a nearby loch), Hallam retreats into a deep-seated fantasy world. He harbors amorous feelings for his new stepmother Verity (Claire Forlani) until he gradually concludes that she murdered his biological mother. Hallam nonetheless lets himself be seduced into an affair with Verity, and is so repulsed by this transpiration that he flees to Edinburgh. His life turns a corner, however, when he spots - and instantly becomes infatuated with - Kate (Sophia Myles), a local girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to his mother. After he talks her into giving him a routine job in the kitchen of the hotel that she manages, they become romantically involved, ever so gradually, which spells trouble for Hallam's emotional state by thoroughly overwhelming and confusing him -- and deeper trouble still still when Kate's married lover (Jamie Sives) discovers that Hallam has been spying diligently on Kate from his perch in a nearby belltower. Ewen Bremner co-stars as the bellhop supervisor at the hotel.
Momma's Man – drama - Azazel Jacobs
http://kino.com/mommasman/index.html
A grown man locked into an extended state of arrested adolescence returns to the nest while concocting a series of excuses as to why he cannot return to his wife and child in this existential comedy drama from filmmaker Azazel Jacobs. Mikey was preparing to board an airplane bound for California when he suddenly found himself fleeing from the airport and returning to the comfort of his parents' New York home. Even Mikey isn't sure exactly why he made the snap decision not to go home, all he knows is that he can't quite muster the courage to go back and assume the responsibilities of your typical family man. Of course, Mikey's doting mother is more than happy to enable her son's indecision -- and his father remains as emotionally distanced as ever -- but as time goes on, the grown-up man-child finds it increasingly difficult to make the choice between going back to reality, or drifting ever further into his second adolescence.
Moving Midway – documentary - Godfrey Cheshire
http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_movingmidway.html
Godfrey Cheshire's richly observed film about his family's Southern plantation - and the colossal feat of moving it to escape urban sprawl - is a thoughtful and witty look at the lingering remnants and still-powerful mythology of plantation culture and the antebellum South. An award-winning film critic turned film maker, Cheshire uses the relocation of his family's North Carolina plantation house to embark on a surprising and multi-layered journey. While observing the elaborate, arcane preparations for moving a centuries-old house over fields and a rock quarry, unexpected human drama - from both the living and the dead - emerges. And a chance encounter leads Cheshire and his cousins to discover a previously unknown African American branch of the family (who have their own take on Midway and its legacy). Through the use of movies and music, and by turning the camera on himself and his family, Cheshire examines the Southern plantation in American history and culture, and how the racial legacy from the past continues into the present.
No Regret – drama - Leesong Hee-Il
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=QjMzt2KoNPQ
A working-class South Korean homosexual and a factory owner's engaged son embark on a clandestine love affair in director Hee-il Leesong's heartfelt tale of forbidden love. The first-ever South Korean feature by an openly gay filmmaker, No Regret begins as orphan Lee Su-min (Yeong-hun Lee) leaves behind both his rural orphanage and one-time lover. Later finding work at a Seoul factory and sharing an apartment with an unquestionably heterosexual workmate, Lee supplements his income by working nights as a driver for hire. When drunken fare Jae-min Song (Han Lee) makes a tentative pass at Lee during a late-night ride home, the uninterested driver rejects the obvious come-on. As it turns out, Song is the son of the factory's CEO. Later, when a round of layoffs is announced at the factory and Lee's name appears on the list, Song offers to help the struggling worker, to no avail. Subsequently earning his keep as a lap-dancer at a local strip joint, Lee is disturbed to see Song appear at the club and threatens to kill him if he ever dares return. Though Song's parents are pressuring him into marriage, the reluctant groom has no interest in taking a bride, and gradually begins to form a relationship with the down-on-his-luck dancer. Despite the comfort they find in one another's company, simmering class differences soon propel their doomed affair toward a tragic conclusion.
Order of Myths – documentary - Margaret Brown
http://www.theorderofmyths.com/index2.html
The first Mardi Gras in America was celebrated in Mobile, Alabama in 1703. in 2007, it is still racially segregated. Filmmaker Margaret Brown ("Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt"), herself a daughter of Mobile, escorts us into the parallel hearts of the city's two carnivals. With unprecedented access, she traces the exotic world of secret mystic societies and centuries-old tradition and pageantry; diamond-encrusted crowns, voluminous, hand-sewn gowns, surreal masks and enormous paper mache floats. Against this opulent backdrop, she uncovers a tangled web of historical violence and power dynamics, elusive forces that keep this hallowed tradition organized along enduring color lines.
Ping Pong Playa – comedy - Jessica Yu
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=977
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu makes her feature comedy debut with PING PONG PLAYA, a hilarious and warm-hearted tale about embracing one's culture while still breaking down stereotypes. Christopher "C-dub" Wang (Jimmy Tsai) is a suburban guy who sports an urban swagger, waxes political on all things Asian American, and clings to pipe dreams of a career as a pro basketball player. C-dub lives at home, works a dead-end job, and squirms in the shadow of his older brother, Michael, a doctor and ping pong champion. With a family-run store devoted to all things ping pong, the Wangs' entire world revolves around the sport. But when the Wang family livelihood is threatened by a rival ping pong player's attempts to lure the kids away, C-dub begins to take things more seriously. With the National Golden Cock Tournament coming up and an injured Michael unable to defend his title, C-dub must become the player he pretends to be and defend his family's ping pong dynasty.
Rachel Getting Married – drama - Jonathan Demme
http://www.sonyclassics.com/rachelgettingmarried/trailer.html
When Kym (Anne Hathaway) returns to the Buchman family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie Dewitt), she brings a long history of personal crisis and family conflict along with her. The wedding party's abundant cast of friends and relations have gathered for an idyllic weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym - with her black-comic one-liners and knack for bombshell drama - is a catalyst for long-simmering tensions in the family dynamic. Filled with the rich and eclectic characters that have always been a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films, Rachel Getting Married paints a strikingly perceptive and sometimes hilariously family portrait. Director Demme, first-time writer Jenny Lumet, and the stellar acting ensemble leaven the drama of these difficult but compelling people with wry affection and generosity of spirit.
Save Me – drama - Robert Crary
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=C4l1qzffGQM
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and in this look at one of the most polarizing religious and sexual debates in America, filmmaker Robert Cary attempts to reconcile homosexuality with Christianity. Mark (Chad Allen) is a young gay man who has fallen into a dangerous cycle of hard drugs and risky sex. Recognizing that his sibling may not have the strength to pull himself back from the edge, Mark's brother checks him into the Genesis House Christian retreat in New Mexico -- a place far removed from the temptations of the big city. Genesis House is run by a deeply spiritual, middle-aged couple named Gayle (Judith Light) and Ted (Stephen Lang). After losing a battle with sin back when she was young, Gayle has dedicated her entire life to rescuing young homosexuals from their own inner demons. In order to help Mark through the process, Gayle assigns Scott (Robert Gant) -- one of the program's advanced "fifth phasers" -- as the newcomer's mentor. When Gayle notices that Mark and Scott's relationship is intensifying, she sees the development as a threat and fights back in order to prevent her carefully controlled world from falling apart. The spectre of damnation looming constantly over their shoulders, Mark and Scott are finally forced to confront the truth about their own true natures.
Secret, A – drama – Claude Miller
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=TbikfSMr_r4
Adapted from Philippe Grimbert's bestselling novel, A SECRET (UN SECRET) is a story of passion and guilt in troubled times, which unfolds as a young teenager uncovers the truth about his parents' past. He finds out that before the war, his father Maxime (Patrick Bruel of The Comedy of Power, O Jerusalem) was married to Hannah (Ludivine Sagnier of 8 Women, Swimming Pool, A Girl Cut in Two, Love Songs) when he fell madly in love with his mother Tania (Cecile de France of The Russian Dolls, Avenue Montaigne). As a young Jewish couple living in Nazi-occupied France, Maxime and Tania had to make difficult choices to survive the war and the Holocaust.
Secret Lives of Bees – adventure - Gina Prince-Bythewood
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=yS7dKBEqtzo
Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson star as two friends who run away from home in order to solve the mystery surrounding one of their mothers in this adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's best-selling coming-of-age novel, The Secret Life of Bees. Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys co-star in picture as three sisters who take the two girls in and teach them to care for and raise bees. Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball) provides the adaptation as well as the direction for the Overbrook Entertainment production.
Synecdoche, New York – comedy - Charlie Kaufman
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=xWVuzfOvlIw
A wild-eyed theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) attempts to build a life-sized replica of New York City in preparation for an ambitious play in the feature directorial debut of notoriously quirky screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, and Emily Watson co-star in a tale of one man's quest to stage the ultimate love letter to the Big Apple.
Tell No One – drama - Guillaume Canet
http://musicboxfilms.com/tellnoone/
Based on Harlan Coben’s international best selling thriller about pediatrician Alexandre Beck who still grieves the murder of his beloved wife Margot Beck eight years earlier. When two bodies are found near the scene of the crime, the police reopen the case and Alex becomes a suspect again. The mystery deepens when Alex receives an anonymous e-mail with a link to a video clip that seems to suggest Margot is somehow still alive and a message to "Tell No One."
Thousand Years of Good Prayers – drama - Wayne Wang
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=GQrQ_vSJ2pQ
Wayne Wang's intimate drama A Thousand Years of Good Prayers stars Henry O as Mr. Shi, a Chinese man who, after the death of his wife, decides to travel to the United States in order to see his estranged daughter for the first time in over a decade. Their time together is awkward at first, seeing each other only at dinner when he cooks for her. Shi spends his days taking in the strange culture, improving his language skills, and making a friend in an Iranian woman. Eventually his persistent attempts to forge a connection with his daughter lead to some buried issues bursting forth between the pair.
Towelhead – drama - Alan Ball
http://wip.warnerbros.com/towelhead/
Six Feet Under creator and American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball makes his feature directorial debut with this screen adaptation of author Alicia Erian's controversial novel Towelhead. Jasira (Summer Bishil) is a 13-year-old Arab-American who's contending with the pains of adolescence when her life takes a sudden and unexpected turn. Sent to live with her stern Lebanese father, Rifat (Peter Macdissi), by her self-absorbed mother (Maria Bello), Jasira finds herself struggling to adjust to life in the suburbs while contending with racism and hypocrisy at every turn. Rifat lives in a modest, suburban Dallas home next to racist reservist Mr. Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart) and meddling expectant mother Melina (Toni Collette). Adjusting to life in the suburbs isn't easy for young Jasira, though she tries her hardest to adapt to the unfamiliar environment by striking up casual conversations with her curious new neighbors. In the process, Jasira finds herself increasingly attracted to hormone-driven African-American teen Thomas (Eugene Jones). When Rifat finds out that his daughter's new boyfriend is black, he vehemently condemns the relationship. As America launches its initial invasion of Iraq, Jasira finds herself caught up in a potentially explosive situation that is only compounded by her raging hormones and the snooping of her pregnant, busybody neighbor.
Transsiberian - crime/drama - Brad Anderson
http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/transsiberian/videos.html
When an American couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) traveling from China to Moscow on the Trans-Siberian Railway meets an outwardly friendly couple (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara) traveling the same route, deception soon gives way to murder in The Machinist director Brad Anderson's tense tale of international intrigue. Ben Kingsley and Thomas Kretschmann co-star as a pair of Russian police officers striving to solve the case and stop the rising body count.
Trouble the Water – documentary - Carl Deal and Tia Lessin
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq426VjZD1E
Relegated to the role of refugees in their own country the moment the levees broke, New Orleans residents Kimberly and Scott Roberts document their harrowing struggle against the forces of nature and the evils of man as they nobly attempt to rebuild their lives amidst one of the greatest natural disasters ever to befall the United States. Kimberly Rivers Roberts is a musician and filmmaker who was living in New Orleans with her husband, Scott, when the force of Hurricane Katrina transformed their once-happy hometown into a waterlogged wasteland. In the aftermath of the disaster, the nightly news was filled with images of looting and chaos. Now, as the masses finally receive the opportunity to witness events from an insider's perspective, it quickly becomes apparent that the rampaging waters were only the beginning of the problem, and that the ineptitude of the government and the media in dealing with the disaster did nearly as much damage to New Orleans as the forces of Mother Nature.
Trumbo – documentary - Peter Askin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KP8lqj-lZ4s
A documentary adaptation of the popular regional theatrical monologue -- in which such heavyweights as Paul Newman, Nathan Lane, and Joe Mantegna essayed the lead on various occasions -- Trumbo recounts the life and times of legendary Hollywood scribe-turned-HUAC scapegoat Dalton Trumbo. As with its source production, the film takes as its base material highly personal, detailed, and emotive letters written by Dalton Trumbo to his son, Christopher; the latter, in turn, molded the missives into a screenplay for this production. Here, however, in lieu of one actor portraying Dalton, a number of celebrities take turns narrating from the script, including Lane, Paul Giamatti, Brian Dennehy, Donald Sutherland, and others. As a visual accompaniment, the film intercuts home-movie footage from the Trumbos' lives; incisive interview material with Trumbo, his family, friends, and collaborators; and haunting glimpses of the HUAC trial hearings with the Hollywood Ten, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy; as well as extracts from The Sandpiper, Johnny Got His Gun, Spartacus, and other productions authored by Trumbo. Peter Askin, who helmed the stage play, directs.
Up the Yangtze – documentary - Yung Chang
http://www.uptheyangtze.com/trailer.php
Director Yung Chang uses the construction of China's massive Three Gorges Dam as a springboard to better understanding the social hierarchies and changing times in his homeland in this documentary focusing on the luxury cruise ship that carries predominately Western tourists down the Yangtze River. Constructed as a symbol of modern progress in China, the Three Gorges Dam has forced millions of common people out of their ancestral homes, and will soon swallow up numerous nearby towns and villages. Despite the fact that the government has funded alterative housing for the dislocated families, however, many citizens make their way to higher ground feeling as if they have been duped by the powers that be. In order to truly understand how this affects the people, Chang focuses on telling the stories of middle-class scion Chen Bo Yu (renamed "Jerry" by the cruise line) and Yu Shui (who answers to the call of "Cindy" while on duty). As the ship sets sail, this hard-working pair do their best to familiarize themselves with Western social cues, striving to perform to the best of their abilities, and ponder the prospects of a brighter future.
What Just Happened – comedy - Barry Levinson
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=krFKQvNVDno
Inspired by the personal memoirs of Hollywood producer Art Linson, Barry Levinson's fictional showbiz comedy stars Robert De Niro as a struggling movie producer who has just suffered through his second divorce, and slowly finds his soul being ground up in the machinations of the Hollywood machine. Ben (De Niro) is an aging producer whose career was already on a downward turn when his personal life went straight into the toilet. Not only is Ben juggling two ex-wives and a daughter who seems to have grown up overnight, but his colleagues seem to take pleasure in watching him suffer while he attempts to complete his latest film on an impossible schedule.
Wonderful Town – drama - Aditya Assarat
http://kino.com/wonderfultown/index.html
In the wake of Thailand's 2004 tsunami, Ton (Supphasit Kansen), a big-city architect overseeing the construction of a resort in a small coastal town, embarks on star-crossed romance with a chambermaid named Na (Anchalee Saisoontorn). Writer-director Aditya Assarat sublimely crafts this poetic tale, which juxtaposes the images of the devastation found prominently in southern Thailand with the hope and promise of Ton and Na's newfound love.
Elsa and Fred – comedy – Marcos Carnevale
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=B1MlpAmbudM
After his wife dies, reserved septuagenarian Alfredo (Manuel Alexandre) moves into a small Madrid apartment, where sparks fly with his neighbor Elsa (China Zorrilla), a fiery 82-year-old widow who christens him "Fred." Elsa's wild insouciance lures Fred into a whirlwind romance -- and a celebration of life -- in this award-winning romantic comedy from Spain and Argentina.
The Singing Revolution – documentary – James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9PmZo-2jo
After enduring WWII-era brutalization by Hitler's Nazi Party and decades of repressive Soviet dictatorship, the tiny Eastern European nation of Estonia began to declare its independence from Communist rule in the late 1980s. Over a five year period, beginning in 1986, hundreds of thousands of Estonians began to systematically and repeatedly gather in public venues to collectively sing illegal patriotic songs, declaring their desire for national independence but never resorting to violence amid their protests. Uncoincidentally, Estonia was indeed one of the first nations to break away from the Soviet Union in the events leading up to the fall of the Iron Curtain. The documentary The Singing Revolution chronicles this extraordinary yet seldom told chain of events.
Monday, June 30, 2008
July Advisory Meeting Candidates
Alexandra – drama - Aleksandr Sokurov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lb9yAwrxmE&feature=related
Though Russian director Alexander Sokurov's feature Alexandra unfolds against the backdrop of military life, it constitutes a stark and deliberate chamber drama in lieu of a war picture. Alexandra Nikolaevna (Galina Vishnevskaya) is an elderly woman with a grandson, Denis (Vasily Shevtsov), conscripted into the army of the Chechen Republic. When she makes the arduous journey to visit him, the startling nature of military life as it unfolds before her eyes -- the absence of women, the blind acceptance of amenities that so many take for granted, the emotional inexpressiveness -- completely bewilders her and introduces her to a world infinitely more alien than any she has ever experienced.
American Teen – documentary - Nanette Burstein
http://www.americanteenthemovie.com/
In this biting cinéma vérité, director Nanette Burstein follows a group of four Indiana high-school seniors as they navigate the social mazes of adolescence, prepare for graduation, and generally deal with the often surprising and strange situations that arise simply from being 17. Incorporating intimate footage, interviews, and animation, Burstein reveals all the gritty details about life as a teenager in Midwestern America, from drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure to cliques, first love, and heartbreak.
Baghead – comedy - Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
http://www.sonyclassics.com/baghead/
Two screenwriting couples head to a remote cabin in the woods, hoping that the change of scenery will get the creative juices flowing. Amid the solitude, the dynamics of their relationships are revealed as they strive to write their masterworks. Complicating matters though, is the lurking presence of a strange man who wears a bag over his head. Brothers Jay and Mark Duplass wrote and directed this offbeat follow-up to 2005's The Puffy Chair.
Berlin – documentary - Julian Schnabel
http://www.berlinthefilm.com/
Lou Reed recorded the album Berlin in 1973. It was a commercial failure. Over the next 33 years, he never performed the album live. For five nights in December 2006 at St. Ann's Warehouse Brooklyn, Lou Reed performed his masterwork about love's dark sisters; jealousy, rage and loss. Staging Berlin has been discussed for over 30 years and in December of 2006 it became a reality. Berlin was said to be one of the most depressing albums ever made and as it was brought to life it was far from dismal. Using the divided city of Berlin as its backdrop the story of Caroline and her lovers is told through the emotive and provocative words of Lou Reed. With performers like Fernando Saunders, Antony, Steve Hunter, Rob Wassermann, Rupert Christie and Sharon Jones, a seven piece orchestra and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus all working to create a captivating and enveloping world, Lou Reed is able to take the audience with him as he bares witness to Caroline’s self-destruction. Julian’s set design create the backdrop of a hotel with greenish walls and with Lola Schnabel’s films displaying the beauty and tragedy of the narrator’s leading lady (played by Emmanuelle Seigner) the experience is devastating and beautiful.
Bigger Stronger Faster* - documentary - Chris Bell
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3KzGfuFFSxA
In the hopes of exploring American culture's increased obsession with winning, documentary filmmaker Christopher Bell examines the anabolic steroid use of his two brothers. After setting the stage with a look at the cultural backdrop of the 1980s -- in which hulky stars like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were the ideal -- Bell illustrates how he and his brothers became involved in the bodybuilding subculture, eventually discovering the brutal truth that success in the lifestyle of pumping iron demanded the use of steroids.
Boy A – drama - John Crowley
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Ii_v14DNCU
A man looking to shed his former identity in order to move beyond his traumatic past discovers that the past and the future are inexorably linked in director John Crowley's feature adaptation of a novel by author Jonathan Trigell. Terry (Peter Mullan) is a caseworker whose job it is to help people create new lives. His latest charge is a young man with a troubled past who eventually decides on the new name Jack (Andrew Garfield). Jack has decided to start a new life in Manchester, where no one is aware of his sordid history. As Jack begins his new job in a new town, he quickly catches the attention of beautiful co-worker Michelle (Katie Lyons). While Michelle's advances are unmistakable, Jack remains somewhat awkward in his new skin and the initially encounters between the pair are somewhat awkward. Later, as the two new lovers begin experiencing the thrill of connecting with a kindred soul, Jack performs a heroic feat that finds him celebrated as a local hero and it begins to look like he has successfully made the transition into his new life.
Brideshead Revisited – drama - Jullian Jarold
http://bridesheadrevisited-themovie.com/
Matthew Goode, alongside Michael Gambon and Oscar winner Emma Thompson, stars as Capt. Charles Ryder, an officer stationed at England's Brideshead Castle during World War II, in this big-screen adaptation of the classic novel by Evelyn Waugh. The suspenseful drama builds as Captain Ryder becomes infatuated with the castle's owners, the aristocratic Marchmain family -- particularly their grown son, Sebastian Flyte, and his elegant sister, Julia.
Children of Huang Shi - drama/history - Roger Spottiswoode
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thechildrenofhuangshi/trailer.html
As China is ravaged by war in the late '30s, a young Englishman named George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) leads 60 orphans over the Liu Pan Shan mountains and into the safety of the Mongolian desert in this drama scripted by Jane Hawksley and directed by Roger Spotiswoode. Based on actual events, this Chinese/Australian/German co-production also stars Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Radha Mitchell.
Constantine's Sword – documentary - Oren Jacoby
http://constantinessword.com/?page_id=7
Constantine's Sword, the latest film by Oscar-nominated documentarian Oren Jacoby, is an astonishing exploration of the dark side of Christianity, following acclaimed author and former priest James Carroll on a journey of remembrance and reckoning. Carroll, a National Book Award winner and columnist for the Boston Globe, is a practicing Catholic whose search for the truth leads him to confront persecution and violence in the name of God - today and in the Church's past. He discovers a terrible legacy that reverberates across the centuries- from the Emperor Constantine's vision of the cross as a sword and symbol of power, to the rise of genocidal antisemitism, to modern-day wars and conflicts sparked by religious extremism. At its heart, Constantine's Sword is a detective story, as Carroll journeys both into his own past - where he comes to terms with his father's role as a three-star General in the U.S. Air Force preparing for nuclear war - and into the wider world, where he uncovers evidence of church-sanctioned violence against Jews, Muslims, and others. Visiting the Air Force Academy, he and Jacoby expose how some evangelical Christians are proselytizing inside our country's armed forces and reveal the dangerous consequences of religious influence on American foreign policy. Warning of what happens when military power and religious fervor are joined, Constantine's Sword asks the timely question: Is the fanaticism that threatens the world today fueled by our own deeply held beliefs?
CSNY/Déjà vu - documentary/music - Bernard Shakey (Neil Young)
http://csny-dejavu.com/
Directed by Bernard Shakey, a long time alias for Neil Young, CSNY Déjà vu documents how the beloved quartet maintains a deeply avid fanbase thanks to their political topicality and their emotional honesty. The film utilizes clips from throughout their decades-long career together.
Diminished Capacity – comedy - Terry Kinney
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=776
Director Terry Kinney's delightfully poignant and bittersweet comedy poses the question: How much is a good memory worth? That's the question that faces newspaper editor Cooper (Matthew Broderick) after a debilitating concussion takes him from the political pages to comic strip detail. Looking for answers, he travels home to Missouri where his now senile Uncle Rollie (Alan Alda) is on the verge of losing his home. When a valuable baseball card is thrown into the mix, these two men along with a motley group of hometown friends, including Cooper's high school sweetheart, Charlotte (Virginia Madsen) , head to a memorabilia expo to make the deal of a century, diving headfirst into a snakepit of slick salesmen, crooked dealers, and rabid fans revealing that there are some things in life that you can't put a price on. Diminished Capacity also stars Dylan Baker, Louis C.K. and Bobby Cannavale in hilarious supporting roles
Edge of Heaven – drama - Faith Akin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8rhDyhIloM
Nejat initially disapproves of his widower father Ali`s choice of prostitute Yeter for a live-in girlfriend. But the young professor warms to her when he learns that most of her hard-earned money is sent home to Turkey for her daughter’s university studies. After Yeter`s accidental death, Nejat travels to Istanbul to search for Yeter`s daughter Ayten. Political activist Ayten has fled the Turkish police and is already in Germany. She is befriended by a young woman, Lotte, who invites rebellious Ayten to stay in her home, much to the displeasure of her conservative mother, Susanne. When Ayten is arrested and her asylum plea denied, she is deported and imprisoned in Turkey. Passionate Lotte abandons everything to help Ayten. A tragic event brings Susanne to Istanbul to help fulfill her daughter`s mission.
Elegy – drama - Isabel Coixet
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M0CFAC2k0LA
Driven by Isabel Coixet's visually assured and deeply observant direction "Elegy" charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated college professor and a young woman whose beauty both ravishes and destabilizes him. As their intimate connection transforms them - more than either could imagine - a charged sexual contest evolves into an indelible love story. With humanistic warmth, wry wit and erotic intensity, Elegy explores the power of beauty to blind, to reveal and to transform. Starring Oscar-nominee Penelope Cruz and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, with extraordinary supporting performances form Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard, Elegy is based on Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Roth's short novel The Dying Animal
Encounters at the End of the World – documentary - Werner Herzog
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MImYM87jOtU
Werner Herzog, director of such acclaimed documentaries as Grizzly Man and Little Dieter Needs to Fly, offers his unique perspective on the South Pole in this film profiling the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station. Located on Ross Island, McMurto Station is the headquarters of the National Science Foundation. Whether offering a detailed study of the unique survival training regiment that newcomers to McMurdo are obligated to endure or pondering the majestic beauty of a landscape where the discovery of three new species in a single day is nothing to get excited about, Herzog boldly offers viewers the opportunity to visit a one of the most inaccessible and awe-inspiring landscapes on the planet.
Finding Amanda – comedy - Peter Tolan
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mNMTP0SS_zA
From director Peter Tolan, creator of the hit television series Rescue Me, comes Finding Amanda, a hilarious and heartbreaking autobiographical comedy about the compulsions we can’t shake, and the unlikely lengths we’ll go to while trying. Taylor Mendon (Matthew Broderick) is a television writer and producer working on a low-rated, little-respected half-hour sitcom. Once destined for bigger and better things, Taylor's compulsive gambling, recreational drug use and drinking all conspired to throw his career off the rails. After kicking the alcohol and drugs, he only has one more hurdle...the horses. His beautiful twenty - year old niece Amanda (Brittany Snow) has her own habit to kick. Living in Las Vegas, working as a "dancer," her family has just discovered she is actually a prostitute, and they suspect hooking for drug money. On their way home from an emergency family meeting, Taylor's wife Lorraine (Maura Tierney) finds recent racing stubs in Taylor's glove compartment. After years of standing by him, she leaves. Taylor comes up with a plan: he'll win back his wife by doing the right thing. He'll go to Las Vegas, find Amanda, and deliver her to a rehabilitation center in Malibu. While he’s at it, he might even catch up with some old friends (like slimy casino host Steve Coogan). But besides that, it’s strictly the business at hand—while he's there, he vows, he won't gamble a single cent, but things don’t turn out quite as he’d planned.
Foot Fist Way – comedy - Jody Hill
http://www.thefootfistway.com/
A new hero of martial arts rises from a North Carolina strip mall in this independent comedy. Fred Simmons is one of the world's most gifted practitioners of the Korean fighting style known as Tae Kwan Do -- or at least that's what he likes to tell people. Despite his supposed skills, Fred teaches students out of a shabby dojo, where for the most part, he browbeats kids into learning the aggressive points of the martial arts without having much understanding of the philosophy or reasoning behind it. Not that most folks care -- in the small town where he teaches, Fred is considered to be the real deal, and his talent as a fighter earns him plenty of respect. But Fred's reputation (and ego) takes a serious blow when he learns his wife, Suzie (Mary Jane Bostwick), has been fooling around with another man, and Fred challenges him to a fight that doesn't go well. Falling into an emotional tailspin, Fred goes on a pilgrimage to meet his hero and role model, martial arts celebrity Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Ben Best). The Foot Fist Way was the first feature film from writer and director Jody Hill.
Fugitive Pieces – drama - Jeremy Podeswa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRbiet9jR4
Author Anne Michaels's poetic novel comes to the screen courtesy of director Jeremy Podeswa in this period drama concerning a Holocaust survivor who remains eternally haunted by the uncertain fate of his beloved sister. Athos (Rade Sherbedgia) is an archeologist conducting a dig in Nazi-occupied Poland. When Athos discovers a seven-year-old boy named Jakob (Robbie Kay) hiding near the work site, he smuggles the frightened boy back to Greece and promises to shelter him when the Nazis come knocking there as well. Having previously witnessed the brutal massacre of his family at the hands of Hitler's henchmen, Jakob longs to find out what fate befell his sister, Bella (Nina Dobrev) -- who wasn't executed with the majority of his other relatives but subsequently disappeared without a trace. After the war, Athos and Jakob emigrate to Toronto in hopes of starting a new life. But even after all these years, Jakob (Stephen Dillane) can't seem to shake the grief of losing his family and not knowing what ever became of Bella. Later, when Jakob marries the radiant Alex (Rosamund Pike), the bright-eyed beauty does her best to illuminate the dark corners within her husband's soul. To maintain one's connection to ghosts requires a certain shunning of the living, however, and only when Jakob discovers the strength to let go of his painful past will he finally be able to move forward into the future.
Full Grown Men - comedy/drama - David Munro
http://www.fullgrownmenthemovie.com/klickable/klickable.html
The youthful delusions of a wistful husband and father prompt him to seek out a childhood friend and embark on a soul-searching journey of self discovery to the one place where no adult demands will be made of him in director David Munro's surreal second coming-of-age comedy. Alby (Matt McGrath) is having an early mid-life crisis. Convinced that the only way to overcome his current malaise is to seek out his childhood pal Elias (Judah Friedlander) and set out on the open road, Alby leaves behind his wife and son in hopes of recapturing the glory of his youth. Unfortunately for Alby, Elias is all grown up now, and isn't exactly overjoyed to see the "best friend" whose rosy vision of childhood largely came from the fact that he made Elias the unwitting butt of his every joke. When Alby learns that Elias is taking a group of disabled drama students on a trip to the local amusement park, Elias has no choice but to let his pushy pal come along for the ride. What follows is a pensively hilarious look life as seen through the eyes of a man who can't seem to move past his youth, and the effect that a student clown bartender (Amy Sedaris), a disgruntled former amusement park employee (Alan Cumming), a retired water park mermaid (Debbie Harry), and a whole host of colorful characters have in helping Alby to bridge the gap between the glory days of his past, and an uncertain future.
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson – documentary - Alex Gibney
http://www.huntersthompsonmovie.com/
From Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney and producer Graydon Carter comes a probing look into the uncanny life of national treasure and gonzo journalism inventor Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A fast moving, wildly entertaining documentary with an iconic soundtrack, the film addresses the major touchstones in Thompson’s life—his intense and ill fated relationship with the Hell’s Angels, his near-successful bid for the office of sheriff in Aspen in 1970, the notorious story behind the landmark Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his deep involvement in Senator George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, and much more. Narrated by Johnny Depp.
Gunnin' For That #1 Spot - documentary - Adam Yauch
http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_TITLE/GALLERY/video/imdb/vi384303385/
On the corner of 155th Street and Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem, New York, lies Rucker Park. By appearances, the green concrete pavement, anchored on either end by its run down slab bleachers, is no different than any other basketball court in the city. But this is the place where nicknames are earned and basketball legends are made.
On September 1, 2006, the top 24 high school basketball players in the nation stepped out on this same court that once saw the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dr. J, to compete in the first annual "Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic." GUNNIN FOR THAT #1 SPOT documents these athletes' skills on the most legendary court in the world, showing never- before-seen footage of that "Elite 24" game.
Directed by Adam Yauch (founding member of the Hip Hop trio the Beastie Boys and director of "Awesome: I Shot That"), the film follows eight of the country's premiere high school basketball players on the fast track to the NBA, as they are adored by fans, wooed by colleges and sneaker companies, and groomed to be in the spotlight of the multi-million dollar game. Blending this next generation of b-ball players with a mix of raw hip-hop, jazz and break beats, and Yauchs unique kinetic filmmaking, GUNNIN is an explosively entertaining look at soon-to-be NBA All Stars.
Hamlet 2 – comedy - Andrew Fleming
http://filminfocus.com/focus-movies/hamlet-2/movie-splash.php
With his department in danger of being cut, high school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) encourages his students to write and produce a sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet in this satirical comedy that riffs on the "inspirational teacher" genre of films. Meanwhile, Marschz must deal with his unhappy wife (Catherine Keener). Elisabeth Shue portrays a version of herself who has given up acting to become a nurse, and Amy Poehler co-stars.
Hell Ride – action - Larry Bishop
http://youtube.com/watch?v=a-W2vCQvX9w
Veteran AIP genre star Larry Bishop (son of famed Rat Packer Joey Bishop) directs and stars in this gritty revenge tale concerning a biker gang that rallies to avenge the violent murder of a fellow gang member. An homage to such classic biker films as Chrome and Hot Leather and Angel Unchained, Hell Ride was conceived when director Bishop was invited to Quentin Tarantino's home to view a print of The Savage Seven. Upon realizing that there hadn't been a true biker film in years, the pair quickly contacted Bob Weinstein and conspired to produce a lean and mean two-wheeled revenge flick that would more than make up for lost time.
In Search of a Midnight Kiss – comedy - Alex Holdridge
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=518
Alex Holdridge's comedy In Search of a Midnight Kiss follows the plight of Wilson (Scoot McNairy), a 29-year-old man who has just suffered through the most miserable year of his life. A new arrival to the City of Angels, Wilson ends up alone and penniless as New Year's Eve rapidly approaches, and vows to lock his doors, pull his blinds, and climb into bed -- until best friend Jacob (Brian Matthew McGuire) talks him into posting a Craig's List personal ad. In seemingly no time at all, the message leads Wilson to Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a freewheeling young woman utterly determined to be with the "right" man at the stroke of midnight. She soon leads Wilson on an eventful and colorful trip through the nighttime streets of L.A. that he will never forget -- and that leads to a heartfelt emotional connection between the two. Anne Walker-McBay (Before Sunrise and Dazed and Confused) executive produced; Holdridge authored the original script.
Jellyfish - comedy/drama - Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/displaytrailer.php?directoryname=jellyfish&size=high&extension=mov
Israeli co-directors Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen's ensemble comedy drama Meduzot (aka Jellyfish, 2007) weaves together multiple seriocomic tales of intersecting lives, set against the deep azure backdrop of Middle Eastern seascapes. Affording equal emphasis to each tale, Keret and Geffen first hone in on Batya (Sarah Adler), a young woman employed as a caterer, whose firm places strongest emphasis on weddings. As the film opens, Batya breaks up with her boyfriend, and struggles with her supremely dysfunctional, argumentative parents, who correspond with her only by leaving periodic messages on her answering machine. Her life takes a most unpredictable turn when she happens upon a tearstained little girl (Nikol Leidman) who wanders out of the ocean, wearing only a pair of panties and toting an inner tube -- origin unknown. The foundling gravitates magnetically to Batya and refuses to separate from her.
A Jihad for Love – documentary - Parvez Sharma
http://youtube.com/watch?v=78jUBRio3So
This is the first feature-length film to explore the complex global intersections of Islam and homosexuality. Filmed in 12 countries and 9 languages, this daring documentary by Muslim gay filmmaker Paarvez Sharma brings to life the hidden and joften dangerous paths many gay and lesbian Muslims must follow in countried hwere laws based on Quranic interpretations are enforced by authorities to monitor, entrap, imprison, torture and even execute homosexuals.
Last Mistress – drama - Catherine Breillat
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=616
Catherine Breillat's adaptation of An Old Mistress stars Fu'ad Ait Aatou as Ryno de Marigny, and Asia Argento as Vellini, two lovers in 19th century Paris. The two have been passionately involved for nearly a decade, but de Marigny attempts to end their relationship now that he is engaged to Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida), a respectable young woman. As the bride-to-be's grandmother forces de Marigny to confront his past as a notorious womanizer, the film flashes back to reveal the intense decade the lovers shared. Although de Marigny appears to want to shut Vellini out forever, her passions may be far too much for him to deny.
Mad Detective – action - Johnny To, Wai Ka-fai
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=636
A missing police gun is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner, WONG (LeeKwok Lun), vanished earlier while pursuing a suspect in the mountains. His partner, CHI-WAI (Lam Ka Tung), miraculously returned unharmed and the hot shot Regional Crime Unit Inspector, HO (Andy On), is in charge of the investigation. HO knows the only chance he has in cracking the case is to ask for help from his mentor/former boss BUN (Lau Ching Wan), a gifted criminal profiler now living in seclusion with his wife MAY (Kelly Lin). BUN puts himself in the victim's place, literally, and his unorthodox approach has put doubt in HO's mind who feels betrayed when BUN's investigation goes beyond his imagination. What begins as a quest for answers has now taken a schizophrenic turn where truth and lies, reality and delusions intertwine...
Man on Wire – documentary - James Marsh
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YW1b3G2MN3Q
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan… James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.”
Mongol - drama/history - Sergei Bodrov
http://www.mongolmovie.com/trailer.html
Based on the controversial writings of Russian historian Lev Gumilyov, director Sergei Bodrov's look at the early years in the life of the Mongol conqueror stars Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano as Temudgin (as he was then known), Honglei Sun as Mongol chieftain Jamukha, who was both Temudgin's close friend and mortal enemy, and newcomer Khulan Chuluun as his wife, Borte. Born in the year 1162, Temudgen's childhood was marred by tragedy and peril. But a great battle would seal Temudgen's fate forever, and though history often paints him as a brute, the truth is much more complex. Few historians make mention of the role Temudgen's wife, Borte, played in advising her husband and elevating him to greatness. With Borte by his side, Temudgen would rise to become a fearless visionary whose legacy would still prove potent enough to stir controversy centuries after his death.
My Winnipeg – drama - Guy Maddin
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=617
Visionary Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin pays tribute to his beloved hometown with this goodbye letter and self-described "docu-fantasia" that is equal parts transcendental rumination, historical chronicle, and personal portrait. In the first segment, Maddin's camera drifts dreamlike through crowded trains as a floating kielbasa hangs from the ceiling and the director/narrator ponders just why the city boasts the most sleepwalkers per capita of any major international city. Later, the viewer is treated to images of numerous historical monuments in the city as they learn about such key historical events as the Winnipeg General Strike, the defeat of the Winnipeg Jets, and even the Golden Boy pageant scandal and a racetrack tragedy that found numerous horses sent to an icy death. As the third and final segment gets underway, the director draws inspiration from filmmaker William Castle to present pivotal -- and often traumatic -- events from his childhood that left an indelible mark while simultaneously serving to mold his unique vision of his beloved Winnipeg.
Noise - comedy/drama - Henry Bean
http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=983&item=0
Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, and William Hurt star in The Believer writer/director Harry Bean's topical urban comedy following one man's quest for a little peace and quiet in the big city. The noise was bothersome when David Owen (Robbins) first moved to New York City, but back in those early days it was almost endearing in an odd sort of way; a forgivable manifestation of urban vitality, or so he had led himself to believe. These days the incessant barking of car alarms, traffic, and frustrated commuters seems to be driving David insane, never allowing him the opportunity to concentrate or focus on the task at hand. While this distraction is at first only bothersome on a superficial level, however, the thing that really riles David is that he is completely powerless to remedy the problem. As the days go on and the noise on the street seems to amplify in David's ears, he makes the decision to take up arms against the unseen intruder. Initially, David is satisfied simply letting the air out of tires or leaving notes on windshields when the owners of cars fail to turn off the alarms. When this approach fails to yield acceptable results, David's subversive urban sabotage techniques quickly evolve into full-blown acts of vandalism. Eventually, David is caught in the act and arrested by the police. After spending a night in jail, David confesses to his wife that he is in fact the urban folk hero who has come to be known by the public as "The Rectifier" for his repeated attempts to hold those responsible for urban noise pollution accountable for their auditory transgressions. When his wife voices concern about such extreme and irrational behavior, David dutifully agrees to give up his career as a noise-fighting vigilante. But try as he might, David simply cannot repress his lingering urge to strike back against such a formidable enemy.
Praying with Lior – documentary - Ilana Trachtman
http://firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_lior.html
Ilana Trachtman's coming-of-age documentary is an engaging and deeply human portrait of young Lior Liebling, a child with Down syndrome who is as loving and playful as any boy you are likely to meet. His devotion to davening (prayer) and singing saturates his world with a love that is his manna--it multiplies and nourishes everyone. Lior cajoles his way into the hearts of his family, while we, too, are drawn closer to him as he navigates his daily life towards the bar mitzvah he has long anticipated and get to witness firsthand how the family and spiritual community he loves so much affirms the essence of the man Lior is becoming.
The Promotion – comedy – Steve Conrad
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nystUAi43yM
A war of wills takes place between two men who want to run the same grocery store in this offbeat comedy from writer and director Steven Conrad. Doug (Seann William Scott) is a seemingly ordinary guy who works as the assistant manager of a supermarket near Chicago. When the owners of the market announce they're opening a new branch near Doug's neighborhood, he applies to become manager of the new store, and both he and his wife (Jenna Fischer) assume he's a shoo-in to get the job. But Richard (John C. Reilly), a gregarious recent hire at the store who has relocated to Illinois from Canada, announces he's also applying for the management position, and a keen rivalry develops between Doug and Richard even as they strive to act like friends on the surface. As the competition grows between the two, their personality flaws become increasingly evident -- Doug's short temper, Richard's history of drug abuse -- and when Richard's wife (Lili Taylor) leaves him, the contest starts taking an uncomfortable turn. The Promotion also stars Fred Armisen, Gil Bellows, and Bobby Cannavale.
Redbelt - action/drama - David Mamet
http://www.sonyclassics.com/redbelt/
Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama concerning a jujitsu master who becomes corrupted by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. When a respected jujitsu master (Ejiofor) eschews a lucrative prizefighting career in favor of opening a self-defense dojo, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, when he is manipulated into participating in ultimate fighting championships by a group of unscrupulous actors and fight promoters. Later, as the master is being relentlessly beaten in a dirty street fight, he connects with a high-profile action star (Allen) with serious marital problems. Realizing that the only way to regain his honor is to step into the ring, the jujitsu master reluctantly prepares for the fight of his life
Reprise – drama - Joachim Trier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6xhnSp5Gdw
Two buddies are taken down different paths in life when one becomes a success and the other fails to grab the brass ring in this comedy-drama. Erik (Espen Klouman-Hoiner) and Phillip (Anders Danielsen Lie) are close friends who have known each other since they were children. Erik and Phillip grew up sharing a passion for literature, particularly the work of novelist Sten Egil Dahl (Sigmund Saeverud) and they each dreamed of becoming writers themselves someday. Both Erik and Phillip completed their first novels in their early 20's, but while Phillip's book was accepted by a major publisher and became a best seller, Erik's book instead earned a sheaf of rejection slips. The harsh glare of the celebrity lifestyle and his obsessive relationship with his girlfriend Kari (Viktoria Winge) cause Phillip to suffer a nervous breakdown, and after a stay in a treatment facility he tries to resume his relationship with Kari and his friendship with Erik. Erik, meanwhile, is still struggling to join the ranks of the published, and his romance with Lillian (Silje Hagen) begins to fray as the frustrated would-be author spends more time with Phillip and his pretentious compatriots. Reprise received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.
Roman De Gare – drama - Claude Lelouch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzq_53tvhEw
Claude Lelouch's Roman de Gare (aka Crossed Tracks) features a number of characters and a timeline that skips back and forth, keeping the audience guessing as to how these characters all relate to each other. Fanny Ardant plays a novelist named Judith whose famous works might have been ghost-written by a serial killer dubbed "The Magician" for his habit of performing acts of prestidigitation in front of his victims. Early in the film, the police quiz her about her relationship with the criminal. Other characters include a hairdresser (Audrey Dana) who offers to give a ride to a stranger who may be the killer.
Roman Polanski:Wanted and Desired – documentary - Marina Zenovich
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hMieQzq1snc
The events of 1977 and 1978 permanently marred director Roman Polanski's life. Accused of unlawful sexual assault on minor Samantha Geimer during his stay at actor Jack Nicholson's house in March of 1977, Polanski wound up in the midst of controversial judicial proceedings that many read as supremely unfair. After being temporarily sprung on 2,500 dollars bail, Polanski then fled the United States for Europe in 1978, with the threat of incarceration hanging over him should he ever return. With her documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, filmmaker Marina Zenovich revisits this difficult case via extensive interviews with Geimer, defense attorney Douglas Dalton, Assistant DA Roger Gunson, and others. In the process, she raises pivotal questions about the U.S. legal system and the fairness of the judge, Laurence J. Rittenband (who was reportedly extremely vocal about his desire to topple Polanski) and encounters many recollections of judicial malfeasance from those who were involved.
Savage Grace – drama - Tom Kalin
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=559
Adapted from the nonfiction book by Natalie Robins and Steven M.L. Aronson, Tom Kalin's Savage Grace recounts the true crime tale of the death of Barbara Baekeland. Stephen Dillane stars as Brooks Baekeland, the son of the man who invented Bakelite, one of the early forms of plastic. As the family fortune begins to decrease after years of wealth, Brooks marries Barbara (Julianne Moore), who desires to mingle in the highest social circles. They have a child, Antony, who is homosexual. Antony grows up to kill Barbara, in part because Barbara takes a personal interest in "curing" her son of his orientation. This was Kalin's first film since 1991's Swoon, a film about the infamous Leopold and Loeb murders.
Standard Operating Procedure – documentary - Errol Morris
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-v65R9WIUq4
Filmmaker Errol Morris (Gates of Heaven, The Thin Blue Line) takes an unflinching look at the Abu Ghraib prison scandal while meditating on the frightening side effects of the War on Terror in a thought-provoking documentary from Participant Productions (An Inconvenient Truth).
Stuck – horror - Stuart Gordon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeqPvj8ozqM
Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon takes the helm for this disturbing tale of a compassionate retirement-home caregiver whose life is turned upside down after a gruesome hit-and-run accident leaves a severely injured homeless man lodged helplessly in her shattered windshield. Despite her promise to take her ailing victim to the hospital, the realization that the accident could destroy both her career and her future finds her uncharacteristically deciding to let the man die a slow death in her garage before conspiring with her boyfriend to dispose of the body. A fictionalized account of actual events, Stuck was co-scripted by director Gordon and frequent Tales from the Darkside contributor John Strysik.
Then She Found Me – drama - Helen Hunt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dipjBhR7WEA
Adapted from Elinor Lipman's novel of the same name, Helen Hunt makes fer feature directing debut with THEN SHE FOUND ME, a touching story of schoolteacher April Epner (Hunt) and her very unlikely path towards personal fulfillment. Following the separation from her husband (Matthew Broderick) and the death of her adopted mother, April is contacted by her apparent birth mother (Bette Midler), who turns out to be a local talk show host Bernice Graves. As Bernice tries to become the mother to April that she was never able to be, April seems to find solace in the arms of the parent of one of her students (Colin Firth), only to find that the mystery to life's questions cannot be solved by a simple revelation.
To The Limit – documentary - Pepe Danquart
http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_tothelimit.html
Speed Rock Climbing is the latest wrinkle in the growing pantheon of extreme sports; high-speed climbers take the basic rudiments of mountain climbing and shift them into overdrive, climbing sheer cliffs in a matter of hours rather than days. Filmmaker Pepe Danquart offers a look at this exciting new sport and two of its best-known proponents in the documentary To The Limit. Alexander Huber and his brother Thomas Huber are profiled as they demonstrate their skills in the mountains of Patagonia and set out to climb El Capitan, a mountain in Yosemite National Park over three thousand feet high, in a furious 150 minutes, a notion Alexander jokingly describes as "an assault against common sense." While featuring dazzling footage of the Huber brothers in action, To The Limit also offers an insight on the rivalry between the siblings and their passionate need to confront fellow climbers as well as nature itself.
Trumbo – documentary - Peter Askin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KP8lqj-lZ4s
A documentary adaptation of the popular regional theatrical monologue -- in which such heavyweights as Paul Newman, Nathan Lane, and Joe Mantegna essayed the lead on various occasions -- Trumbo recounts the life and times of legendary Hollywood scribe-turned-HUAC scapegoat Dalton Trumbo. As with its source production, the film takes as its base material highly personal, detailed, and emotive letters written by Dalton Trumbo to his son, Christopher; the latter, in turn, molded the missives into a screenplay for this production. Here, however, in lieu of one actor portraying Dalton, a number of celebrities take turns narrating from the script, including Lane, Paul Giamatti, Brian Dennehy, Donald Sutherland, and others. As a visual accompaniment, the film intercuts home-movie footage from the Trumbos' lives; incisive interview material with Trumbo, his family, friends, and collaborators; and haunting glimpses of the HUAC trial hearings with the Hollywood Ten, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy; as well as extracts from The Sandpiper, Johnny Got His Gun, Spartacus, and other productions authored by Trumbo. Peter Askin, who helmed the stage play, directs.
Up the Yangtze – documentary - Yung Chang
http://www.uptheyangtze.com/trailer.php
Director Yung Chang uses the construction of China's massive Three Gorges Dam as a springboard to better understanding the social hierarchies and changing times in his homeland in this documentary focusing on the luxury cruise ship that carries predominately Western tourists down the Yangtze River. Constructed as a symbol of modern progress in China, the Three Gorges Dam has forced millions of common people out of their ancestral homes, and will soon swallow up numerous nearby towns and villages. Despite the fact that the government has funded alterative housing for the dislocated families, however, many citizens make their way to higher ground feeling as if they have been duped by the powers that be. In order to truly understand how this affects the people, Chang focuses on telling the stories of middle-class scion Chen Bo Yu (renamed "Jerry" by the cruise line) and Yu Shui (who answers to the call of "Cindy" while on duty). As the ship sets sail, this hard-working pair do their best to familiarize themselves with Western social cues, striving to perform to the best of their abilities, and ponder the prospects of a brighter future.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona – drama - Woody Allen
http://youtube.com/watch?v=S2cOYupX6A4&feature=related
Just as New York City was the backdrop in Woody Allen's "Manhattan," the stunning city of Barcelona is the setting for the romantic adventures of Vicky and Cristina. These two young Americans spend a summer in Spain and meet a flamboyant artist (Javier Bardem) and his beautiful but insane ex-wife (Penelope Cruz). Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is straight-laced and about to be married. Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is a sexually adventurous free spirit. When they all become amorously entangled, the results can only be described as chaotic.
The Wackness – comedy - Jonathan Levine
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thewackness/trailer.html
A psychiatrist (Ben Kingsley) is put into a moral quandary when a young drug dealer who's been supplying him with pot in exchange for clinical treatment ends up dating his daughter in this comedy from All the Boys Love Mandy Lane's writer/director Jonathan Levine. Josh Peck, Famke Janssen, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Method Man co-star in the Occupant Films production.
War Inc. – comedy - Joshua Seftel
http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/warinc/
An assassin posing as a trade-show producer fixes his crosshairs on a Middle Eastern oil minister while maintaining his cover by organizing a high-profile wedding in this satirical action comedy starring John Cusack, Hilary Duff, and Marisa Tomei. A private American corporation run by a former U.S. vice president (Dan Aykroyd) is occupying the war-torn nation of Turaqistan, but a powerful Middle Eastern oil minister is preventing them from taking total advantage of the situation. In order to gain a monopoly on the lucrative opportunities that Turaqistan has to offer, the CEO of the corporation hires an evenhanded hitman named Hauser (Cusack) to take the oil minister out of the picture. Now, in order to carry out the contract without a hitch, Hauser will pose as the corporation's trade-show producer. The stakes are high and the potential for disaster is evident, though if Hauser can successfully organize the wedding of Central Asian pop-star Yonica Babyyeah (Duff), he's got a good chance of pulling it off. But sexy and resourceful left-wing reporter Natalie Hegalhuzen (Tomei) is determined to uncover the truth about what's happening in Turaqistan, and the moment she does, this carefully constructed scheme will crumble like a house of cards. Joshua Seftel directs a screenplay co-written by Mark Leyner, Jeremy Pikser, and producer/star John Cusack.
When Did You Last See Your Father? - biography/drama - Anand Tucker
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whendidyoulastseeyourfather/trailer.html
Adapted from poet Blake Morrison's bestselling memoir by screenwriter David Nicholls and directed for the screen by Anand Tucker, And When Did You Last See Your Father explores - like its source material - the complex, manifold emotional layers of a father-and-son relationship as it shifts and evolves over the passing decades. At the film's center is Blake Morrison himself, who for as long as he can remember has lived in the overarching shadow of his physician father Arthur (Jim Broadbent) - falling prey to feelings of embarrassment from the old man, as well as occasional awe. In the 1950s, when Blake (Bradley Johnson) was a child, the boy watched as Arthur partook in socially uncouth behavior such as wheedling his way into clubs to which he didn't belong, and carrying on an extramarital affair with the full knowledge of his wife, Kim (Juliet Stevenson). As the years passed, teenage Blake's (Matthew Beard) discomfort around his father hardened into resentment - particularly when the adolescent boy expressed interest in a girl, Rachel (Carey Mulligan) who clearly preferred his father; compounding the situation, Blake then had to suffer through Arthur's decision to publicly humiliate his son in front of everyone. The central dynamic has changed for the two, however, by the late 1980s, when Blake - now married to Kathy (Gina McKee) and freshly established as a successful novelist and poet - learns that Arthur has contracted terminal cancer. Now, the junior Morrison takes a headfirst plunge into the memories and recollections of his youth - and grapples with the dynamic of his relationship with Arthur for the first time in his life as he comes face-to-face with the need to provide loving care for the old man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lb9yAwrxmE&feature=related
Though Russian director Alexander Sokurov's feature Alexandra unfolds against the backdrop of military life, it constitutes a stark and deliberate chamber drama in lieu of a war picture. Alexandra Nikolaevna (Galina Vishnevskaya) is an elderly woman with a grandson, Denis (Vasily Shevtsov), conscripted into the army of the Chechen Republic. When she makes the arduous journey to visit him, the startling nature of military life as it unfolds before her eyes -- the absence of women, the blind acceptance of amenities that so many take for granted, the emotional inexpressiveness -- completely bewilders her and introduces her to a world infinitely more alien than any she has ever experienced.
American Teen – documentary - Nanette Burstein
http://www.americanteenthemovie.com/
In this biting cinéma vérité, director Nanette Burstein follows a group of four Indiana high-school seniors as they navigate the social mazes of adolescence, prepare for graduation, and generally deal with the often surprising and strange situations that arise simply from being 17. Incorporating intimate footage, interviews, and animation, Burstein reveals all the gritty details about life as a teenager in Midwestern America, from drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure to cliques, first love, and heartbreak.
Baghead – comedy - Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
http://www.sonyclassics.com/baghead/
Two screenwriting couples head to a remote cabin in the woods, hoping that the change of scenery will get the creative juices flowing. Amid the solitude, the dynamics of their relationships are revealed as they strive to write their masterworks. Complicating matters though, is the lurking presence of a strange man who wears a bag over his head. Brothers Jay and Mark Duplass wrote and directed this offbeat follow-up to 2005's The Puffy Chair.
Berlin – documentary - Julian Schnabel
http://www.berlinthefilm.com/
Lou Reed recorded the album Berlin in 1973. It was a commercial failure. Over the next 33 years, he never performed the album live. For five nights in December 2006 at St. Ann's Warehouse Brooklyn, Lou Reed performed his masterwork about love's dark sisters; jealousy, rage and loss. Staging Berlin has been discussed for over 30 years and in December of 2006 it became a reality. Berlin was said to be one of the most depressing albums ever made and as it was brought to life it was far from dismal. Using the divided city of Berlin as its backdrop the story of Caroline and her lovers is told through the emotive and provocative words of Lou Reed. With performers like Fernando Saunders, Antony, Steve Hunter, Rob Wassermann, Rupert Christie and Sharon Jones, a seven piece orchestra and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus all working to create a captivating and enveloping world, Lou Reed is able to take the audience with him as he bares witness to Caroline’s self-destruction. Julian’s set design create the backdrop of a hotel with greenish walls and with Lola Schnabel’s films displaying the beauty and tragedy of the narrator’s leading lady (played by Emmanuelle Seigner) the experience is devastating and beautiful.
Bigger Stronger Faster* - documentary - Chris Bell
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3KzGfuFFSxA
In the hopes of exploring American culture's increased obsession with winning, documentary filmmaker Christopher Bell examines the anabolic steroid use of his two brothers. After setting the stage with a look at the cultural backdrop of the 1980s -- in which hulky stars like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were the ideal -- Bell illustrates how he and his brothers became involved in the bodybuilding subculture, eventually discovering the brutal truth that success in the lifestyle of pumping iron demanded the use of steroids.
Boy A – drama - John Crowley
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Ii_v14DNCU
A man looking to shed his former identity in order to move beyond his traumatic past discovers that the past and the future are inexorably linked in director John Crowley's feature adaptation of a novel by author Jonathan Trigell. Terry (Peter Mullan) is a caseworker whose job it is to help people create new lives. His latest charge is a young man with a troubled past who eventually decides on the new name Jack (Andrew Garfield). Jack has decided to start a new life in Manchester, where no one is aware of his sordid history. As Jack begins his new job in a new town, he quickly catches the attention of beautiful co-worker Michelle (Katie Lyons). While Michelle's advances are unmistakable, Jack remains somewhat awkward in his new skin and the initially encounters between the pair are somewhat awkward. Later, as the two new lovers begin experiencing the thrill of connecting with a kindred soul, Jack performs a heroic feat that finds him celebrated as a local hero and it begins to look like he has successfully made the transition into his new life.
Brideshead Revisited – drama - Jullian Jarold
http://bridesheadrevisited-themovie.com/
Matthew Goode, alongside Michael Gambon and Oscar winner Emma Thompson, stars as Capt. Charles Ryder, an officer stationed at England's Brideshead Castle during World War II, in this big-screen adaptation of the classic novel by Evelyn Waugh. The suspenseful drama builds as Captain Ryder becomes infatuated with the castle's owners, the aristocratic Marchmain family -- particularly their grown son, Sebastian Flyte, and his elegant sister, Julia.
Children of Huang Shi - drama/history - Roger Spottiswoode
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thechildrenofhuangshi/trailer.html
As China is ravaged by war in the late '30s, a young Englishman named George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) leads 60 orphans over the Liu Pan Shan mountains and into the safety of the Mongolian desert in this drama scripted by Jane Hawksley and directed by Roger Spotiswoode. Based on actual events, this Chinese/Australian/German co-production also stars Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Radha Mitchell.
Constantine's Sword – documentary - Oren Jacoby
http://constantinessword.com/?page_id=7
Constantine's Sword, the latest film by Oscar-nominated documentarian Oren Jacoby, is an astonishing exploration of the dark side of Christianity, following acclaimed author and former priest James Carroll on a journey of remembrance and reckoning. Carroll, a National Book Award winner and columnist for the Boston Globe, is a practicing Catholic whose search for the truth leads him to confront persecution and violence in the name of God - today and in the Church's past. He discovers a terrible legacy that reverberates across the centuries- from the Emperor Constantine's vision of the cross as a sword and symbol of power, to the rise of genocidal antisemitism, to modern-day wars and conflicts sparked by religious extremism. At its heart, Constantine's Sword is a detective story, as Carroll journeys both into his own past - where he comes to terms with his father's role as a three-star General in the U.S. Air Force preparing for nuclear war - and into the wider world, where he uncovers evidence of church-sanctioned violence against Jews, Muslims, and others. Visiting the Air Force Academy, he and Jacoby expose how some evangelical Christians are proselytizing inside our country's armed forces and reveal the dangerous consequences of religious influence on American foreign policy. Warning of what happens when military power and religious fervor are joined, Constantine's Sword asks the timely question: Is the fanaticism that threatens the world today fueled by our own deeply held beliefs?
CSNY/Déjà vu - documentary/music - Bernard Shakey (Neil Young)
http://csny-dejavu.com/
Directed by Bernard Shakey, a long time alias for Neil Young, CSNY Déjà vu documents how the beloved quartet maintains a deeply avid fanbase thanks to their political topicality and their emotional honesty. The film utilizes clips from throughout their decades-long career together.
Diminished Capacity – comedy - Terry Kinney
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=776
Director Terry Kinney's delightfully poignant and bittersweet comedy poses the question: How much is a good memory worth? That's the question that faces newspaper editor Cooper (Matthew Broderick) after a debilitating concussion takes him from the political pages to comic strip detail. Looking for answers, he travels home to Missouri where his now senile Uncle Rollie (Alan Alda) is on the verge of losing his home. When a valuable baseball card is thrown into the mix, these two men along with a motley group of hometown friends, including Cooper's high school sweetheart, Charlotte (Virginia Madsen) , head to a memorabilia expo to make the deal of a century, diving headfirst into a snakepit of slick salesmen, crooked dealers, and rabid fans revealing that there are some things in life that you can't put a price on. Diminished Capacity also stars Dylan Baker, Louis C.K. and Bobby Cannavale in hilarious supporting roles
Edge of Heaven – drama - Faith Akin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8rhDyhIloM
Nejat initially disapproves of his widower father Ali`s choice of prostitute Yeter for a live-in girlfriend. But the young professor warms to her when he learns that most of her hard-earned money is sent home to Turkey for her daughter’s university studies. After Yeter`s accidental death, Nejat travels to Istanbul to search for Yeter`s daughter Ayten. Political activist Ayten has fled the Turkish police and is already in Germany. She is befriended by a young woman, Lotte, who invites rebellious Ayten to stay in her home, much to the displeasure of her conservative mother, Susanne. When Ayten is arrested and her asylum plea denied, she is deported and imprisoned in Turkey. Passionate Lotte abandons everything to help Ayten. A tragic event brings Susanne to Istanbul to help fulfill her daughter`s mission.
Elegy – drama - Isabel Coixet
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M0CFAC2k0LA
Driven by Isabel Coixet's visually assured and deeply observant direction "Elegy" charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated college professor and a young woman whose beauty both ravishes and destabilizes him. As their intimate connection transforms them - more than either could imagine - a charged sexual contest evolves into an indelible love story. With humanistic warmth, wry wit and erotic intensity, Elegy explores the power of beauty to blind, to reveal and to transform. Starring Oscar-nominee Penelope Cruz and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, with extraordinary supporting performances form Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard, Elegy is based on Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Roth's short novel The Dying Animal
Encounters at the End of the World – documentary - Werner Herzog
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MImYM87jOtU
Werner Herzog, director of such acclaimed documentaries as Grizzly Man and Little Dieter Needs to Fly, offers his unique perspective on the South Pole in this film profiling the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station. Located on Ross Island, McMurto Station is the headquarters of the National Science Foundation. Whether offering a detailed study of the unique survival training regiment that newcomers to McMurdo are obligated to endure or pondering the majestic beauty of a landscape where the discovery of three new species in a single day is nothing to get excited about, Herzog boldly offers viewers the opportunity to visit a one of the most inaccessible and awe-inspiring landscapes on the planet.
Finding Amanda – comedy - Peter Tolan
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mNMTP0SS_zA
From director Peter Tolan, creator of the hit television series Rescue Me, comes Finding Amanda, a hilarious and heartbreaking autobiographical comedy about the compulsions we can’t shake, and the unlikely lengths we’ll go to while trying. Taylor Mendon (Matthew Broderick) is a television writer and producer working on a low-rated, little-respected half-hour sitcom. Once destined for bigger and better things, Taylor's compulsive gambling, recreational drug use and drinking all conspired to throw his career off the rails. After kicking the alcohol and drugs, he only has one more hurdle...the horses. His beautiful twenty - year old niece Amanda (Brittany Snow) has her own habit to kick. Living in Las Vegas, working as a "dancer," her family has just discovered she is actually a prostitute, and they suspect hooking for drug money. On their way home from an emergency family meeting, Taylor's wife Lorraine (Maura Tierney) finds recent racing stubs in Taylor's glove compartment. After years of standing by him, she leaves. Taylor comes up with a plan: he'll win back his wife by doing the right thing. He'll go to Las Vegas, find Amanda, and deliver her to a rehabilitation center in Malibu. While he’s at it, he might even catch up with some old friends (like slimy casino host Steve Coogan). But besides that, it’s strictly the business at hand—while he's there, he vows, he won't gamble a single cent, but things don’t turn out quite as he’d planned.
Foot Fist Way – comedy - Jody Hill
http://www.thefootfistway.com/
A new hero of martial arts rises from a North Carolina strip mall in this independent comedy. Fred Simmons is one of the world's most gifted practitioners of the Korean fighting style known as Tae Kwan Do -- or at least that's what he likes to tell people. Despite his supposed skills, Fred teaches students out of a shabby dojo, where for the most part, he browbeats kids into learning the aggressive points of the martial arts without having much understanding of the philosophy or reasoning behind it. Not that most folks care -- in the small town where he teaches, Fred is considered to be the real deal, and his talent as a fighter earns him plenty of respect. But Fred's reputation (and ego) takes a serious blow when he learns his wife, Suzie (Mary Jane Bostwick), has been fooling around with another man, and Fred challenges him to a fight that doesn't go well. Falling into an emotional tailspin, Fred goes on a pilgrimage to meet his hero and role model, martial arts celebrity Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Ben Best). The Foot Fist Way was the first feature film from writer and director Jody Hill.
Fugitive Pieces – drama - Jeremy Podeswa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRbiet9jR4
Author Anne Michaels's poetic novel comes to the screen courtesy of director Jeremy Podeswa in this period drama concerning a Holocaust survivor who remains eternally haunted by the uncertain fate of his beloved sister. Athos (Rade Sherbedgia) is an archeologist conducting a dig in Nazi-occupied Poland. When Athos discovers a seven-year-old boy named Jakob (Robbie Kay) hiding near the work site, he smuggles the frightened boy back to Greece and promises to shelter him when the Nazis come knocking there as well. Having previously witnessed the brutal massacre of his family at the hands of Hitler's henchmen, Jakob longs to find out what fate befell his sister, Bella (Nina Dobrev) -- who wasn't executed with the majority of his other relatives but subsequently disappeared without a trace. After the war, Athos and Jakob emigrate to Toronto in hopes of starting a new life. But even after all these years, Jakob (Stephen Dillane) can't seem to shake the grief of losing his family and not knowing what ever became of Bella. Later, when Jakob marries the radiant Alex (Rosamund Pike), the bright-eyed beauty does her best to illuminate the dark corners within her husband's soul. To maintain one's connection to ghosts requires a certain shunning of the living, however, and only when Jakob discovers the strength to let go of his painful past will he finally be able to move forward into the future.
Full Grown Men - comedy/drama - David Munro
http://www.fullgrownmenthemovie.com/klickable/klickable.html
The youthful delusions of a wistful husband and father prompt him to seek out a childhood friend and embark on a soul-searching journey of self discovery to the one place where no adult demands will be made of him in director David Munro's surreal second coming-of-age comedy. Alby (Matt McGrath) is having an early mid-life crisis. Convinced that the only way to overcome his current malaise is to seek out his childhood pal Elias (Judah Friedlander) and set out on the open road, Alby leaves behind his wife and son in hopes of recapturing the glory of his youth. Unfortunately for Alby, Elias is all grown up now, and isn't exactly overjoyed to see the "best friend" whose rosy vision of childhood largely came from the fact that he made Elias the unwitting butt of his every joke. When Alby learns that Elias is taking a group of disabled drama students on a trip to the local amusement park, Elias has no choice but to let his pushy pal come along for the ride. What follows is a pensively hilarious look life as seen through the eyes of a man who can't seem to move past his youth, and the effect that a student clown bartender (Amy Sedaris), a disgruntled former amusement park employee (Alan Cumming), a retired water park mermaid (Debbie Harry), and a whole host of colorful characters have in helping Alby to bridge the gap between the glory days of his past, and an uncertain future.
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson – documentary - Alex Gibney
http://www.huntersthompsonmovie.com/
From Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney and producer Graydon Carter comes a probing look into the uncanny life of national treasure and gonzo journalism inventor Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A fast moving, wildly entertaining documentary with an iconic soundtrack, the film addresses the major touchstones in Thompson’s life—his intense and ill fated relationship with the Hell’s Angels, his near-successful bid for the office of sheriff in Aspen in 1970, the notorious story behind the landmark Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his deep involvement in Senator George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, and much more. Narrated by Johnny Depp.
Gunnin' For That #1 Spot - documentary - Adam Yauch
http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_TITLE/GALLERY/video/imdb/vi384303385/
On the corner of 155th Street and Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem, New York, lies Rucker Park. By appearances, the green concrete pavement, anchored on either end by its run down slab bleachers, is no different than any other basketball court in the city. But this is the place where nicknames are earned and basketball legends are made.
On September 1, 2006, the top 24 high school basketball players in the nation stepped out on this same court that once saw the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dr. J, to compete in the first annual "Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic." GUNNIN FOR THAT #1 SPOT documents these athletes' skills on the most legendary court in the world, showing never- before-seen footage of that "Elite 24" game.
Directed by Adam Yauch (founding member of the Hip Hop trio the Beastie Boys and director of "Awesome: I Shot That"), the film follows eight of the country's premiere high school basketball players on the fast track to the NBA, as they are adored by fans, wooed by colleges and sneaker companies, and groomed to be in the spotlight of the multi-million dollar game. Blending this next generation of b-ball players with a mix of raw hip-hop, jazz and break beats, and Yauchs unique kinetic filmmaking, GUNNIN is an explosively entertaining look at soon-to-be NBA All Stars.
Hamlet 2 – comedy - Andrew Fleming
http://filminfocus.com/focus-movies/hamlet-2/movie-splash.php
With his department in danger of being cut, high school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) encourages his students to write and produce a sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet in this satirical comedy that riffs on the "inspirational teacher" genre of films. Meanwhile, Marschz must deal with his unhappy wife (Catherine Keener). Elisabeth Shue portrays a version of herself who has given up acting to become a nurse, and Amy Poehler co-stars.
Hell Ride – action - Larry Bishop
http://youtube.com/watch?v=a-W2vCQvX9w
Veteran AIP genre star Larry Bishop (son of famed Rat Packer Joey Bishop) directs and stars in this gritty revenge tale concerning a biker gang that rallies to avenge the violent murder of a fellow gang member. An homage to such classic biker films as Chrome and Hot Leather and Angel Unchained, Hell Ride was conceived when director Bishop was invited to Quentin Tarantino's home to view a print of The Savage Seven. Upon realizing that there hadn't been a true biker film in years, the pair quickly contacted Bob Weinstein and conspired to produce a lean and mean two-wheeled revenge flick that would more than make up for lost time.
In Search of a Midnight Kiss – comedy - Alex Holdridge
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=518
Alex Holdridge's comedy In Search of a Midnight Kiss follows the plight of Wilson (Scoot McNairy), a 29-year-old man who has just suffered through the most miserable year of his life. A new arrival to the City of Angels, Wilson ends up alone and penniless as New Year's Eve rapidly approaches, and vows to lock his doors, pull his blinds, and climb into bed -- until best friend Jacob (Brian Matthew McGuire) talks him into posting a Craig's List personal ad. In seemingly no time at all, the message leads Wilson to Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a freewheeling young woman utterly determined to be with the "right" man at the stroke of midnight. She soon leads Wilson on an eventful and colorful trip through the nighttime streets of L.A. that he will never forget -- and that leads to a heartfelt emotional connection between the two. Anne Walker-McBay (Before Sunrise and Dazed and Confused) executive produced; Holdridge authored the original script.
Jellyfish - comedy/drama - Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/displaytrailer.php?directoryname=jellyfish&size=high&extension=mov
Israeli co-directors Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen's ensemble comedy drama Meduzot (aka Jellyfish, 2007) weaves together multiple seriocomic tales of intersecting lives, set against the deep azure backdrop of Middle Eastern seascapes. Affording equal emphasis to each tale, Keret and Geffen first hone in on Batya (Sarah Adler), a young woman employed as a caterer, whose firm places strongest emphasis on weddings. As the film opens, Batya breaks up with her boyfriend, and struggles with her supremely dysfunctional, argumentative parents, who correspond with her only by leaving periodic messages on her answering machine. Her life takes a most unpredictable turn when she happens upon a tearstained little girl (Nikol Leidman) who wanders out of the ocean, wearing only a pair of panties and toting an inner tube -- origin unknown. The foundling gravitates magnetically to Batya and refuses to separate from her.
A Jihad for Love – documentary - Parvez Sharma
http://youtube.com/watch?v=78jUBRio3So
This is the first feature-length film to explore the complex global intersections of Islam and homosexuality. Filmed in 12 countries and 9 languages, this daring documentary by Muslim gay filmmaker Paarvez Sharma brings to life the hidden and joften dangerous paths many gay and lesbian Muslims must follow in countried hwere laws based on Quranic interpretations are enforced by authorities to monitor, entrap, imprison, torture and even execute homosexuals.
Last Mistress – drama - Catherine Breillat
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=616
Catherine Breillat's adaptation of An Old Mistress stars Fu'ad Ait Aatou as Ryno de Marigny, and Asia Argento as Vellini, two lovers in 19th century Paris. The two have been passionately involved for nearly a decade, but de Marigny attempts to end their relationship now that he is engaged to Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida), a respectable young woman. As the bride-to-be's grandmother forces de Marigny to confront his past as a notorious womanizer, the film flashes back to reveal the intense decade the lovers shared. Although de Marigny appears to want to shut Vellini out forever, her passions may be far too much for him to deny.
Mad Detective – action - Johnny To, Wai Ka-fai
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=636
A missing police gun is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner, WONG (LeeKwok Lun), vanished earlier while pursuing a suspect in the mountains. His partner, CHI-WAI (Lam Ka Tung), miraculously returned unharmed and the hot shot Regional Crime Unit Inspector, HO (Andy On), is in charge of the investigation. HO knows the only chance he has in cracking the case is to ask for help from his mentor/former boss BUN (Lau Ching Wan), a gifted criminal profiler now living in seclusion with his wife MAY (Kelly Lin). BUN puts himself in the victim's place, literally, and his unorthodox approach has put doubt in HO's mind who feels betrayed when BUN's investigation goes beyond his imagination. What begins as a quest for answers has now taken a schizophrenic turn where truth and lies, reality and delusions intertwine...
Man on Wire – documentary - James Marsh
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YW1b3G2MN3Q
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan… James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.”
Mongol - drama/history - Sergei Bodrov
http://www.mongolmovie.com/trailer.html
Based on the controversial writings of Russian historian Lev Gumilyov, director Sergei Bodrov's look at the early years in the life of the Mongol conqueror stars Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano as Temudgin (as he was then known), Honglei Sun as Mongol chieftain Jamukha, who was both Temudgin's close friend and mortal enemy, and newcomer Khulan Chuluun as his wife, Borte. Born in the year 1162, Temudgen's childhood was marred by tragedy and peril. But a great battle would seal Temudgen's fate forever, and though history often paints him as a brute, the truth is much more complex. Few historians make mention of the role Temudgen's wife, Borte, played in advising her husband and elevating him to greatness. With Borte by his side, Temudgen would rise to become a fearless visionary whose legacy would still prove potent enough to stir controversy centuries after his death.
My Winnipeg – drama - Guy Maddin
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=617
Visionary Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin pays tribute to his beloved hometown with this goodbye letter and self-described "docu-fantasia" that is equal parts transcendental rumination, historical chronicle, and personal portrait. In the first segment, Maddin's camera drifts dreamlike through crowded trains as a floating kielbasa hangs from the ceiling and the director/narrator ponders just why the city boasts the most sleepwalkers per capita of any major international city. Later, the viewer is treated to images of numerous historical monuments in the city as they learn about such key historical events as the Winnipeg General Strike, the defeat of the Winnipeg Jets, and even the Golden Boy pageant scandal and a racetrack tragedy that found numerous horses sent to an icy death. As the third and final segment gets underway, the director draws inspiration from filmmaker William Castle to present pivotal -- and often traumatic -- events from his childhood that left an indelible mark while simultaneously serving to mold his unique vision of his beloved Winnipeg.
Noise - comedy/drama - Henry Bean
http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=983&item=0
Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, and William Hurt star in The Believer writer/director Harry Bean's topical urban comedy following one man's quest for a little peace and quiet in the big city. The noise was bothersome when David Owen (Robbins) first moved to New York City, but back in those early days it was almost endearing in an odd sort of way; a forgivable manifestation of urban vitality, or so he had led himself to believe. These days the incessant barking of car alarms, traffic, and frustrated commuters seems to be driving David insane, never allowing him the opportunity to concentrate or focus on the task at hand. While this distraction is at first only bothersome on a superficial level, however, the thing that really riles David is that he is completely powerless to remedy the problem. As the days go on and the noise on the street seems to amplify in David's ears, he makes the decision to take up arms against the unseen intruder. Initially, David is satisfied simply letting the air out of tires or leaving notes on windshields when the owners of cars fail to turn off the alarms. When this approach fails to yield acceptable results, David's subversive urban sabotage techniques quickly evolve into full-blown acts of vandalism. Eventually, David is caught in the act and arrested by the police. After spending a night in jail, David confesses to his wife that he is in fact the urban folk hero who has come to be known by the public as "The Rectifier" for his repeated attempts to hold those responsible for urban noise pollution accountable for their auditory transgressions. When his wife voices concern about such extreme and irrational behavior, David dutifully agrees to give up his career as a noise-fighting vigilante. But try as he might, David simply cannot repress his lingering urge to strike back against such a formidable enemy.
Praying with Lior – documentary - Ilana Trachtman
http://firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_lior.html
Ilana Trachtman's coming-of-age documentary is an engaging and deeply human portrait of young Lior Liebling, a child with Down syndrome who is as loving and playful as any boy you are likely to meet. His devotion to davening (prayer) and singing saturates his world with a love that is his manna--it multiplies and nourishes everyone. Lior cajoles his way into the hearts of his family, while we, too, are drawn closer to him as he navigates his daily life towards the bar mitzvah he has long anticipated and get to witness firsthand how the family and spiritual community he loves so much affirms the essence of the man Lior is becoming.
The Promotion – comedy – Steve Conrad
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nystUAi43yM
A war of wills takes place between two men who want to run the same grocery store in this offbeat comedy from writer and director Steven Conrad. Doug (Seann William Scott) is a seemingly ordinary guy who works as the assistant manager of a supermarket near Chicago. When the owners of the market announce they're opening a new branch near Doug's neighborhood, he applies to become manager of the new store, and both he and his wife (Jenna Fischer) assume he's a shoo-in to get the job. But Richard (John C. Reilly), a gregarious recent hire at the store who has relocated to Illinois from Canada, announces he's also applying for the management position, and a keen rivalry develops between Doug and Richard even as they strive to act like friends on the surface. As the competition grows between the two, their personality flaws become increasingly evident -- Doug's short temper, Richard's history of drug abuse -- and when Richard's wife (Lili Taylor) leaves him, the contest starts taking an uncomfortable turn. The Promotion also stars Fred Armisen, Gil Bellows, and Bobby Cannavale.
Redbelt - action/drama - David Mamet
http://www.sonyclassics.com/redbelt/
Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama concerning a jujitsu master who becomes corrupted by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. When a respected jujitsu master (Ejiofor) eschews a lucrative prizefighting career in favor of opening a self-defense dojo, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, when he is manipulated into participating in ultimate fighting championships by a group of unscrupulous actors and fight promoters. Later, as the master is being relentlessly beaten in a dirty street fight, he connects with a high-profile action star (Allen) with serious marital problems. Realizing that the only way to regain his honor is to step into the ring, the jujitsu master reluctantly prepares for the fight of his life
Reprise – drama - Joachim Trier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6xhnSp5Gdw
Two buddies are taken down different paths in life when one becomes a success and the other fails to grab the brass ring in this comedy-drama. Erik (Espen Klouman-Hoiner) and Phillip (Anders Danielsen Lie) are close friends who have known each other since they were children. Erik and Phillip grew up sharing a passion for literature, particularly the work of novelist Sten Egil Dahl (Sigmund Saeverud) and they each dreamed of becoming writers themselves someday. Both Erik and Phillip completed their first novels in their early 20's, but while Phillip's book was accepted by a major publisher and became a best seller, Erik's book instead earned a sheaf of rejection slips. The harsh glare of the celebrity lifestyle and his obsessive relationship with his girlfriend Kari (Viktoria Winge) cause Phillip to suffer a nervous breakdown, and after a stay in a treatment facility he tries to resume his relationship with Kari and his friendship with Erik. Erik, meanwhile, is still struggling to join the ranks of the published, and his romance with Lillian (Silje Hagen) begins to fray as the frustrated would-be author spends more time with Phillip and his pretentious compatriots. Reprise received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.
Roman De Gare – drama - Claude Lelouch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzq_53tvhEw
Claude Lelouch's Roman de Gare (aka Crossed Tracks) features a number of characters and a timeline that skips back and forth, keeping the audience guessing as to how these characters all relate to each other. Fanny Ardant plays a novelist named Judith whose famous works might have been ghost-written by a serial killer dubbed "The Magician" for his habit of performing acts of prestidigitation in front of his victims. Early in the film, the police quiz her about her relationship with the criminal. Other characters include a hairdresser (Audrey Dana) who offers to give a ride to a stranger who may be the killer.
Roman Polanski:Wanted and Desired – documentary - Marina Zenovich
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hMieQzq1snc
The events of 1977 and 1978 permanently marred director Roman Polanski's life. Accused of unlawful sexual assault on minor Samantha Geimer during his stay at actor Jack Nicholson's house in March of 1977, Polanski wound up in the midst of controversial judicial proceedings that many read as supremely unfair. After being temporarily sprung on 2,500 dollars bail, Polanski then fled the United States for Europe in 1978, with the threat of incarceration hanging over him should he ever return. With her documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, filmmaker Marina Zenovich revisits this difficult case via extensive interviews with Geimer, defense attorney Douglas Dalton, Assistant DA Roger Gunson, and others. In the process, she raises pivotal questions about the U.S. legal system and the fairness of the judge, Laurence J. Rittenband (who was reportedly extremely vocal about his desire to topple Polanski) and encounters many recollections of judicial malfeasance from those who were involved.
Savage Grace – drama - Tom Kalin
http://ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=559
Adapted from the nonfiction book by Natalie Robins and Steven M.L. Aronson, Tom Kalin's Savage Grace recounts the true crime tale of the death of Barbara Baekeland. Stephen Dillane stars as Brooks Baekeland, the son of the man who invented Bakelite, one of the early forms of plastic. As the family fortune begins to decrease after years of wealth, Brooks marries Barbara (Julianne Moore), who desires to mingle in the highest social circles. They have a child, Antony, who is homosexual. Antony grows up to kill Barbara, in part because Barbara takes a personal interest in "curing" her son of his orientation. This was Kalin's first film since 1991's Swoon, a film about the infamous Leopold and Loeb murders.
Standard Operating Procedure – documentary - Errol Morris
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-v65R9WIUq4
Filmmaker Errol Morris (Gates of Heaven, The Thin Blue Line) takes an unflinching look at the Abu Ghraib prison scandal while meditating on the frightening side effects of the War on Terror in a thought-provoking documentary from Participant Productions (An Inconvenient Truth).
Stuck – horror - Stuart Gordon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeqPvj8ozqM
Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon takes the helm for this disturbing tale of a compassionate retirement-home caregiver whose life is turned upside down after a gruesome hit-and-run accident leaves a severely injured homeless man lodged helplessly in her shattered windshield. Despite her promise to take her ailing victim to the hospital, the realization that the accident could destroy both her career and her future finds her uncharacteristically deciding to let the man die a slow death in her garage before conspiring with her boyfriend to dispose of the body. A fictionalized account of actual events, Stuck was co-scripted by director Gordon and frequent Tales from the Darkside contributor John Strysik.
Then She Found Me – drama - Helen Hunt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dipjBhR7WEA
Adapted from Elinor Lipman's novel of the same name, Helen Hunt makes fer feature directing debut with THEN SHE FOUND ME, a touching story of schoolteacher April Epner (Hunt) and her very unlikely path towards personal fulfillment. Following the separation from her husband (Matthew Broderick) and the death of her adopted mother, April is contacted by her apparent birth mother (Bette Midler), who turns out to be a local talk show host Bernice Graves. As Bernice tries to become the mother to April that she was never able to be, April seems to find solace in the arms of the parent of one of her students (Colin Firth), only to find that the mystery to life's questions cannot be solved by a simple revelation.
To The Limit – documentary - Pepe Danquart
http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_tothelimit.html
Speed Rock Climbing is the latest wrinkle in the growing pantheon of extreme sports; high-speed climbers take the basic rudiments of mountain climbing and shift them into overdrive, climbing sheer cliffs in a matter of hours rather than days. Filmmaker Pepe Danquart offers a look at this exciting new sport and two of its best-known proponents in the documentary To The Limit. Alexander Huber and his brother Thomas Huber are profiled as they demonstrate their skills in the mountains of Patagonia and set out to climb El Capitan, a mountain in Yosemite National Park over three thousand feet high, in a furious 150 minutes, a notion Alexander jokingly describes as "an assault against common sense." While featuring dazzling footage of the Huber brothers in action, To The Limit also offers an insight on the rivalry between the siblings and their passionate need to confront fellow climbers as well as nature itself.
Trumbo – documentary - Peter Askin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KP8lqj-lZ4s
A documentary adaptation of the popular regional theatrical monologue -- in which such heavyweights as Paul Newman, Nathan Lane, and Joe Mantegna essayed the lead on various occasions -- Trumbo recounts the life and times of legendary Hollywood scribe-turned-HUAC scapegoat Dalton Trumbo. As with its source production, the film takes as its base material highly personal, detailed, and emotive letters written by Dalton Trumbo to his son, Christopher; the latter, in turn, molded the missives into a screenplay for this production. Here, however, in lieu of one actor portraying Dalton, a number of celebrities take turns narrating from the script, including Lane, Paul Giamatti, Brian Dennehy, Donald Sutherland, and others. As a visual accompaniment, the film intercuts home-movie footage from the Trumbos' lives; incisive interview material with Trumbo, his family, friends, and collaborators; and haunting glimpses of the HUAC trial hearings with the Hollywood Ten, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy; as well as extracts from The Sandpiper, Johnny Got His Gun, Spartacus, and other productions authored by Trumbo. Peter Askin, who helmed the stage play, directs.
Up the Yangtze – documentary - Yung Chang
http://www.uptheyangtze.com/trailer.php
Director Yung Chang uses the construction of China's massive Three Gorges Dam as a springboard to better understanding the social hierarchies and changing times in his homeland in this documentary focusing on the luxury cruise ship that carries predominately Western tourists down the Yangtze River. Constructed as a symbol of modern progress in China, the Three Gorges Dam has forced millions of common people out of their ancestral homes, and will soon swallow up numerous nearby towns and villages. Despite the fact that the government has funded alterative housing for the dislocated families, however, many citizens make their way to higher ground feeling as if they have been duped by the powers that be. In order to truly understand how this affects the people, Chang focuses on telling the stories of middle-class scion Chen Bo Yu (renamed "Jerry" by the cruise line) and Yu Shui (who answers to the call of "Cindy" while on duty). As the ship sets sail, this hard-working pair do their best to familiarize themselves with Western social cues, striving to perform to the best of their abilities, and ponder the prospects of a brighter future.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona – drama - Woody Allen
http://youtube.com/watch?v=S2cOYupX6A4&feature=related
Just as New York City was the backdrop in Woody Allen's "Manhattan," the stunning city of Barcelona is the setting for the romantic adventures of Vicky and Cristina. These two young Americans spend a summer in Spain and meet a flamboyant artist (Javier Bardem) and his beautiful but insane ex-wife (Penelope Cruz). Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is straight-laced and about to be married. Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is a sexually adventurous free spirit. When they all become amorously entangled, the results can only be described as chaotic.
The Wackness – comedy - Jonathan Levine
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thewackness/trailer.html
A psychiatrist (Ben Kingsley) is put into a moral quandary when a young drug dealer who's been supplying him with pot in exchange for clinical treatment ends up dating his daughter in this comedy from All the Boys Love Mandy Lane's writer/director Jonathan Levine. Josh Peck, Famke Janssen, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Method Man co-star in the Occupant Films production.
War Inc. – comedy - Joshua Seftel
http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/warinc/
An assassin posing as a trade-show producer fixes his crosshairs on a Middle Eastern oil minister while maintaining his cover by organizing a high-profile wedding in this satirical action comedy starring John Cusack, Hilary Duff, and Marisa Tomei. A private American corporation run by a former U.S. vice president (Dan Aykroyd) is occupying the war-torn nation of Turaqistan, but a powerful Middle Eastern oil minister is preventing them from taking total advantage of the situation. In order to gain a monopoly on the lucrative opportunities that Turaqistan has to offer, the CEO of the corporation hires an evenhanded hitman named Hauser (Cusack) to take the oil minister out of the picture. Now, in order to carry out the contract without a hitch, Hauser will pose as the corporation's trade-show producer. The stakes are high and the potential for disaster is evident, though if Hauser can successfully organize the wedding of Central Asian pop-star Yonica Babyyeah (Duff), he's got a good chance of pulling it off. But sexy and resourceful left-wing reporter Natalie Hegalhuzen (Tomei) is determined to uncover the truth about what's happening in Turaqistan, and the moment she does, this carefully constructed scheme will crumble like a house of cards. Joshua Seftel directs a screenplay co-written by Mark Leyner, Jeremy Pikser, and producer/star John Cusack.
When Did You Last See Your Father? - biography/drama - Anand Tucker
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whendidyoulastseeyourfather/trailer.html
Adapted from poet Blake Morrison's bestselling memoir by screenwriter David Nicholls and directed for the screen by Anand Tucker, And When Did You Last See Your Father explores - like its source material - the complex, manifold emotional layers of a father-and-son relationship as it shifts and evolves over the passing decades. At the film's center is Blake Morrison himself, who for as long as he can remember has lived in the overarching shadow of his physician father Arthur (Jim Broadbent) - falling prey to feelings of embarrassment from the old man, as well as occasional awe. In the 1950s, when Blake (Bradley Johnson) was a child, the boy watched as Arthur partook in socially uncouth behavior such as wheedling his way into clubs to which he didn't belong, and carrying on an extramarital affair with the full knowledge of his wife, Kim (Juliet Stevenson). As the years passed, teenage Blake's (Matthew Beard) discomfort around his father hardened into resentment - particularly when the adolescent boy expressed interest in a girl, Rachel (Carey Mulligan) who clearly preferred his father; compounding the situation, Blake then had to suffer through Arthur's decision to publicly humiliate his son in front of everyone. The central dynamic has changed for the two, however, by the late 1980s, when Blake - now married to Kathy (Gina McKee) and freshly established as a successful novelist and poet - learns that Arthur has contracted terminal cancer. Now, the junior Morrison takes a headfirst plunge into the memories and recollections of his youth - and grapples with the dynamic of his relationship with Arthur for the first time in his life as he comes face-to-face with the need to provide loving care for the old man.
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