Sansón and Me (2022)

Saturday, March 25th/ Q&A with director Rodrigo Reyes after the 5 p.m. show/

“Follows a young immigrant’s path from coastal Mexico to a life sentence for murder in California.”

Gods of Mexico (2022)

“A survey of rural Mexico composed into an extraordinary collage of labor practices and vast landscapes, Gods of Mexico portrays the rich diversity of several communities of Native Peoples and Afro-descendants throughout the country. It is both a testament to the human being and a tribute to those who fight to preserve their cultural identity. The viewer explores a “Lost Atlantis” in which unlimited possibilities of existence continue to resist in the shadows of modernization.”

The Art of Living in Danger (2020)

Screening alongside the short film “Playmaker” (2020)/
-see synopsis below.

“Director Mina Keshavarz recently discovered a family secret about her grandmother’s death. Her grandmother, forced to marry at a young age, gave birth to seven children and took her own life at the age of 35 during her eighth pregnancy. Domestic violence against women is an impractical concept under Iranian law that regards daughters and wives as the property of patriarchs. Mina sees her grandmother’s suicide as “revenge for all injustice” and goes out onto the streets with five female lawyers who have raised their voices on gender equality and criminalization of domestic violence. The Art of Living in Danger retraces the past and present status of Iranian women with the director’s intimate voice-over. —KANG Sowon, BIFF”

Playmaker
2020 / 23 minutes / NR / in Farsi with English subtitles
“Shahnaz is a young woman from a village in the North part of Iran, and she has played in the local football (soccer) team of Port Anzali’s Malavan for years. She is pregnant with her second child as she faces challenges and struggles in her profession.”

Titi (2020)

Screening alongside the short film “Morse” (2022)/
-see synopsis below.

“A hospitalized, critically ill physicist, working on a theory about black holes and the end of the world, meets a rather eccentric hospital housekeeper named TiTi. Though single, TiTi is acting as a surrogate mother for an infertile couple in order to serve humanity and raise money to build a small room of her own. When the physicist falls into a deep coma, TiTi, raised by Iranian gypsies and possessing supernatural powers, performs a strange ritual to save him. This is the start of an odyssey; an odyssey that changes their lives forever.”

Morse
2022 / 25 minutes / NR / in Farsi with English subtitles
“Three ex-political prisoners, all of them once sentenced to death, gather to summon the ghost of Khosrow, one of their old comrades. It’s said that Khosrow had committed suicide in prison, but now would they find a way to the truth in their reunion?”

Unicorn Wars (2022)

“It’s “Bambi meets Apocalypse Now” in this provocative and strangely beautiful horror comedy from acclaimed filmmaker and illustrator Alberto Vazquez (Birdboy: The Forgotten Children), who uses its outrageous candy-colored premise to explore religious zealotry, the tortured legacies of military fascism, and the depths of the soul. For ages, teddy bears have been locked in an ancestral war against their sworn enemy, the unicorns, with the promise that victory will complete the prophecy and usher in a new era. Aggressive, confident teddy bear Bluey and his sensitive, withdrawn brother Tubby could not be more different. As the rigors and humiliation of teddy bear bootcamp turn to the psychedelic horrors of a combat tour in the Magic Forest, their complicated history and increasingly strained relationship will come to determine the fate of the entire war.”

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

“Academy Award®-winning director Guillermo del Toro and award-winning, stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson reimagine the classic Carlo Collodi tale of the fabled wooden boy with a whimsical tour de force that finds Pinocchio on an enchanted adventure that transcends worlds and reveals the life-giving power of love.”

Pacifiction (2022)

“On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the High Commissioner of the Republic and French government official De Roller (Benoît Magimel) is a calculating man with flawless manners. His somewhat broad perception of his role brings him to navigate the high end ’establishment’ as well as shady venues where he mingles with the locals. Especially since a persistent rumor has been going around: the sighting of a submarine whose ghostly presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing.”

The Quiet Girl (2022)

“Rural Ireland. 1981. Nine-year-old Cait is sent away from her overcrowded, dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer. Quietly struggling at school and at home, she has learned to hide in plain sight from those around her. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one painful truth.”

One Fine Morning (2022)

“Sandra (Lea Seydoux) is a widowed young mother raising her daughter on her own, while also caring for her sick father (Pascal Greggory). She’s dealing with the loss of the relationship she once had with her father, while she and her mother and sister fight to get him the care he requires. At the same time, Sandra reconnects with Clément (Melvil Poupaud), a friend she hasn’t seen in a while and, although he’s married, their friendship soon blossoms into a passionate affair.”

The Whale (2022)

“From Darren Aronofsky comes The Whale, the story of a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. Starring Brendan Fraser and based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter.”

Close (2022)

“Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lukas Dhont’s second film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.”

Living (2022)

“LIVING is the story of an ordinary man, reduced by years of oppressive office routine to a shadow existence, who at the eleventh hour makes a supreme effort to turn his dull life into something wonderful.”

Geographies of Solitude (2022)

“An immersion into the rich ecosystem of Sable Island, a remote sliver of land in the Northwest Atlantic, the film follows Zoe Lucas, a naturalist and environmentalist who has lived there for over 40 years collecting, cleaning and documenting marine litter that persistently washes up on the island’s shores. Shot on 16mm and created using eco-friendly filmmaking techniques, Geographies of Solitude is a playful and reverent collaboration with the natural world filled with arresting images and made with an activist spirit.”

Full Time (2021)

“Julie (Laure Calamy) can’t catch a break. For a single mother raising two children in the suburbs of Paris but working in the city, the commuter train is a lifeline–and it’s suddenly been severed during the latest transit strike. Without the train, Julie can’t get to her job as the head maid at a five-star hotel–or to the interview for a better job she has lined up. Out of desperation, Julie turns to neighbors and her own gutsy resourcefulness to get to work and barely makes it back in time to pick up her kids before bedtime. Worse yet: it’s only Monday. Julie is at her breaking point and soon finds herself bending the rules to stay afloat in a ruthless society as her responsibilities pile up. Anchored by Calamy’s powerful performance, Full Time is an impossible race against time and a kinetic thriller assembled from the everyday obstacles faced by working parents everywhere.”

Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022)

“Valeria’s joy at becoming a first-time mother is quickly taken away when she’s cursed by a sinister entity. As danger closes in, she’s forced deeper into a chilling world of dark magic that threatens to consume her.”

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)

“Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.”

The Outwaters (2022)

“Memory cards unearthed in a remote stretch of the Mojave Desert tell the story of four travelers who vanished during a sun-drenched camping trip. One night, everything changes when the foursome is sent on a mind-bending voyage of unrelenting terror into a world of darkness that no human was ever meant to see.”

Aftersun (2022)

“Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t.”

Infinity Pool (2018)

“While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime: either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

No Bears (2022)

“One of the world’s great cinematic artists, Jafar Panahi has been carefully crafting self-reflexive works about artistic, personal, and political freedom for the past three decades, despite his oppression at the hands of the Iranian government. Now, as the international film community vehemently denounces his summer 2022 arrest and continued imprisonment for his vocal support of a fellow artist’s independence, Panahi has gifted us all with a new virtuosic sleight-of-hand. In NO BEARS, as in many of his recent titles, Panahi plays a fictionalized version of himself, in this case relocated to a rural border town to remotely direct a new film in nearby Turkey – the story of which comes to sharply mirror disturbing events that begin to occur around him. As he struggles to complete his film, Panahi finds himself thrust in the middle of a local scandal, confronting the opposing pulls of tradition and progress, city and country, belief and evidence, and the universal desire to reject oppression.”

Broker (2022)

“Five years after winning the Palme d’Or for SHOPLIFTERS, Academy Award nominated filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu returns with BROKER, starring Cannes Best Actor winner Song Kang Ho (PARASITE). The film follows two brokers who sell orphaned infants, circumventing the bureaucracy of legal adoption, to affluent couples who can’t have children of their own. After an infant’s mother surprises the duo by returning to ensure her child finds a good home, the three embark on a journey to find the right couple, building an unlikely family of their own.”

Tár (2022)

“Set in the international world of classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composers/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.”

All Quiet On The Western Front (2022)

“All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. The film from director Edward Berger is based on the world renowned bestseller of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.”

Skinamarink (2022)

“Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. To cope with the strange situation, the two bring pillows and blankets to the living room and settle into a quiet slumber party situation. They play well worn videotapes of cartoons to fill the silence of the house and distract from the frightening and inexplicable situation. All the while in the hopes that eventually some grown-ups will come to rescue them. However, after a while it becomes clear that something is watching over them.”

EO (2022)

“With his first film in seven years, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a nomadic gray donkey named EO. After being removed from the traveling circus, which is the only life he’s ever known, EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure, all the while observing the follies and triumphs of humankind. During his travels, EO is both helped and hindered by a cast of characters including a young Italian priest (Lorenzo Zurzolo), a Countess (Isabelle Huppert), and a rowdy Polish soccer team. Loosely inspired by Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, and featuring immersive, stunning cinematography by Michal Dymek coupled with Pawel Mykietyn’s resonant score, Skolimowski’s film puts the viewer in the perspective of its four-legged protagonist. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us, an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills, and serving as warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom.”

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

“A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.”

Fire of Love (2022)

“Intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.”

Decision To Leave (2022)

“What happens when an object of suspicion becomes a case of obsession? Winner of Cannes Best Director in 2022, Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden) returns with a seductive romantic thriller that takes his renowned stylistic flair to dizzying new heights. When detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) arrives at a murder scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae (Tang Wei) may know more than she initially lets on. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, Hae-joon finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire, proving that the darkest mysteries lurk inside the human heart.”

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2021)

-in its’ 36th week showing/

“Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.”

RRR (2022)

“RRR is an exhilarating, action-packed spectacular mythologizing two real-life freedom fighters who helped lead India’s fight for independence from the British Raj, Komaram Bheem (N.T Rama Rao Jr., aka Jr NTR) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan). Set in the 1920s before their fight for India’s independence began, RRRimagines a fictional meeting between the two, set into motion when a young Gond girl is stolen from her village by British soldiers.”

Return to Seoul (2022)

Starts Friday, March 31st/

Tickets on sale soon/

“After an impulsive travel decision to visit friends, Freddie, 25, returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. Freddie suddenly finds herself embarking on an unexpected journey in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions.”

La Civil (2022)

Starts Friday, March 31st/

Tickets on sale soon/

“La Civil tells the story of Cielo, a mother in search of her daughter, abducted by  a criminal gang in Northern Mexico. As the authorities fail to offer support in the search, Cielo takes matters into her own hands. Cielo begins her own investigation and earns the trust and sympathy of Lamarque, an unconventional army Lieutenant working in the region. He agrees to help Cielo in her search, because her research data could be useful to his operations as well. Cielo’s collaboration with Lamarque pulls her further into a vicious cycle of violence. The film focuses on Cielo’s emotional rollercoaster, as she is drawn into increasingly intense and dangerous circumstances. The camera stays close, we never lose sight of her as she gradually transforms from housewife into avenging activist. As events unfold, Cielo gets closer to the truth: discovering a mass grave, obtaining official DNA analyses, confronting one of the presumed kidnappers, but corruption and apathy keep her from finding resolution. Until the end finally comes, unpredictable and uninvited…”

Summoning Sylvia (2023)

Starts Friday, March 31st/

Tickets on sale soon/

“A gay bachelor party takes a spooky turn when sinister spirits are suddenly summoned. And when the groom’s straight ex-military brother crashes the proceedings, laughs and scares collide to create this genre-bender.”

Malum (2023)

Starts Friday, March 31st/

Tickets on sale soon/

“MALUM is a bold and expanded reimagining of the 2014 horror cult classic, LAST SHIFT. On a search to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding her father’s death, a newly appointed police officer, Jessica Loren (Jessica Sula) is assigned to the last shift in a decommissioned police station where a notoriously vicious cult saw their demise years prior. The lone officer at the station, she soon finds herself barraged by terrifying paranormal events, and in the process, is taken on a journey during which she learns the shocking truth behind her family’s entanglement with a demented cult leader. MALUM takes the premise of the 2014 festival hit and flips it on its head, thrusting viewers into an unrelenting, adrenaline-fueled, bloody cult nightmare.”

Rewind & Play (2022)

Starts April 7th/

Tickets on sale soon/

“In December 1969, legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk ended his European concert tour with a performance at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. Before the show, he was invited to appear on a French television program to perform and answer questions in an intimate setting. Using newly discovered footage from this recording, director Alain Gomis (FÉLICITÉ) reveals the disconnect between Monk and his interviewer, Henri Renaud, whose unwittingly trivializing approach conveys the casual racism and exploitation prevalent in the music industry at large. A fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary with extraordinary rarely-seen performances, REWIND & PLAY offers a unique opportunity to see Monk in a way that very few people did.”

Walk Up (2022)

Starts April 7th/

Tickets on sale soon/

“In his ninth film for Hong Sangsoo, Kwon Haehyo plays Byungsoo, a film director who goes with his daughter Jeongsu (Park Miso), an aspiring interior designer, to a building owned by an old friend (Lee Hyeyoung) already established in the design field. She gives them a tour of the property, which includes a restaurant and cooking studio on the first two floors, her office in the basement, a residence on the third floor and an artist’s studio at the top. The three of them amicably chat the day away. But when his daughter leaves to get more wine, Byungsoo is left to spend time with the landlord and the other residents of her building. With Walk Up, Hong Sangsoo returns to an interest in structure that has been a defining characteristic of his work from the beginning. And this time the structure is a literal one. As Byunsgoo makes his way up the floors of the building, Hong fills these spaces with a profusion of everyday details spanning art, love, career, religion, dietary decisions and home renovations.”

Matter Out of Place (2022)

Starts April 21st/

Tickets on sale soon/

“Waste on the shores, waste on the mountains. On ocean floors and deep down in the earth. The term “matter out of place” refers to objects in a place they originally do not belong to. And there are many such objects in the places Nikolaus Geyrhalter visits for this film. In his unique imagery consisting of minutely composed pictures, the director traces immense amounts of waste across our planet. He travels from the mountain tops of Switzerland to the coasts of Greece and Albania, into an Austrian refuse incinerator and then to Nepal and the Maldives, and finally to the deserts of Nevada. MATTER OUT OF PLACE is about human-made refuse, which is surrounding us all the time everywhere. On his journey, Geyrhalter illustrates the sheer endless struggle of people to gain control over the vast amounts of waste that we produce every single day. Collecting, shredding, burning, burying – a Sisyphean task, which ostensibly solves the global problem of rubbish that is stealthily growing.”

Naked Gardens (2022)

Starts April 28th/

Tickets on sale soon/

“It tells the story of an isolated nudist community in Florida where residents find a place to feel accepted, deal with their past traumas, and jointly pursue forming a utopian society.”

How To Survive Without Mum (10 Jours Encore Sans Maman)

Saturday, April 15th,
4 p.m./ Seats: $10 /

“After Antoine was fired from his job, he became a stay-at-home dad taking care of his four children, while his wife Isabelle restarts her career as a lawyer. For Antoine, the family’s upcoming ski vacation is a godsend: he can finally take a break from parenthood and enjoy a luxury ski resort! But just as they are about to step on the train, Isabelle is called back to work for an emergency and Antoine has to deal, on his own, with his four mischievous kids going wild on the slopes and in the fancy hotel, as the trip turns into total chaos …”

Alibi.com 2

Saturday, April 15th,
7 p.m./ Seats: $10 /

“After closing his agency Alibi.com and promising Flo he will never lie again, Greg’s new life with her is sweet – but boring. Not for long! When Greg proposes marriage, Flo and her family want to meet his parents. But how can he possibly introduce them to his divorce-embattled criminal father and erotic film star mother? Greg’s alibi buddies step in and find him fake parents to save the day… until his real parents show up! Greg panics. He squats his neighbour’s house and uses a fake bride to keep them out of the wedding. Soon he’s got two marriages to orchestrate and a web of lies so dense, everything spins out of control. Little does he know how disastrous the situation really is when a surprise guest crashes the wedding party – For better or for worse!”

Sweet Little Things (Les Petites Victoires)

Sunday, April 16th,
4 p.m./ Seats: $10 /

“Between her obligations as a mayor and her role as a teacher in the little village of Kerguen, Alice’s days are really full. Emile, an explosive 60 year old has finally decided to learn how to read and write, and arrives in her class, will make her days even more impossible, now that suddenly, Alice has to save her village and her school.”

Stay With Us (Reste Un Peu)

Sunday, April 16th,
7 p.m./ Seats: $10 /

“After three successful years living and working in America, French-Jewish actor and comedian Gad Elmaleh decides to move back home to Paris. He misses his family and friends. Or, at least that’s what Gad tells his loving yet overbearing parents, Régine and David. However, it’s not long before his parents find out the true reason for their son’s return — after a long period of ambivalence towards his own Jewishness, Gad has officially decided to convert to Catholicism. Dumbfounded by his sudden obsession with the Virgin Mary, and with only five weeks before his baptism, Gad’s family endeavor to bring him back to Judaism for fear of losing him forever.Inspired by the director’s own fraught relationship to the Jewish faith and starring Elmaleh’s real-life family, Stay With Us is a heart-warming and charming story about faith, family and acceptance.”

2021 / drama / 1hr 20min / written by Betsey Brown / directed by Betsey Brown / country: U.S.A. / language: English /

A S S H O L E S
L.A. PREMIERE!
“Adah and Aaron are recovering addicts who are struggling to stay sober. After meeting in their psychoanalyst’s waiting room, they fall in love, relapse on poppers, and become the biggest assholes in New York City.”

A C T O R S
“In this satirical docu-fiction hybrid, actor-filmmaker Peter Vack (Assholes) decides to re-identify as female to maintain relevance in the art and entertainment world. This horrifies Peter’s sister (writer-director Betsey Brown) and makes her spiral deep into a mania of sibling rivalry as she desperately searches for her own artistic voice. A provocative cautionary tale of white cis male fragility and the lengths some will go to keep their seat at the table.”

2017 / comedy, drama, romance / 1hr 14min / written by Peter Vack / directed by Peter Vack / country: U.S.A. / language: English /