Films Now Showing
The ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS, a curated selection of the "best of the best" animated short films created by students and professionals around the world, returns to theaters across North America. Featuring 10 films from seven countries, the 2019 edition of the program offers an array of highly imaginative, thought-provoking and moving works that reflect the filmmakers' unique perspectives and their relationships to the world. For 21 years, the ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS has been presenting a highly selective program of new and innovative short films to appreciative audiences at animation studios, schools and, since 2015, theaters around the world. During its first 20 years, 40 of the films showcased in the ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS went on to receive Academy Award® nominations, with 11 films winning the Oscar®.
"Animation is an incredibly versatile medium that allows artists to explore situations and ideas that you won’t see anywhere else," says ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS founder and curator Ron Diamond. “From political and philosophical concerns, to the complexities of individual identity and personal relationships, animated short films are uniquely able to capture the many facets of human experience.”
The 21ST ANNUAL ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS includes 10 films, three of which have qualified for 2020 Academy Award® consideration*. The complete lineup:
- KIDS – Michael Frei, Mario von Rickenbach, Switzerland
- RUBICON – Gil Alkabetz, Germany
- PORTRAIT OF GIL ALKABETZ (RUBICON) – Marta Trela, Germany
- FIVE MINUTES TO SEA* – Natalia Mirzoyan, Russia
- RÉCIT DE SOI [SELF-NARRATIVE] – Géraldine Charpentier, Belgium
- LE JOUR EXTRAORDINAIRE [FLOWING THROUGH WONDER]* – Joanna Lurie, France
- HOUNDS – Amit Cohen, Ido Shapira, Israel
- PORTRAIT OF AMIT COHEN AND IDO SHAPIRA (HOUNDS) – Shlomi Yosef, Israel
- THE FOX AND THE BIRD [LE RENARD ET L’OISILLE] – Sam & Fred Guillaume, Switzerland
- DAUGHTER*- Daria Kashcheeva, Czech Republic
Total runtime 88 min. In English or subtitled in English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[ALICE ET LE MAIRE]
Opening Night; U.S. Premiere
After 30 years in politics, Paul Théraneau (Fabrice Luchini), the mayor of Lyon, has become a creature of habit: over-cautious, bureaucratic to a fault and lacking the passion and ideas he once had. Enter Alice Heimann (Anaïs Demoustier), a recent Oxford grad with a degree in philosophy, newly hired for a job that, in the latest round of organizational shuffling, has been eliminated before it ever began. Inspired, for the first time in years, by his conversations with Alice, the mayor creates a new position for her before she can be slated for reassignment: to be his ideas person. The latest film from Nicolas Pariser will delight those who care about the thinking and practice of public policy and leadership, even as they despair at the reality of everyday politics as usual. Winner, Europa Cinemas Label Prize, 2019 Cannes Film Festival. DIR/SCR Nicolas Pariser; PROD Emmanuel Agneray. France/Belgium, 2019, color, 113 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Levan Gelbakhiani dazzles as Merab, the star student at Georgia's national dance academy whose customary role as the leading male dancer is usurped by the arrival of a talented newcomer, Irakli (Bachi Valishvili). But feelings of rivalry soon become mutual attraction for the pair of young dancers navigating the institutionalized, rigidly conservative world of traditional Georgian dance. Georgian-Swedish filmmaker Levan Akin's drama overflows with finely observed social details and boasts outstanding performances from its talented young cast of actor/dancers. Winner, Best Actor (Gelbakhiani), 2019 Sarajevo Film Festival; Nominee, Queer Palm, 2019 Cannes Film Festival. DIR/SCR Levan Akin; PROD Ketie Danelia, Mathilde Dedye. Sweden/Georgia/France, 2019, color, 105 min. In Georgian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[LA VIRGEN DE AGOSTO]
On the verge of turning 33, Eva decides to spend her August in Madrid, where the heat and holiday festivities (las verbenas) drive most locals to abandon the city. From her borrowed flat, and without grand ambitions, she crosses paths with old friends and new acquaintances. Lazy summer days turn into nights of philosophical reverie. Seeking small revelations from the world around her, Eva embarks on a journey of self-discovery that unfolds on screen as a joyous, magical summer tale. Winner of the FIPRESCI prize at the 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the latest film from director Jonás Trueba (THE WISHFUL THINKERS) is a lovely rumination on new beginnings. Winner, FIPRESCI and Special Jury Prizes, 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Chicago International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Jonás Trueba; SCR Itsaso Arana; PROD Javier Lafuente. Spain, 2019, color, 125 min. In English, Spanish and German with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Described by The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw as "like F. W. Murnau directing an episode of EASTENDERS," Cornish director Mark Jenkin's (GOLDEN BURN) hypnotic, hilarious and utterly original seaside melodrama has taken the festival circuit by storm since debuting at this year's Berlinale to sold-out crowds. Set in a once-thriving Cornish fishing village, BAIT tracks the ongoing war between locals and tourists through the eyes of Martin (comedian Edward Rowe), a proud fisherman forced to sell his boat and relinquish his home to a fancy London family looking for a weekend getaway spot. A weird and wonderful tale of gentrification, masculine pride and small-town anxiety, BAIT would be a worthy companion piece to Robert Egger's THE LIGHTHOUSE, Guy Maddin's MY WINNIPEG or Sergei Eisenstein's STRIKE. Shot on 16mm film in grainy black and white and hand developed, the film's unique visual style complements its beautifully handled blend of the comic, the sublime, the surreal and all-too-real, making it a breakout feature not to be missed. Winner, Audience Award, Best Feature Film, 2019 IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Berlin, New Directors/New Films, Edinburgh, Vancouver and Galway film festivals. DIR/SCR Mark Jenkin; PROD Kate Byers, Linn Waite. UK, 2019, b&w, 89 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Written and directed by Brian Welsh (BLACK MIRROR), this bittersweet, nostalgic view of '90s rave culture in suburban Scotland plays like TRAINSPOTTING's more endearing kid brother. Against his parents' wishes, 15-year-old Jonno (Cristian Ortega) is best friends with likable lunkhead Spanner (Lorn Macdonald), a kid from the wrong side of the tracks. With Jonno moving away to a more respectable neighborhood, the two friends light out for one last daring adventure together: attending a massive underground rave, planned as a protest against the spectacularly ill-conceived 1994 law prohibiting any "gathering around repetitive beats." The soundtrack features iconic music from The Prodigy, Orbital, Liquid Liquid and Inner City. Official Selection, 2019 Rotterdam and Slamdance film festivals. DIR/SCR Brian Welsh; SCR Kieran Hurley, based on his play; PROD Camilla Bray. UK, 2019, color/b&w, 101 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Snuggling up to watch the annual National Dog Show is now a sacred Thanksgiving tradition – a time to "paws for thought" and be grateful for the joy inspired by dogs everywhere. But did you know that Christopher Guest's beloved dogumentary spoof BEST IN SHOW was the inspiration for the highest-rated doggie TV event of the year? One of Guest's most beloved mockumentaries takes an affectionate look at a certain breed of dog owner, the kind who raise their prized pets to compete in dog shows. An eccentric cross-section of dog lovers converges at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia to find out who will be this year's top dog, among them Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, Michael Hitchcock and John Michael Higgins. Back in 2002, Bethesda native Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports, saw BEST IN SHOW – and boom, the cutest, most unlikely of all Thanksgiving sports-watching traditions was born. DIR/SCR Christopher Guest; SCR Eugene Levy; PROD Karen Murphy. U.S., 2000, color, 90 min. RATED PG-13
AFI Member passes accepted.
From aliens and spacecraft to fake blood and supernatural phenomena, all kinds of genre filmmaking tropes were on display when local DC filmmakers competing in the 2019 48 Hour Film Science Fiction and Horror Project showed their films at AFI Silver back in October. This program compiles the very best results from October's filmmaking contest!
Runtime approx. 150 min.
No AFI Member passes accepted.
For more information, visit 48hourfilm.com.
[ORFEU NEGRO]
Winner of both the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film and the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, Marcel Camus' BLACK ORPHEUS brings the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to the 20th-century madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. With its eye-popping photography and ravishing, epochal soundtrack (by Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim), BLACK ORPHEUS was an international cultural event, and it kicked off the bossa nova craze that set hi-fis across America spinning. (Note courtesy of Janus Films.) DIR/SCR Marcel Camus; SCR Jacques Viot, from the play by Vinicius de Moraes; PROD Sacha Gordine. Brazil/France/Italy, 1959, color, 107 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[DIE KINDER DER TOTEN]
Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek's 666-page novel "The Children of the Dead" depicts a zombie uprising highlighted by conveniently forgotten figures from Austria's recent past, both Nazis and Jews alike. As realized for the screen by the Nature Theater of Oklahoma and producer Ulrich Seidl, Jelinek's scabrous novel becomes a most unusual modern-day silent film, featuring an amateur but very game cast, shot on Super-8 film and imbued with a midnight movie spirit reminiscent of John Waters and Guy Maddin. Winner, FIPRESCI Prize, 2019 Berlin Film Festival Forum section. DIR/SCR Kelly Copper, Pavol Liska, from the novel by Elfriede Jelinek; PROD Ulrich Seidl. Austria, 2019, color, 90 min. Silent with German and English intertitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
The premise of Jan Komasa's (SUICIDE ROOM, WARSAW '44) daring third feature may sound like the set-up for an outlandish caper comedy, but in his capable hands it becomes a profound and moving meditation on faith, forgiveness and healing. When 20-year-old Daniel (rising star Bartosz Bielenia, rivaling Andrew Scott for "hot priest of the year") is released from a youth detention center, his dream of entering the priesthood is squashed by the weight of his violent criminal record. Instead, he is sent to work at a carpenter's workshop in a rural town, where the community is struggling to heal from a recent tragedy. Mistaken for a priest in a strange turn of events, Daniel decides to run with it, taking over the local parish when the regular pastor is taken ill and gradually becoming a beloved fixture in the community. But even with this chance to transform the lives of those around him, Daniel is living a precarious lie, continuously fighting off his demons and a past that is never far behind. Winner, Label Europa Cinemas Award and Edipo Re Award, 2019 Venice Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Toronto and Chicago film festivals. DIR Jan Komasa; SCR Mateusz Pacewicz; PROD Leszek Bodzak, Aneta Cebula-Hickinbotham. Poland, 2019, color, 115 min. In Polish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Winner of a FIPRESCI Prize at this year's Berlinale, Federico Bondi's (MAR NERO) poignant sophomore feature follows 36-year-old Dafne (Carolina Raspanti), a bright young woman with Down syndrome whose stable family life is upended by the unexpected death of her mother. As Dafne's father, Luigi (Antonio Piovanelli) struggles with his grief, Dafne finds her own way to process the loss, assuming increasing responsibility at home and at work, and persevering to bring her father through a seemingly impossible period of change. This tender, subtle father-daughter tale is brought vibrantly to life by Raspanti's engrossing central performance. Winner, FIPRESCI Prize, 2019 Berlin International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Karlovy Vary and Vancouver film festivals. DIR/SCR Federico Bondi; PROD Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Paonessa. Italy, 2019, color, 94 min. In Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[LE DAIM]
French disruptor Quentin Dupieux (the man behind killer-tire classic RUBBER) returns to the realm of the malevolent everyday object with this daring and hilarious tale of a troubled man (Jean Dujardin, THE ARTIST) who takes his obsession with his designer deerskin jacket (admittedly, a very nice coat) to murderous extremes. Having just separated from his wife, Georges (Dujardin) decides he needs a new lease on life, and a new jacket, and sets off to buy a vintage deerskin coat, which he gets for 8,000 euros, with a camcorder thrown in. Increasingly impressed with his jacket's majesty — and its excellent advice — Georges resolves to eliminate all other outerwear from the world. Meanwhile, he meets a bartender named Denise (Adèle Haenel, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE), accidently convinces her he's a filmmaker and enlists her to edit and fund his latest (non-existent) project. She becomes a fan of the jacket too, and none of this is going to end well. Official Selection, 2019 Cannes, Toronto, Vancouver and Chicago film festivals. DIR/SCR Quentin Dupieux; PROD Mathieu Verhaeghe, Thomas Verhaeghe. France, 2019, color, 77 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[A HERDADE]
U.S. Premiere; 2019 Oscar® Selection, Portugal
Portuguese filmmaker Tiago Guedes (BLOOD CURSE) joins forces with legendary producer Paulo Branco (MYSTERIES OF LISBON) to tell the epic story of three generations of landowners whose lives unfold on the south bank of the River Tagus, against the backdrop of several tumultuous decades of Portuguese history. With the passing of their father, brothers João (Albano Jerónimo) and Joaquim (Miguel Borges) Fernandes inherit one of Europe's largest agricultural estates and a way of life. But power is only as valuable as the autonomy required to exercise it, and by the 1970s the heretofore apolitical João is being coerced into relinquishing that autonomy, first by Portugal's authoritarian Estado Novo regime, and then by the socialist insurgents who ignite the Carnation Revolution and seek to nationalize the country's resources. By the 1990s, the Fernandes empire is in slow decline and the children of João and Joaquim are disillusioned with the family enterprise. After weathering so many political tempests, the brothers — and their beleaguered spouses — must now confront the fallout of a more personal legacy, one characterized by infidelities, alcoholism and toxic masculinity. Official Selection, 2019 Venice, Toronto and Dublin film festivals. (Note adapted from Toronto International Film Festival.) DIR/SCR Tiago Guedes; SCR Rui Cardoso Martins; PROD Paulo Branco. Portugal/France, 2019, color, 166 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
100th Anniversary
This zingy romantic comedy, directed by Cecil B. DeMille from an original screenplay by Jeanie Macpherson, and showcasing the peppery energetics of star Gloria Swanson, typifies the run of great comedies the team cranked out for Paramount Studios in the 'teens and '20s. Inspired by an article in a film magazine, Leila Porter (Swanson) believes she can do better than her unimaginative, unstylish and unkempt husband James Denby Porter (Elliott Dexter), despite his wealth as "the Glue King" of America. Filing for divorce, she is soon wooed by Schuyler Van Sutphen (Lew Cody), a friend of her now ex-husband's, and following a whirlwind courtship, marries him. But Van Sutphen soon proves to be a rake and a cad; meanwhile, her ex has cleaned up his act post-divorce, and still carries a torch for Leila. Could another divorce and a re-marriage be in the offing? DIR/PROD Cecil B. DeMille; SCR Jeanie Macpherson. U.S., 1919, b&w, 83 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Co-presented with the 26th Annual Caribbean American Heritage Awards
With this bracing drama, made at the climax of the anti-apartheid movement, director Euzhan Palcy issued a devastating indictment of South Africa's racist government — and made history in the process, becoming the first black woman to direct a Hollywood studio film. White schoolteacher Ben du Toit (Donald Sutherland) lives in Johannesburg and remains blissfully incurious about the lives of his black countrymen until a wave of brutal treatment comes crashing down on his gardener (Winston Ntshona), bringing du Toit face to face with harsh political realities. Based on the celebrated novel by André Brink and rooted in the first-hand research that the Martinican Palcy did in South Africa into the way black people lived under apartheid, A DRY WHITE SEASON is unflinching in its depiction of violence and its chronicling of injustice, making for a galvanizing tribute to those willing to sacrifice everything to fight oppression. (Note courtesy of The Criterion Collection.) DIR/SCR Euzhan Palcy; SCR Colin Welland, from the novel by Andre Brink; PROD Paula Weinstein. U.S., 1989, color, 106 min. In English, Afrikaans and Zulu with English subtitles. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
A fur coat drops out of the Manhattan sky onto the head of working girl Jean Arthur, setting in motion a series of events that will rain further riches down upon her, thanks to a series of comic misunderstandings and endless angle-playing by hustlers high and low. Mitchell Leisen's splendorous screwball comedy, based on a screenplay by the young up-and-comer Preston Sturges, combines witty wordplay with inventive, energetic slapstick. Arthur is a delight as the woman who finds herself the center of attention and perplexed by her good fortune; the ensemble cast includes Edward Arnold as the banker who tossed the coat, Ray Milland as his son, Walter Winchell-like William Demarest and seen-it-all secretary Esther Dale. DIR Mitchell Leisen; SCR Preston Sturges, from a story by Vera Caspary; PROD Arthur Hornblow, Jr. U.S., 1937, b&w, 88 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
FANTASTIC FUNGI, directed by Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousness-shifting documentary that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions the fungi kingdom offers us in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic and environmental challenges. Narrated by Oscar® winner Brie Larson (CAPTAIN MARVEL, ROOM). DIR Louie Schwartzberg; SCR Mark Monroe; PROD Lyn Davis Lear, Elease Lui Stemp. U.S., 2019, color, 81 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[BASHTATA]
Pavel is seemingly cold and indifferent to the passing of his mother Valentina, but his father Vasil is devastated and convinced her spirit still remains after a funeral attendee claims to have received a call from Valentina on her cellphone during the burial. Desperate to hold on to the love of his live, Vasil gets taken in by a fly-by-night psychic who promises to reconnect them. Now Pavel must put his life on hold to help his father process the loss and begrudgingly come to terms with his own grief, in this award-winning family drama that is as funny as it is touching. Winner, Best Film, 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov; PROD Konstantina Stavrianou, Irini Vougioukalou. Bulgaria/Greece, 2019, color, 87 min. In Bulgarian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[UPÍR Z FERATU]
FERAT VAMPIRE is a satire on consumerism, a potent piece of anti-automobile propaganda and perhaps the purest horror exercise that Juraj Herz produced. Marek (Jiří Menzel, the director of Oscar® winner CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS) is upset to lose his ambulance driver, Mima (Dagmar Veškrnová), to a job working as a rally driver for foreign car manufacturer Ferat, and even more upset when he hears whispers that Ferat cars use human blood for their fuel. Assaulted by censors, the film still boasts a blood-bathed dream sequence, a disturbing industrial soundtrack and a piquant performance by Zdenka Procházková as Madame Ferat, a kind of Countess Elizabeth Báthory-as-industrialist. (Note courtesy of Metrograph/Nick Pinkerton.) DIR/SCR Juraj Herz; SCR Jan Fleischer, from the story "Upír po dvaceti letech" by Josef Nesvadba. Czechoslovakia, 1982, color, 93 min. In Czech with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
"The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club." David Fincher definitively established his auteur status with this inventive adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's controversial novel. Ed Norton is a depressed, insomniac white-collar drone. Brad Pitt lives by his wits and has the guts to go his own way: part-time movie projectionist and soap salesman, full-time lover of freedom. Fast friends, they join forces and form Fight Club, wherein men bare-knuckle brawl away their frustrations. But after Fight Club becomes "Project Mayhem," a national anti-capitalist movement, things rapidly deteriorate for the two men. Co-starring Helena Bonham Carter, Jared Leto and Meat Loaf. DIR David Fincher; SCR Jim Uhls, from the novel by Chuck Palahniuk; PROD Ross Grayson Bell, Ceán Chaffin, Art Linson. U.S./Germany, 1999, color, 139 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
John Schuyler (Edward José) — diplomat, husband and father — is caught in the clutches of cunning seductress "The Vampire" (Theda Bara), legendary for her allure and for devouring all men in her path. On a cruise to the United Kingdom, Schuyler is targeted and soon becomes a willing victim. One of the few extant features with the exotic Bara (most of her films are now lost), A FOOL THERE WAS is reputed to have put the expression "vamp" into circulation. (Note courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.) DIR/PROD Frank Powell; SCR Porter Emerson Browne; PROD William Fox. U.S., 1915, b&w, 67 min. Silent with English intertitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[DER BODEN UNTER DEN FÜẞEN]
In Marie Kreutzer's (THE FATHERLESS) masterful psychological thriller, ruthlessly efficient and seamlessly together Lola (Valerie Pachner, A HIDDEN LIFE, STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE) is thriving as a successful business consultant. But she is also in the midst of a secret relationship with her boss Elise (Mavie Hörbiger) and struggling to support her sister Conny (Pia Hierzegger), who is battling long-term mental illness. When Conny attempts suicide, Lola's world slowly begins to come apart, as she tries to do what's best for her sister without allowing the crisis to seep into her already-complicated work life. As Lola works harder and harder to prevent the personal and professional from colliding, she finds her own hold on reality slipping away. Winner, Best Performance (Valerie Pachner) and Best Feature Film, 2019 Guadalajara International Film Festival; Winner, Best International Film, 2019 Galway Film Fleadh; Winner, Best Leading Actress (Pachner), 2019 German Screen Actors Awards; Official Selection, 2019 Berlin, Hong Kong, Seattle, Frameline and OutFest film festivals. DIR/SCR Marie Kreutzer; PROD Alexander Glehr, Franz Novotny. Austria, 2019, color, 108 min. In English and German with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[POLSESTRA]
Neža is going back to school and Irena is getting a divorce. Despite their past grievances and outspoken hatred for one another, the two half-sisters decide to rent a flat together in the capital city of Ljubljana; desperate times call for desperate measures. Forced together by circumstance, it is only after the two finally exhaust their witty barbs, and even come to blows, that they begin to discover a deeper connection and familial bond, allowing them to see the best in each other. Official Selection, 2019 Karlovy Vary, Miskolc and Haifa film festivals. DIR/SCR Damjan Kozole; SCR Ursa Menart, Ognjen Svilicic; PROD Danijel Hocevar, Labina Mitevska, Jelena Mitrovic. Slovenia/Serbia/Republic of Macedonia, 2019, color, 105 min. In Slovenian and Albanian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Based on real events, Terrence Malick tells the story of Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), an Austrian farmer from the Alpine village of Radegund who was a conscientious objector during WWII. Drawing extensively from the letters Jägerstätter exchanged with his wife (Valerie Pachner) during his time in prison, Malick combines the epistolary with the visionary in realizing this deeply spiritual story, aided by Jörg Widmer's stunning cinematography and James Newton Howard's moving score, with counterpoint provided by choice selections from Arvo Pärt, Bach, Beethoven, Handel and Gorecki. The excellent cast includes the late Michael Nyqvist and Bruno Ganz in their final film roles, as well as Matthias Schoenaerts, Jürgen Prochnow, Alexander Fehling, Karl Markovics and Franz Rogowski. Winner, Ecumenical Jury Prize, 2019 Cannes International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Telluride, Toronto, New York and BFI London film festivals. DIR/SCR Terrence Malick; SCR inspired by "Franz Jägerstätter: Letters and Writings from Prison," edited by Erna Putz; PROD Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter. Germany/U.S., 2019, color, 173 min. In English and German with English subtitles. RATED PG-13
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[ICH WAR ZUHAUSE, ABER]
Angela Schanelec won the Best Director prize at the 2019 Berlinale for her enigmatic, dreamlike narrative. Astrid (Maren Eggert), a Berlin mother of two, faces a crisis after her 13-year-old son Philip (Jakob Lassalle) disappears, only to reappear a week later, seemingly unharmed. The event goes largely unexplained, and Astrid doesn't register anxiety or guilt in any conventional manner, but the family unit, including daughter Flo (Clara Möller), their friends and neighbors all register the after-effects of the incident in oblique, even absurdist ways. Best Director, 2019 Berlin International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Toronto, New York and San Sebastian film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Angela Schanelec. Germany/Serbia, 2019, color, 105 min. In German with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Psychologist Nicoline (Carice van Houten, BLACK BOOK, GAME OF THRONES) accepts an assignment in a secure men's rehab facility housing violent sexual criminals. There, she takes on the case of Idris (Marwan Kenzari, 2019's ALADDIN), a handsome and charismatic manipulator who has served five years for rape and assault, but has progressed through the system and is now a candidate for unsupervised release. Professionally, Nicoline doubts that Idris is reformed, yet personally, against all better judgment, she experiences an undeniable attraction to him. Actress-turned-director Halina Reijn's provocative psychological thriller provides no easy answers, as the pair's mind games spiral into madness and the lines between victim and victimizer blur. Official Selection, 2019 Locarno and Toronto Film Festivals. DIR/PROD Halina Reijn; SCR Esther Gerritsen; PROD Arnold Heslenfeld, Laurette Schillings, Frans van Gestel, Carice van Houten. Netherlands, 2019, color, 108 min. In Dutch with English subtitles. NOT RATED; content warning: contains scenes of sexual violence.
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese's THE IRISHMAN, an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics. Co-starring Anna Paquin, Jesse Plemons, Harvey Keitel, Bobby Canavale and Ray Romano. DIR/PROD Martin Scorsese; SCR Steven Zaillian, from the book "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt; PROD Troy Allen, Gerald Chamales, Robert De Niro, Randall Emmett, Gastón Pavlovich, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Irwin Winkler. U.S., 2019, color, 209 min. RATED R
No AFI Member passes accepted.
THE JUNK SHOP (1965) [SBĚRNÉ SUROVOSTI]
Originally shot for inclusion in a key work of the nascent Czechoslovak New Wave, the 1965 omnibus film PEARLS OF THE DEEP, but then cut for time, Juraj Herz's film more than stands on its own. A work of nonstop invention set over the course of a single day at a paper recycling facility frequented by oddballs, including manager and aesthete Bohoušek (František Ketzek), the film's style is every bit as eclectic — including a sudden incursion of stop-motion animation — as the human and material curios that fill the shop. (Note courtesy of Metrograph/Nick Pinkerton.) DIR/SCR Juraj Herz; SCR Bohumil Hrabal, from his story "Baron Prášil"; PROD Karel Feix, Miloš Brož. Czechoslovakia, 1965, b&w, 31 min. In Czech with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Followed by:
GOLDEN SIXTIES: JURAJ HERZ [ZLATÁ ŠEDESÁTÁ: JURAJ HERZ]
This 2009 documentary on Juraj Herz by Martin Šulík features in-depth interviews and copious clips from the director's work. Interview subjects include film-world luminaries Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Miroslav Ondříček, Otakar Vávra and more. DIR Martin Šulík; SCR Jan Lukeš; PROD Čestmír Kopecký. Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2009, color/b&w, 57 min. In Slovak and Czech with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
"I need him like the axe needs the turkey." In Preston Sturges' masterpiece of amour fou, boyish herpetologist/brewery heir Henry Fonda seems like an easy mark for father-and-daughter con artists Charles Coburn and Barbara Stanwyck. But Stanwyck wasn't supposed to fall in love with Fonda after fleecing him. Now spurned by the burned Fonda, Stanwyck takes on the persona of "Lady Eve Sidwich" to win his heart again. DIR/SCR Preston Sturges; PROD Paul Jones. U.S., 1941, b&w, 94 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
It's Lara's 60th birthday, and she has every reason to celebrate: tonight, her son Viktor will give the most important piano concert of his career. Despite the fact that she paved the way for his musical success, Viktor has been unreachable for weeks, and nothing indicates that his mother will be welcome at his debut performance. With no word from her son, she buys all the empty seats in the house and hands them out to everyone she meets. But the more Lara strives to make the evening a success, the more things start to spiral out of control. Winner, Award of Ecumenical Jury, Best Actress (Corinna Harfouch) and Special Prize of the Jury, 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Vancouver, London, Hamptons and Chicago film festivals.
(Note adapted from Beta Cinema.) DIR Jan Ole Gerster; SCR Blaz Kutin; PROD Marcos Kantis, Martin Lehwald, Michal Pokorny. Germany, 2019, color, 98 min. In German with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
"This film should be played loud!" On Thanksgiving Day in 1976, The Band gave its farewell concert at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The all-star lineup sharing the bill with The Band included Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers and Ringo Starr. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese, hired to shoot this documentary on the basis of his rock-scored 1973 film MEAN STREETS, captured this once-in-a-lifetime concert event. Among the large camera crew working for cinematographer Michael Chapman were ace lensers Vilmos Zsigmond, László Kovács and John Toll. DIR Martin Scorsese; SCR Mardik Martin; PROD Robbie Robertson. U.S., 1978, color, 117 min. RATED PG
AFI Member passes accepted.
Ladj Ly's powerful Cannes Jury Prize winner made history in September when it became the first film by a black director selected to represent France at the Academy Awards®. Inspired by the riots which swept the Parisian banlieue in 2005, Ly's urgent, frenetic debut centers on three members of an anti-crime unit and their tense relationship with the community in the tough Montfermeil district, where they are charged with patrolling the neighborhood and keeping the peace. Stéphane (Damien Bonnard) has just joined the unit from a far sleepier beat in Cherbourg. Gwada (Djibril Zonga) is still learning the ropes, but grew up in Montfermeil and knows the area intimately. Chris (Alexis Manenti) is the cynical team leader, a hot-headed, streetwise taskmaster with questionable methods and even more dubious motives. When an arrest gets out of hand, which is caught on camera by a drone, the trio risk inflaming tensions beyond anything they can control. Winner, Jury Prize, 2019 Cannes Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Toronto, Busan and Chicago film festivals. DIR/SCR Ladj Ly; SCR Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti; PROD Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral. France, 2019, color, 102 min. In French with English subtitles. RATED R
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Milan, a father of three, does construction work in Germany in order to provide for his family back in Slovakia. While visiting home over Christmas, he discovers that his eldest son is a member of a paramilitary youth group. The boy has been involved in the bullying and death of a classmate — and now Milan must decide what to do. In the process, he and his wife come to discover the real truth about their son, their family, themselves and the community around them. Winner, Best Actor (Milan Ondrík) and Award of Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention, 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Chicago International Film Festival. (Note courtesy of Loco Films.) DIR/SCR/PROD Marko Škop; PROD Jan Melis, Petr Oukropec, Pavel Strnad. Slovakia/Czech Republic, 2019, color, 93 min. In Slovak with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind modern horror masterpiece THE WITCH, comes this hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. Starring Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe and Valeriia Karaman.
DIR/SCR/PROD Robert Eggers; SCR Max Eggers; PROD Youree Henley, Lourenço Sant' Anna, Rodrigo Teixeira, Jay Van Hoy. U.S./Canada, 2019, b&w, 109 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
Nov.15-21 screenings preceded by short film THE FALL, directed by Jonathan Glazer (SEXY BEAST, UNDER THE SKIN):
Pursued and captured by a masked mob in a forest, a man is posed like a trophy for pictures, hanged and left for dead, before crawling his way to an escape. Music by Mica Levi (JACKIE). DIR Jonathan Glazer. UK, 2019, 7 min.
[SELTSIMEES LAPS]
In the midst of Stalinist tyranny, six-year-old Leelo's mother is sent to a prison camp. Haunted by her mother's last words telling her to be good, Leelo vows to be on her best behavior in the confusing grown-up world, in hopes that it will bring her mother back — but her confusion only grows as "good" and "bad" no longer seem to mean anything in these troubled times. Leelo tries her best to behave, but keeps getting embroiled in one scrape after another, and becomes ever more perplexed as to what it even means to be good. (Note adapted from The Estonian Film Institute.) Official Selection, 2019 San Francisco and Cleveland film festivals. DIR/SCR Moonika Siimets; PROD Riina Sildos. Estonia, 2018, color, 99 min. In Estonian and Russian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
100th Anniversary
Based on J. M. Barrie's "The Admirable Crighton," Cecil B. DeMille's adventure-comedy centers on a farcical upstairs-downstairs illicit romance between glamorous Lady Mary Loam (Gloria Swanson) and her butler, the resourceful Crighton (Thomas Meighan), after the two become shipwrecked together on a desert island. The film is notorious for its Babylon-set dream sequence, where the intrepid Swanson performs an extremely dangerous stunt with a real caged lion. The outstanding cast includes Lila Lee, Raymond Hatton, Bebe Daniels and Julia Faye. DIR/PROD Cecil B. DeMille; SCR Jeanie Macpherson, from "The Admirable Crichton" by J. M. Barrie. U.S., 1919, b&w, 116 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Frenki is a drug dealer, and four years in prison haven't changed him much. With his wife on her deathbed, his in-laws are determined to get custody of Mali, Frenki's teenaged son. But Mali loves his dad — and his unorthodox parenting style. In fact, Mali's life has been getting better since living with Frenki. In school, his grades are improving, and he's acting out less. With a custody battle looming, Frenki and his group of unsavory friends must band together to make sure Mali stays with his father, by any means necessary. Winner, Jury Award of Recognition, 2019 Black Sea Film Festival; Official Selection, 2018 Pula and Sarajevo film festivals. DIR/SCR Antonio Nuić; PROD Boris T. Matic, Lana Matic. Croatia, 2018, color, 90 min. In Croatian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[MARIAN PARATIISI]
In this chilling tale based on a real-life scandal from 1920s Finland, charismatic cult leader Maria Åkerblom leads her devout followers to Helsinki. Among them is the adoring teenager Salome, who was orphaned at a young age and knows nothing of life outside her community in their rural farmhouse. When Salome befriends local sex worker Malin, her worldview is challenged, and she is torn between the promise of newfound freedom and Maria's dangerous, all-consuming love. Official Selection, 2019 Toronto, Helsinki and Chicago film festivals. (Note adapted from LevelK.) DIR Zaida Bergroth; SCR Jan Forsström, Anna Viitala; PROD Daniel Kuitunen, Kaisla Viitala. Finland/Estonia, 2019, color, 110 min. In Finnish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Noah Baumbach (FRANCES HA, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE) directs this incisive and compassionate look at a marriage coming apart and a family staying together. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver; co-starring Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty and Wallace Shawn.
DIR/SCR/PROD Noah Baumbach; PROD David Heyman. U.S., 2019, color, 136 min. RATED R
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Filmmaker Pietro Marcello transposes Jack London's 1909 American novel about a rugged, radical individual — seaman-turned-novelist Martin Eden — to a Neapolitan port city in the late 20th century. As Eden, the working-class sailor with big ambitions, Luca Marinelli gives a smolderingly intense performance; Jessica Cressy plays Elena, the bourgeois dream woman who motivates both Eden's carnal desire and his quest for literary greatness and social status. Winner, Best Actor (Marinelli), 2019 Venice Film Festival; Winner, Platform Prize, 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Pietro Marcello; SCR Maurizio Braucci, from the novel by Jack London; PROD Beppe Caschetto, Viola Fügen, Thomas Ordonneau, Michael Weber. Italy/France/Germany, 2019, color, 129 min. In Italian, Neapolitan and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
The latest film from Agnieszka Holland (EUROPA, EUROPA; IN DARKNESS; SPOOR) tells the real-life story of Gareth Jones (1905–1935), a Welsh journalist and foreign affairs advisor to former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He made a tour of the Soviet Union in 1931 but failed to get the interview with Stalin he desperately wanted. In 1933, he scored a major scoop as the first international journalist with firsthand coverage of Hitler's ascension to Chancellor. Then he undertook his most daring investigation ever: slipping into Ukraine incognito to report on the widespread famine taking place there, despite the official reports on the great success of farm collectivization and five-year plans. James Norton (GRANTCHESTER, HAPPY VALLEY) stars as Jones, and the ensemble cast includes Peter Sarsgaard as New York Times journalist Walter Duranty, Joseph Mawle (GAME OF THRONES) and Vanessa Kirby (THE CROWN). Winner, Best Film and Best Production Design, 2019 Polish Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Berlin, Zurich and BFI London film festivals. DIR Agnieszka Holland; SCR/PROD Andrea Chalupa; PROD Stanislaw Dziedzic, Klaudia Smieja. Poland/UK/Ukraine, 2019, color, 119 min. In English, Ukrainian, Russian and Welsh with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Tickets $5 for children 12 and under
In their first foray onto the silver screen, Kermit the Frog and his Muppet cohorts Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Miss Piggy and the gang sing their way to Hollywood, hoping to make it big. But Charles Durning's evil Doc Hopper, a frog-leg restaurant magnate, has other plans for Kermit. Tremendously funny — as much for adults as for kids, and maybe more so — with memorable musical numbers like Oscar®-nominated "Rainbow Connection" and "Movin' Right Along," plus cameos galore, including Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Richard Pryor, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Orson Welles and Bob Hope. DIR James Frawley; SCR Jack Burns, Jerry Juhl; PROD Jim Henson. UK/U.S., 1979, color, 95 min. RATED G
AFI Member passes accepted.
Crackling dialogue and one memorable set piece after another — including a murder at the United Nations, the crop-duster attempt on Cary Grant's life and the climactic duel on Mount Rushmore — make Alfred Hitchcock's mistaken-identity thriller a classic that shows no signs of age. Co-starring James Mason as the unctuous villain, Martin Landau as his creepy henchman and the luminous Eva Marie Saint as a double (maybe triple) agent. DIR/PROD Alfred Hitchcock; SCR Ernest Lehman. U.S., 1959, color, 136 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
In the late 1930s, with a potential war looming on the horizon for the young country of Lithuania, geographer Feliksas Gruodis convinces the prime minister to establish a tropical colony overseas in case of emergency, and the two begin meeting in secret to make his dream a reality. Fully enamored of his crackpot idea, the geographer fails to see that his "backup Lithuania" is as doomed as his crumbling marriage, mirroring the country around him, in this sharp satire from first-time director Karolis Kaupinis. Official Selection, 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Karolis Kaupinis; PROD Marija Razgute. Lithuania, 2019, b&w, 96 min. In Lithuanian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
After Oleg, a young Latvian butcher living and working in Brussels, Belgium, finds himself out of a job, he falls under the spell of Andrzej, a fast-talking, Polish, small-time crook he meets at a party. What starts as a promising opportunity to get back on his feet soon turns into anything but as Oleg tries to escape his newfound life of crime. This kinetic social thriller is a tragic and timely tale of a migrant worker struggling to make ends meet that ratchets up the pulse-pounding tension to the last second. Winner, Grand Prix, 2019 Brussels International Film Festival; Winner, Best Director (Juris Kursietis), 2019 Palic Film Festival; Winner, Best Feature Film, 2019 Valletta Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Cannes Directors' Fortnight, Busan and Karlovy Vary film festivals. DIR/SCR Juris Kursietis; SCR Liga Celma-Kursiete, Kaspars Odins; PROD Aija Berzina, Alise Gelze. Latvia/Lithuania/Belgium/France, 2019, color, 108 min. In Russian, Polish, Latvian, English, French, and Flemish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[CHAMBRE 212]
In Christophe Honoré's (LOVE SONGS, SORRY ANGEL) delightful "Christmas Carol"-eqsue spin on the screwball sex comedy, Maria (Chiara Mastroianni, LOVE SONGS, PRÊT-À-PORTER) is a law professor with a good eye for handsome young men, and no qualms about pursuing them. Richard (Benjamin Biolay, PERSONAL SHOPPER, SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE), Maria's husband of 20 years, is less than keen on her extramarital interests, and when he discovers her latest infidelity, it's the last straw. Maria retreats to a hotel across the street where she can gaze down on her apartment and keep an eye on her pained husband. But waiting for her in the room are the ghosts of affairs past — including a 25-year-old version of Richard (Vincent Lacoste, SORRY ANGEL) — ready to take her on a magical journey to reexamine the romances that were and those that could have been. Winner, Best Actress (Chiara Mastroianni), Un Certain Regard, 2019 Cannes Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Busan and Chicago film festivals. DIR/SCR Christophe Honoré; PROD Philippe Martin, David Thion. France/Belgium/Luxembourg, 2019, color, 86 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
"This never happened to the other fellow." Australian George Lazenby's lone outing as 007 failed to equal the box office impact of its Sean Connery-starring predecessors, but fans of the James Bond franchise, Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh among them, treasure this film for its start-to-finish excellence and faithfulness to the source novel. Villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld (this time played by KOJAK's Telly Savalas) plans to cripple the world's crop production by spreading the Virus Omega by means of the sexiest sleeper cell ever devised: the Angels of Death, 12 brainwashed beauties from around the globe (look for AB FAB's Joanna Lumley among them). Featuring Diana Rigg (Emma Peel from TV's THE AVENGERS) as Tracy, one of the all-time best of the Bond girls, and a score by John Barry. DIR Peter R. Hunt; SCR Richard Maibaum, from the novel by Ian Fleming; PROD Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman. UK, 1969, color, 142 min. RATED PG
[DE FRIVILLIGE]
Newly imprisoned celebrity financier Markus gets a rude awakening on his first day behind bars when he's greeted with a beatdown from a biker gang. Scared into voluntary solitary confinement, he reluctantly joins his fellow inmates in the choir, where his ego compels him to reach the top of the established hierarchy. As the competition heats up, he really gets to know his fellow inmates, with hilarious and often touching results. Official Selection, 2019 Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary and Chicago film festivals. DIR Frederikke Aspöck; SCR Lars Husum; PROD Senia Dremstrup. Denmark, 2019, color, 89 min. In Danish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Based on the celebrated novel by Jerzy Kosinski, this staggering work of beauty follows the brutal hardships of a young, Jewish boy as he wanders the countryside during World War II in search of some respite from the atrocities of daily life. Featuring standout performances from Stellan Skarsgård and Harvey Keitel, this harrowing film overflows with incredible imagery shot in vivid black and white. Co-starring Udo Kier, Julian Sands and Barry Pepper. Official Selection, 2019 Toronto, Venice and Chicago film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Václav Marhoul, from the novel by Jerzy Kosinski; PROD Aleksandr Kushaev. Czech Republic/Slovakia/Ukraine, 2019, b&w, 169 min. In Czech, German and Russian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Co-presented by JxJ
Also showing at Cafritz Hall, Edlavitch DCJCC on Wed, Dec. 18, 7:00 p.m. CLICK HERE for tickets to that screening.
Claudette Colbert intends to leave her husband, Joel McCrea, a struggling New York architect, and move to Palm Beach in a matter-of-fact search for a wealthy husband — to help fund the work of her true love, McCrea. Not willing to give her up, McCrea pursues her, arriving to find filthy rich Rudy Vallee in the picture. Passed off as Colbert's brother while he hangs around in hopes of wooing her back, McCrea catches the eye of Vallee's vivacious sister, Mary Astor. Many comic couplings and escapes ensue in Preston Sturges' delirious screwball comedy, one of film historian Stanley Cavell's quintessential "comedies of remarriage." DIR/SCR Preston Sturges; PROD Buddy G. DeSylva. U.S., 1942, b&w, 88 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Bong Joon-ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.
Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.
DIR/SCR/PROD Bong Joon-ho; SCR Han Jin-won; PROD Jang Young-Hwan, Moon Yang-kwon, Kwak Sin-ae. South Korea, 2019, color, 132 min. In English and Korean with English subtitles. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
[DE PATRICK]
Meet Patrick (Kevin Janssens, THE ARDENNES), the handyman and carpenter at his family's nudist camp, who has just lost his father — but more importantly, his hammer. On a mission to get back his prized possession, he must fend off the swarming buzzards who will stop at nothing to take his dad's vacant seat as owner of the camp. With his beloved tool still missing, no one is safe from Patrick's interrogations. Confronting every member of the community and visitors, too, (including a hilarious turn from Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement), he begins to uncover the camp's dirty little secrets, and a family history he never imagined. Winner, Best Director, Crystal Globe, 2019 Karlovy Vary Film Festival; Winner, Best Director, Next Wave Award, 2019 Fantastic Fest; Official Selection, 2019 Chicago International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Tim Mielants; SCR Benjamin Sprengers; PROD Sarah Marks, Bart Van Langendonck. Belgium, 2019, color, 97 min. In English, Dutch, French and German with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[PAFSI] [ΠΑΥΣΗ]
Locked for years in a stifling routine with her uncaring but demanding husband Costas, fiftyish housewife Elpida begins to see things in a new light as she enters menopause. Visions of violent retribution begin to play out in her mind, perhaps inspired by the steady diet of thrillers she watches in the evenings, while Costas watches sports programs on a separate TV in the same room. The arrival of a handsome, eastern European housepainter in their apartment building gives rise to another kind of waking fantasy. Tonia Mishiali's debut feature combines black humor and the suspense of a psychological thriller, as fantasy and reality blur into a new way of being for Elpida. Official Selection, 2019 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Tonia Mishiali; SCR Anna Fotiadou; PROD Andros Achilleos, Stelana Kliris. Cyprus/Greece, 2018, color, 96 min. In English and Greek with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Since she's started a passionate new relationship with the handsome and mysterious Joakim, life is smiling back at Lara again. Her marriage to detective Toni is now a distant memory. But when Toni accuses Joakim of having committed a series of unsolved murders in Luxembourg City's Peitruss Valley, Lara's world is thrown into chaos. While trying to prove Joakim's innocence, she starts to wonder how well she really knows the one she loves. (Note courtesy of Samsa Films.) DIR/SCR Max Jacoby; PROD Jani Thiltges. Luxembourg, 2019, color, 93 min. In English, German and Luxembourgish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[PELIKANBLUT]
Wiebke (Nina Hoss, PHOENIX) and her adopted nine-year-old daughter Nicolina live alone on an idyllic horse farm. After many years of waiting, Wiebke now has the chance to adopt another girl, five-year-old Raya, to provide Nicolina with the sister she's always wanted. What begins as a harmonious new family takes a turn for the worse when Raya's increasing aggression grows violent, forcing Wiebke to make a tough decision about her new daughter. Winner, Best Director, 2019 Fantastic Fest; Official Selection, 2019 Venice, Toronto, Hamburg, Zurich, Sitges film festivals. DIR/SCR Katrin Gebbe; PROD Verena Gräfe-Höft. Germany/Bulgaria, 2019, color, 121 min. In German with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU]
Director Céline Sciamma (GIRLHOOD, TOMBOY) won the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay awards at the Cannes Film Festival for this sweeping, brooding romance set in rugged, 18th-century Brittany. When budding painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant, PAPER FLAGS, HEAVEN WILL WAIT) is commissioned by an Italian Comtesse (Valeria Golino) to paint a portrait of her soon-to-be-wed daughter Héloïse (Adèle Haenel, DEERSKIN, THE UNKNOWN GIRL), her assignment is complicated by the fact that she must not disclose the reason for her visit to their remote coastal abode. Masquerading as a hired companion, Marianne must closely observe her subject by day, etching her likeness into memory in order to paint in secret by night. When the ruse is revealed, however, the women allow themselves to form a much closer bond, igniting a fire that will lead to self-discovery and the liaison of a lifetime. Winner, Best Screenplay and Queer Palm, 2019 Cannes Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Telluride, Toronto, New York, London, Busan and Chicago film festivals. DIR/SCR Céline Sciamma; PROD Véronique Cayla, Bénédicte Couvreur. France, 2019, color, 119 min. In French and Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[青少年哪吒] [QING SHAO NIAN N UO ZHA] [Gǔlǐng jiē shàonián shārén shìjiàn]
Tsai Ming-liang emerged on the world cinema scene in 1992 with his groundbreaking first feature, REBELS OF THE NEON GOD. His debut already includes a handful of elements familiar to fans of subsequent work: a deceptively spare style often branded "minimalist"; actor Lee Kang-sheng as the silent and sullen Hsiao-kang; copious amounts of water, whether pouring from the sky or bubbling up from a clogged drain; and enough urban anomie to ensure that even the subtle humor in evidence is tinged with pathos. The loosely structured plot involves Hsiao-kang, a despondent buxiban (cram school) student, who becomes obsessed with young petty thief Ah-tze, after Ah-tze smashes the rearview mirror of a taxi driven by Hsiao-kang's father. Hsiao-kang stalks Ah-tze and his buddy Ah-ping as they hang out in the film's iconic arcade (featuring a telling poster of James Dean on the wall) and other locales around Taipei, and ultimately takes his revenge. REBELS OF THE NEON GOD is a remarkably impressive first film that hints at the promise of its director: a talent confirmed by Tsai's equally stunning second feature, VIVE L'AMOUR (Golden Lion, Venice), and continuing with his most recent film, STRAY DOGS, which ranked high on many "best of" lists last year. Though showing such diverse influences as the French New Wave, Wong Kar-wai's early films — and, yes, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE — Tsai's film is most remarkable for introducing his startlingly unique vision to world cinema. (Note courtesy of Big World Pictures.) DIR/SCR Tsai Ming-Liang; PROD Jiang Feng-Chyt, Hsu Li-Kong. Taiwan, 1992, color, 106 min. In Mandarin and Taiwanese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Scripted by Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle ("The Commitments"), ROSIE won the Best Feature Film Award at the 2018 Irish Film Festival London and Best Irish Film at the 2018 Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards. When the landlord unexpectedly sells their rental home, Rosie (Sarah Greene, BLACK 47), John Paul (Moe Dunford, BLACK 47, THE DIG) and their young family find themselves homeless. Cramming their belongings into their car, the family begins a daily search for a place to sleep. While John Paul works kitchen shifts, Rosie drives the older kids to and from school, where shame keeps her from confessing the desperation of their situation. Simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful, Paddy Breathnach's (VIVA) powerful drama is a testament to the resilience of love. Winner, Best Irish Film, 2018 Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards; Winner, Best Feature Film, 2018 Irish Film Festival London. Official Selection, 2018 Toronto and London film festivals, 2019 Rotterdam and Jeonju film festivals. DIR Paddy Breathnach; SCR Roddy Doyle; PROD Juliette Bonass, Rory Gilmartin, Emma Norton. Ireland, 2018, color, 86 min. In English. RATED PG-13
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[HERR ARNES PENGAR]
100th Anniversary
Directed by Mauritz Stiller from a script by Gustaf Molander, this dark and complex drama of justice, grief, guilt and redemptive love features stunning sets and costumes; riveting action and eerie atmospherics; and outstanding performances from its entire cast — truly, it is one of the greatest silent films in history. Medieval Sweden, wintertime: three renegade Scottish mercenaries sack the mansion of Sir Arne of Solberga, murdering all of the house's occupants save for a lone escapee, daughter Elsalill (Mary Johnson), and making off with the family treasure. After being rescued from wandering around in the cold and snow, Elsalill is taken in by a fisherman, Torarin (Axel Nilsson), but is still greatly shaken by her traumatic experience, periodically reliving the memory through intense visions. In time, she meets and falls in love with an itinerant knight, Sir Archie (Richard Lund), but later discovers to her horror that he was one of the gang who killed her family. DIR/SCR Mauritz Stiller; SCR Gustaf Molander, from the novel "The Treasure" by Selma Lagerlöf; PROD Charles Magnusson. Sweden, 1919, b&w, 109 min. Silent with English intertitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
aka THE FLAME OF LIFE [SÅNGEN OM DEN ELDRÖDA BLOMMAN]
100th Anniversary
The first and most famous of several screen adaptations of the 1900 novel by Finnish writer Johannes Linnankoski, SONG OF THE SCARLET FLOWER is a touchstone film of the silent era's golden age in Sweden, showcasing stunning outdoor scenery during the season of the midnight sun; the folk customs of the farmers and foresters of the rugged northlands; young star Lars Hanson, in top form as a callow, heartbreaking youth who learns some hard truths about life and love; and the sure-handed direction of Mauritz Stiller, entering the peak years of his career, and a run of films that would soon get him and his young protégé Greta Garbo noticed by Hollywood. Screenings November 24–26 will feature the original Armas Järnefelt orchestral score, considered second only to Johan Sibelius among Finnish composers, performed by the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jaakko Kuusisto. DIR/SCR Mauritz Stiller; SCR Gustaf Molander, from the novel "Laulu Tulipunaisesta Kukasta" by Johannes Linnankoski. Sweden, 1919, b&w with tinting and toning, 101 min. Silent with English intertitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Ken Loach's follow-up to 2016's Palm d'Or-winning I, DANIEL BLAKE interrogates another facet of life in contemporary Britain, this time taking on the harsh realities of the gig economy through the lens of one family struggling to make ends meet in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Ricky (Kris Hitchen), a former construction worker who lost his job and home in the crash, is keen to make a go of it when a friend suggests he take a job as a semi-freelance delivery driver. Though it sounds appealing, it is soon clear that without any of the benefits of conventional employment, Ricky will need to run himself ragged just to call it a wash, forfeiting even the basic need for a bathroom break to keep on track and meet the steep daily targets. When Ricky convinces his wife, Abbie (Debbie Honeywood), an equally hardworking home care nurse, to sell her car so that he can buy his own van and avoid the unaffordable daily rental rate charged by the delivery firm, what starts as a step toward independence risks dragging Ricky and his family further and further behind. Winner, Audience Award, Best European Film, 2019 San Sebastián International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2019 Cannes, Toronto, Busan and Chicago film festivals. DIR Ken Loach; SCR Paul Laverty; PROD Rebecca O'Brien. UK/France/Belgium, 2019, color, 100 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
This touching homage to a lost way of life unfolds in a decaying forest on the Yugoslav-Italian border in the years after WWII. In the forest lives Mario, a stingy carpenter. Stubborn in his old age, he fails to notice his wife's descent into illness — one among several missed opportunities to care for his loved ones. Mario tries to impart his hard-gained wisdom to Marta, a young woman who has been left behind to tend the chestnut groves after her husband's departure. In their decaying surroundings, these lonely souls share fond memories — transformed into imaginative tales — and melancholic contemplations of their futures. Should they remain, haunted by a life that was, or does another path call: joining countless others on the rickety cart to a world unknown? Official Selection, 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. (Note courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival.) DIR/SCR Gregor Božič; SCR/PROD Marina Gumzi. Slovenia, 2019, color, 81 min. In Slovenian and Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Tired of churning out lightweight comedies, Hollywood director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) decides to make O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? — a serious, socially responsible film about human suffering. After his producers point out that he knows nothing of hardship, Sullivan hits the road disguised as a hobo. En route to enlightenment, he encounters a lovely but no-nonsense young woman (Veronica Lake) — and more trouble than he ever dreamed of. This comic masterpiece by Preston Sturges is among the finest Hollywood satires and a high-water mark in the career of one of the industry's most revered funnymen. (Note courtesy of the Criterion Collection.) DIR/SCR/PROD Preston Sturges. U.S., 1941, b&w, 90 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR MEMBERS: AFI Members at the Two-Star Level and higher can redeem one complimentary ticket per membership card to the Nov. 15 show, at the AFI Silver box office.
An American pulp novelist in postwar Vienna finds himself enmeshed in the hunt for an old friend, now a notorious black marketeer. Carol Reed's exemplary thriller, often cited as one of the greatest films ever made, and cinema's most vivid example of "high noir" style, stars Joseph Cotton as the innocent American abroad, Holly Martins; Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, the woman who might lead Martins to his mysterious friend; Trevor Howard as British Major Calloway, whose jurisdiction of the occupied city includes the part where Martins keeps getting himself into trouble; and Orson Welles as the mysterious Harry Lime. Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes and #1 on the British Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest British movies of the 20th century. DIR/PROD Carol Reed; SCR Graham Greene. UK, 1949, b&w, 104 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
"These go to 11." Rob Reiner's uproarious spoof of heavy metal music, artistic vanity, lower-rung celebrity and music docs themselves launched co-creators Christopher Guest and company on their careers as mocku-mentarians (and sometime musicians). THIS IS SPINAL TAP is one of the funniest films ever made, a stalwart of the midnight movie and college circuit through the 1980s and '90s, and one with far-reaching influence on the comedy landscape. DIR/SCR Rob Reiner; SCR Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer; PROD Karen Murphy. U.S., 1984, color, 82 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
[AKIK MARADTAK]
Budapest, 1948: the upheaval of WWII has given way to the refashioning of society by the new Communist regime. Having survived the war's extermination camps, Dr. Aládar "Aldó" Kőrner (Károly Hajduk) has revived his medical practice, even if he hasn't fully returned to the life he once led, haunted by the loss of his wife and sons. In steps a tornado named Klára (Abigél Szőke), 16 years old and full of life, herself a survivor of the camps, but one who has not yet fully processed her trauma, often penning long letters to her deceased mother and father. An unconventional but vitally supportive friendship develops between the two in Barnabás Tóth's remarkable and immensely moving historical drama. Official Selection, 2019 Telluride Film Festival. DIR/SCR Barnabás Tóth; SCR Klára Muhi, from the novel by Zsuzsa F. Várkonyi; PROD Ernõ Mesterházy, Mónika Mécs. Hungary, 2019, color, 83 min. In Hungarian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Co-presented by JxJ
Also showing at Cafritz Hall, Edlavitch DCJCC on Sun, Dec. 15, 2:30 p.m. CLICK HERE for tickets to that screening.
[IL TRADITORE]
Veteran Italian master Marco Bellocchio (FISTS IN THE POCKET, VINCERE) crafts a gangster epic for the ages with this powerful profile of real-life mafia boss-turned-pentito Tommaso Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino, ANGELS AND DEMONS, WORLD WAR Z), whose work as an informant led to the infamous six-year Maxi trial and to the largest, most public prosecution of the Sicilian mafia in Italian history. After leaving Palermo for Brazil in the 1980s to escape a brewing crisis among feuding strands of the Cosa Nostra, Buscetta is eventually arrested and sent back to Italy to await punishment for his crimes. When he discovers that, in his absence, members of his family, including his own son, have been used as pawns in the mafia's ongoing drug war, Buscetta begins to feel that his former associates have betrayed the Cosa Nostra's code. Reluctantly, he agrees to testify against them, striking a bargain with the ill-fated judge Giovanni Falcone (Fausto Russo Alesi, VINCERE) that will change the history of organized crime in Italy and across the world. Winner, Best Director and Best Original Score, 2019 Italian Golden Globes; Official Selection, 2019 Cannes, Busan, Toronto, New York and Chicago film festivals. DIR/SCR Marco Bellocchio; SCR Valia Santella, Ludovica Rampoldi, Francesco Piccolo; PROD Beppe Caschetto, Viola Fügen, Simone Gattoni, Caio Gullane, Fabiano Gullane, Alexandra Henochsberg, Michael Weber. Italy/France/Brazil/Germany, 2019, color, 145 min. In English, Italian, Sicilian and Portuguese with English subtitles. RATED R
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[LA VÉRITÉ]
With her American husband Hank (Ethan Hawke) in tow, Lumir (Juliette Binoche) goes to visit her mother Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve) in her beautiful country home to celebrate the release of Fabienne's memoir chronicling her lifelong career in front of the camera. Now in her twilight years, Fabienne is finally starting to show some vulnerability on the set of her latest film, but she's still butting heads with her daughter at home. Meanwhile, Hank, the TV actor who speaks no French, is just happy to be along for the ride. This mother-daughter comedy from Palme d'Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda (SHOPLIFTERS) starring two French screen icons is the perfect recipe for a good time. Official Selection, 2019 Venice, Toronto Film and Busan film festivals. DIR/SCR Hirokazu Kore-eda; SCR Léa Le Dimna; PROD Muriel Merlin. France/Japan, 2019, color, 106 min. In English and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
THE KOUMIKO MYSTERY [LE MYSTÈRE KOUMIKO]
New DCP
Chris Marker's THE KOUMIKO MYSTERY is a stream-of-consciousness outsider's examination of Japanese culture that starts out covering the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and ends by following a young Japanese woman (Koumiko Muraoka) around Tokyo as she recounts her feelings of alienation and longing. Marker's film is a brilliant commentary on the cultural follies of touristic Olympics journalism and the inadequacies of national identity. Featuring an original score by Tōru Takemitsu. DIR/SCR/PROD Chris Marker. France, 1965, color, 54 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Followed by: THE INLAND SEA
New DCP
In the early 1990s, Lucille Carra ventured to the heart of Japan to painstakingly reenact a journey taken by legendary Japanese film and cultural scholar Donald Richie, two decades before. Richie had traveled alone to the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, an area he intended to scour for any preserved remnants of ancestral Japanese traditions not yet spoiled by Western modernity. The final product of Carra's reenactment, the poetic essayistic travelogue THE INLAND SEA, is a sublime and sumptuous meditation on the traveling condition, and a sobering distillation of modern Japanese society. Narrated by Richie and featuring an original score by Tōru Takemitsu. DIR/SCR/PROD Lucille Carra; from the book by Donald Richie; PROD Brian Cotnoir. U.S., 1991, color, 56 min. NOT RATED
Co-presented with the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and their Cinema Revived series. Max Carpenter introduces two additional Takemitsu-scored documentaries at the Freer on Sunday, December 8 at 2:00 p.m.: Noriaki Tsuchimoto's THE MINIMATA MURAL and Kon Ichikawa's KYOTO.
AFI Member passes accepted.
Portuguese pop music icon António Variações gets his due in this long-awaited biopic, which charts the singer's unlikely rise to fame before his untimely death from HIV/AIDS in 1984. Raised in a small village in Amares, in the north of Portugal, Variações (Portuguese TV star Sérgio Praia) longed to escape from an early age. Moving to Lisbon, where he became a barber, the young would-be singer became a fixture in Lisbon's underground art and music scenes, becoming known for his unconventional, outrageous sense of style and his unique, pop-infused take on Portuguese folk and fado music. Similar to recent music biopics about queer music icons Freddie Mercury and Elton John, VARIAÇÕES is a poignant tribute to an artist with a singular, uncompromising vision, and like BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and ROCKETMAN, it has become a box office sensation poised to inspire a whole new generation of fans. DIR/SCR João Maia; SCR Karen Sztajnberg; PROD Fernando Vendrell. Portugal, 2019, color, 109 min. In English, Portuguese and Dutch with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Mark Doneo's feature debut is a ghost story-turned-psychological thriller, set on Malta's sister isle. In the quaint village of Qala in Gozo, Emily Edevane was abandoned, along with her three small children, by her husband. No one seems to have heard of them since. Four decades later, a Maltese documentary crew agrees to spend a day at the now desolate and decaying mansion, hoping to find out what became of the family. The film shoot takes a turn for the nightmarish when the crew encounters strange phenomena and dark forces in the house that they can't explain. (Note adapted from Mad Movies Productions.) DIR/SCR/PROD Mark Doneo; SCR Mikiel Camilleri Haber. Malta, 2018, color, 85 min. In Maltese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
A gentle cycling comedy filmed in Hampshire and Sussex, THE WHEELS OF CHANCE is based on an early H. G. Wells comic novel from the late 19th century — a time when bicycles were becoming trendy for all British classes and the automobile had yet to rule the roads. George K. Arthur plays Mr. Hoopdriver, a lowly draper's assistant who sets out on a cycling holiday to ease his workaday blues, but experiences mystifying adventures along the way. (Note courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.) DIR Harold M. Shaw; SCR Frank Miller, from the novel by H. G. Wells. UK, 1922, b&w, 75 min. Silent with English intertitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[LA GOMERA]
This twisty neo-noir caper from Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST; POLICE, ADJECTIVE) has it all: a corrupt cop, a femme fatale, a Mexican mobster, government surveillance, double-crosses galore, a mattress full of money and, of course, an indigenous whistling language called "el Silbo Gomero." When Romanian police detective Cristi (Vlad Ivanov) travels to the Canary Islands, his mission is to learn a local whistling language from island gangsters and a beautiful accomplice named Gilda (Catrinel Marlon), in order to aid in the escape of an imprisoned businessman back in Romania, without being detected by authorities. The goal: to find a mattress containing several million euros before anyone else — and to stay alive in the process. Porumboiu's darkly comic thriller is both a riff on the heist genre and a smart look at the limitations and possibilities of language, both spoken (or whistled) and cinematic. Official Selection, 2019 Cannes, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, London and Chicago film festivals.
DIR/SCR Corneliu Porumboiu; PROD Patricia Poienaru, Marcela Ursu. Romania/France/Germany/Sweden, 2019, color, 97 min. In English, Romanian and Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Tickets $5 for children 12 and under
"Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!" When Louis B. Mayer couldn't get Shirley Temple, he took a gamble and cast Judy Garland as Dorothy, the lonely dreamer from Kansas who runs away with her dog Toto and is transported over the rainbow to the magical Land of Oz. The film earned six Oscar® nominations, with wins for Best Score and Best Song ("Over the Rainbow"). DIR Victor Fleming; SCR Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum; PROD Mervyn LeRoy. U.S., 1939, b&w/color, 101 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[LE JEUNE AHMED]
The latest film from the Dardenne brothers (THE CHILD; ROSETTA; TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT) concerns 13-year-old Ahmed, a psychologically fragile Brussels teen who has begun to fall under the spell of a charismatic imam who preaches an extremist, intolerant interpretation of Islam. Goaded by the Svengali-like imam, Ahmed starts to berate his mother and sister for their western dress and secular ways, and constantly argue with his Arabic teacher, Inès. Groomed by the imam to take action, Ahmed hatches an ill-conceived plot to kill his teacher. Winner, Best Director, 2019 Cannes Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; PROD Denis Freyd. Belgium/France, 2019, color, 90 min. In French and Arabic with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Nine-year-old Jason's world is shattered when he is abandoned by his mother on an afternoon trip to the local folk festival. Panicked and afraid, he wanders into the woods and into the cabin of a reclusive, bearded man with a shotgun named Minas who reluctantly takes him in. A pariah in the community, the misunderstood, mute man eventually forms an unlikely bond with the kid, and they both find in each other a new family they've been longing for, in this moving story about unlikely friendships and human connection. Official Selection, 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Vardis Marinakis; SCR Spiros Krimbalis; PROD Konstantinos Vassilaros. Greece, 2019, color, 92 min. In Greek with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Mixing zombie lore with mean-girl angst and a smart examination of France's colonial history, Bertrand Bonello (NOCTURAMA, SAINT LAURENT) expertly shifts between 1960s Haiti and contemporary France to meditate on the intricacies of race, class and cultural appropriation. In 1962 Haiti, a man is exhumed from his grave, brought back from the dead and forced to work on a sugar cane plantation. In present-day France, at an elite boarding school for descendants of Légion d'honneur recipients, rebellious teen Fanny (Louise Labèque) befriends Melissa, a new student who moved to France following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. When Melissa reveals an old family secret, Fanny becomes obsessed with her mysterious past and culture, seeking to use it to cure her recent heartbreak. Official Selection, 2019 Cannes, Toronto, New York and London film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Bertrand Bonello; PROD Judith Lou Lévy. France, 2019, color, 103 min. In English, French and Haitian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.