38th Portland International Film Festival - PIFF 38 schedule by NWFC

38 TH PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FEBRUARY 5-21, 2015

WELCOME Welcome to the 38th Portland International Film Festival, the Northwest Film Center’s annual showcase of new world cinema. With this year’s 97 features and 60 shorts, we celebrate the world’s filmmakers—and those who love their work—no matter the language spoken. As with November’s annual Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival, which surveys the perspectives of our region’s makers, we hope you set aside some time for a bit of armchair travel, discovery, and inspiration. The programmatic centerpiece of this year’s Festival is a showcase of Hispanic language films from ten countries, and the accompanying Cine-Lit Conference on Hispanic Film and Literature co-produced by the foreign language departments at Oregon State University, Portland State University and the University of Oregon. This is the eighth such Festival and Conference collaboration, a sharing of films, v isiting directors, scholars, and students that enriches one another and the community. Our warm welcome extends to the many guests traveling from throughout the world to Portland for both events. The Festival continues to flourish for countless reasons—enthusiastic audiences, Silver Screen Club members, generous sponsors, volunteers and staff, film industry and media supporters,

and of course, filmmakers who continue to surprise, delight, inform, and energize with their vision of our world. They bring the Festival to life, and we thank them all. For the Film Center, the Festival is not an end, but a means. We want this annual sampling of the vitality of international cinema to be more than a special event, but rather to be the impetus for a deeper dive into the art of film—whether it is on the big screen or in the palm of your hand. Between Opening and Closing night the choices are many, and we hope you find among them the gems that will keep you searching for more. Enjoy!

Bill Foster, Director Northwest Film Center

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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS THE FESTIVAL PROGRAM

WILD TALES DAMIÁN SZIFRÓN ARGENTINA/SPAIN

Living up to the expectations of the title, Damián Szifrón’s outrageously entertaining anthology of six blackly-comic short stories packs a buzz-inducing wallop. Though each is unconnected from the other, they share thematic unity in their tales of frustration, bestial revenge, and the past coming back to haunt in escalating fashion. There is a betrayed bride, a road rage incident gone to hell, a meltdown with the Buenos Aires parking patrol, two passengers on a plane making a very uncomfortable discovery, and a waitress meeting someone from her past she would rather not see. Produced by Pedro AlmodÓvar and possessed with overthe-top flair, this portrait of Argentinians on the verge has the laughter of universal recognition. This year’s Argentinian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (122 mins.)

2/5 7:00PM | FOX TOWER

OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION The Northwest Film Center and The Oregonian invite you to join us after the screening of Wild Tales at the Fox Tower to celebrate the opening of this year’s Festival with co-hosts King Estate Winery, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Swank & Swine, and Pearl Catering.

The Festival program is arranged alphabetically by title, with showtimes and locations listed at the end of each film description. Programs of short films follow the feature listings. The master schedule on page 47 lists each day’s films, showtimes, and locations. Please note that a few films have only one showing. Sometimes, for reasons beyond our control, screenings may be changed, rescheduled, or canceled. For the most up-to-date information, call the Advance Ticket Outlet at 503-276-4310, check the Festival schedule board at the Advance Ticket Outlet or the Whitsell Auditorium, or log on to the Festival’s website at festivals.nwfilm.org/piff38.

THE FESTIVAL SCENE Stay connected through PIFF’s social media outlets. Schedule updates, visiting artist information, party details, and d iscussion threads can all be found here:

OPENING NIGHT TICKETS $25 general; $20 Silver Screen Club Friends and Portland Art Museum members. Admission is free for Silver Screen Club Director, Producer, Benefactor, and Sustainer members. Sign up for the Silver Screen Club, which in addition to PIFF, offers access to more than 400 screenings annually.

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HISPANIC FILM SHOWCASE & CINE-LIT VIII This year’s Festival offers a broad spectrum of new films from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela show casing new work from both established and emerging filmmakers. Accompanying the films is Cine-Lit 2015, the eighth International Conference on Hispanic Film & Fiction, co-produced by Oregon State University, Portland State University, and University of Oregon, in partnership with the Northwest Film Center and Portland International Film Festival. The Conference (February 19–21) will offer a wide range of panels, papers, and discussions by academics, writers, and directors from the United States and participating countries. Presenting their films at the Festival and as part of the Conference are Peruvian filmmaker Javier Corcuera (I’m Still), Mexican f ilmmaker Mariana Chenillo (Paradise), Argentine filmmaker Celina Murga (The Third Side of the River), Bolivian filmmaker Juan Carlos Valdivia (Yvy Maraey), Spanish screenwriter Alicia Luna (In a Foreign Land), and Spanish filmmaker Mariano Barroso (All the Women). More information about Conference programs and activities may be found at cinelit.org.

NEW DIRECTORS As always, the Festival has its share of new works by established directors already familiar to those who love i nternational cinema. This year, such renowned masters as Albert Maysles, Susanne Bier, Yoji Yamada, Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Ann Hui, Olivier Assayas, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Rolf de Heer, and Sergei Loznitsa bring us new films. We are also proud to present several new makers whose first feature films hold promise for great films to come. Among the 14 eligible for this year’s New Director Audience Award are: Fernando Armando Coimbra, A Wolf at the Door; Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, The Tribe; Gabriel Mascaro, August Winds; Teodorah Mihai, Waiting for August; Tomislav Mršic´, Cowboys; Kiah Roache-Turner, Wyrmwood; July Jung, A Girl at My Door; Kristina Grozeva, The Lesson; Geethu Mohandas, Liar’s Dice; Jonas Ohman, Vincas Sruoginis, Invisible Front; Alonso Ruiz Palacios, Güeros; Ronnie Sandhal, Underdog; and Marah Strauch, Sunshine Superman.

OSCAR SUBMISSIONS This year’s Festival features the Portland premieres of 25 films submitted for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, including: Charlie’s Country (Australia), Wild Tales (Argentina), The Dark Valley (Austria), Mateo (Columbia), Cowboys (Croatia), Behavior (Cuba), Sorrow and Joy (Denmark), Factory Girl (Egypt), Concrete Night (Finland), Corn Island (Georgia), Beloved Sisters (Germany), Golden Era (Hong Kong), White God (Hungary), Life in a Fishbowl (Iceland), Liar’s Dice (India), Today (Iran), Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (Israel),

Human Capital (Italy), The Light Shines Only There (Japan), Rocks in My Pocket (Latvia), The Gambler (Lithuania), Eyes of a Thief (Palestine), The Japanese Dog (Romania), Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed (Spain), Mr. Kaplan (Uruguay), and The Liberator (Venezuela).

SHORT CUTS This year’s Festival features eight shorts programs featuring 60 memorable snapshots from across the world. Among the special programs are showcases of new French and Spanish shorts, animated gems plucked from top international festivals by LAIKA’s Mark Shapiro, experimental work curated by Cinema Project, and a baker’s dozen of new shorts by Oregon filmmakers.

DOCUMENTARY VIEWS This year’s Festival boasts 18 fresh perspectives on the world we live in and the fascinating people and stories that surround us. The non-fiction selections include: I Am Big Bird (US), Hotel Nueva Isla (Cuba/Spain), I’m Still (Peru), In a Foreign Land (Spain), Invisible Front (Lithuania), Iris (US), The Iron Ministry (US), Jalanan (Indonesia/The Netherlands/ US), The Look of Silence (Denmark/ Indonesia/Norway), Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (US), Maidan (Ukraine), On the Way to School (France), Red Army (US), Stop the Pounding Heart (France), Sunshine Superman (US), Waiting for August (Romania), and A Year in Champagne (US).

ANIMATED WORLDS In addition to the two-dozen award- winning animated shorts in the Short Cuts programs, this year’s Festival includes three animated features that have charmed audiences and critics world-wide. They include international prizewinners The Boy and the World (Brazil), Giovanni’s Island (Japan), and Rocks in My Pockets (Latvia/US).

PIFF AFTER DARK Our late-night series—for the nocturnally inclined whose cinematic tastes are adventurous—offers special treats for devotees of genre films that push boundaries. All of the screenings take place at the Hollywood Theatre and start at 10:30 pm. The selections include: Backcountry (Canada), Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (Australia), Darkness by Day (Argentina), R100 (Japan), and Wyrmwood (Australia). Our thanks to Yelp! Portland for supporting this series.

FILMS FOR FAMILIES Film lovers from nine to 90 will be charmed by these award-winning films suitable for younger viewers, depending on subject interest and subtitle-reading ability. Check the film descriptions for age suitability suggestions. The films include: Belle and Sebastian (France), The Boy and the World (Brazil), Mateo (Colombia), On the Way to School (France), Secrets of War (Netherlands), and Timbuktu (Mauritania). Special thanks to the Lamb-Baldwin Foundation for supporting these films.

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GLOBAL CLASSROOM

TICKETS

The Festival’s Global Classroom program serves as a point of introduction for the next generation of cinema lovers by enriching the high school classroom experience and broadening young people’s understanding of our world through film. With the support of the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, Juan Young Trust, Anne A. Berni Foundation, and Chipotle, the Festival will screen five of this year’s Festival selections for students and teachers at special weekday screenings at the Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. Whether watched with a class or independently at the film’s public screenings, Mateo (Mexico), Marie’s Story (France), Giovanni’s Island (Japan), On the Way to School (France), and Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (US) offer rich cultural experiences. Contact Anna Crandall at 503-221-1156 x25 or anna@nwfilm.org for more information.

GENERAL: $12 PORTLAND ART MUSEUM MEMBER: $11 STUDENT/SENIOR (65+): $11 CHILDREN (12 and under): $9 GROUP (10 or more, Sunday–Thursday screen-

AUDIENCE AWARDS As always, you get to be the judge. Let us know your opinions about the films you see this year. Ballots will be available at the screenings to rate and comment on the films, or you can now vote online at festivals.nwfilm.org/piff38. At the conclusion of the Festival, the results of the balloting will be announced, with Audience Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Documentary, Best Short, New Director, and other special recognitions. We welcome feedback on your PIFF experience and how we can improve next year’s Festival.

ings only, available at the Advance Ticket Outlet only): $9

SILVER SCREEN CLUB FRIEND ($75 annually):

$9 (one discount per film, per screening)

DIRECTOR ($400 annually), PRODUCER ($600 annually), BENEFACTOR ($1,500 annually), SUSTAINER ($2,500 annually), and PREMIERE CIRCLE ($5,000 annually) embers receive free admission with m their valid Silver Screen Club cards

OPENING NIGHT FILM & PARTY: $25 General; $ 20 Silver Screen Club Friends and

Portland Art Museum members

TICKET PACKAGES: 5 films for $50

PURCHASE METHODS Advance tickets go on sale beginning Monday, January 26.

ONLINE: Daily, 24 hours at nwfilm.org. WALK-UP: Daily, 12–6pm, January 26– February 22 in person at the Advance Ticket Outlet in the lobby of the Portland Art Museum’s Mark Building, 1119 SW Park Avenue.

PHONE: Daily, 12–6pm, January 26– February 22, at 503-276-4310.

DAY-OF-SHOW: On the day of a screening, tickets (if still available) can be purchased at the Advance Ticket Outlet until three hours prior to showtime, then at the specific theater’s box office beginning as early as 30 minutes prior to showtime.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

FESTIVAL VOUCHERS

Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover cards are accepted at the Advance Ticket Outlet and online. For day-of-show sales, theater box offices accept cash or check only.

Please be aware that a voucher may not be used at a theater for admission. It must be redeemed—in person at the Advance Ticket Outlet—for a specific film screening at least one day in advance of the screening date, and tickets are subject to availability. You’ll know it’s a voucher because it says VOUCHER at the top, as well as THIS IS NOT A TICKET. We recommend exchanging vouchers at your earliest convenience.

RUSH TICKETS Even if advance tickets are no longer available, rush tickets are offered at each theater’s box office as soon as the number of unoccupied passholder seats has been determined—typically a few minutes before showtime. The rush line may start anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours prior to the screening.

FESTIVAL PASSES An allotment of seats is reserved at every screening for passholders. Passholders are guaranteed admission until 10 minutes prior to showtime or until the passholder allotment has been reached. Early arrival is recommended; although exceedingly rare in occurrence, passholders may not always be able to attend a film at their first choice of screening times. Passes are available exclusively as a benefit of Silver Screen Club membership with the Northwest Film Center at the Director level and above. Get more from your PIFF experience as a member with year-round access to Northwest Film Center screenings. No more waiting in box office lines or keeping track of individual tickets!

PATRON COURTESIES We appreciate your assistance in helping to keep the Festival pleasant and fun for all. Our staff and volunteers are on site to assist, and we ask that all audience members observe Festival etiquette. • A ll seats are general admission, and seat saving is not permitted. • Please turn off cell phones and other devices during film presentations. • Please complete and return your “Audience Awards” ballot immediately following each screening in the designated boxes. You can also now vote online at our website: festivals.nwfilm.org/piff38. • W hile waiting in line, please be considerate of our neighbors and local businesses. • Please refrain from smoking near Festival doorways. • To expedite theater cleaning and seating, please discard your waste in the appropriate containers when exiting the theater. • Be aware that many lines are outside of the theaters and dress appropriately.

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DISABILITY SERVICES The Festival is committed to accommodating audience members with disabilities. We allow early seating for persons with disabilities when logistically possible. Please make yourself known to the theater house manager for assistance. Most venues* are wheelchair accessible and have wheelchair-accessible restrooms. The Whitsell Auditorium and Regal Fox Tower offer hearing assistance devices. *Unfortunately, due to the historical construction of the Roseway and Moreland theaters, these venues are not equipped with wheelchair-accessible restrooms.

FESTIVAL POLICIES THE 10-MINUTE RULE Seats for advance ticket and pass holders are held until 10 minutes before showtime, when any unfilled seats are released to the public. Thus, advance tickets or passes ensure that you will not have to wait in the ticket purchase line but do not guarantee a seat in the case of arrival after the 10-minute window has begun. Your early arrival also helps the screenings start promptly. We appreciate your understanding. Advance ticket holders who arrive within the 10-minute w indow but are not seated may exchange their tickets for another screening at the Advance Ticket Outlet or obtain a cash refund at the theater. There are no refunds or exchanges for arrivals after showtime or for missed screenings.

SEPARATE ADMISSION Each screening is a separate admission. Theaters are cleared between screenings in most cases. Advance ticket holders for a film immediately following the one they are attending will be guaranteed admission to the second film but cannot save a particular seat. You must take your belongings with you. We appreciate your understanding.

NON-FESTIVAL TICKETS AND PASSES Film Center scrip and comps, Portland Art Museum passes, and Regal, student, and other regular passes or discount admission tickets are not valid during the Festival.

THE FINE PRINT All orders are final. There are no refunds or exchanges except as noted. If a screening is canceled, tickets must be returned to the Advance Ticket Outlet within a week of the canceled screening date for refund or exchange.

LANGUAGES All films are screened in their original languages with English subtitles unless otherwise noted.

FESTIVAL VENUES 1

OTHER LOCATIONS ADVANCE TICKET OUTLET

CINEMA 21

1119 SW Park Ave at Main (inside the Portland Art Museum’s Mark Building)

616 NW 21st Ave at Hoyt 2

REGAL FOX TOWER 10

HOLLYWOOD THEATRE

MORELAND THEATER

846 SW Park Ave at Taylor 4122 NE Sandy Blvd 6712 SE Milwaukie Ave near Bybee 5

ROSEWAY THEATER 7229 NE Sandy Blvd near Fremont

WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 1219 SW Park Ave at Madison (inside the Portland Art Museum)

WORLD TRADE CENTER THEATER 121 SW Salmon St at 1st (Building 2)

For public transit options, please visit trimet.org. For parking information, please visit the Festival website: festivals.nwfilm.org/piff38.

Please note: As a security policy, the Portland Art Museum and Regal Fox Tower require a bag check. Food and drink are not allowed in the Whitsell Auditorium or the World Trade Center Theater. We appreciate your observance of these policies and your assistance in keeping the theaters as clean as possible. Concession items are available for purchase at Regal Fox Tower, Cinema 21, Hollywood Theatre, Moreland Theater, and Roseway Theater. No outside food or beverages allowed in any of the theaters. Thank you.

NE 3

NW &

downtown 6

SE SW

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’71 YANN DEMANGE UK

“A riveting thriller set in the mean streets of Belfast over the course of 24 hours, ’71 brings the grim reality of the Troubles to vivid, shocking life. Within days of being posted to Northern Ireland, which would soon turn into a war zone after January 1972’s Bloody Sunday, squaddie Gary finds himself trapped and unarmed in hostile territory when a house raid provokes a riot. Running for his life as the lines between friend and foe become increasingly blurred, Gary gets a baptism of fire and we get a stark, eye-opening look at the dirty war that tore Northern Ireland apart. Suggesting an update of Carol Reed’s classic Odd Man Out, this tough, compact suspense is handled with a dynamic, vigorous energy.” —New York Film Festival. (99 mins.)

2/9 6:00PM | CINEMA 21

THE 100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED

10,000 KM

AFTERLIFE

CARLOS MARQUES-MARCET

VIRÁG ZOMBORÁCZ

FELIX HERNGREN

Sergi and Alex, a young couple in Barcelona, are ready to take their passionate affair to the next level when 10,000 kilometers suddenly come between them. Alex is offered a year-long, all-expenses-paid artist’s residency in Los Angeles. Sergi, hesitant at first, encourages Alex to follow her dream, leaving them with only one way to bridge the divide: digital. With Skype acting as their savior, we witness the happy, painful, and revelatory process of a long-distance relationship sustained-and reinvented-through the ether. 10,000 KM mediates our experience, as it does theirs, through texts, video chats, and social media updates, probing the nature of technology and connection while it chronicles the story of a young couple separated not only by distance, but also dreams and desires. (99 mins.)

Mózes, a rather neurotic young man in his twenties, is unable to meet his domineering father’s expectations. So when his father suddenly has a heart attack and dies, Mózes is almost relieved; the pressure on him has been lifted. But at the funeral he notices his father’s disoriented ghost, which, although it cannot speak, follows him around, confused and searching. Mózes panics at first, then decides to complete his father’s unfinished tasks because, according to a spiritualist car repair man, this is the only way to get rid of a ghost. This energetic comingof-age story from female director Virág Zomborácz won the Best Feature Award at the Valladolid Film Festival, where it earned audience kudos with its fresh blend of sweet absurdity, high drama, and inventive style. (95 mins.)

SWEDEN

Based on a bestselling novel by Jonas Jonasson, this delightful comedy tells the unbelievable story of former dynamite expert Allan Karlsson, the titular 100-year-old man, who isn’t ready to stop life’s party. Fleeing his nursing home, Allan boards a bus and accidentally picks up a skinhead’s suitcase filled with 50 million kronor. On the run from the cops and the skinheads, the droll fugitive centenarian is accompanied by his many memories; in Zelig- and Forrest Gump-like fashion, it turns out he has brushed shoulders with the likes of Franco, Truman, Stalin, and Reagan over the years— all remembered in richly absurd flashbacks. The top-grossing film in Sweden last year, Herngen’s zany romp won the national audience vote for Best Film at the Swedish Guldbagge (Academy) Awards. (114 mins.)

2/7 9:00PM | MORELAND THEATER 2/9 8:30PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM Sponsored by Scandinavian Heritage Foundation and the New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society.

SPAIN

2/8 1:00PM | FOX TOWER 2/18 6:00PM | CINEMA 21

HUNGARY

2/8 4:00PM | ROSEWAY THEATER 2/14 6:00PM | FOX TOWER

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ALL THE WOMEN

ALLÉLUIA

ÄRTICO

AUGUST WINDS

MARIANO BARROSO

FABRICE DU WELZ

GABRIEL VELÁZQUEZ

GABRIEL MASCARO

“Spanish machismo is picked apart with surgical precision in Barroso’s engrossing All the Women, Winner of the Goya (Spanish Academy Award) for Best Adapted Screenplay. Nacho (Eduard Fernández), a down and out middle-aged veterinarian, seeks advice from the most important women in his life—his lover, his ex-wife, his mother, his sister-in-law, and his psychologist— after his scheme to steal cattle from his father-in-law falls apart. He soon finds his character indicted by each one of them. A scaled-back, sharp-eyed, David Mamet-inspired deconstruction of the fragile psyches of Spanish and other males, anchored in Fernandez’s memorable central performance.” —The Hollywood Reporter. (90 mins.)

Updated for the Internet era, Du Welz’s remake of the classic The Honeymoon Killers is based on the true story of ’60s serial killers Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez, who met women through personal ads, moved in, and then murdered them. Here, lonely Gloria meets conman Michel through an online dating service and quickly falls for his charms. When she discovers he’s swindled both her heart and her wallet, she agrees to help him seduce other women just so she can be with him. Gloria’s obsession with Michel turns their relatively innocent hustle into something much darker when she jealously murders his subsequent love interests. This violent and frenetic tale of sex, lust, and obsession plays with genre conventions with wicked delight. In French with English subtitles. (95 mins.)

In Ärtico, winner of special mention honors at the Berlin Film Festival, Jota and Simón are two “quinquis” (nomads), aged 20, who wander the streets every day to make ends meet. But apart from their carefree thefts and wheelings and dealings, both want something they don’t have. Simon, already a father, wishes to find his freedom. Jota, whose girlfriend is a drug-addict, wants to build a family. What will it take for these two—and a drifting generation like them—to find a life? Gritty, bleak, and breathtaking, with intensely physical performances from its amateur cast, Ärtico contrasts the picturesque natural landscapes of the Spanish province of Salamanca with the dire circumstances of dis affected youth. (78 mins.)

Shirley has left the big city to live in a small seaside town and look after her elderly grandmother. She drives a tractor on a local coconut plantation, loves rock music, and wants to be a tattoo artist, but she feels trapped in the tiny coastal village. She is involved with Jeison, who free dives for lobster and octopus in his spare time. During the month of August, when tropical storms pound the coastline, a researcher registering the sound of the trade winds arrives in their village. The high tides and the growing winds mark the following days of the village, and a surprise discovery takes Shirley and Jeison on a journey that confronts life and death, loss and memory, the wind and the sea. First feature. (77 mins.)

2/7 9:30PM | CINEMA 21 2/13 8:30PM | FOX TOWER

Thanks to PRAGDA, Spain Arts and Culture, Accíon Cultural Española (AC/E), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport.

SPAIN

2/18 8:30PM | CINEMA 21 2/19 9:00PM | FOX TOWER 2/21 7:30PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM Thanks to PRAGDA, Spain Arts and Culture, Accíon Cultural Española (AC/E), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport.

BELGIUM/FRANCE

Sponsored by LAIKA.

JAPAN

2/13 10:30PM | HOLLYWOOD THEATRE Sponsored by Yelp!

LATVIA/US

DENMARK

2/10 8:30PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/12 6:00PM | MORELAND THEATER

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SECRETS OF WAR

SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION

SORROW AND JOY

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

DENNIS BOTS

ETHAN HAWKE

NILS MALMROS

DIETRICH BRÜGGEMANN

During World War II, everyone had to keep secrets to survive, but at what price? Lambert and Tuur, two 12-yearold boys living in a small village in Nazi-occupied Holland, share a strong friendship. But even this bond is put at risk with the arrival of a lively young girl named Maartje, carrying with her a heavy secret about her past. As Tuur and Maartje become close, the estranged Lambert grows increasingly jealous and acts irrationally, exposing Maartje’s secret with far-reaching consequences that are beyond his understanding. The danger and the humanity of wartime friendships asks three children to find maturity far beyond their years. Winner, Best Live Action Feature, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. In Dutch with English subtitles. (95 mins.) Ages 10+.

This intimate portrait of classical pianist, composer, author, teacher, and sage Seymour Bernstein offers a wise and charismatic reflection on art and life. The question “why make art?” winds its way through the film in conversations with accomplished friends such as art critic Michael Kimmelman and religious scholar Andrew Harvey. Seymour also reflects on the careers of such pianists Glenn Gould and Clifford Curzon, seen in archival footage, and his deep love of piano music proves infectious. “Calling to mind My Dinner With Andre, his film is full of urbane conversation and infused with the sophisticated rhythms of New York City. Whether aficionados or newcomers to the world of classical music, viewers will find much to gain from this introduction to Seymour.”—Toronto Film Festival. (81 mins.)

In Malmros’s moving autobiographical film, a meditation on the limits of human law and the infinite possibilities of kindness, Johannes, a filmmaker, is married to Signe, a schoolteacher. Together, they experience the biggest sorrow and misfortune one can ever imagine. When Johannes returns from a trip, he discovers that Signe—not out of spite or hate but out of a sense of despair and loneliness and psychosis— has killed their infant child during a psychotic fit. Johannes doesn’t judge her but tries to come to grip with all the ways he has failed her without ever meaning any harm. Her students and their parents want her back, and only the State and its representatives need to be convinced that society needs this woman. This year’s Danish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (107 mins.)

Devout teenager Maria and her family belong to the ultra-conservative Society of St. Paul. Maria is intent on walking a godly path, and yet she has questions. Why would God give her brother a learning disability? Why does her mother forbid her from seeing a boy from a different church? As the contradictions of devout faith and modern life multiply, Maria eschews the easy way out and chooses to follow the hardest road of all—that of the savior, with all the pain and sacrifice it may entail. Told in single-shot tableaux that parallel Christ’s journey to his own crucifixion, Brüggemann’s provocative film serves as both an indictment of fundamentalist faith’s inflexibility and an exploration of one impressionable teen’s struggle to find her own path in life. (107 mins.)

2/8 6:30PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/11 5:45PM | WORLD TRADE CENTER

2/14 4:00PM | MORELAND THEATER 2/17 6:00PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

THE NETHERLANDS

2/15 1:00PM | CINEMA 21 2/18 6:00PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

DENMARK

Sponsored by the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation and the ScanDesign Foundation.

GERMANY

2/8 8:45PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/10 9:00PM | ROSEWAY THEATER

PIFF 38 27

STOP THE POUNDING HEART

SUNSHINE SUPERMAN

THE THIRD SIDE OF THE RIVER

TIMBUKTU

ROBERTO MINERVINI

MARAH STRAUCH

CELINA MURGA

ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO

Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, Italian director Roberto Minervini’s absorbing film is a portrait of adolescence as experienced by a sheltered girl in a conservative farm family in rural Texas. Without condescension or judgment, we see life through the eyes of 14-year-old Sarah, who is homeschooled alongside her 11 other siblings by her loving mother but destined for a life of serving her husband as prescribed in the Bible. As she falls for a boy from a vastly different background, an intimate drama unfolds revealing Sara’s turmoil about her place in a faith where women are subservient. A portrait of contemporary American life not often seen, Minervini’s film was the Best Documentary winner at the David di Donatello (Italian Oscar) Awards. (101 mins.)

After graduating from USC and a stint as an engineer, Carl Boenish devoted himself to “freefall cinematography” (John Frankenheimer’s The Gypsy Moths). He and his wife Jean became the prime movers in BASE jumping— the act of leaping from Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and Earth (i.e., sheer cliffs) before hopefully saving yourself from a bad ending with a parachute. To some, the idea is madness if not suicide, but for the Boenishes it was about the essence of life, of freedom, and the experience of defying gravity. Strauch’s exhilarating film tells their incredible story, not only in words, but in breathtaking deed. Sunshine Superman is a love story— about what it feels like to fall, first uncontrollably, then willingly, and then finally ecstatically. First feature. (96 mins.)

Seventeen-year-old Nicholas’s father is a respected doctor, but he lives a double life: one, seemingly harmonious, with Nico and his mother and siblings; and the other, mere blocks away, with his second family—with whom he spends most of his time and the bulk of his money. The titular third side of the river refers to a sort of purgatory or limbo, effective imagery for Nicholas, who, torn between protecting the family he loves and choosing his own future, becomes tormented by a tension so tightly wound it threatens to become explosive. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and winner of the Special Prize of the Jury at the Cartagena Film Festival, The Thrid Side of the River is a devastating drama of family duty and duplicity. (92 mins.)

Not far from Timbuktu, now ruled by religious fundamentalists, mild- mannered herdsman Kidane lives peacefully in the dunes with his wife and daughter. In town, the people suffer, powerless, from the regime of terror imposed by the Jihadists; music, laughter, cigarettes, even soccer have been banned. Every day, the new improvised courts issue tragic and absurd sentences, and when Kidane accidentally kills a neighbor, he is forced to confront the chaos head on. Set in the early days of the jihadist takeover of northern Mali in 2012, Sissako’s drama delivers a warm and often humorous condemnation of religious intolerance. This year’s Mauritanian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. In French, Arabic, and Bambara with English subtitles. (97 mins.) Ages 13+.

ITALY/BELGIUM/US

2/13 5:45PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/16 6:00PM | CINEMA 21

US/NORWAY/UK

2/7 6:30PM | CINEMA 21 Sponsored by Hotel deLuxe and Sierra Nevada Brewing.

ARGENTINA

2/20 6:45PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/21 7:30PM | FOX TOWER

MAURITANIA

2/7 6:45PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/10 6:00PM | MORELAND THEATER

28 PIFF 38

TODAY

THE TRIBE

TU DORS NICOLE

UNDERDOG

REZA MIRKARIMI

MIROSLAV SLABOSHPITSKY

STÉPHANE LAFLEUR

RONNIE SANDAHL

Writer-director Mirkarimi provides a detailed, emotional snapshot of two individuals struggling for genuine connection: an aging taxi driver and a young woman coping with the struggles of being pregnant without a man. In the middle of a bustling Tehran afternoon, Youness is accosted by a desperate new fare: a frantic young woman named Sedigheh, begging to be taken to the hospital. A man of few words, Youness retains his stoic composure despite the young woman’s v isible distress. Upon their arrival at the hospital he reluctantly escorts her inside in the absence of accompanying family members. As personal secrets are revealed throughout the night, his silent compassion and Sedigheh’s timid dependence will entwine. This year’s Iranian submission for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. In Persian with English subtitles. (87 mins.)

Winner of the Critics Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the astonishing The Tribe uses only sign language and the actors’ body language to propel the tense drama. Somewhere in Ukraine, Sergey enters a specialized boarding school for the deaf. He quickly encounters the Tribe, a student gang dealing in crime and prostitution. After passing their hazing rituals and being inducted into the group, he takes part in several robberies, works his way up, and becomes pimp/protector for two girls who turn tricks at the local truck stop. Finding himself in love with one of them, Sergey ultimately breaks other unwritten rules, with tragic consequences. “An unforgettable cinematic experience, from its epic, wordless opening shot to the brutal finale.”—AFI. First feature. (132 mins.) Adult.

Infused with absurdist humor and a sense of ennui, Lafleur’s film hones in on young adults at existential crossroads. Twenty-something Nicole is adrift after college, working a dead-end summer job in her small Quebec hometown and spending evenings with her best pal, Véronique. When her older brother Remi unexpectedly returns with his bandmates in tow, disrupting the girls’ wheel-spinning summer, it becomes clear to Nicole that something must—and will—change. Shot in luminous black and white and infused with a sultry melancholy, Tu Dors Nicole captures that liminal stage where the fading yet familiar attachments of youth still seem far more appealing, precious, and real than the limitations of the grown-up world. In French with English subtitles. (93 mins.)

Dino, a young Swedish girl, has fled Sweden’s mass unemployment for better fortune in Oslo. But like many other young immigrant Swedes, she finds herself an outcast and barely surviving on irregular work and hard partying. When she lands a job as a housekeeper in an upper middle-class Norwegian household she is thrown into a life very far from her own. During a few sultry summer weeks she ends up in the center of an odd love triangle and an unpredictable struggle for affection and dominance. Underdog is both a tender story of privilege and longing and a humorous recognition of the shifted power balance between Sweden and Norway—a reality in which Swedes have become Norwegians’ servants. First feature. (100 mins.)

IRAN

2/9 6:00PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/12 6:00PM | FOX TOWER

UKRAINE

2/6 8:45PM | CINEMA 21 2/10 8:30PM | MORELAND THEATER

CANADA

2/7 1:30PM | CINEMA 21 2/9 6:00PM | MORELAND THEATER Sponsored by TV5Monde.

SWEDEN

2/7 4:00PM | FOX TOWER 2/10 8:30PM | CINEMA 21 Sponsored by Scandinavian Heritage Foundation.

PIFF 38 29

WAITING FOR AUGUST

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS WHITE GOD

A WOLF AT THE DOOR

TEODORAH MIHAI

JEMAINE CLEMENT TAIKA WAITITI

KORNÉL MUNDRUCZÓ

FERNANDO COIMBRA

Man’s best friend becomes his worst nightmare when war breaks out between humans and dogs. After teenage Lili’s father decides to abandon her dog Hagen on the street, we follow the lost canine as he tries to find his way home, making friends with fellow strays and evading the relentless dog-patrol only to be captured by an organizer of dog fights. Hagen is put through the brutal torture of being trained as a fighting dog, driving him past sanity and spurring him to lead his fellow dogs in a revolt against their oppressors. An ambitious morality play of epic impact featuring the most stunning performances by dogs (250) you will ever see, White God screened in Un Certain Regard program at Cannes, where it came out top dog. “The movie takes a leap into bold political metaphor, offering up a memorable image of the great unwashed gone (literally) barking mad.”—New York Times. (119 mins.)

Set in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, A Wolf at the Door opens with a mother arriving to pick up her young daughter at school, only to learn that the girl already left with another woman. A parent’s worst nightmare takes increasingly sinister turns as it delves into the events that led to the girl’s kidnapping, the story morphing into an intense psychological drama of lust, betrayal, and revenge told through flashbacks revealing a marriage on the verge of crumbling and a secret, erotic affair. Director Fernando Coimbra has described his inventive, neo-noir thriller as a modern-day variation on Medea, which provides a hint on where the riveting story heads. Best Film, Rio de Janeiro Film Festival and Best First Film, Havana Film Festival. First feature. (100 mins.)

BELGIUM/ROMANIA

Georgiana Halmac is about to turn 15. She lives with her six brothers and sisters in a social housing condo on the outskirts of Bacau, Romania. When their mother Liliana is forced to leave the family to work in Italy, Georgiana is abruptly catapulted into the role of the head of the family, and her adolescence is cut brutally short. History is repeating itself in Romania, says the filmmaker Mihai, who as a child saw her parents flee the Ceaus¸escu regime, leaving her behind until they could send for her. Referred to as the “home alone generation,” children today are being left behind due to economic migration as people are forced to leave the country annually to work abroad. Best Documentary, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. First feature. (88 mins.)

2/13 6:00PM | WORLD TRADE CENTER 2/15 1:00PM | WORLD TRADE CENTER

NEW ZEALAND

Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, this laugh-filled salute to the mocumentary form and monster movie genre offers a clever salute to pop vampire myths. Viago, Deacon, Vladislav, and Peter are four vampires—each from a different historical time and place— sharing a house in Wellington, New Zealand and trying to balance being undead with the most basic everyday problems. None of them are quite equipped to deal with the modern age, leading to hilarious encounters with potential victims, other creatures of the night, and modern technology. As a documentary film crew follows them round, we learn about each of their histories and what it means to be hundreds of years old in the 21st century. (86 mins.)

2/6 8:45PM | MORELAND THEATER 2/13 8:45PM | CINEMA 21 Sponsored by Ace Hotel.

HUNGARY

2/13 5:45PM | CINEMA 21

BRAZIL

2/7 4:00PM | CINEMA 21 2/9 8:30PM | FOX TOWER

30 PIFF 38

WYRMWOOD

XENIA

A YEAR IN CHAMPAGNE

KIAH ROACHE-TURNER

PANOS H. KOUTRAS

DAVID KENNARD

Routine family life comes to an abrupt end for outback mechanic Barry, who, armed with a nail gun, finds little comfort in having resisted an airborne contagion that’s kicked off an Australian zombie apocalypse. Quickly joining forces with other survivors, he and his merry band of zombie slayers hit the road looking to rescue his punk rock sister from the hands of the sadistic, gas-mask wearing government officials who have kidnapped her. Harvesting more than a smidgeon of that old Mad Max energy, first-time feature director Roache-Turner pushes this tale of the walking dead into audacious new territory, producing a zombie comedy with visual thrills reminiscent of the best early work by Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi. (98 mins.)

After the death of their Albanian mother, two brothers—the younger Dany, a flamboyantly gay teen, and the elder Ody (short for Odysseas), a hunky aspiring singer—set out on a road trip from Crete to Thessaloniki to find their long-lost, reputedly rich Greek father. The plan is to sort out their citizenship and then get Ody an audition for a TV singing contest (think “Greek Idol”) and a shot at stardom. The two brothers experience their share of hassles along the way, but also benefit from xenia—the warm hospitality and kindness of strangers. Dreamy fantasy sequences and classic euro disco enliven a quirky, campy romp that tackles recession, homophobia, immigration, and fraternal bonding. In Greek, Albanian, and Italian with English subtitles. (128 mins.)

Only sparkling wine produced within the boundaries of the Champagne region is truly “Champagne.” Wine importer Martine Saunier leads us on a tours of six Champagne makers to see how they make their product, from small independent producer SaintChamant to the illustrious houses of Gosset and Bollinger. Most Champagne is not just the product of a specific year and Signature house styles are creations that happen behind closed doors and in the miles of cellars beneath the countryside. Pull back the curtain and see how the people of a cold, tough land with a grim history of wars and conflict triumph in producing the drink of joy, seduction, and celebration. In Champagne, they don’t sell Appellations, they sell Brands, many of which have been famous for 200 years. In English and French with English subtitles. (82 mins.)

AUSTRALIA

2/14 10:30PM | HOLLYWOOD THEATRE Sponsored by Yelp!

GREECE

2/9 8:30PM | MORELAND THEATER 2/19 3:30PM | FOX TOWER Sponsored by Hotel Modera.

US/FRANCE

2/10 6:00PM | WORLD TRADE CENTER 2/15 6:00PM | WORLD TRADE CENTER Sponsored by TV5Monde and King Estate Winery.

YVY MARAEY, LAND WITHOUT EVIL JUAN CARLOS VALDIVIA BOLIVIA

Valdivia’s lyrical and philosophical road movie provides a journey not to a destination, but to a deeper understanding of memory and identity. Using a 1911 Swedish ethnographic film as a starting point, a Bolivian filmmaker (Valdivia) and a Guaraní guide travel together through the forests of southeastern Bolivia to make a film about the Guaraní people. Each man creates and interprets his own character, walking the thin line between documentary, fiction, and performance. The journey not only takes them to the interior of the country, but to their own inner selves, as they seek to define their identities within a country undergoing enormous social, political, and historical change framed by colonial legacy and the epic history of an indigenous people. (107 mins.)

2/19 6:30PM | FOX TOWER 2/20 9:30PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM Thanks to PRAGDA, Spain Arts and Culture, Accíon Cultural Española (AC/E), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport.

JOIN OUR LEARNING COMMUNITY + iFilmmaking Series get creative with your i-device

+ Digital Storytelling 4-session class starts February 24

+ Spring Break Film Camps for kids + teens

934 SW Salmon | 503 221 1156 | nwfilm.org/school

32 PIFF 38

SHORTS CUTS I: INTERNATIONAL TIES 2/7 1:30 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

ME + HER

JOSEPH OXFORD | US When Jack and Jill of Cardboard City are separated by Jill’s untimely death, Jack goes on an animated journey to mend his (literally) broken heart. (13 mins.)

LOS ROSALES

DANIEL FERREIRA | ITALY A humble and solitary robot is stuck in a repetitive life, turning wheels and cogs all day to produce his only means of survival—until he finds a way to feed his heart instead. (10 mins.)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 76 MINS.

SHERLOCK HOMELESS

2/8 1:00 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

Tallboy Tarrance lacks a home and traditional charm, but has a knack for solving mysteries. (5 mins.)

ROUGHSTOCK

JESSICA BACLESSE | PORTLAND An injured rodeo star must juggle his dreams with his responsibilities. (14 mins.)

MORGAN KNIBBE | THE NETHERLANDS On 3 October 2013, a boat carrying 500 Eritrean refugees sank off the coast of the Italian island Lampedusa. Abraham, one of the survivors, walks through a graveyard of shipwrecks and vividly remembers the nightmarish experience. (15 mins.)

NOT IT

PABLO ORTA | MEXICO

AMERICAN GLADIATORS

MONKEY

Jean’s little sister, Mae, may be gravely ill, but Jean is sick of it. (11 mins.)

This surreal portrait follows a lost soul navigating ghostly landscapes by motorcycle in search of shelter from a vicious storm. (15 mins.)

FÁUSTON DA SILVA BRAZIL |

The improbable meeting between Lucas and Nietzsche will be the beginning of a violent revolution. (15 mins.)

Sidney’s wife brings a monkey home to live in a giant cage in the middle of their living room, but an aggressive territorialism quickly develops. (5 mins.)

AUSTIN WILL | PORTLAND

MY FRIEND NIETZSCHE SHIPWRECK (THE NETHERLANDS)

THE FRAMER

DAN SADOWSKY | PORTLAND Portland’s Peter Murdoch builds picture frames that are themselves works of art. (3 mins.)

PATRICK CEDERBERG CANADA |

A relationship steeped in social media and told through the lens of Noah’s computer screen. (18 mins.)

BOTTLE NECK

JOANNA PRIESTLEY | PORTLAND

MY FRIEND NIETZSCHE (BRAZIL)

VANESSA RENWICK | PORTLAND

A point of merge at a busy traffic artery demonstrates a curious human tendency to cooperate. (7 mins.)

LONG WAY GONE

An afternoon with a group of young boys who draw straws to see who will perform a grim task. (5 mins.)

LAYOVER

Swirling in flight, the Vaux’s Swifts layover for three weeks in Portland each fall on their migration to South America. (6 mins.)

MATT CHRISTY | EUGENE ME + HER (US)

MYCHAL SARGENT, MATT CORNELIUS | EUGENE

INVISIBLE SAILS

MICHAEL ANNUS | PORTLAND

SHIPWRECK

NOAH

SHORT CUTS 2: MADE IN OREGON

Still life silhouettes, abstract shapes, and complex, interlocking patterns renovate the commonplace objects of a classical painting genre in a modern setting. (3 mins.)

LARA GALLAGHER | PORTLAND

A YEAR & A DAY

PAM MINTY | PORTLAND A series of images of Bond Butte taken each month over the course of a year precede a series of the same butte taken hourly on June 21, 2014. (2 mins.)

MELVIN THE BIRDER

DAVID EMMITE, SPENCER LOTT | PORTLAND Melvin is a lonely fellow who is obsessed with capturing every species of woodpecker known to man. (5 mins.)

THE PUNISHING BUSINESS HEATHER HARLOW | PORTLAND

Life isn’t easy for Ellen, her parole officer, or her developmentally disabled neighbor. (19 mins.)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 95 MINS. Sponsored by Pond5 and the Governor’s Office of Film and Television. Join us for a reception following the screening, sponsored by Pond5.

PIFF 38 33

SHORT CUTS 3: INTERNATIONAL TIES 2/12 6:00 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

PONY PLACE

JOOST REIJMERS | THE NETHERLANDS When young Emma is prohibited from taking her iPad on holiday, she asks her grandma to look after her digital horse farm. Koba is a seasoned agrarian, but nothing she learned in the garden prepares her for this leap across the generation gap. (10 mins.)

THE PHONE CALL

THE QUEEN

MANUEL ABRAMOVICH | ARGENTINA Memi is 11-years-old and is going to be the queen of the carnival. Her elaborate headpiece is too heavy, but she looks so pretty. (19 mins.)

SHORT CUTS 4: FRESH FRENCH SHORTS 2/14 1:00 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

AÏSSA

CLÉMENT TRÉHIN-LALANNE | FRANCE

HIPOPOTAMY

PIOTR DUMALA | POLAND Naked women and children are bathing in a river. They are being secretly observed by a group of men who decide to approach them in a violent manner, as if inspired by the behavior of hippopotamuses. (13 mins.)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 86 MINS.

MATT KIRBY | UK

Aïssa is Congolese, residing illegally in France. She claims to be a minor, but the authorities believe she is over 18, which means she could be deported. In order to establish whether or not she can remain in the country, a doctor gives her a physical examination. (9 mins.)

5 METERS 80

NICOLAS DEVEAUX | FRANCE

When a shy lady (Sally Hawkins) who works in a suicide helpline call center takes a phone call from a distraught man (Jim Broadbendt), she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever. (19 mins.)

This delightful animated fantasy pairs animal life with an aquatic sport to beguiling effect. (5 mins.)

SYMPHONY NO. 42

It’s the middle of WWII and inhabitants of a remote Pacific island are captivated by mysterious cargo gods who appear to drop good fortune by the crateful. Inspired by true events. (12 mins.)

CARGO CULT

BASTIEN DUBOIS | FRANCE

RÉKA BUSCI | HUNGARY

A series of surreal and comedic vignettes exploring the often-anthropomorphising nature of human/animal interaction; set in a strange forest where anything is possible. (10 mins.)

A TROPICAL SUNDAY

THE RUNAWAY

JEAN-BERNARD MARLIN | FRANCE Laktar, a youth worker in a home for juvenile deliquents in Marseille, accompanies Sabrina, one of his wards, to court where she will be tried for an earlier crime. He sets off confidently, convinced that their efforts will be rewarded. (22 mins.)

OGRE

JEAN-CHARLES PAUGAM | FRANCE A house on the beach. Inside, an overweight man remains confined, observing from behind his curtains the young girls in their swimsuits. He waits for the night. (15 mins.)

MILLIONAIRES

STÉPHANE BERGMANS | BELGIUM All her life, Christian and Ludo’s mother played the same numbers in the lottery but never won a single penny. After her death, the two brothers decide to continue the family tradition. (16 mins.)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 105 MINS. Sponsored by Alliance Française and the Consulate General of France and French American Cultural Society, San Francisco.

MR HUBLOT A TROPICAL SUNDAY (MOZAMBIQUE/ITALY)

FABIAN RIBEZZO | MOZAMBIQUE/ITALY It’s Sunday and crowds of eager children line up for rides at the fairground. Among them are four street kids who have spent the week begging and scavenging. Today, all they want is to feel like children again. (15 mins.)

LAURENT WITZ | FRANCE/LUXEMBOURG Mr. Hublot finds his reclusive life turned upside down when he overcomes personal obstacles to do a good deed. (12 mins.)

THE AUDITION

PIERRE NINEY | FRANCE François, a young actor, goes to a casting call that proves surprising. (14 mins.)

THE QUEEN (ARGENTINA)

5 METERS 80 (FRANCE)

34 PIFF 38

SHORT CUTS 5: ANIMATED WORLDS 2/15 1:00 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM This selection of new international animation is selected by LAIKA’S Mark Shapiro from visits to animation festivals worldwide. He will be on-hand to talk about the films.

WIND

ROBERT LÖBEL | GERMANY About the daily life of people living in a windy area who seem helplessly exposed to the weather. The inhabitants have learned, however, to deal with their difficult living conditions. (4 mins.)

THE WOUND

ANNA BUDANOVA | RUSSIA

AUBADE

MAURO CARRARO | SWITZERLAND In a surrealist, backlit scene, swimmers and birds witness the spectacle of the dawn, hypnotized by the music of a cellist. (5 mins.)

MY OWN PERSONAL MOOSE LENOID SHMELKOV RUSSIA |

Misha, a quiet, dreamy boy, has his fantasy come true: to meet a real elk. The film conjures up the power of the imagination, loneliness and the passing of time. (17 mins.)

THE SHIRLEY TEMPLE

DANIELA SHERER | ISRAEL/UK An abstract narrative about childhood and adulthood, escapism, and sexuality. (9 mins.)

TIMBER

NILS HEDINGER | SWITZERLAND A group of logs freezing in the snow work out how they can stay warm. (6 mins.)

THE BIGGER PICTURE DAISY JACOBS | UK

Life-size animated characters tell the stark and darkly humorous tale of caring for an elderly parent. (7 mins.)

A little girl’s resentment, embodied in a shaggy creature that becomes her best friend, starts to completely control her life. (9 mins.)

365—ONE YEAR. ONE FILM. ONE SECOND A DAY. THE BROTHERS MCLEOD | UK

Illustrator Greg and writer Myles produced one second of animation every day for a year. No storyline, script or storyboard— just from ideas that come. (6 mins.)

THROUGH THE HAWTHORN

ANNA BENNER, PIA BORG, GEMMA BURDITT | GERMANY Three characters, three perspectives, three directors: A session between a psychiatrist, a schizophrenic patient, and his mother. A triptych exploring three very different senses of reality. (9 mins.)

YEARBOOK

BERNARDO BRITTO | BRAZIL A man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before the planet blows up. (5 mins.)

SHORT CUTS 6: INTERNATIONAL TIES 2/16 3:30 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

THE CHICKEN

UNA GUNJAK | GERMANY/CROATIA On her sixth birthday, Selma receives a chicken from her dad, a soldier away at the front, but her joy is quickly squashed when she realizes her mother has other plans for the new pet. (15 mins.)

THE LAST DAYS OF PETER BERGMANN

THE KÁRMÁN LINE OSCAR SHARP | UK

When a mother contracts a rare condition, her husband and daughter must console themselves with the thought that she’s bound for a (much) higher place. (24 mins.)

THE CUT

GENEVIÈVE DULUDE-DE CELLES | CANADA The story of a father and a daughter, whose relationship fluctuates between proximity and detachment, at the moment of a haircut. (15 mins.)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 105 MINS.

CIARAN CASSIDY | IRELAND

In 2009 a mysterious man showed up in Sligo Town, Ireland. He then went to great lengths to eradicate himself from history and to disappear. All that is left are testimonials and CCTV footage. (19 mins.)

CARRY ON

YATAO LI | CHINA During the brutal withdrawal of Japanese forces at the end of WWII, a Chinese father does whatever he can to save his family. (17 mins.)

LEIDI

SIMÓN MESA SOTO | COLOMBIA/UK Leidi lives with her mom and her baby. Her boyfriend Alexis hasn’t shown up in days. A guy tells her he has seen Alexis with another girl, but Leidi won’t be going home until she finds the father of her child. (15 mins.)

THE LAST DAYS OF PETER BERGMANN (IRELAND)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 77 MINS. Sponsored by LAIKA.

THE CUT (CANADA)

PIFF 38 35

SHORT CUTS 7: SHE NEVER DREAMS OF PLACES 2/17 8:30 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM This program of experimental cinema, programmed and introduced by Cinema Project, delves into personal, familial, and cultural pasts, revealing the difficulty in going back to or moving between physical and psychic spaces.

NOW EAT MY SCRIPT

MOUNIRA AL SOLH | LEBANON The camera hovers over a car packed with food to be smuggled across the SyriaLebanon border, including the segmented carcass of a sacrificed lamb, becoming a reflection on the exchange of goods and food between Syria and Lebanon. (24 mins.)

SLEEPING DISTRICT

TINNE ZENNER | DENMARK/RUSSIA Combining outside and inside views of residential areas built during the Soviet Era with disjointed conversations translated from Russian into a broken English, the film explores notions of home shaped by memory, history, relations, and objects. (11 mins.)

TIME BEING I-VI

BARBARA STERNBERG | CANADA Brief moments of being, fleeting bits of the surrounding chaos. (11 mins.)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 63 MINS.

INHABITANTS

LETICIA DOLERA | SPAIN We live anesthetized, isolated, immune to pain. What would happen if one day that emotional anesthesia disappeared? (11 mins.)

A WHOLE FUTURE TOGETHER PABLO REMÓN | SPAIN

KOALA

DANIEL REMÓN | SPAIN A psychologist interviews the members of a company due to an incident: Mercedes, one of the executives, has insulted his new assistant, a young man who suffers from Down syndrome. (16 mins.)

BIRDBOY

ALBERTO VÁZQUEZ, PEDRO RIVERO | SPAIN A terrible industrial accident changes Little Dinki’s life forever. Now Dinki’s fate may ride on the wings of her eccentric friend Birdboy, a misfit who hides in the Dead Forest, lost in his fantasies. (13 mins.)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 84 MINS. Thanks to PRAGDA, Spain Arts and Culture, Accíon Cultural Española (AC/E), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport.

I CAN’T RIGHT NOW

MARIA KOURKOUTA | FRANCE

ROSER AGUILAR | SPAIN

Found-footage of popular Greek movies from the 50s and 60s is manipulated and looped toward the hypnotic and touching, accompanied by extracts of Greek poems and music. (14 mins.)

MÓNICA SAVIRÓN | US

2/20 4:15PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 2/21 2:00 PM | WHITSELL AUDITORIUM

Two bankers who have sold a substantial amount of preferred shares have a conversation at a bar. One of them, the general manager, is suffering a protest: a group of victims guard his house and his family. Now, after several sleepless nights, he has finally had an epiphany. (18 mins.)

RETURN TO AEOLUS STREET

BROKEN TONGUE

SHORT CUTS 8: NEW SPANISH SHORTS

Sara is a young actress who, after becoming a mother, decides to go back to her professional life. She becomes a finalist in an audition in which the stakes couldn’t be higher. (12 mins.)

NOW EAT MY SCRIPT (LEBANON)

INSIDE THE BOX

INHABITANTS (SPAIN)

DAVID MARTÍN-PORRAS | SPAIN

An ode to freedom of movement, association, and expression is created through images culled from each January 1st issue of The New York Times since its beginning in 1851 and a soundtrack of avant-garde sound artist Tracie Morris performing her poem Afrika. (3 mins.)

When the local District Attorney comes knocking, a Texan cop is forced to face a secret that he’s been hiding from his wife in an effort to keep his family together. (14 mins.)

BROKEN TONGUE (US)

BIRDBOY (SPAIN)

36 PIFF 38