The Cinematheque NOV+DEC 2013 | European Union Film Festival by The Cinematheque

n o v + d e c 2 0 1 3

free screenings

the new wave in

the shortest day

african cinema

family ties:

yasujiro ozu

film festival

le joli mai

special ed * at berkeley an evening with

todd haynes november 15

1131 howe street

* vancouver * 604.688.film * thecinematheque.ca

303 East 8th Avenue Vancouver, British Columbia V5T 1S1 Canada

EVENT

TOQUE: Western Front Annual Fundraiser and Craft Sale

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Michele Di Menna Oct 2 → Nov 11

Tuesday to Saturday Noon to 5:00 pm PST

EVENT

Scrivener’s Monthly Moyra Davey Nov 5 @ 8pm

Dec 6th 6 → 10pm Dec 7th 11am →7pm www.toque2013.tumblr.com

1 604 876 9343 front.bc.ca

Noa Giniger Nov 14 → Dec 21 Opening Nov 13 @ 7pm

Presented with Presentation House Gallery and Emily Carr University of Art and Design

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DANSE LHASA DANSE

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ADMI N ISTRATIVE O F F I C E 200 – 1131 Howe Street Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L7 tel 604.688.8202 • fax 604.688.8204 Email: info@theCinematheque.ca Web: theCinematheque.ca STAF F Executive and Artistic Director: Jim Sinclair Acting Managing Director: Kate Ladyshewsky Managing Director: Amber Orchard (on maternity leave) Communications Manager: steve chow Education Manager: Liz Schulze Education Coordinator: Tyler Hagan Operations & Marketing: Shaun Inouye Venue Operations Manager: Heather Johnston Assistant Theatre Managers: Kathryn Kirkpatrick, Ben Redhead, Katia Tynan, Jarin Schexnider Head Projectionist: Al Reid Relief Projectionists: Amanda Thomson, Stuart Carl, Ron Lacheur, Tim Fernandes BOARD OF DIRECTO RS President: Mark Ostry Vice-President: Eleni Kassaris Secretary: Mark Tomek Treasurer: Wynford Owen Members: Jim Bindon, Elizabeth Collyer, Kim Guise, Moshe Mastai V O LUNTEERS Theatre Volunteers: Theatre Volunteers: Pouya Alagheband, Mark Beley, Eileen Brosnan, Jeremy Buhler, Nadia Chiu, Andrew Clark, Steve Devereux, Bill Dovhey, Ryan Ermacora, Kevin Frew, Shokei Green, Joe Haigh, Andrew Hallman, Annie Jensen, Jessica Johnson, Savannah Kemp, Beng Khoo, Narada Kiondo, Michael Kling, Ray Lai, Claudette Lovencin, Vit Mlcoch, Kelley Montgomery, Taylor Gray Moore, Cat Moore, Linton Murphy, Danuta Musial, Micha Pringle, Kailash Ragupathy, Chahram Riazi, RJ Rudd, Sara Saghaei, Paloma Salas, Anthony Santiago, Paula Schneider, Paige Smith, Derek Thomas, Stephen Tweedale, Diane Wood. And a special thanks to all our spares! Distribution: Harry Wong, Michael Demers, Martin Lohmann, Hazel Ackner, John William, Lynn Martin, Horacio Bach, Miriam Spinner, Jeff Halladay, Allan Kollins, Shane Bourdage, Kevin Kling, Nina Dehzad Office: Jo B., Betty-Lou Phillips Education: Michael van den Bos And a special thanks to all our spares! T HE C IN E MATH E QU E PR O G RAM G U I D E Art Direction + Graphic Design: steve chow Program Notes: Jim Sinclair Advertising: Shaun Inouye Proofreading: Kate Ladyshewsky Published six times a year with a bi-monthly circulation of 10,00015,000. Printed by Van Press Printers. ADVE RTISIN G To advertise in this Program Guide or in our theatre before screenings, please call 604.688.8202.

The Cinematheqe is a not-for-profit arts society. We rely on financial support from public and private sources. Donations are gratefully accepted — a tax receipt will be issued for all donations of $30 or more. To make a donation or for more information, please call our administration office at 604.688.8202.

EXPERIENCE ESSENTIAL CINEMA

CONTENTS

NOVEMBER+ DECEMBER 2013 THE CINEMATHEQUE PROGRAM GUIDE, V37.2

MEDIA DEMOCRACY DAYS 2013 Opening Keynote, Film Screening, and Reception Terms and Conditions May Apply

THE SHORTEST DAY: A DAY OF FREE SCREENINGS

FRAMES OF MIND

THE NEW WAVE IN AFRICAN CINEMA

Forget Me Not Here One Day

TODD HAYNES: A RETROSPECTIVE + AN EVENING WITH TODD HAYNES

DIM CINEMA

NOW PLAYING CALENDAR

LE JOLI MAI SPECIAL ED AT BERKELEY

CINEMA SUNDAY

FAMILY TIES: THE SUBLIME CINEMA OF YASUJIRO OZU

16th ANNUAL EUROPEAN UNION FILM FESTIVAL

My Language is an Unpaved Road (Crystal Bridges) The Kidnapper’s Opera

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Gremlins

Cover: Eat Sleep Die • This Page: I’m Not There

The Cinematheque gratefully acknowledges the financial support of

MEDIA DEMOCRACY DAYS 2013

Opening Keynote, Film Screening, and Reception The 13th annual Media Democracy Days kick off with a keynote address from B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, who will speak on the importance of privacy safeguards in an era of data mining and mass surveillance. The Commissioner’s speech will be followed by a screening of the 2013 documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply. ___________________________

SPECIAL EVENT PRICING $10 Adults / $8 Seniors, Students, and Unwaged Cinematheque membership is not required for this event.

USA 2013. Director: Cullen Hoback

Have you ever read the “Terms and Conditions” and “Privacy Policies” connected to every website you visit, phone call you make, or app you use? Of course you haven’t. But those agreements allow corporations to do things with your personal information you could never even imagine. What are you really agreeing to when you click “I accept”? Through interviews with technology thought leaders and futurists, including Moby, Google’s chief engineer Ray Kurzweil, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Terms and Conditions May Apply brilliantly documents the sign posts on the slippery slope of internet privacy. Colour, 79 mins.

Launched in Vancouver and Toronto in 2001, Media Democracy Days is part of a growing global media democratization movement. This movement seeks to create a more participatory media system by supporting independent and public service media production, celebrating innovation, and creating dialogue around the politics and biases linked to our increasingly corporate and concentrated media. MDD in Vancouver is a partnership project between the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, OpenMedia.ca, and the Vancouver Public Library, working with many other community sponsors and supporters. Media Democracy Days take place November 8 & 9, 2013. For complete information on events, including workshops, panel discussions, keynote addresses, and a media fair exhibition at the Central Library in Vancouver, please visit www.mediademocracydays2013.ca.

Film screening co-presented by Media Democracy Days, The Cinematheque, and DOXA Documentary Film Festival. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8 – 6:30 PM

the Shortest Day A DAY OF FREE SCREENINGS!

The Shortest Day, an annual one-day celebration of the short film, will have its inaugural Canadian edition on December 21, 2013. The National Film Board of Canada, Telefilm Canada, and Quebec’s Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) are national partners in presenting this event in Canada. The Cinematheque is pleased to join with them in hosting this special day of free screenings in Vancouver. The celebration takes place on December 21, the winter solstice: the shortest day of the year! The Shortest Day was initiated in France in 2011, and is designed to bring great short films to wider audiences. Four different programs of awarding-winning Canadian (and some international) short films will be screened in our Vancouver celebration: one suitable for kids under 8 years of age; one for families; one composed of comedies; and one showcasing acclaimed festival films. Complete details on The Shortest Day screenings and films, including film synopses, will be available December 1 at www.telefilm.ca. ___________________________

FREE ADMISSION! ALL AGES WELCOME! Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Cinematheque membership not required for this event.

Children’s Program

(87 minutes) Léon in Wintertime • A Sea Turtle Story • Demoni • The Fox and the Chickadee • Soup of the Day • Micta • The Ugly Square • Rumours ---------Suitable for kids under 8 years of age (and their family and friends) All films in English or without dialogue SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 – 1:00 PM

Family Program

(69 minutes) Big Mouth • Sunday • Trotteur • A Shade of Grey • Kali the Little Vampire • Joanna Makes a Friend • Monster • Life Doesn’t Frighten Me ---------All films in English or without dialogue SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 – 3:00 PM

Festival Program Comedy Program

(99 minutes) Fly • Les choses horribles • Marius Borodine • It’s a Dog Life • Subconscious Password • Mary and Myself • Canoejacked • Diagnostic • Paradise Falls • Anxious Oswald Greene ---------Recommended for older audiences. All films in English or with English subtitles. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 – 4:30 PM

(100 minutes) Herd Leader • Quelqu’un d’extraordinaire • Gloria • Talking Dog for Sale • Edmond was a Donkey • Ina Litovski • Remember me • Seconds • Not Far from the Abattoir • Barefoot ---------Recommended for older audiences. All films in English or with English subtitles. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 – 6:30 PM

A MONTHLY MENTAL HEALTH FILM SERIES presented by THE CINEMATHEQUE and the INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH, UBC DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY

The Cinematheque is pleased to join with the Institute of Mental Health, UBC Department of Psychiatry in presenting “Frames of Mind,” a monthly event utilizing film and video to promote professional and community education on issues pertaining to mental health and illness. Screenings, accompanied by presentations and audience discussions, are held on the third Wednesday of each month.

Series directed by DR. HARRY KARLINSKY, Director of Public Education, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia. Programmed by CAROLINE COUTTS, film curator, filmmaker, and programmer of “Frames of Mind” since its inception in September 2002.

Forget Me Not

Here One Day

(Vergiss mein nicht)

USA 2012. Director: Kathy Leichter

Germany 2012. Director: David Sieveking

Gretel, the mother of German filmmaker David Sieveking (David Wants to Fly), has Alzheimer’s disease. In the four years since the diagnosis, his father, Malte, has been acting as Gretel’s primary caregiver at their home near Frankfurt. Exhausted, Malte has asked his son to look after Gretel so he can take a two-week vacation in Switzerland. David arrives with a small camera crew in tow, and thus begins Forget Me Not, a candid and touching (though never maudlin) portrait of a family both tested and brought closer together by the effects of severe dementia. On his own with Gretel, David’s initial attempts to cajole her into regularly-scheduled activities are both funny and sad. As frustration turns to acceptance, he begins to realize he knows very little about his mother’s past. Digging into her colourful history, David discovers Gretel in her youth was a radical feminist, active in leftist political causes, and, most surprising of all, had an open marriage with Malte. “A beautiful and emotional film, one that doesn’t pull the strings of your heart because it wants to, but because the reality of this family demands it” (Jaime Grijalba Gomez, Twitchfilm.com). The film’s awards include the Critics Week Award at Locarno. Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in German with English subtitles. 88 mins. Post-screening discussion with Dr. Kevin Smith, who did his medical school training at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and his General Adult Psychiatry Residency and Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at Oregon Health & Sciences University. Dr. Smith is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UBC and is involved with the Geriatric Psychiatry Outreach Teams at St. Paul’s and Mount Saint Joseph hospitals. Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 – 7:30 PM

In 1995, after a 20-year struggle with bipolar disorder, Nina Leichter, a 63-year-old mother of two, took her own life by jumping from the 11th-story window of the apartment she shared with her husband. To be closer to her father — and, in some inexplicable way, to her mother as well — Nina’s 28-year-old daughter Kathy moved back home to that apartment, in which she had grown up. Contained within were a lifetime’s worth of Nina’s memories: photographs, diaries, letters, home movies, and most significantly of all, a hidden box of audiotapes. Sixteen years would pass before Kathy felt ready to listen to the tapes. What they would reveal were frank details of her mother’s sometimes difficult marriage, her sadness over her estrangement from her son, and her difficulties with mental illness. These recordings would ultimately form the backbone of this extraordinarily moving documentary. Driven by the need to understand and forgive Nina, and to explore the repercussions of her mother’s illness and death on her family, Kathy’s journey leads ultimately to a place of acceptance and letting-go. Official Selection, 2013 Hot Docs Festival. Colour, HDCAM. 75 mins.

BUY A PASS BETWEEN NOV 5-20 AND BE ENTERED TO WIN A

WHISTLER FILM FESTIVAL GETAWAY PACKAGE

VANCOUVER PREMIERE

Post-screening discussion with Dammy Damstrom Albach, who holds Master’s degrees in social work and health care leadership. Dammy managers SAFER (Suicide Attempt Follow-up Education and Research), and has 19 years of previous experience with the organization as a therapist. She co-chaired the B.C. Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention (PIP) Initiative, and is the Past-President of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP). Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia. Co-sponsored by SAFER (Suicide Attempt Followup Education and Research), a service in Vancouver that provides counselling, group work, and emotional support to people who are suicidal, those concerned about them, or those bereaved by a suicide death. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18 – 7:30 PM

FILMS

SUMMIT

EVENTS

prepare to be inspired and connected

Renowned for its intimate nature, WFF #13 presents fresh ﬁlms, special guests, exclusive events, and unique industry initiatives.

Find out more at

whistlerﬁlmfestival.com FRAMESOFMIND.CA

NEW WAVE IN AFRICA N THE

CINEMA

A Film Series Presented by the UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA and THE CINEMATHEQUE

The New Wave in African Cinema film series is a joint production of the University of British Columbia and The Cinematheque, and funded by the generous support of UBC African Studies, The Cinematheque, the Liu Institute for Global Issues, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. This series will bring ten feature films and ten short films to Vancouver screens from November 1-7, 2013. In the past few years, a new wave of African filmmaking has changed the landscape of African cinema dramatically. The weight and extent of this shift has largely gone unnoticed, particularly as the programming of African cinema internationally is often sporadic and idiosyncratic. The new wave in African cinema is characterized by a younger generation of filmmakers who are engaging in a much more philosophically personal, visually daring, and intellectually engaged form of filmmaking than previous generations. These films, while taking on some of the same subject matter as their predecessors, privilege interiority and poetics over the more didactic or overtly political and nation-building approaches of past cinematic production. Seen together, these films herald a new wave of African cinema led by directors from across the continent who confine themselves neither to a purely African space nor to the diaspora but are deeply committed to the contemporary social, political, and moral questions facing the continent. As part of the film series, we are thrilled to have several directors from across the African continent joining us in Vancouver to participate in screenings and question-and-answer sessions with the audience. This week-long event will also include several workshops and panel discussions at the University of British Columbia bringing together students, scholars, practitioners, filmmakers, and members of the public to discuss the state of African cinema and the engagement of cinema with pressing social, historical, economic, and political concerns. For more information and full programme details, please consult the UBC African Studies website: www.africanstudies.arts.ubc.ca.

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

Today (Tey) (aka Aujourd’hui) France/Senegal 2012. Director: Alain Gomis Cast: Saul Williams, Aïssa Maïga, Djolof M’bengue, Anisia Uzeyman, Mariko Arame

Winner of the 2013 Best Film Award at FESPACO (Africa’s largest and most prestigious film festival, held biennially in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso), this internationally-celebrated film perfectly sets the tone for our New Wave of Africa Cinema film series. Tey — “today” — is Satché’s last day on earth. In this poetic, existential portrait, French-Senegalese director Alain Gomis explores the streets of an unnamed Senegalese city through the eyes of a doomed young man. Played with muted intensity by American hip-hop artist and spoken-word poet Saul Williams (Slam), Satché wanders silently through his last day encountering the various people, places, and sounds that make up his life. A magic-realist twist on the immigrant returning home narrative, this elegiac meditation takes the viewer on a philosophical journey through death and dying that is decidedly vibrant, cool, and life-affirming. Colour, HDCAM, in French and Wolof with English subtitles. 86 mins. VIOLENCE; COARSE & SEXUAL LANGUAGE

ALL AGES WELCOME

Alain Gomis

Dr. Julie MacArthur PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND CURATOR

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE INTRO AND Q&A

Born in France to a French mother and Senegalese father, Alain Gomis studied cinematography at the Sorbonne. By the age of 26, he had directed three short films: Tourbillons, Tout le monde peut se tromper, and the documentary Caramels et chocolats. In 2001, Gomis directed his first feature film, L’Afrance. His films often explore the subject of African immigrants and the diasporic experience. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1 – 8:00 PM

SHORT FILM PROGRAM 1

African Storytelling: Image and Sound Yellow Fever Kenya 2012. Director: Ng’endo Mukii

Made as her thesis project at London’s Royal College of Art, Ng’endo Mukii’s Yellow Fever is a deeply personal exploration of beauty, race, history, and the body. Animation, dance, and painterly images mix to explore the subject of skin bleaching, through the eyes of Mukii’s young niece. Colour, in English. 7 mins.

Jesus and the Giant South Africa 2008. Director: Akin Omotoso

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Akin Omotoso (bio p.8)

This modern-day fable set on the streets of Johannesburg tells the story of a woman seeking vengeance against the monstrous man abusing her friend. Using still-photography and saturated colours to striking, often startling effect, director Omotoso (whose feature Man on the Ground also screens in this series), creates a haunting tale of love and revenge. Colour, in English. 12 mins.

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

Grey Matter (Matière grise) Rwanda 2011. Director: Kivu Ruhorahoza Cast: Ruth Shanel Nirere, Shami Bizimana, Hervé Kimenyi, Jean Paul Uwayezu, Natasha Muziramakenga

Balthazar (Hervé Kimenyi) is a young African filmmaker looking for funds to direct his first film, “The Cycle of the Cockroach.” After rehearsing a scene with his main characters, reality bleeds into fiction: an imprisoned man traps and torments a cockroach; a young woman struggles to help her brother cope with the traumatic memories of war; madness tightens its grip. Never addressed by name, the Rwandan Genocide is here for the first time on screen explored in its philosophical, psychological, and personal dimensions. With a poetic visual language and outstanding ensemble cast, Grey Matter is an ambitious, daring, and challenging debut feature — the first feature made in Rwanda by a native Rwandan filmmaker — from talented writer/director Kivu Ruhorahoza. Shami Bizimana, playing Ivan, won Best Actor honours at Tribeca, where the jury also gave a special mention to Ruhorahoza for his courage, vision, and originality. Colour, Digibeta video, in Kinyarwanda and French with English subtitles. 100 mins.

Adamt

Ethiopia 2013. Director: Zelalem Woldermariam

A young Ethiopian composer and drummer struggles to come to terms with his traumatic past. Using textured sound and image, filmmaker Woldermariam crafts an atmosphere at once surreal and deeply affecting. Despite the heavy subject matter, the redemptive character of Ethiopian music will have you dancing in your seats. Colour, in Amharic with English subtitles. 18 mins.

Kivu Ruhorahoza

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE INTRO AND Q&A

Kivu Ruhorahoza was born in Kigali, Rwanda, in 1982. A self-taught filmmaker, he won the award for Best African Short at Montreal’s 25th Pan African International Film Festival and Best Short at the Kenya International Film Festival in 2009 for his short Lost in the South. He has also produced an experimental documentary, Rwanda 15, with New York saxophonist Jeremy Danneman for the Parade of One project. Grey Matter is his first feature and the first feature-length narrative film made in Rwanda by a native Rwandan filmmaker. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 – 6:30 PM

Kwaku Ananse

Ghana/Mexico/USA 2013. Director: Akusoa Adoma Owusu

The latest short film from experimental filmmaker Owusu is an entrancing, semi-autobiographical turn on a well-known Ghanaian folktale. Following the trickster spider Ananse, and weaving together captivating images and music by famed Ghanaian Highlife musician Koo Nimo, this is a memorable exploration of storytelling, place, and belonging. Colour, in Twi with English subtitles. 26 mins.

Akusoa Adoma Owusu

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Coming from Ghana, Akusoa Adoma Owusu studied film at CalArts and her work has been exhibited worldwide, including showings at MoMA and Viennale. Her previous short films Me Broni Ba (My White Baby) and Drexciya both travelled to multiple festivals and earned Owusu several awards. In 2011, she was awarded the Focus Features Africa First Grant, from which her most recent short film Kwaku Anase was funded. One of Artforum’s Top Ten Artists, Owusu’s work is informed by questions of diasporic identities, history, music, and experimental representation.

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

One Man’s Show

France 2013. Director: Newton Aduaka Cast: Emile Abossolo M’bo, Aïssa Maïga, Odile Roire, Fatima Adoum, Kwamé Pocrain

From acclaimed Nigerian filmmaker Newton Aduaka, whose powerful 2007 feature Ezra won the Best Film Award at Ouagadougou, One Man’s Show is a personal exploration of self, love, manhood, and fatherhood. Emil is a 50-year-old Cameroonian actor living in France. While working on his one-man show, Emil discovers he has cancer. Structured in vignettes, the film follows the tortured Emil as he descends into existential crisis, struggling to connect with his son and confronting the failure of his relationships with the three women in his life. Emile Abossolo M’bo, who also starred in Ezra, is hypnotic as the tormented Emil. An intimate portrait and personal meditation, One Man’s Show examines the interior world of a man doubly disconnected. Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in French with English subtitles. 75 mins.

Boneshaker

USA 2013. Director: Frances Bodomo

Quvenzhané Wallis, Oscar-nominated lead of Beasts of the Southern Wild, stars in this atmospheric exploration of belief, ritual, and diasporic identities. A Ghanaian immigrant family takes a road trip to a Pentecostal church in Louisiana, hoping a traditional ritual can cure their problem child. With textured images and eerie use of landscape, Boneshaker explores the homelessness and rootlessness that accompany immigration. Colour, in English. 13 mins.

Newton Aduaka

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE INTRO AND Q&A

Born in Eastern Nigeria in 1966, Newton Aduaka and his family sought refuge in Lagos after the Nigerian Civil War (also called the Biafran War). Moving to the U.K. in the mid-1980s, Newton discovered cinema and graduated from the London Film School in 1990. In 2001 he directed his debut feature, Rage, which was followed by his critically acclaimed film Ezra, winner of the Best Film Award at the 2007 FESPACO film festival. Newton currently lives in Paris. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 – 8:45 PM

Total running time: approx. 76 mins. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 – 4:30 PM

SHORT FILM PROGRAM 2

African Twists on Genre Saint Louis Blues (Un Transport Commun)

Senegal/France 2009. Director: Dyana Gaye

If French movie-musical master Jacques Demy had ever found himself in Senegal, the results might have looked a little like Dyana Gaye’s inescapably charming and funny short, a cleverly-crafted cross-country musical road trip. Gaye’s debut feature Under the Starry Sky also screens in this series. Colour, in French and Wolof with English subtitles. 48 mins.

Pumzi

Kenya 2009. Director: Wanuri Kahiu

Kenya’s first science-fiction film is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where dreams are suppressed and nature exists only in museums. Asha, our heroine, flees her enclosed community in hopes of restoring life outside its walls. This award-winning short delves into the space between cultural preservation and self-preservation, nature and society, and imagination and reality. Colour, in English. 21 mins.

Hasaki Ya Suda

Burkina Faso 2011. Directors: Cedric Ido

In a barren, futuristic West Africa sucked dry by climate change, three warriors battle to be the last man standing. A bold, smart, and stylish twist on the samurai film. Colour, in Lingala with English subtitles. 24 mins.

Man on Ground

South Africa 2011. Director: Akin Omotoso Cast: Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Fabian Adeoye Lojede, Fana Mokoena, Thishiwe Ziqubu, Makhaola Ndebele

In May 2008, Ernesto Nhamuave, a Mozambican immigrant living in an informal settlement outside Johannesburg, was burned alive as onlookers laughed. Inspired by true events, director Akin Omotoso structures this intensely personal narrative as a thriller. Ade (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), a Nigerian banker living in London, desperately searches for his missing brother amid the xenophobic tensions of South Africa’s townships. With a committed cast and careful visual sensibility, Man on Ground is a gritty, passionate, and emotionally charged portrait, equal parts elegy and call to action. “A cross-hybridization of BBC police thriller and Bergmanesque meditation on intra-African immigration, Man on Ground boasts some literally fantastic visual flourishes ... Director Akin Omotoso is a stylist of considerable flair” (John Anderson, Variety). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in English, Yoruba, Sotho, and Zulu with English subtitles. 80 mins.

Akin Omotoso

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE INTRO AND Q&A

Akin Omotoso was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and studied drama at the University of Cape Town. While acting in several films including Blood Diamond and Shake Hands with the Devil, Omotoso distinguished himself as a director with a series of short films, including Jesus and the Giant (playing as part of Shorts Program 1 in this series), and with his first feature film God is African. Currently, Akin is working on a film about the life of Nigerian activist and environmental martyr Ken Saro-Wiwa. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 6:45 PM

The Cassava Metaphor (Le Metaphor du Manioc)

Cameroon 2010. Director: Lionel Meta

Coco, an earnest taxi driver in Yaoundé, picks up a young woman with a strange destination in mind. A favourite at festivals around the world, The Cassava Metaphor is an irresistible comedic road movie with a fantastically funny yet bittersweet twist. Colour, in French with English subtitles. 15 mins.

Phyllis Nigeria/Great Britain 2010. Director: Zina Saro-Wiwa

A single woman is obsessed with watching Nollywood films in this subversive, feminist critique of Nigerian cinema’s often unforgiving treatment of single women. Part of Zina SaroWiwa’s “alt-Nollywood” project, the film plays on the genre tropes of fantasy, psychological thrillers, and vampires. Colour, in English. 14 mins. Total running time: approx. 122 mins. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 4:30PM

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

Something Necessary

Kenya/Germany 2013. Director: Judy Kibinge Cast: Susan Wanjiru, Walter Kipchumba Lagat, David Kiprotich Mutai, Anne Kimani, Kipng’eno Kirui Duncan

Directed by acclaimed Kenyan filmmaker Judy Kibinge and produced by German auteur Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Cloud Atlas), Something Necessary is the latest KenyanGerman collaboration from Tykwer’s One Fine Day Films. The film, featured at this fall’s TIFF, chronicles an encounter in the lives of two people haunted by traumatic memories from their pasts. Anne is struggling to rebuild her life in the wake of the violence that swept through Kenya after the 2007 elections. Joseph, a troubled gang member complicit in the post-election violence, is drawn to Anne in search of redemption. A brave and challenging look into the interior lives of those affected by violence, Something Necessary complicates the line between victim and perpetrator as both strive to find social justice and personal healing. “A remarkable collective achievement ... Directed with grace, elegantly filmed, and brimming with convincing performances” (Rasha Salti, Toronto I.F.F.). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Swahili with English subtitles. 85 mins. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 8:45 PM

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

The Battle of Tabato (A Batalha de Tabatô) Guinea Bissau/Portugal 2013. Director: Joao Viana Cast: Fatu Djebaté, Mamadu Baio, Mutar Djebaté

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

The Education of Auma Obama (Die geschichte der Auma Obama) Germany 2011. Director: Branwen Okpako Cast: Auma Obama, Kezia Obama, Elke Brenstein, Marsat Osumba Onyango

When Barack Obama announced his run for President of the United States in 2007, the world’s attention suddenly turned to a small corner of Africa. Obama’s “Kenyan family” became a source of fascination, of mistrust, and of media scrutiny. Through it all, Obama’s half-sister Auma Obama provided a link — introducing her brother to his estranged paternal relatives and acting as a spokesperson of a sort for a particular vision of Africa. But director Branwen Okpako’s compelling documentary shows us so much more through its intimate portrait of a woman who embodies a postcolonial intellectual and feminist identity that crosses boundaries and challenges assumptions. Auma Obama is not only a president’s sister; she is an activist, a community organizer, an academic, a daughter, and a multilingual storyteller. Going beyond biography, the film chronicles a history of colonial wounds and postcolonial hopes and disillusionments, and reveals a generation not often seen: a postcolonial generation of politically, socially, and intellectually engaged Africans who remain rooted in their communities and committed to inspiring change. Colour, Blu-ray, in English, Luo, and German with English subtitles. 80 mins.

Branwen Okpako

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE INTRO AND Q&A

Branwen Okpako was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and has studied at the University of Bristol and at the DFFB (German Film and Television Academy). She wrote and directed several short films before making her first feature Valley of the Innocent and the documentary feature The Education of Auma Obama, both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 – 6:30 PM

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

Restless City

USA 2011. Director: Andrew Dosunmu Cast: Sy Alassane, Sky Nicole Grey, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Babs Olusanmokun

Djibril moved from Senegal to New York in pursuit of his dream of becoming a musician. Amidst a cacophony of languages and a kinetic landscape, Djibril becomes embroiled in a dangerous world: peddling for gangsters, borrowing from pimps, and falling in love with a prostitute. In his bold first feature, Nigerian-born fashion designer, fashion photographer, and music-video director Andrew Dosunmu crafts a mesmerizing thriller with a refreshingly novel perspective and nods to the cinematic traditions of Senegal. Taking us behind the hawkers and hustlers of Canal Street, Restless City is a visually-striking look inside the world of African migrants living in New York. Its stunning cinematography is by Bradford Young. “The extraordinarily beautiful Restless City achieves revelation on two tiers — in the kinetic landscape of the city itself and in the world of Senegalese immigrants, whose struggle evolves just beneath the sightlines of the average New Yorker” (John Anderson, Variety). Colour, HDCAM, in English, French, Yoruba, and Wolof with English subtitles. 90 mins. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 – 8:30 PM

In his feature debut, director Joao Viana delves into the struggles of present-day Guinea Bissau through an allegorical tale of love and family, good and evil. Fatu and Idrissa are planning their wedding in Tabatô, a village renowned for its griots (storytellers/singers) and deep musical tradition. Returning to the country he fought for during the struggle for independence, Fatu’s father, Baio, faces the violent ghosts of his past and seeks peace through his daughter’s marriage. Charged with striking imagery and beautiful music, Viana fills each frame with an urgent tension and deep meditation on the haunting of the present by the past. “One of the more offbeat premieres at the 2013 Berlin I.F.F... . The Battle of Tabatô finds a Portuguese filmmaker reflecting on his nation’s imperial legacy in Africa using stylish monochrome visuals and a playful fairytale narrative ... Viana combines a strong eye and rich subject matter” (Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter). The film also screened in the Wavelengths section of this year’s TIFF. B&W, Blu-ray Disc, in Mandinka with English subtitles. 83 mins. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 – 6:30 PM

Microphone

Egypt 2010. Director: Ahmad Abdalla Cast: Khaled Abol Naga, Yousra El Lozy, Hani Adel, Ahmad Magdy, Menna Shalabi

Ahmad Abdalla is quickly establishing himself as a modern Egyptian auteur. Microphone, his second feature, follows Khaled (played by the ever-appealing Khaled Abol Naga), a young man who returns to his native Alexandria after several years abroad. Discovering that time and distance has disconnected him from his previous relationships, Khaled wanders the streets and discovers a whole new world of underground artists — hip-hop musicians, graffiti kids, filmmakers, liberated punk-rock women. Inspired by this counterculture movement, Khaled becomes committed to championing a new generation of creators from all walks of life. Microphone’s stylized twist on cinéma vérité presents Alexandria as a revelation and buzzes with the exceptional talents of the non-professional musicians and artists the city has to offer. The film won top prizes at the Cairo, Carthage, and Istanbul film festivals. Colour, HDCAM, in Arabic with English subtitles. 120 mins. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 – 8:15 PM

VANCO UV ER PREMIERE

Under the Starry Sky (Des étoiles) France 2013. Director: Dyana Gaye Cast: Marème Demba Ly, Ralph Amoussou, Souleymane Seye N’Diaye, Maya Sansa, Babacar M’Baye Fall

In her feature film debut, FrancoSenegalese filmmaker Dyana Gaye charts a transcontinental voyage of accidental encounters and diasporic longing. Set under the skies of three cities — Turin, New York, and Dakar — Gaye follows the fates of three characters connected by destiny. Sophie, a young bride from Senegal, travels to Turin in search of her husband Abdoulaye, who left Dakar without papers to seek work in the Italian city. Abdoulaye has already left Turin for New York, lured by his cousin and promises of a better future. Meanwhile, Sophie’s aunt in New York returns to Dakar to bury the husband she left 20 years before. With a careful eye and quiet intensity, Gaye fills each frame with the anxieties and interior struggles of her uncertain and undocumented travelers. Under Starry Skies is a beautifully-crafted meditation on place and belonging in an ever-globalizing, yet often unwelcoming, world. “Quietly dramatic ... Gorgeously orchestrated ... The film unravels like a cinematic scroll of the mysterious grand design that draws people together, in empathy and antipathy” (Rasha Salti, Toronto I.F.F.). Colour, format TBA, in English, French, Wolof, and Italian. 88 mins. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7 – 7:00 PM

“The most talented independent filmmaker in America ... There are few careers that deserve more anticipation.” DAVID THOMSON, THE NEW BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF FILM

The Cinematheque is pleased to welcome Todd Haynes, the gifted American filmmaker who seems to raise the creative bar — for ambition, invention, formal audacity, and accomplishment — with each new project. Mr. Haynes will join us on Friday, November 15 for the opening night of a retrospective devoted to his highly distinctive body of work. The special evening will feature Mr. Haynes in conversation with The Cinematheque’s Executive and Artistic Director Jim Sinclair, followed by a screening of I’m Not There (2007), Mr. Haynes’s astounding, utterly unorthodox “biography” of Bob Dylan in which six different actors (including Cate Blanchett, in an Oscar-nominated performance) play various aspects of Dylan. Mr. Haynes first came to attention with his 1987 short Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, a startling re-enactment of the anorexic pop star’s life and death using Barbie dolls. (Copyright clearances were never obtained for the songs used in the film; legal action brought by Richard Carpenter has, since 1990, prevented its exhibition.) Superstar announced the play with narrative forms and the fascination with pop-music figures evident in much of Mr. Haynes’s subsequent work. Poison (1990), his controversial first feature, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and was a key film of the “New Queer Cinema” of the 1990s. It scandalized elements of the religious right in the U.S. because it had been funded, in part, with public money. Safe (1995), Mr. Haynes’s second feature, was a risky, formallyrigorous portrait of a housewife, played to perfection by Julianne Moore, trapped by the emotional sterility of her life and times. Compared by many to Antonioni’s Red Desert, it was followed by Velvet Goldmine (1998), a foray into the glam-rock 1970s that was as flamboyant and exuberant as Safe was austere and elegant. Far From Heaven (2002), also starring Moore, was a visually-ravishing, emotionally-affecting evocation of the sumptuous, subversive 1950s “women’s pictures” of Douglas Sirk. The polyphonic I’m Not There, five years later, was an event for cinephiles and music fans alike — and the most audacious example yet of Mr. Haynes’s formal daring and sheer narrative nerviness. His most recent “film” is Mildred Pierce (2011), a five-hour miniseries made for HBO. Adapted from the 1941 novel by James M. Cain, it won five Emmys, including one for Kate Winslet’s title performance (a role famously played by Joan Crawford in Michael Curtiz’s 1945 film version). Taken as a whole, this body of bold, intelligent work, with its provocative treatment of the director’s pet themes (transgression, alienation, identity, gender and sexuality, the artist as outsider and outlaw), and its marvellous mastery and control (and subversion) of genre, style, and form, has made Todd Haynes one of the most exciting and adventurous filmmakers of our time.

AN EVENING WITH

TODDHAYNES OPENING NIGHT FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15

6:30 pm Red Carpet Reception with Todd Haynes (for Reception ticket holders)

8:00 pm

Todd Haynes in conversation with The Cinematheque’s Executive and Artistic Director Jim Sinclair + Q&A

8:45 pm Screening of I’m Not There SPECIAL TICKET PRICES IN EFFECT (November 15)

40 $ 25 $

• Red Carpet Reception • Todd Haynes In Conversation / Q&A • Film Screening • Todd Haynes In Conversation / Q&A • Film Screening

The Red Carpet Reception is ages 19+ only. No Passes Accepted on Opening Night. Cinematheque Membership Not Required on Opening Night.

Before the evening’s Conversation/Q&A with Todd Haynes and the screening of I’m Not There, join us in welcoming Mr. Haynes to The Cinematheque at a special opening-night Red Carpet Reception. Guests will have the chance to mingle with the director, enjoy complimentary beverages, and bid in an exclusive film-and-musicthemed silent auction (including an item donated by Mr. Haynes). Plus each Reception ticket-holder will be entered into a draw for a Whistler Film Festival Weekend Getaway Package, with a chance to win two Festival Passes and two nights accommodation for the 2013 Whistler Film Festival (December 4-8, 2013)! Only a limited number of Red Carpet Reception tickets are available, at a cost of $40 each. For patrons holding $25 tickets, doors to the event will open at 7:45 pm.

I’M NOT THERE USA 2007. Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Marcus Carl Franklin

Yes ’n’ how many actors does it take to play Bob Dylan? The answer, my friend, is six — at least in Todd Haynes’s much-anticipated, mindblowing Dylan biopic! The sextet includes the miraculous Cate Blanchett, who’s female (and received an Oscar nomination); Marcus Carl Franklin, who’s African-American and a child; and the likes of Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, and Ben Whishaw. Not one of them actually plays anyone named Bob Dylan, or even Robert Zimmerman; instead, all are employed, in Haynes’s kaleidoscopic, cubist, out-on-a-limb film, to embody various iconic personas in the history and hagiography of His Bobness. Roger Ebert cited François Girard’s 1993 Canadian masterwork 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould as a precedent for the fragmentized aesthetic strategy Haynes employs here, a dizzying, dazzling multiplicity of forms, film styles, and cultural references. If nothing else — and there is plenty else, and Dylanologists will be debating it for years to come — this inspired, maddening, free-wheelin’ work gives mercurial genius Dylan the uncommon movie treatment he indisputably merits. “A profoundly, movingly personal film, passionate in its engagement with the mysteries of the recent past ... Haynes hurls a Molotov cocktail through the façade of the Hollywood biopic factory” (A.O. Scott, New York Times). Colour, 35mm. 135 mins. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15 8:00 PM • Todd Haynes in conversation / Q&A 8:45 PM • Screening of I’m Not There

Note: Special ticket prices in effect for this presentation

POISON

MILDRED PIERCE MARATHON!

Mildred Pierce

USA 1990. Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Edith Meeks, Scott Renderer, Larry Maxwell, James Lyons, Susan Norman

Todd Haynes tries his hand at the mini-series — and has another triumph — in this five-parter made for HBO. A luxuriant adaptation of James M. Cain’s 1941 novel, Mildred Pierce was nominated for 21 Emmys and won five — including one for Kate Winslet’s fine lead performance. (Michael Curtiz’s 1945 film version earned six Oscars nods and won one — for star Joan Crawford.) This epic (melo)drama of family strife and social striving is set in Depression-era Southern California, where Mildred is a middleclass housewife reduced in circumstances by divorce. Working hard to provide for her two daughters, the steely, self-sacrificing Mildred transforms herself from waitress to restaurant owner and entrepreneur, but her shrewdness and success don’t extend to her relationship with her spoiled, spiteful, class-conscious eldest child Veda (Evan Rachel Wood), an aspiring opera singer. Guy Pearce co-stars. The gorgeous cinematography is by Ed Lachman (Far from Heaven, I’m Not There). The script was co-written with Jonathan Raymond, known for his collaborations with Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff). “Mildred Pierce is not just great television, it’s a revelation... Haynes has given us a rare and valuable gift: an American melodrama about class” (Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times). “Outrageously enjoyable ... This glittering new Mildred Pierce is frankly the crystal meth of quality TV: instantly and scarily addictive ... Haynes has, as they say, hit one out of the park” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian). Colour, Blu-ray Disc. 335 mins. (Part 1: 58 mins. Part 2: 62 mins. Part 3: 66 mins. Part 4: 70 mins. Part 5: 79 mins). There will be a 45-minute intermission between Parts 3 and 4. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – 11:00 AM

After coming to attention with his incendiary short Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, independent filmmaker Todd Haynes made a notable feature debut with this controversial work, condemned by the religious right in the U.S. A disturbing inquiry into deviance and difference, Poison intertwines “three tales of transgression and punishment,” each shot in a radically different style. “Hero” is an oddly touching mock-documentary investigating the disappearance of a little boy who murdered his father and then literally flew out a window. “Homo” is a graphic and violent tale of gay love in prison, derived from the works of Jean Genet. “Horror” is a 1950s-style science fiction thriller about a scientist whose research into the mysteries of the sex drive transforms him into a hideously disfigured sex murderer. While the connections linking the three segments are deliberately kept elusive, an unmistakable spectre hangs over the work as a whole: “Without ever mentioning AIDS, Haynes has made what may be the toughest, most provocative, and least compromised movie on the crisis to date” (J. Hoberman). “Compelling and quirkily intelligent; Genet, one feels, would have been impressed” (Geoff Andrew, Time Out). Colour and B&W, 35mm. 85 mins.

NEW 35mm PRINT

USA 2011. Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood, Melissa Leo, James Le Gros

Double-bill prices in effect $ 14 Adult • $12 Students & Seniors

PRECEDED BY

SPECIAL SURPRISE SCREENING OF A SHORT FILM Total length of program (Poison + short): 128 mins. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – 6:30 PM

VELVET GOLDMINE USA 1998. Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Toni Collette, Christian Bale, Eddie Izzard

The daring Dylan portrait I’m Not There was not Todd Haynes’s first audacious experiment with the fragmented identity/ image/myth of a rock-and-roll chameleon. Velvet Goldmine, the director’s feverish, phantasmagorical third feature, is a glittery reinvention of Citizen Kane by way of Ziggy Stardust. Set in the glamrock 1970s, and structured in Kanestyle flashbacks, it casts Christian Bale (who also appears in I’m Not There) as a journalist who, from the vantage point of a grimly Orwellian 1984, sets out to investigate the disappearance, ten years before, of a David Bowie-like rocker named Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Ewan McGregor plays outlandish American singer Curt Wild, the Iggy Pop-like figure who inspired Slade. “Dazzling surreal ... The astounding Haynes brilliantly re-imagines the glam-rock ’70s as a brave new world of electrifying theatricality and sexual possibility” (Janet Maslin, New York Times). “Partly a film à clef which translates real-life events and personalities into a dazzling fiction, partly an unsentimental celebration of an era of (potential) pan-sexual liberation, and partly a typically Haynesian study of transgression, identity, and the gulf between private and public image, it’s superbly shot, edited, and performed, and exhilaratingly inventive throughout” (Geoff Andrew, Time Out). Colour, Blu-ray Disc. 123 mins. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – 9:00 PM

fAR FROM HEAVEN USA 2002. Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis

Indie luminary Todd Haynes had a crossover critical and commercial success with the virtuoso Far From Heaven, a magnificently controlled re-creation of the stylistically sumptuous, thematically subversive 1950s Hollywood melodramas of director Douglas Sirk — and, in particular, All That Heaven Allows, Sirk’s lavish 1955 tearjerker. A ravishingly rendered, rigorously controlled portrait of desire thwarted by the social rules and restrictions of a repressive era, Far From Heaven is set in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1957, and opens, gloriously, amid the blazing colours of a New England autumn. Julianne Moore, in an Oscar-nominated performance, is superb as a well-off suburban wife and mother who finds herself drawn to her handsome African-American gardener (Dennis Haysbert) as her marriage to her troubled husband (Dennis Quaid), a business executive with a scandalous secret life, begins to unravel. Part homage, part remake, Haynes’s lush film captures Sirk’s melodramatic, Eisenhower-era, women’s-picture universe with note-perfect precision; loaded with plenty of irony and insider smarts for the film buffs, it is at the same time a highly affecting drama — a straight-ahead (yet admirably restrained) “weepie” — in its own right. It’s also drop-dead gorgeous cinema. Colour, 35mm. 107 mins. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – 6:00 PM

SAFE USA 1995. Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, Dean Norris, Julie Burgess, Peter Friedman

Todd Haynes’s risky film is one of the great movies of the 1990s, and features the outstanding Julianne Moore, in her first lead, in a role (and performance) that anticipates her Oscar-nominated turn in the director’s Far From Heaven. A work of startling formal control and unnerving detachment, Safe captured the zeitgeist (and malaise) of late-20th-century urban North America with an eerie, austere precision. Moore plays affluent but afflicted Southern California housewife Carol, a woman “allergic to the 20th century” — hypersensitive, it seems, to the fumes, toxins, and chemical irritants we breathe in every second. What Carol’s really allergic to, of course, may be something else again. Bad cologne? Or the benumbing emotional sterility and intellectual vapidity of contemporary corporate/consumerist culture? Haynes renders Carol’s predicament in stark, elegant compositions, making Antonioni-like use of long shots and décor to convey her alienation. He then whisks her off to New Mexico for rehab at a New Agey healing centre, sketched with a satire of great subtleness and restraint. “Daring ... hypnotic ... Moore, in a nearly unplayable role, is amazingly vivid and touching; this is a heartbreaking portrait of a woman in full, panicked retreat from life” (Terrence Rafferty, The New Yorker). Colour, format TBA. 118 mins. PRECEDED BY

DOTTIE GETS SPANKED USA 1993. Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Evan Bonifant, Barbara Garrick, Julie Halston, Robert Pall, Harriet Harris

Made between Poison and Safe, Todd Haynes’s rarely-screened half-hour drama is set in suburban New York in 1966, and concerns an imaginative 6-year-old boy whose obsession with the zany heroine of a popular TV sitcom (the fictitious “Dottie Frank Show”) is a harbinger of his emergent sexual identity. “Based on Haynes’s childhood infatuation with ‘The Lucy Show’ and his own obsessive drawings, the film takes hilarious liberties with cinematic narrative and the psychoanalytic wellspring of sexuality” (Toronto I.F.F.). Colour and B&W, 16mm. 27 mins. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – 8:00 PM

DIM presents moving-image art in dialogue with cinema. Programmed by Amy Kazymerchyk, Aaron Peck, Michèle Smith, and Sarah Todd. DIMCINEMA.CA

MY LANGUAGE IS AN UNPAVED ROAD (CRYSTAL BRIDGES)

Germany 2013. Directors: Henning Fehr, Philipp Rühr

In My Language is an Unpaved Road (Crystal Bridges), the collaborative duo of Henning Fehr and Philipp Rühr documents the eponymous art museum — the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art — opened in 2005 in Bentonville, Arkansas, by Alice Walton, heiress of the Walmart fortune. Funded by the world’s largest department-store chain, Crystal Bridges exemplifies a shift in the function of museums from educational to entertainment models. The film explores not only the museum’s collection, which ranges from early American colonial to contemporary art, but also the individuals around it. Co-director Fehr acts the part of the museum’s director, Don Bacigalupi, while the rest of the cast are actual interviewees, including local donors and high-school teachers. As German critic Noemi Smolik writes in Frieze d/e, “The film comes across as both touchingly naïve and cunning — naïve in its direct voicing of the protagonists’ stories; cunning, because of the parodic effect given to these stories by the film’s imagery.” Color, HDCAM. 92 mins.

Henning Fehr was born in Erlangen, Germany, in 1985. Philipp Rühr was born in Brühl, Germany, in 1986. Both currently live and work in Düsseldorf, Germany. They are represented by Galerie Max Mayer. Programmed by Aaron Peck. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18 – 7:30 PM

THE KIDNAPPER’S OPERA Canada 2013. Director: Dan Starling

The Kidnapper’s Opera is a video-artwork based on a true story: On December 21, 1990, several young men, some of them teenagers, kidnapped the daughter of Canadian billionaire Jimmy Pattison in Vancouver. After receiving a $200,000 first payment on their ransom demands, the kidnappers decided to go on a shopping spree in a rented limousine; they were caught later that day conspicuously spending large amounts of cash at local shopping malls. Inspired by a quotation from Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera — “What is the robbery of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?” — the film considers how inequality is psychologically experienced in our society. The explanation for the behaviour of the teenagers focuses on the false desires of fortune and personal grandeur created by advertising, the media, and a sense of lack perpetuated by globalization. Structured like a play, each scene of The Kidnapper’s Opera is set and shot uniquely. Colour, HDCAM. 90 mins.

Dan Starling is a visual artist from Vancouver who works in a variety of mediums (drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance). Starling studied at Emily Carr University in Vancouver and Städelschule in Frankfurt and teaches at Emily Carr University. Programmed by Amy Kazymerchyk. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9 – 7:30 PM

40/$25

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HOW TO BUY TICKETS

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Tickets go on sale at the Box Office 30 minutes before the first show of the evening. Advance tickets are available for credit card purchase at theCinematheque.ca. Events, times, and prices are subject to change without notice.

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theCinematheque.ca

6:30 pm

Dinner with My Sisters (p 23)

Blind Spot (p 23)

6:00pm

EUFF

7:00pm

EUFF

6:30pm Dream Team 1935 (p 26)

EUFF Love.net (p 25)

Living Images (p 23)

6:30pm

EUFF

8:30pm

7:40pm

DECEMBER

Night Boats (p 23)

Miracle (p 23)

EUFF

6:30pm

EUFF

A Trip (p 24)

8:15pm

Alaska Highway (p 24)

6:30pm

EUFF

Forget Me Not (p 5)

My Language is an Unpaved Road (Crystal Bridges) (p 13)

6:30pm

FRAMES OF MIND

7:30pm

8:30 pm

LE JOLI MAI (p 16)

6:30pm

SPECIAL ED (p 16)

Microphone (p 9)

8:15pm

The Battle of Tabatô (p 9)

6:30pm

THE NEW WAVE IN AFRICAN CINEMA

7:30pm

DIM CINEMA

6:00pm

EUFF

(p 12)

Safe + Dottie Gets Spanked

8:00pm

Far From Heaven (p 12)

6:00pm

TODD HAYNES

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (p 17)

1:00pm

CINEMA SUNDAY

6:30 pm

LE JOLI MAI (p 16)

Restless City (p 9)

Something Necessary (p 8)

8:30pm

6:30pm

THE NEW WAVE IN AFRICAN CINEMA

More info: theCinematheque.ca/venue 604.688.8202 • theatre@theCinematheque.ca

6:30pm

EUFF

Up There (p 24)

8:30pm

(p 24)

The Consul of Bordeaux

6:30pm

EUFF

8:30 pm

LE JOLI MAI(p 16)

6:30pm

SPECIAL ED (p 16)

Under the Starry Sky (p 9)

7:00pm

THURSDAY

THE NEW WAVE IN AFRICAN CINEMA

The Cinematheque’s theatre can be rented on Tuesday nights and during the day seven days a week.

8:45pm

WEDNESDAY

HOST YOUR EVENT HERE!

TUESDAY

Man on Ground (p 8)

LE JOLI MAI (p 16)

MONDAY

The Education of Auma Obama (p 9)

6:45pm

Short Film Program 2: African Twists on Genre (p 8)

4:30pm

THE NEW WAVE IN AFRICAN CINEMA

SUNDAY

A Night Too Young (p 24)

8:30pm

Eat Sleep Die (p 24)

6:30pm

EUFF

Superclásico (p 22)

8:20pm

(p 22)

The Other Dream Team

6:30pm

Weddings and Other Disasters (p 25)

8:25pm

Grand Central (p 25)

6:30pm

EUFF

My Father’s Bike (p 23)

8:25pm

Kuma (p 22)

6:30pm

EUFF

Velvet Goldmine (p 12)

EUFF

9:00pm I’m Not There (p 11)

Poison + Special Surprise Screening (p 11)

6:30pm Todd Haynes In Conversation (p 10)

8:45pm

Mildred Pierce (p 11)

11:00am

TODD HAYNES

(p 16)

4:00 pm + 7:00 pm

LE JOLI MAI

One Man’s Show (p 7)

8:45pm

Grey Matter (p 7)

6:30pm

Short Film Program 1 African Storytelling: Image and Sound (p 7)

4:30pm

THE NEW WAVE IN AFRICAN CINEMA

8:00pm

SATURDAY

Red Carpet Reception (p 10)

6:30pm

TODD HAYNES

Terms and Conditions May Apply (p 4)

6:30pm

MEDIA DEMOCRACY DAYS 2013

Today (p 6)

8:00pm

THE NEW WAVE IN AFRICAN CINEMA

NOVEMBER

FRIDAY

NOW PLAYING

NOV+DEC

1131 HOWE STREET

theC in emath equ e.ca

U P D AT E S & A D VA N C E T I C K E T S

Early Spring (p 21)

Tokyo Twilight (p 21)

8:45pm

Tokyo Twilight (p 21)

8:40pm

An Autumn Afternoon (p 21)

The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (p 21)

6:30pm

8:45pm

YASUJIRO OZU

Early Spring (p 21)

8:45pm

Tokyo Story (p 20)

6:15pm

Equinox Flower (p 20)

4:00pm

YASUJIRO OZU

An Autumn Afternoon (p 21)

8:20pm

Good Morning (p 21)

6:30pm

YASUJIRO OZU

Tokyo Story (p 20)

8:45pm

Equinox Flower (p 20)

6:30pm

YASUJIRO OZU

Festival Program (p 4)

6:30pm

Comedy Program (p 4)

4:30pm

Family Program (p 4)

3:00pm

Children’s Program (p 4)

1:00pm

THE SHORTEST DAY

Early Summer (p 19)

A Hen in the Wind (p 20)

6:15pm

8:35pm

Late Spring (p 19)

6:30pm

YASUJIRO OZU

6:30pm

AT BERKELEY (p 16)

9:00pm

Late Autumn (p 20)

6:30pm

YASUJIRO OZU

Late Spring (p 19)

8:45pm

YASUJIRO OZU Tokyo Twilight (p 21)

CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS

8:50pm

Early Spring (p 21)

6:15pm

YASUJIRO OZU

Equinox Flower (p 20)

Tokyo Story (p 20)

6:15pm

The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (p 21)

4:00pm

YASUJIRO OZU

31 JANUARY

There Was a Father (p 20)

Late Autumn (p 20)

8:50pm

6:30pm

Tokyo Story (p 20)

8:10pm

4:00pm

YASUJIRO OZU

8:20pm

6:30pm

The Record of a Tenement Gentleman (p 20)

9:00pm

Early Summer (p 19)

6:30pm

YASUJIRO OZU

The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (p 19)

8:35pm

The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (p 19)

Late Spring (p 19)

6:30pm

YASUJIRO OZU

6:30pm

AT BERKELEY (p 16)

YASUJIRO OZU

Late Autumn (p 20)

CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS

11 11

The Giants (p 26)

8:20pm

Jackie (p 26)

A Hen in the Wind (p 20)

Here One Day (p 5)

7:30pm

FRAMES OF MIND

6:30pm

AT BERKELEY (p 16)

God Loves Caviar (p 26)

8:30pm

Shifting the Blame (p 26)

There Was a Father (p 20)

6:30pm

The Only Son (p 19)

8:00pm

The Record of a Tenement Gentleman (p 20)

6:30pm

YASUJIRO OZU

The Kidnapper’s Opera (p 13)

7:30pm

DIM CINEMA

(p 26)

(p 25)

Bajarí: Gypsy Barcelona

I’m an Old Communist Hag

YASUJIRO OZU

8:45pm

8:35pm

YASUJIRO OZU

The Only Son (p 19)

9:00pm

Early Summer (p 19)

6:30pm

The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (p 19)

4:00pm

YASUJIRO OZU

Gremlins (p 17)

1:00pm

CINEMA SUNDAY

1:30pm + 6:30pm

AT BERKELEY (p 16)

Natural Grace (p 25)

7:45pm

The Exam (p 25)

New Documentary | Vancouver Premieres “One of the most influential movies that you have likely never seen ... What is astonishing about the movie, even today, is the joie de vivre, cinematic and otherwise, with which it levels its critique.” J. HOBERMAN, ARTINFO

“Marvellous ... What distinguishes the film most is its wit, both verbal and visual ... It is simultaneously illuminating and funny.”

“Ed is definitely ‘special’ ... A documentary that is equally, and oddly, sad, funny, and inspiring.” SCOTT GRAY, EXCLAIM!

“An offbeat and often hilarious story about a modern day composite of Don Quixote, Peter Pan, Chaplin’s Tramp, Job, and Sisyphus.” HOT DOCS FESTIVAL, TORONTO

“One of Wiseman’s best, a summation of sorts of a career’s worth of principled filmmaking.” LESLIE FELPERIN, VARIETY

“A multifaceted drama of people and ideas ... Wiseman has established himself as one of America’s greatest chroniclers in any medium.” NICOLAS RAPOLD, NEW YORK TIMES

GEOFF ANDREW, TIME OUT

50 TH

ANNIVERSARY RESTORATION

SPECIAL

(The Lovely Month of May) France 1963. Directors: Chris Marker, Pierre Lhomme

A retrospective of the singular cinema of the late, great French filmmaker Chris Marker (La Jetée, Sans Soleil) was presented at The Cinematheque earlier this year. This gorgeous new restoration of the long-unavailable La Joli Mai, one of Marker’s signature works, “The greatest was showcased at the 2013 Cannes and documentary Toronto film festivals. We’re pleased about Paris.” to present its Vancouver premiere. TROIS COULEURS, PARIS “Meticulously restored by the film’s cinematographer and co-director, Pierre Lhomme, according to Marker’s instructions, and featuring a lovely English voiceover (Marker’s preference for Anglophone audiences) by Marker’s comrade and friend Simone Signoret, Le Joli Mai emerges as one of the director’s most poignant and important works. Characteristically witty and generous, Marker’s epic ‘direct cinema’ inquiry into the possibility of happiness during France’s first springtime of peace in many years (following the recently-signed ceasefire that ended the Algerian War) is structured in two parts. ‘A Prayer from the Eiffel Tower’ orchestrates a heady polyphony of Parisians offering acerbic and sometimes hilarious observations on the state of the nation. ‘The Return of Fantômas’ broadens the film’s scope to examine the social and political history of Paris, including recent street demonstrations, racial tensions, and — the future always contiguous with the past in Marker’s cinema — technological revolution. ‘Is this the most beautiful city in the world?’ Marker muses. ‘One would like to see it for the first time.’ In its philosophical and poetic profusion, Le Joli Mai allows us that virginal vantage” (James Quandt, Toronto I.F.F.). B&W, HDCAM, in English and French with English subtitles. 145 mins. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9 – 4:00 PM & 7:00 PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10 – 6:30 PM MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11 – 6:30 PM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 – 8:30 PM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 – 8:30 PM

Canada 2013. Director: John Paskievich With: Ed Ackerman

Heartbreaking, hilarious, and at times alarming, this Crumb-like portrait of an eccentric Canadian artist comes from John Paskievich (Ted Baryluk’s Grocery, The Gypsies of Svinia), one of Canada’s premiere documentary filmmakers. Paskievich, who is also a noted photographer, was the subject of a career retrospective at The Cinematheque in 2002. In Special Ed, which received its world premiere at this year’s Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, he turns his lens upon another filmmaker: animator, shit-disturber, and own-worst-enemy Ed Ackerman. Ackerman’s groundbreaking animation work with text and typescript — Primiti Too Taa is the best known — once earned him a Genie nomination and screenings around the world. Now, Ackerman lives in a rundown, crime-ridden Winnipeg neighbourhood, where he attempts to resuscitate his stalled career and save his three derelict houses from the wrecking ball, all the while waging quixotic fights against city hall — and the hydro company, phone company, tax department, and police. Ackerman’s impractical dreams seem to keep coming up hard against his apparent history of failed relationships, losing battles, and doomed projects. His hopeless runs for public office – city council, parliament – garner mere dozens of votes. Paskievich’s special documentary captures its wayward subject with great poignancy. Colour, HDCAM. 100 mins.

USA 2013. Director: Frederick Wiseman With: Robert J. Birgeneau, George W. Breslauer, Robert Reich

The latest from American documentary master Frederick Wiseman (Titicut Follies, High School, Crazy Horse) is a monumental, immersive, indepth study of the inner workings of the University of California at Berkeley, during a time when the legendarily radical campus was facing radical new fiscal challenges. “Wiseman has dedicated the past four decades to documenting how people function inside of institutions. Now he turns to one of the most sprawling and complex organizations of his career: Wiseman and cameraman John Davey embedded themselves at the school during the fall of 2010 while a vigorous debate was taking place over tuition hikes and budget cuts. The resulting four-hour film gives us unrestrained access inside classrooms, student protests, and administrative meetings, as newcomers and old-timers alike hash out the future of higher education in the United States. Berkeley has a storied reputation as a battleground for free speech. Today, the school attracts high-profile professors such as Robert Reich (former US Secretary of Labor), and pursues cutting-edge research that earns vital revenue. But cutbacks are felt throughout the school ... Wiseman practices his craft with great subtlety. As viewers, we’re dropped into situations and left to figure out what’s going on and how we feel about it” (Thom Powers, Toronto I.F.F.) Wiseman’s next film, National Gallery, will be about the National Gallery in London. Colour, Blu-ray Disc. 244 mins.

PRECEDED BY

Primiti ToO TaA Canada 1986. Directors: Ed Ackerman, Colin Morton

Concrete poetry in motion, with nonsense phrases and primitive sounds meeting their typed representation. A witty tribute to the absurdist tradition of Dada and to Canada’s master of abstract animation Norman McLaren, the film was nominated for a Genie. B&W, 3 mins. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 – 6:30 PM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 – 6:30 PM

At Berkeley

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 – 6:30 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 – 6:30 PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 – 1:30 PM & 6:30 PM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11 – 6:30 PM

Many of us share childhood movie memories of a moment when the safe world of a family film transformed and started to seem dangerous! An image or a soundscape created an impressionistic, hazy sense of a character or a scene viscerally reminded us that life has its perils. These moments and memories have inspired Cinema Sunday 2013: Family Frights. We’ve assembled a year of family films sure to resurrect those childhood movie moments that haunt you still — films that walk the line between the happy universe of the kids’ movie and the nerve-wracking memories of childhood nightmares past. In the manner of Old World fairy tales, these stories prepare children for the hazardous transition into adolescence and the grown-up world. They’re not for the faintest of heart, but these creative, masterful stories give new meaning to the idea of the family film and family fun. We invite you and your kids to enjoy the artistry and magic of the some of the edgiest children’s films of the past. Films will be introduced by Vancouver film history teacher, critic, and children’s movie enthusiast Michael van den Bos.

CHILDREN

&YOUTHS (under 18) ADULTS CINEMATHEQUE MEMBERSHIP NOT REQUIRED

Great Britain/Italy 1988. Director: Terry Gilliam Cast: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman

In November, our Family Frights series brings the wackiness and exuberant imagination of Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam into the fold with the much-adored Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the third film in his so-called “Imagination” trilogy (after Time Bandits and Brazil). In war-torn 18th-century Europe, a stage production of Baron Munchausen’s legendary life is interrupted by the “real” Munchausen (John Neville), who protests that the tall tales are inaccurate. Narrating to the audience (wink!) the true nature of his adventures — which includes starting the war that is ravaging the city — the Baron soon realizes that only he can put an end to the conflict. Joined by stowaway Sally Salt (a young Sarah Polley) and a band of superpowered friends, the Baron embarks on a series of magical and oft-bewildering adventures that includes a trip to the moon in a balloon made of women’s underwear, an aerial waltz with Botticelli’s Venus come to life (Uma Thurman), and a heroic escape from the stomach of a gluttonous sea monster. Filled with spectacular live-action effects and a memorable, uncredited cameo by Robin Williams as the King of the Moon’s floating head, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is Gilliam’s most family-friendly film, and a strange, wondrous, and at times terrifying one at that. Colour, 35mm. 126 mins. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – 1:00 PM

USA 1984. Director: Joe Dante Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, Corey Feldman

There are only three rules that one must obey when caring for a pet mogwai: don’t expose it to bright light; don’t get it wet; and most importantly, never, ever feed it after midnight! Gremlins, the holiday finale to Cinema Sunday’s year-long Family Frights series, is the story of bashful teenage Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan), who receives a lovable mogwai named Gizmo (voiced by funnyman Howie Mandell) as an early Christmas present from his erstwhile inventor father. But Billy quickly learns the weight of his responsibilities when he accidentally violates the rules of mogwai care and unwittingly unleashes a pack of nasty, mischievous “gremlins” onto the Rockwellian town of Kingston Falls. Now it is up to Billy, his almost-girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates), and Gizmo to stop the terrorizing gremlins before they destroy the town — and ruin Christmas! A horror-comedy classic of the ’80s produced under Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment banner, and the perfect close to our year of Family Frights, Gremlins is high-thrills family fun with a healthy dose of yuletide fright. Colour, Bluray Disc. 106 mins. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 – 1:00 PM

Family Ties: The Sublime Cinema of

YASUJIRO OZU ‫ݦ‬൤ ‫៵ˎܜ‬

A SEASONAL CELEBRATION OF ONE OF CINEMA’S GREATEST MASTERS

“One of the great artists of the 20th century in any medium and any country.”

ALL 35mm PRINTS

BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

This holiday season, as we gather ’round hearth and home and spend time with loved ones, The Cinematheque celebrates the sublime films of one of cinema’s greatest humanists and finest chroniclers of family (and family disappointments). Yasujiro Ozu (December 12, 1903-December 12, 1963) was master of a deceptively simple, intensely moving cinema that can be both heart-warming and heart-breaking. His subject was almost always the family, and his work captured, with a remarkable subtlety, wisdom, and benevolence, the everyday family crises invariably engendered by generational conflict, marriage, and death. His body of work is, in the opinion of many, one of cinema’s great treasures. Hard though it may be to imagine now, with Ozu long regarded as one of the great filmmakers, and his 1953 masterpiece Tokyo Story routinely cited as one of the best films ever made, but there was a time when Ozu’s quiet, contemplative, tranquil cinema was regarded as too provincial, “too Japanese,” to be appreciated by foreigners. Ozu himself apparently shared these sentiments, and his works were not seen abroad until very late in an illustrious directorial career that had begun in the 1920s. At the time of his death in 1963, with some 53 features to his credit, including six that had been named “best Japanese film of the year,” Ozu had yet to receive the wide international recognition and acclaim already conferred upon his compatriots Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and Ichikawa. In fact, Ozu wouldn’t be given his full due in the West until the 1970s. Ozu’s 53 features include 34 silent films, many of them now lost, made in the 1920s and 1930s. Ozu’s movies from this period — college and salaryman comedies, crime films, social-realist dramas — reveal a boisterous young filmmaker with a free-wheeling style and an unexpectedly mobile camera — all very un-Ozu-like! Ozu’s mature films — the work of the great Sensei we celebrate here — are delicate, understated affairs. Ozu authority Donald Richie once described them as “the precise opposite of Kurosawa’s.” Ozu’s is a cinema of character, dialogue, and observation, rather than plot or story. His preferred genre was the shomin-geki, or stories of the lower middle-class. In the West, this has been the stuff of soap opera or lowbrow comedy; in Ozu’s supple hands, it was material for some of the most moving and magisterial cinema ever made. Indeed, it is often said of Ozu (as of Eric Rohmer) that he made extraordinary films about very ordinary people.

“Ozu is worthy of attention by the highest claims of an international art . . . The Western moviegoer will hardly be able to resist Ozu — he is a treasury.” DAVID THOMSON

“I have formulated my own directing style in my head, proceeding without any unnecessary imitation of others.” YASUJIRO OZU

If Ozu’s subject matter, the family, is deceptively simple, so too is his celebrated style: spare, economical, restrained — a restrained style to match restrained subject matter. His magnificent late-period films “are probably the most restrained ever made,” according to Richie. Ozu typically employed a fixed, static camera, set at the peculiarly low angle that became his stylistic signature: about three feet off the ground, roughly corresponding to the eye level of a person seated on a tatami mat. He favoured long takes, unadorned editing, and was a pioneer in the use of off-screen space (his 360-degree approach to filmic space radically broke with cinema’s conventional use of 180-degree space only). His work is carefully, rigorously composed, and often also conveys a very real sense of empty space; many describe this as corresponding to the Zen notion of mu, of emptiness, negation, silence — the Zen sense of still life in which the space between objects is an important and integral element of form. Noël Burch has called Ozu’s characteristic cutaways to still lifes or unpeopled landscapes “pillow shots,” with an “unmotivated absence of human beings” that operates in contrast to Western anthropocentric codes. Ozu’s, it is said, is “an art predicated on the Zen Buddhist reverence for the mystery of the everyday” (David Cook).

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Ozu himself once observed, wryly, that “Whenever Westerns don’t understand something, they simply think it’s Zen.” Perhaps so, but there is no denying that Ozu’s work treads the ineffable, the immanent, the invisible. His deliberate, controlled, beautifully minimalist style has a metaphysical intensity that Paul Schrader famously described, along with the work of Robert Bresson and Carl Theodor Dreyer, as transcendental. It is a cinema of repose, of contemplation, a cinema that reveals “the metaphysical realm of expectation, disillusionment, and acceptance in the family situation” and “the full pathos of the human condition” (Audie Bock). It is a cinema that displays a deep, abiding, sympathetic, sad but serene resignation; an acceptance of life’s uncertainties and inevitabilities; an acceptance of things as they are. It is this, finally, this sense of mono no aware, which makes Ozu’s work so graceful, so gently melancholic, so intensely moving. In a word: sublime.

“If there was something like a sacred treasure of the cinema, then for me that would have to be the work of Yasujiro Ozu.” WIM WENDERS Our retrospective begins on December 12— a date that is both the 110th anniversary of Ozu’s birth and the 50th anniversary of his death — and includes 16 of the 19 sound films directed by this Master of Masters.

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“Even if you don’t believe that watching an Ozu film is a religious experience, it certainly is an experience — demanding, mesmerizing, and rewarding — that is matchless in the history of cinema.” LLOYD HUGHES, THE ROUGH GUIDE TO FILM

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Late Spring (Banshun)

Japan 1949. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Jun Usami, Yumeji Tsukioka

One of Ozu’s finest achievements and own personal favourites, Late Spring provides “the perfect introduction to his world” (Film Forum New York). Some rank it above even Tokyo Story, the director’s consensus masterpiece! Chishu Ryu, Ozu’s regular on-screen alter ego, plays a widowed father worried that his adult daughter (Setsuko Hara) is spurning marriage in order to continue keeping him company. Determined that she should leave the nest and have a life of her own, he lets on that he is planning to remarry, something he has absolutely no intention of doing. Late Spring is generally cited as the first film in the full-blown, mature, classic style for which Ozu is celebrated; it topped the Kinema Jumpo poll as the best Japanese film of 1949. It also marked Ozu’s first collaboration in 14 years with screenwriter Kogo Noda; the two would co-write all of the director’s subsequent films (including 1960’s Late Autumn, a semi-remake with an older Setsuko Hara now in the parental role). Late Spring placed 15th in Sight and Sound’s 2012 decennial poll of the greatest films of all time — higher than any other Japanese film save Tokyo Story. “One of the best two or three films Ozu ever made” (Roger Ebert). “The most beautiful Ozu movie I know” (Roger Greenspun, New York Times). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 107 mins. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 – 6:30 PM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 – 8:45 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 – 6:30 PM

The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (Ochazuke no aji)

Early Summer (Bakushu)

Japan 1951. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Setsuko Hara, Ichiro Sugai, Chieko Higashiyama, Chishu Ryu, Haruko Sugimura

Poignant and gently comic, Early Summer is an archetypal Ozu tale of an unmarried adult daughter being pressured to take a husband. The film is set in postwar Kamakura, where three generations of the boisterous Mamiya family live under one roof. Setsuko Hara (who played the equivalent role is Ozu’s similar Late Spring) is Noriko, at 28 years old just a little past prime marrying age. While her grandparents fret and her parents and brother plot to find her a suitable spouse, Noriko, an impulsive and independent sort, determines to make her own choice — to everyone’s disapproval. Winner of the Kinema Jumpo award for best Japanese film of 1951, Early Summer demonstrates the mature Ozu’s masterful move away from conventional plot and drama towards a subtle, elegiac cinema of character, incident, and dialogue, a cinema that captures with resignation and acceptance the transience and mutability of life. The Japanese title translates literally as “Wheat Harvest Season.” The absence of a son, apparently lost in the war, is referenced throughout the film. “Ozu’s characteristic blend of tones — humour, melancholy, yearning, resignation, serenity — here achieves perhaps its greatest richness” (David Bordwell). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 135 mins. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 – 8:35 PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 – 6:30 PM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19 – 6:30 PM

Japan 1952. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Shin Saburi, Michiyo Kogure, Koji Tsuruta, Chishu Ryu, Yuko Mochizuki

A subtle, exquisite — and exquisitely-titled — study of an unhappy marriage, Ozu’s The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice centres on a middle-aged, middle-class, childless couple who find that their (arranged) relationship has lapsed into routine and lost its meaning. He (Shin Saburi) is a countryborn creature of habit with plebeian tastes. She (Michiyo Kogure) is style-conscious and given to snobbishness, bored by and often contemptuous of her husband’s lack of sophistication. The arrival of a favourite niece, so full of romantic hope for the future, acts as catalyst for the return of grace and acceptance into their marriage. Dating from perhaps the peak period of Ozu’s career — his next film would be Tokyo Story — Flavour of Green Tea was not one of Ozu’s own favourites, but this lively, touching, humorous movie “has many admirable things in it, so many that some people prefer it to his finer pictures” (Donald Richie). “One of his brightest and funniest films, full of sly little surprises” (Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide). “Essentially a comedy, what the Japanese call a tsuma-mono, or wife film ... The revelation — the surprise — of the film is not that they are eventually reconciled, but that they become such appealing characters, touched by a kind of nobility” (Vincent Canby, New York Times). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 115 mins. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 – 8:35 PM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 – 6:30 PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 – 4:00 PM

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The Only Son (Hitori musuko)

Japan 1936. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Shinichi Himori, Choko Iida, Chishu Ryu, Yoshiko Tsubouchi, Masao Hayama

Ozu was a late convert to sound technology. The Only Son, his first talkie, dates from 1936, and ranks with his finest and most emotional works; critic and theorist Noël Burch calls it “his supreme achievement”. A widowed workingclass woman (the formidable Choko Iida) sacrifices for years to support her promising son and put him through school, so that he might make a better life for himself. Years later, she spends most of her remaining savings to visit him in Tokyo, only to find him impoverished and disenchanted with life. “Parental disillusionment is a theme Ozu would return to many times, notably in Early Summer and Tokyo Story, but The Only Son illustrates it with a piercing sadness and unparalleled sense of despair ... Featuring a knockout performance from Choko Iida, The Only Son is an unforgettable, emotionally devastating experience” (Film Society of Lincoln Center). “Filled with originality, integrity, and the sharpest kind of observation ... A dark, poignant, and sage film” (Donald Richie). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 87 mins. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 – 9:00 PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 16 – 8:00 PM

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᧖ǬʪǬ໏᫵

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The Record of a Tenement Gentleman

A Hen in the Wind

Tokyo Story

Japan 1948. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Kinuyo Tanaka, Shuji Sano, Kuniko Miyake, Chishu Ryu, Chieko Murata

Japan 1953. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, So Yamamura, Haruko Sugimura

(Nagaya shinshi roku)

Japan 1947. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Chishu Ryu, Choko Iida, Takeshi Sakamoto, Tomihiro Aoki, Reikichi Kawamura

Bittersweet, comedic, and fable-like, The Record of a Tenement Gentleman was Ozu’s first postwar film. A war orphan found wandering the streets of Tokyo is foisted upon Otane (Choko Iida), an aging widow with an aversion to children. She gradually grows to love the waif, but their relationship never quite becomes that of parent-child. In master Ozu’s sure hands, this seemingly sentimental story idea is given a decidedly unsentimental, austere, and often humorous treatment. “Largely responsible for the film’s success is the remarkable central performance of Choko Iida ... One should also mention Chishu Ryu, Ozu’s actor of actors, who appears here in one of his drollest roles as an ex-peep-show-operator-turned-astrologer, and some of the funniest and most elaborate examples of Ozu’s bathroom humour, a particular fascination of the director throughout his career” (Martin Rubin). “Ozu in optimistic mode, which is not to say that loss and resignation don’t figure in large part (no filmmaker has ever had a surer grasp of the melancholy of everyday things), just that here the generosity of spirit seems irresistible — and irresistibly comic” (Tom Charity, Time Out). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 72 mins.

(Kaze no naka no mendori)

The great actress Kinuyo Tanaka, star of many a Mizoguchi masterpiece, was an Ozu favourite as well. Tanaka is superb in the lead of this poignant postwar melodrama, which visits Mizoguchi territory with its tale of female suffering and prostitution. While awaiting the demobilization of her soldier husband, a young woman is forced to spend one night as a prostitute in order to pay the medical expenses of their ailing son. When her husband finally returns, she confesses her indiscretion and must deal with his outrage. The larger theme of this characteristic “home drama” from Ozu is the fate of traditional Japanese values in the aftermath of defeat, and the need for Japanese society to reconcile itself to a tawdry, Westernized Japan that has apparently prostituted itself to the culture of the Occupation. Critic Joan Mellen credits A Hen in the Wind with containing “one of the most acute moments of social consciousness in Ozu’s films” and “the moment of the greatest violence in all of Ozu’s films.” “One of Ozu’s most emotionally charged movies” (Reece Pendleton, Chicago Reader). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 84 mins. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20 – 9:00 PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 23 – 6:30 PM

MONDAY, DECEMBER 16 – 6:30 PM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19 – 9:00 PM

“One of the manifest miracles of the cinema” (Penelope Gilliatt, The New Yorker), Tokyo Story is generally acknowledged to be Ozu’s supreme masterpiece, and is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made. (It has placed in the top five in the last three editions of Sight and Sound’s once-adecade poll of international critics; in 2012, the most recent, it ranked third, behind only Vertigo and Citizen Kane!) A sad, simple, economical tale of generational conflict, told in the consummate Ozu style, the film concerns an aging couple who journey to Tokyo to visit their married son and daughter, only to find that their presence seems to be an imposition on their rather insensitive and apparently too-busy offspring. Tokyo Story offers a perfect example of the quality of mono no aware — a sad but serene resignation to life as it is — that informs Ozu’s work. “Ozu’s vision ... is emotionally overwhelming, and arguably profound for any engaged viewer; it is also formally unmatched in Western popular cinema” (Tony Rayns, Time Out). “A picture so Japanese and at the same time so personal, and hence so universal in its appeal, that it becomes a masterpiece” (Donald Richie). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 135 mins. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26 – 4:00 PM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27 – 6:15 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28 – 8:45 PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 – 6:15 PM

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Late Autumn

There Was a Father

Equinox Flower

Japan 1960. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Setsuko Hara, Yoko Tsukasa, Chishu Ryu, Mariko Okada, Keiji Sada

Japan 1942. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Chishu Ryu, Shuji Sano, Mitsuko Mito, Takeshi Sakamoto, Shin Saburi

Japan 1958. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Fujiko Yamamoto, Kinuyo Tanaka, Shin Saburi, Ineko Arima, Keiji Sada

Made at the height of World War II, There Was a Father ranks among Ozu’s most affecting and, in Japan, most admired works. Ozu favourite Chishu Ryu plays a self-sacrificing widowed schoolteacher who experiences all the joy, pain, and pride of parenthood as his beloved young son grows up, leaves home for school, and enters adulthood. The film recalls Ozu’s earlier The Only Son in its sensitive treatment of parent-child separation, a theme with particular poignancy for Japanese audiences in wartime. Father is surprisingly sophisticated and uncompromising for a film produced under conditions of strict military censorship and mandatory propaganda. Even so, requisite wartime elements made their way into the work; many of these were cut for the film’s postwar re-release. “One of Ozu’s most perfect films. There is a naturalness and a consequent feeling of inevitability that is rare in cinema ... Critics have called the performance of Chishu Ryu in this film one of the best in the history of Japanese cinema, and they are right ... Father has become one of the country’s most esteemed classics” (Donald Richie). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 94 mins.

A gorgeously-shot work of great formal precision, this exquisite comedy was Ozu’s first film in colour; the studio insisted on colour in order to better display the beauty of star actress Fujiko Yamamoto. When a modern young woman (Ineko Arima) wishes to marry the man of her choice, her mother (Kinuyo Tanaka) understands, but her obstinate father (Shin Saburi, in a memorable performance) objects, primarily because she did not seek his permission before becoming engaged. Yamamoto plays the daughter’s wily friend. Ozu’s treatment of the generational conflict is characteristically even-handed; Donald Richie calls Equinox Flower “a balanced picture of Japanese family life, made with loving irony.” Like the handful of other colour movies he made near the end of his career, the film displays Ozu’s particular fondness for the expressive qualities of reds. “There are about ten different shades of red,” he once said. “People who like red are either geniuses or madmen.” “Uncharacteristically buoyant ... [The father] is as charming a character as Ozu has ever given us ... The performers are flawless” (Vincent Canby, New York Times). Colour, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 118 mins.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22 – 6:30 PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 23 – 8:10 PM

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26 – 8:50 PM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27 – 4:00 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28 – 6:30 PM

(Akibiyori)

A lovely exemplar of the director’s fine late-period films, Ozu’s Late Autumn is a masterful work of distilled serenity, possessed of gentle humour and great formal beauty. A widow, played by Setsuko Hara, attempts to find a husband for her unmarried daughter (Yoko Tsukasa), who still lives at home. The daughter, in no hurry to get married, mistakenly believes that her mother wishes to remarry. In the meantime, three older men, long-time friends of the family, attempt to find suitable husbands for both. Late Autumn is a semiremake of Ozu’s 1949 masterpiece Late Spring, which focused on a father-daughter relationship and featured a younger Setsuko Hara in the filial role. “People sometimes complicate the simplest things. Life, which seems complex, suddenly reveals itself as very simple — and I wanted to show that in this film” (Ozu). “A beautiful example of Ozu’s quiet, classic style. Like so many other Ozu films, this is an experience to be placed among your cinematic treasured moments” (Archer Winsten, New York Post). “Cinema that speaks to the soul” (Trevor Johnston, Time Out). Colour, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 128 mins. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20 – 6:30 PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22 – 8:20 PM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26 – 6:30 PM

(Tokyo monogatari)

(Chichi ariki)

(Higanbana)

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Early Spring

Tokyo Twilight

Good Morning

Japan 1956. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Ryo Ikebe, Chikage Awashima, Keiko Kishi, Chishu Ryu, Daisuke Kato

Japan 1957. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Setsuko Hara, Isuzu Yamada, Ineko Arima, Chishu Ryu, Masami Taura

Japan 1959. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Chishu Ryu, Kuniko Miyake, Yoshiko Kuga, Keiji Sada, Koji Tsuruta

Ozu’s first-rate follow-up to 1953’s Tokyo Story, his acknowledged masterpiece, finds the director returning to a favourite milieu of his earlier, silent films: the workaday world of salaried office men. A discontented young whitecollar worker, bored with his wife and his job, has a brief affair with the office flirt, and imperils his marriage. “I wanted to show the life of a man with such a job — his happiness over graduation and finally becoming a member of society, his hopes for the future gradually dissolving, his realizing that, even though he has worked for years, he has accomplished nothing ... I wanted to bring out what you might call the pathos of such a life” (Ozu). The sensitive tale is rendered with the formal beauty, economical style, and low-key sadness that are the great director’s hallmarks. “Impeccably acted ... Ozu’s magnificent Early Spring seems utterly fresh and contemporary. This modest classic also conveys the claustrophobia of office life better than any other film I’ve seen” (Nora Sayre, New York Times). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 145 mins.

One of Ozu’s darkest films (and his last in black-and-white), the intense Tokyo Twilight is set in a nocturnal, wintry Tokyo of tawdry bars and seedy mah-jong parlours. The atypically melodramatic plot has Ozu mainstay Chishu Ryu as an aging father, apparently widowed, living with his two adult daughters. The eldest daughter, played by Setsuko Hara, has recently fled an unhappy and abusive marriage. The youngest, played by Ineko Arima, has been impregnated and abandoned by a boyfriend, and is seeking an abortion. The discovery of a shocking family secret devastates both sisters. “The dialogue and acting are superb ... This is the nearest that Ozu ventured towards Western ideas of melodrama, although he is still more restrained than the plot suggests” (Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide). “Ozu’s melodrama appears austere indeed by comparison with anyone else’s” (Donald Richie). “One of Ozu’s most profoundly modern works, sounding psychological and sociological depths that Ozu never probed so fearlessly before or since” (David Sterritt, Cineaste). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 141 mins.

A delight! Ozu’s 50th film, and his second in colour, is a mocking, masterful comedy of manners about small talk and social niceties, set against 1950s suburbia — and featuring flatulence as a major motif! Back in 1932, Ozu had made a silent comedy, I Was Born, But..., in which two young boys staged a hunger strike to protest against adult phoniness. Good Morning reworks that premise with its tale of two pint-sized rebels who take a vow of silence after their father refuses to buy them a television (TV, dad says, “will produce 100 million idiots”). The boys’ refusal to engage in even the customary morning greeting — ohayo — soon sparks a neighbourhood quarrel. The fart gags, Ozu claimed, were to show that he hadn’t gotten all serious after recently winning two of Japan’s highest distinctions, the Purple Ribbon Medal and the Academy of Fine Arts Prize. “One of the most charming, eccentric, and fleet-footed of all Ozu’s works” (Lloyd Hughes, The Rough Guide to Film). “Sensitive use of colour and fine performances make the film an all-around pleasure” (Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide). “Enchanting ... A richly devious portrait of humanity being human” (Tom Milne, Time Out). Colour, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 94 mins.

(Soshun)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27 – 8:45 PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 30 – 6:15 PM THURSDAY, JANUARY 2 – 8:45 PM

(Tokyo boshoku)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 – 8:45 PM THURSDAY, JANUARY 2 – 6:15 PM FRIDAY, JANUARY 3 – 8:40 PM

(Ohayo)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 4 – 6:30 PM SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 – 8:40 PM MONDAY, JANUARY 6 – 6:30 PM

দྀܴǬχ‫ڰ‬

ჟФ᩽Ǭԧ

ඕ‫ڜ‬ǭ̣ȐࢹȊǝǉ

The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family

An Autumn Afternoon

What Did the Lady Forget?

Japan 1962. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita, Shinichiro Mikami, Keiji Sada

Japan 1937. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Sumiko Kurishima, Tatsuo Saito, Michiko Kuwano, Shuji Sano, Takeshi Sakamoto

(Toda-ke no kyodai)

Japan 1941. Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Mieko Takamine, Shin Saburi, Hideo Fujino, Fumiko Katsuragi, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Masao Hayama

Ozu’s made-during-wartime drama — his first film in four years, after a two-year stint with the Japanese army in China — charts the fortunes of an upper-class family in decline. With its large cast, extended family structure, and generational themes, The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family very much anticipates later Ozu family sagas such as Tokyo Story. After the unexpected death of their father, the sons and daughters of a wealthy family are left saddled with debt and are forced to sell the family property. Despite paying lip service to family duty, none of them wishes to take responsibility for their widowed mother and youngest sister, who now find themselves shunted from one household to the next. Featuring several major stars, the film was both a box-office hit (Ozu’s first) and a critical success, topping the Kinema Jumpo poll as the year’s best Japanese film (the fourth Ozu work to be so honoured). Inevitably, there are references to the conflict in China, described here in terms of economic expansion rather than armed aggression. Toda Family was the director’s first film with cinematographer Yuharu Atsuta, henceforth an Ozu regular. B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 105 mins. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 – 4:00 PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 30 – 8:50 PM

(Sanma no aji)

Ozu’s sublime valedictory film (the director’s 53rd feature) is now regarded as a fitting final summation of his supremely serene, intensely moving, deceptively simple, exquisitely rigorous, and always rewarding work — “the last panel in that great fresco which so completely captures Japan as it is” (Donald Richie). An Autumn Afternoon — the Japanese title translates literally as “The Taste of Autumn Mackerel” — tells a gentle, familiar, intensely autumnal tale of a widower (played, fittingly enough, by Chishu Ryu, Ozu’s chief male actor since 1930) who arranges the marriage of his devoted only daughter, and then must face the fact that he is aging and alone. “[Ozu] turns a lovingly malicious eye on ultra-modern Japan, where golf on the rooftops is the thing; where women are still bartered in marriage, yet rule their men with tongues of fire; where the American way of life gives way to rueful barroom speculation as to what might have been had they not lost the war. Shot in lovely colours, An Autumn Afternoon is Ozu at his most breathtakingly assured” (Tom Milne). “The simplicity of the picture is the result of a style brought to perfection. Nothing is wanting, nothing is extraneous ... Ozu’s regard was never kinder, never wiser” (Richie). Colour, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 112 mins. FRIDAY, JANUARY 3 – 6:30 PM SATURDAY, JANUARY 4 – 8:20 PM SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 – 6:30 PM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8 – 8:00 PM

(Shukujo wa nani o wasuretaka)

Ozu’s 36th feature, but only his second talkie (1936’s The Only Son was the first), What Did the Lady Forget? is a piercing satire on the foibles of the Japanese bourgeoisie. A professor of medicine and his overbearing society wife play host to their niece from Osaka, who arrives determined to teach Tokyo what modern fun is all about. The hen-pecked hubby, claiming a prior golfing engagement, hightails it out of the home, but is soon discovered by his niece in a Ginza geisha house, where she insists on joining him in the drunken fun. Compared to the work of Jacques Tati and Ernst Lubitsch, and cited as one of Ozu’s most underrated sound films, the movie lampoons upper-class Japan’s “obsession with cleanliness; its eclectic bric-a-brac; its acquisitive conception of tradition; its bluntness. The social comedy of The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice, Equinox Flower, Late Autumn, and An Autumn Afternoon can all be traced back to this film” (David Bordwell). “A sublime comedy of coming and going. Light, effortless, fresh, and truthful” (Nathaniel Dorsky). B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 75 mins. MONDAY, JANUARY 6 – 8:20 PM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8 – 6:30 PM

16 annual

lithuania

european union film festival europe without the jetlag! Croatia joined the European Union in July — and our annual finger-on-the-pulse showcase of acclaimed new and recent films from across greater Europe is now bigger than ever! This year’s 16th European Union Film Festival features entries from 27 of the newly-enlarged European Union’s 28 member states (only tiny Malta is not represented). Each country has carte blanche to choose the film that will represent them — and the variety, as always, is breathtaking! Selections this year include romantic comedies, historical sagas, thrillers, family dramas, coming-of-age tales, a surprising number of road movies, at least two films about juvenile offenders, more than a few first features by talented young directors, several official Oscar submissions, documentaries about music (from Ireland) and dance (from Spain), and even a pair of films (one a drama, the other a documentary, both from Baltic states) about basketball! The European Union Film Festival is presented in Vancouver by The Cinematheque and the Embassies, Consulates, and Cultural Institutes of the member states of the European Union. Join us for a lively, provocative, stimulating, and entertaining state-of-the-Union celebration of the diversity, creativity, and accomplishment of contemporary European filmmaking. PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

the other dream team

Lithuania/USA 2012. Director: Marius Markevicius With: Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis, Jonas Valanciunas, Arturas Karnisovas, Vytautas Landsbergis

Four of the five starters on the Soviet men’s basketball team that won gold at the 1988 Olympics were Lithuanian — athletes forced to compete for the state that had subjugated their homeland since 1940. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where the U.S.’s famed “Dream Team,” laden with NBA stars, was seen a cinch for gold, the tiny, newly-independent nation of Lithuania was chasing its own hoop dreams: vengeance against the Russians, and maybe even a trip to the podium. “[Documentary] filmmaker Marius Markevicius skilfully crafts an inspirational David-versus-Goliath story, bouncing from the personal struggles of players living behind the Iron Curtain to their astonishing journey out of the clutches of communism into their unlikely partnership with The Grateful Dead and the glory of the Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The Other Dream Team is a triumphant tale of freedom, guts, and pride — a rousing testament to the power of sports as a catalyst for cultural identity” (Sundance Film Festival). Colour, Bluray Disc, in Lithuanian with English subtitles. 89 mins. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 – 6:30 PM

denmark

superclásico

Denmark 2011. Director: Ole Christian Madsen Cast: Anders W. Berth+elsen, Paprika Steen, Jamie Morton, Sebastian Estevanez, Adriana Mascialino

“A fine and funny addition to the oeuvre of one of Denmark’s most consistently intriguing filmmakers ... Ole Christian Madsen’s latest is a slyly funny, often magical romantic comedy about the mercurial, confounding nature of love. Superclásico’s ostensible hero is Christian, owner of a going-bankrupt Copenhagen shop specializing in rare wines. As the film opens, Christian is bemoaning the impending remarriage of his ex-wife, the temperamental Anna, a sports agent who left him to live in Buenos Aires with one of the world’s most infamous soccer players ... Finding courage in the bottom of another vintage bottle, Christian packs up son Oscar and heads for Argentina to win Anna back” (Steve Gravestock, Toronto I.F.F.). The film was Denmark’s official submission to the 84th Oscars. Madsen’s Dogme-made drama Kira’s Reason: A Love Story screened in our 2003 EUFF. “Quite possibly the happiest movie about divorce ever made, Superclásico is a smart, frequently laugh-out-loud comedy” (Twitchfilm.com). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Danish and Spanish with English subtitles. 99 mins. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 – 8:20 PM

austria

kuma

Austria 2012. Director: Umut Dag With: Nihal Koldas, Begüm Akkaya, Vedat Erincin, Murathan Muslu, Alev Imak

eufilmfestival.com UPDATES, TRAILERS, AND ADVANCE TICKETS

Acknowledgements: The European Union Film Festival originated in Ottawa, where it is organized by the Canadian Film Institute in conjunction with the Delegation of the European Union to Canada and the member states of the European Union. For their assistance in making this Vancouver presentation possible, The Cinematheque wishes to thank Diodora Bucur, Press Officer, Delegation of the European Union to Canada (Ottawa); Tom McSorley, Executive Director, and Jerrett Zaroski, Programmer, Canadian Film Institute (Ottawa); and the Embassies, Consulates, and Cultural Institutes of all E.U. member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. For its support in organizing this year’s festival celebration during the current Lithuanian presidency of the European Union, we are grateful to the Consulate of Lithuania in Vancouver.

A quiet, powerful drama in which tradition and modernity clash in a Turkish immigrant family, Kuma, the debut feature of talented AustrianKurdish director Umut Dag, opened Berlin’s Panorama section in 2012 and was a favourite on the festival circuit. In rural Turkey, young lass Ayse (Begüm Akkaya) marries handsome Hasan, or so it seems. The wedding is actually a ruse: Ayse is to live in Austria as the second wife — the kuma — of Hasan’s white-haired father Mustafa, whose first wife Fatima is dying of cancer. Ayse’s arrival in Vienna is welcomed by Fatima, who grooms her to take over the household; the family’s Westernized children are less thrilled. “Just when things are settling down, a major plot twist sends the story rocketing off in a new direction ... The fine cast is exceptional in creating a closed-circuit world in which hidden passions can explode ... The drama is heightened by Akkaya’s lovely and mysterious performance in her first major role” (Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter). Colour, DVD, in German and Turkish with English subtitles. 93 mins. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23 – 6:30 PM

poland

croatia

my father's bike

night boats

(Mój Rower)

(Nocni brodovi)

Poland 2012. Director: Piotr Trzaskalski Cast: Artur Zmijewski, Michal Urbaniak, Krzysztof Chodorowski, Anna Nehrebecka, Witold Debicki

Croatia/Serbia/Slovenia 2012. Director: Igor Mirkovic With: Ana Karic, Radko Polic, Renata Ulmanski, Lana Baric, Bogdan Diklic

“A wryly comic crowd-pleaser from Poland [with] prickly humour and high-profile stars, directorco-writer Piotr Trzaskalski’s comedy-drama stars local TV favourite Artur Zmijewski and international jazz luminary Michał Urbaniak in what’s effectively his first big-screen acting assignment. Urbaniak hits just the right crotchety notes as retired jazzperformer Włodzimierz. The action begins with the old coot’s exasperated wife Barbara leaving him for another man after decades of marriage, which sparks a full-blown family crisis. Włodzimierz’s successful classical-pianist son Paweł (Zmijewski) interrupts his globe-trotting schedule to track down his errant mother, and the ensuing road-trip sees Paweł, his father, and Pawel’s semi-estranged teenage son Maciek face up to various issues, enmities, and secrets ... With its universal themes of masculine emotion and inter-generational relationships ... My Father’s Bike provides enough ups and downs along the way to make our time in the saddle worthwhile” (Neil Young, Hollywood Reporter). Colour, DVD, in Polish with English subtitles. 94 mins.

Croatia, the newest member of the European Union, joins our EUFF for the first time with this charming, crowd-pleasing road movie in which two septuagenarians fall in love and run away in search of adventure — just like teenagers! Helena (Ana Karic) and Jakov (Radko Polic) are elderly residents of a dull retirement home. An immediate attraction between them leads to an old-fashioned kind of courting. Jakov, a well-travelled jazz musician in his day, hasn’t yet lost his wanderlust; he uses his considerable charms to convince the more cautious Helena that they should “escape” the facility and seek the romance of the road. But are they really just running away from the inevitable? The first feature directed by Croatian journalist, film festival director, and documentary filmmaker Igor Mirkovic, Night Boats won a citation at the Bombay I.F.F. for “providing a rich, cinematic expression of characters who come alive in a way so magnificently vibrant - you can’t wait to get old!” Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Croatian with English subtitles. 101 mins.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23 – 8:25 PM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 – 6:30 PM

slovakia

cyprus

miracle

dinner with my sisters Cyprus/United Kingdom 2011. Director: Michael Hapeshis Cast: Andreas Karras, Popi Avraam, Nadia Charalambous, Julietta Michael, Christopher Greco

(Zázrak) Slovakia/Czech Republic 2013. Director: Juraj Lehotský Cast: Michaela Bendulová, Robert Roth, Venuša Kalejová, Lenka Habrunová, Kika Potocná

Miracle, the gritty first dramatic feature by Slovak documentary maker Juraj Lehotský, showcases a miraculous performance from newcomer Michaela Bendulová, a non-professional actor discovered by the director in a corrections facility! She plays Ela, a troubled 15-year-old locked up, at her mom’s insistence, in juvenile prison. Ela deeply loves her boyfriend Roby, a 30-year-old security guard and drug addict. Contriving to escape custody, she moves in with him — and starts selling her body in order to pay off his drug debts. The film’s co-screenwriter, Marek Lešcák, is a regular collaborator of well-known Slovak director Martin Sulík. “Bendulová plays Ela with unwavering and emotionless confidence, giving a natural performance in which layers of nuance reveal themselves ... The camerawork recalls the Dardenne brothers’ penetrating observance of individuality, and through Ela’s unflinching gaze, Lehotský demonstrates his skill at capturing the subtle changes that will eventually lead to the film’s life-affirming miracle” (Dimitri Eipides, Toronto I.F.F.). Colour, DVD, in Slovak with English subtitles. 78 mins.

“Dinner with My Sisters is a contemporary psychological drama of a Greek-Cypriot family in crisis. Dr. Andrew Michael is lost in the anonymity of London medical life. His desire to return to the parental home after 30 years is triggered by the arrival of a letter lost in the post, sent by his father a few days before he died. When Andrew is back in Cyprus he takes lodge in the family home, where he is joined by his three sisters. Old issues become revived as he slowly becomes aware that he is not very welcome. He embarks on a journey to discover the truth about his father’s death, further alienating his sisters in the process” (Acanthus Films). Writer-director Michael Hapeshis is a Greek-Cypriot filmmaker based in London. Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in English and Greek with English subtitles. 85 mins. A MICHAEL HAPESHIS FILM

ACANTHUS FILMS presents “DINNER WITH MY SISTERS” featuring

ANDREAS KARRAS • POPI AVRAAM • NADIA CHARALAMBOUS • JULIETTA MICHAEL • CHRISTOPHER GRECO • DONNA BERLIN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Joe Dunton BSC MBE • PRODUCED BY Dimitri Andreas WRITTEN PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY Michael Hapeshis

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Nic Milner • SOUND RECORDIST George Potamitis • LIGHTING Polyvios Symeonides PRODUCTION DESIGNER Nicola Dietmann • COSTUMES BY Lisa Tsouloupas • ORIGINAL MUSIC Scott Benzie • EDITED BY Rod Allen MUSIC SUPERVISOR Tom Player • MUSIC SERVICES BY Cutting Edge • MAKE UP Natalie Wickens, Elizabeth Ann Boshell DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE PROVIDED BY Ascent (Deluxe) 142 Features • ADDITIONAL COLOUR SERVICES The Hat Factory Post

ACANTHUS FILMS Acanthus Films is a Trading Name of Michael P. Hapeshis Limited - 2011

W I D E S C R E E N

•

D O L B Y

S T E R E O

S U R R O U N D

S O U N D

© All Copyrights Reserved 2011 - Michael P. Hapeshis Limited © All Copyrights Reserved 2011 - The Ministry of Education and Cul ture of The Republic of Cyprus © All Copyrights Reserved 2011 - Michael Hapeshis Funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus (The Cyprus Cinema Advisory Committee) Με την χρηµατοδότηση του Υ�ουργείου Παιδείας και Πολιτισµού της Κυ�ριακής Δηµοκρατίας (Συµβουλευτική Ε�ιτρο�η Κινηµατογράφου)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 – 8:30 PM

estonia

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24 – 6:00 PM

living images (Elavad pildid)

luxembourg

blind spot (Doudege wénkel) Luxembourg/Belgium 2012. Director: Christophe Wagner Cast: André Jung, Brigitte Urhausen, Gilles Soeder, Jules Werner, Luc Feit

Luxembourg’s official submission to the upcoming 86th Oscars is a film noir-style thriller from Christophe Wagner, previously known for his documentaries on social issues in the Grand Duchy. “The plot revolves around Olivier, a moody and touchy Luxembourg policeman whose brother, also with the police, is found brutally murdered. The enigmatic Inspector Hastert, Olivier’s boss, investigates the murder and, despite the family link, Olivier is also assigned to work on the case, much to the chagrin of one of Olivier’s female colleagues. Both Olivier and Hastert also have secrets of their own, as is gradually revealed as the intrigue develops ... Grounding the story in both a realistic setting as well as in a specific crossbreed of the thriller and noir genres is the oft-penumbral camerawork of Jako Raybaut; the foreboding orchestral score of André Mergenthaler, and the superlative production design of Françoise Joset, with its seamy night-time and often rain-swept locations” (Boyd van Hoeij, Cineuropa). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Luxembourgish and French with English subtitles. 96 mins.

Estonia 2013. Director: Hardi Volmer Cast: Sandra Uusberg, Priit Võigemast, Anu Lamp, Tõnu Oja, Ita Ever

The story of a single house and its residents traces the 20th-century history of Estonia in director Hardi Volker’s ambitious, accomplished drama, which also pays homage to a century of cinema by using period-appropriate film styles to depict each era. The sprawling saga starts early in the century with the house, situated in Tallinn’s Old Town, in the hands of German Baltic nobility; it concludes at century’s end with newly-liberated Estonia under the spell of capitalism. It follows the lives of Helmi, born into the house as the daughter of a servant, and Julius, who resides one floor down. Their destinies interlock as, over the decades, the house variously serves as a German salon, a revolution museum, a working-class commune, and, in the post-Soviet period, a coveted piece of real estate. “A movie like this ought to be like a roller-coaster ride. You freak out, then squeal for delight, in the end shedding some tears. So be it, then” (Hardi Volmer). B&W and Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Estonian with English subtitles. 135 mins. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 – 7:00 PM

= vancouver premiere

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24 – 7:40 PM

finland

united kingdom

alaska highway

up there

United Kingdom 2012. Director: Zam Salim Cast: Burn Gorman, Iain De Caestecker, Aymen Hamdouchi, Kate O’Flynn, Warren Brown

(aka Alcan Highway) Finland 2013. Director: Aleksi Salmenperä With: Hese Tolonen, Bennett Durgeloh, Jon Ayres, Rhys Palmer

Vancouver’s the destination but the journey’s the thing in Finland’s 2013 EUFF entry, an offbeat, existential, Alaska-to-B.C. road-movie documentary. “Always a man in motion, Hese has never settled in a place to call his own in his native Finland. This charming wanderer, now in his 40s, has set his sights on a dream home: a broken -down truck gathering rust in an Alaskan lot. Hese envisions a plan to restore the truck into a mobile home and drive it 4000 kilometres along one of the most beautiful and scenic routes in North America ... In his journey to build a home and take it on the road, Hese encounters failures (both mechanical and personal), but his spirit never falters. The rambling man from a far-off land comes across plenty of characters along the way ... but Hese’s quest is ultimately a personal one where only he can define the true destination” (Hot Docs Festival, Toronto). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in English. 86 mins. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27 – 6:30 PM

A deceased man lands a dead-end job in writerdirector Zam Salim’s offbeat life-after-death comedy, which won BAFTA Scotland awards for best feature and director and took top prize at Santa Barbara. “A dryly witty dark comedy [and] a promising feature debut from Salim ... Up There charts the picaresque adventures of Martin (Burn Gorman). Killed in a car crash, he discovers the afterlife is a rather mundane affair, run by an officious Kafka-like bureaucracy and possessing none of the imagined advantages. Instead, there is just an awful lot of hanging about. Eventually, he is assigned the role of carer, with motor-mouth novice Rash (Aymen Hamdouchi) as his sidekick. A trip to a coastal resort in search of a runaway also brings him into contact with the intriguing Liz (Kate O’Flynn), who might just provide him with a good reason for staying dead ... The film conjures the ghosts of Jacques Tati or the more comedic ventures of Roman Polanski in the 1960s” (Allan Hunter, Screen). Colour, Blu-ray Disc. 82 mins. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 – 8:30 PM

slovenia

sweden

a trip

eat sleep die

(Izlet)

(Äta sova dö)

Slovenia 2011. Director: Nejc Gazvoda Cast: Nina Rakovec, Jure Henigman, Luka Cimpric

Young writer-director Nejc Gazvoda’s first feature won oodles of awards at the annual Slovene Film Festival. “Three best pals from high school remember the past and confront fears of the future in this modest but compelling youth drama. Shot on some spectacularly scenic locations, the tightlyscripted, impressively-filmed tale marks Gazvoda as a talent to watch ... Temperamental looker Ziva, buff soldier Gregor, and tart-tongued gay guy Andrej take off for the seaside as was their wont in more carefree years. But now, as young adults, life isn’t so simple. We learn Andrej has dropped out of the university, Gregor is afraid of being killed in Afghanistan, and Ziva has a secret of her own ... Gazvoda’s emotionally honest script captures the alienation and uncertainty of a generation” (Alissa Simon, Variety). “A real discovery ... A poignant story which tackles issues of youth, friendship, love, facing adulthood, and even touches on politics, capturing the zeitgeist of today’s Slovenia” (Cineuropa). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Slovenian with English subtitles. 85 mins. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27 – 8:15 PM

Sweden 2012. Director: Gabriela Pichler Cast: Nermina Lukac, Milan Dragisic, Jonathan Lampinen, Peter Fält, Ruzica Pichler

“Possibly the most exciting and emotionally acute first feature to emerge from Sweden since Fucking Amal” (Steve Gravestock, Toronto I.F.F.), writer-director Gabriela Pichler’s Eat Sleep Die is Sweden’s official submission to the upcoming 86th Oscars and won Sweden’s national film awards for best film, director, screenplay, and actress. The latter prize went to non-pro Nermina Lukac, unforgettable here as spunky 20-yearold tomboy Raša, a Montenegrin immigrant in a provincial Swedish town. Raša has a modest job in a vegetable-packing plant; she takes pride in working hard and in looking after her sickly father. When economic “efficiencies” lead to factory layoffs, Raša’s limited education and minority status make it difficult to find another job. “A warm and hugely enjoyable tale ... with the focus refreshingly on the unsentimental and the unsensational. Eat Sleep Die is a great ride and offers a marvelous portrait of a woman we’d probably all like to know” (Sarah Lutton, London F.F.). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Swedish and Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles. 100 mins. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 – 6:30 PM

portugal

czech republic

the consul of bordeaux

a night too young

(Aristides de Sousa Mendes – O Cônsul de Bordéus) Portugal/Belgium/Spain 2011. Directors: Francisco Manso, João Correa With: Vítor Norte, Carlos Paulo, João Monteiro, Leonor Seixas, Sara Barros Leitão

(Príliš mladá noc) Czech Republic/Slovenia 2012. Director: Olmo Omerzu Cast: Natálie Rehorová, Martin Pechlát, Jirí cerný, Vojtech Machuta, Jan Vaši, Milan Mikulcik

The Consul of Bordeaux dramatizes the heroism of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who sacrificed his career in order to save thousands of lives during World War II. As Portugal’s Consul-General in Bordeaux, France, Sousa Mendes disobeyed the direct orders of Portuguese dictator Salazar and issued some 30,000 visas to refugees fleeing the Nazis; many of those refugees were Jews. The film focuses on June 1940, when Sousa Mendes’s activities were at a height. Veteran Portuguese actor Vítor Norte plays the diplomat, whose story is told in flashback through the reminiscences of a (fictional) famous orchestra conductor who, as a teen, was saved by Sousa Mendes’s actions. In 1966, Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust centre named Sousa Mendes “Righteous Among The Nations,” an honour bestowed on non-Jews who put themselves at risk to save Jews during the Holocaust. He wasn’t officially rehabilitated at home until the 1980s. Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Portuguese with English subtitles.104 mins.

Two 12-year-old boys get premature lessons in adult misbehaviour and sexual gamesmanship in A Night Too Young, a sensitive, nicely-judged coming-of-age tale from young Slovenia-born, Czech-trained Olmo Omerzu, who is clearly a talent to watch. The film, a Czech-Slovene co-production, was an official selection of the Berlin, Karlovy Vary, and Los Angeles festivals. Circumstances land the two gawky lads at the flat of sexy teacher Katerina, who is partying on New Year’s with two male friends, rivals for her attention. It is soon clear from the boozing, drug-taking, and overly-sensual displays of affection that the proceeding are entirely age-inappropriate, but to the boys, of course, it all seems an adventure — at least at first. “This finely polished gem of a comedy subtly shifts from humour to menace to dream, compelling the audience to watch with the same wide-eyed fascination as these two bewildered boys, who will never be quite so innocent again (Los Angeles F.F.) Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Czech with English subtitles. 65 mins.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 – 6:30 PM

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 – 8:30 PM

france

ireland

grand central

natural grace Ireland 2012. Director: Art O’Briain With: Martin Hayes

France/Austria 2013. Director: Rebecca Zlotowski Cast: Tahar Rahim, Léa Seydoux, Olivier Gourmet, Denis Menochet, Johan Libereau

Debuted in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes and screened at this year’s VIFF, writerdirector Rebecca Zlotowski’s well-acted workingclass drama, set in and around a nuclear power plant, offers up “a love triangle so intense it’s practically radioactive” (Scott Foundas, Variety). New star Léa Seydoux (also seen in this year’s Cannes winner Blue is the Warmest Colour) plays Karole, who works in the plant alongside fiancé Toni (Denis Menochet, who played Seydoux’s father, the French farmer hiding Jews under his floorboards, in the opening of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds). Enter Gary (Tahar Rahim, from A Prophet), who’s out to make some quick money in a dangerous job working in close proximity to the reactor. When sparks fly between Gary and Karole, it puts tensions with Toni on high boil. Dardenne brothers regular Olivier Gourmet costars. “The lean, confident direction and standout performances confirm Zlotowski as one of France’s brightest, most serious-minded young directors” (Foundas). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in French with English subtitles. 94 mins.

“Art O’Briain’s award-winning documentary, filmed over a two-year period, is an absorbing and evocative exploration of an icon of Irish music who is playing a pivotal role in its evolution in the 21st century. Natural Grace is a musical journey into the heart and style of one of contemporary Ireland’s great traditional fiddlers: Martin Hayes. We travel with him to his home in East Clare and to the USA and Japan, where we see and hear him in both informal and concert settings. The film reveals a fascinating character; an eloquent and articulate champion of the old and new in Irish music; blending striking images of Irish nature with sensitive and diverse settings for his exquisite playing, for which he has become internationally renowned in the past 20 years” (Network Ireland Television). Colour, Blu-ray Disc. 78 mins. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1 – 7:45 PM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 – 6:30 PM

italy

bulgaria

weddings and other disasters

love.net

Bulgaria 2011. Director: Ilian Djevelekov Cast: Hristo Shopov, Zahary Baharov, Lilia Maraviglia, Koyna Ruseva, Diana Dobreva

(Matrimoni e altri disastri) Italy 2010. Director: Nina Di Majo Cast: With Margherita Buy, Fabio Volo, Francesca Inaudi, Marissa Berenson, Mohammad Bakri

“A middle-aged single woman gets caught up in her younger sister’s impending nuptials in this delightful romantic comedy. Giovanna (the always-impressive Margherita Buy) has hit her 40s with only a couple of serious relationships in her past. When she agrees to work with Alessandro (an irrepressible Fabio Volo), her sister’s fiancé whom she finds brash and arrogant, they are both surprised by a burgeoning and mutual attraction. Writer-director Nina Di Majo has paid keen attention to classics of the genre and weaves in surprising family secrets and moments of mistaken identity with aplomb. Revealing her characters through conversations on everything from love poetry to modern rock, a compelling story of opposites attracting is told. Amid the stunning backdrop of central Florence, Giovanna’s love life comes to a humorous and touching resolution” (San Francisco Film Society). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Italian with English subtitles. 102 mins.

“Love at first virtual sight” is the subject of the boisterous Bulgarian comedy Love.net, a blockbuster hit at home, where it opened on a record number of screens for a Bulgarian film. Marking the feature directing debut of Ilian Djevelekov, who produced 2008’s nifty Bulgarian thriller Zift, Love.net was made with the cooperation of Bulgaria’s largest dating site, whose users were invited to submit their most interesting online-dating stories. Djevelekov’s sex-filled romp was inspired by the more than 7,000 responses received. The film’s stories include the tale of a journalist who, out to investigate the world of online dating, falls prey to an online hooker; and the tale of a loner whose passion for obscure 1970s rock bands leads her to a virtual encounter with aging British musician John — played by British rock and blues vocalist John Lawton, former frontman for Lucifer’s Friend and Uriah Heep. Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Bulgarian with English subtitles. 109 mins.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 – 8:25 PM

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2 – 6:30 PM

romania

hungary

i am an old communist hag

the exam (A vizsga) Hungary 2011. Director: Péter Bergendy Cast: János Kulka, Zsolt Nagy, Gabriella Hámori, Péter Scherer, András Balogh

(Sunt o baba comunista) Romania 2013. Director: Stere Gulea Cast: Luminita Gheorghiu, Marian Râlea, Ana Ularu, Collin Blair, Valeria Seciu

Péter Bergendy’s deft, sardonic, highly entertaining thriller is set in the aftermath of Hungary’s failed 1956 revolution, with hard-line Communist authorities paranoid about the loyalty of their subjects and security agents. It’s Christmas Eve, and mid-level secret agent Jung is wrapping things up for the holidays. Little does he know that Marko, his superior, has him under surveillance — and is about to implement “the exam,” a procedure designed to secretly test an agent’s loyalty. “An elegantly twisty suspense thriller that doubles as a skilful depiction of paranoia and suspicion ... Plotted more tightly than most American thrillers, The Exam is filled with well-drawn characters and handsomely filmed, with excellent use of period music” (Hungarian F.F., Los Angeles). “An enjoyable ride ... the picture’s communist-cat-andcounterrevolutionary-mouse game is never excessively political, instead playing up the noir and mystery elements that ensure the film’s main loyalty lies with entertaining its audience” (Boyd van Hoeij, Variety). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Hungarian with English subtitles. 89 mins.

Romanian veteran Stere Gulea’s startlingly-titled film is based on countryman Dan Lungu’s comic novel of the same name, which satirizes the nostalgia (and selective memory) of many seniors who, in an age of harsh capitalist realities, pine for the good old days of communism. “I’m an Old Communist Hag tells the story of Emilia, a 60-year old woman who lives peacefully with her husband Tucu in a small Romanian town. The couple is overwhelmed with joy when they receive a phone call from Canada: their daughter Alice will visit them together with her American fiancé Alan. Things could not be better for Emilia, who looks forward to basking in the young couple’s happiness. Moreover, Emilia, famous in the neighbourhood for her communist nostalgia, is asked to be part of a documentary about the extensive festivities organized on August 23, the national holiday before the ‘89 Revolution” (Stefan Dobroiu, Cineuropa). Director Gulea’s Weekend with My Mother screened in our 2009 EUFF. Colour, in English and Romanian with English subtitles. 94 mins.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1 – 6:00 PM

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2 – 8:35 PM

latvia

greece

dream team 1935

god loves caviar

(Sapnu komanda 1935)

(O Theos agapaei to haviari)

Latvia/Switzerland 2012. Director: Aigars Grauba Cast: Janis Amanis, Inga Alsina, Vilis Daudzins, Marcis Manjakovs, Gints Andzans

Greece/Russia 2012. Director: Iannis Smaragdis Cast: Sebastian Koch, Evgeniy Stychkin, Juan Diego Botto, Catherine Deneuve, John Cleese

Basketball — and basketball “dream teams” — figure prominently in this year’s EUFF films from the Baltic states! Witness our festival opener from Lithuania, the acclaimed documentary The Other Dream Team. Latvia’s entry is the historical drama Dream Team 1935, recounting the Latvian national team’s unlikely path to success at the first-ever European Basketball Championships, held in Geneva in 1935. The event was a test run for 1936 Olympics, which would include basketball as a competitive sport for the first time. Janis Amanis plays enthusiastic coach Valdemars Baumanis, the hero of this heart-warming drama. He believes, despite many hurdles and long odds, that he can assemble a credible team able to complete internationally in a sport still relatively unknown in Latvia and the rest of Europe. Director Aigars Grauba was also responsible for the war drama Defenders of Riga, Latvian cinema’s biggest-ever domestic hit, which screened in our 2008 EUFF. Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in English and Latvian with English subtitles. 118 mins.

International stars Catherine Deneuve and John Cleese are among the cast of this colourful, highseas historical epic from Greek director Iannis Smaragdis (El Greco). A major box-office hit at home, the film is based on the life of Ioannis Varvakis (1745-1825), a Greek pirate who became a millionaire businessman and one of Greece’s national benefactors. Coming to Russia’s aid in the Russo-Turkey War of the 1770s, Varvakis became popular in Russian high society and with Catherine the Great, and amassed a fortune with a business empire built on caviar. German actor Sebastian Koch (The Live of Others) portrays Varvakis. Deneuve plays Catherine. The exquisite costumes are by award-winning Spanish designer Lala Huete (Pan’s Labyrinth, El Greco). “Spinning a stranger-than-fiction yarn with verve and gusto, Smaragdis brings Varvakis’s unlikely tale to vivid life ... God Loves Caviar tells a majestic, larger-than-life story” (Dimitri Eipides, Toronto I.F.F.). Colour, DVD, in English, Greek, and Russian with English subtitles. 101 mins.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3 – 6:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4 – 8:30 PM

spain

netherlands

bajarí: gypsy barcelona

jackie

Netherlands 2012. Director: Antoinette Beumer Cast: Carice van Houten, Jelka van Houten, Holly Hunter, Mary Woods, Howe Gelb

(Bajarí: Gyspi Barcelona) Spain 2013. Director: Eva Vila With: Karime Amaya, Winny Amaya, Juanito Manzano, Lisardo Manzano, Justo Fernández

Gypsy flamenco is celebrated in this colourful new documentary from Spain. “Flamenco is one of the few art forms believed to be passed on in the genes. In Barcelona, there is a community of descendants of Gitano gypsies. They created flamenco in cafés, practiced it at home, and perfected it on the streets. For example, little Juanito Manzano isn’t even four feet tall but is already a full-fledged flamenco musician and dancer ... Elsewhere in the city, dancer Karime Amaya impresses the musicians she is working with - they are hardly able to keep up with her dance moves. She is the niece of famous flamenco dancer and film star Carmen Amaya, who reputedly once said, ‘If I have to quit dancing, I’ll die.’ Karime feels her aunt’s presence while dancing and always remembers her advice to dance with all your heart. No problem at all for her or Juanito, in the constant rhythmic tapping of their world” (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Spanish with English subtitles. 84 mins.

Dutch sisters Carice and Jelka van Houten and American actress Holly Hunter star in director Antoinette Beumer’s affable, enjoyable road movie. “Raised in Amsterdam by a gay couple, twins Sofie and Daan could not be more different. Despite their dissimilarities, the sisters have been able to maintain a close bond over the years — but when they receive an out-of-the-blue phone call from Jackie (Hunter), the biological mother they have never met, personalities clash, values are tested, and cultures collide. When perennially enthusiastic Daan manages to coax reluctant Sofie to the U.S. to finally meet their mother, neither sister is prepared for what awaits them ... Carice ha van Houten has already attracted international attention with her star-making performance in Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book ... The always-compelling Hunter is magnetic ... Under the assured direction of Beumer, Jackie is a stirring, cross-cultural take on the classic American road movie” (Michèle Maheux, Toronto I.F.F.). Colour, Beta SP video, in English and Dutch with English subtitles. 96 mins. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 – 6:30 PM

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3 – 8:45 PM

belgium

germany

the giants

shifting the blame

(Les géants)

(Schuld sind immer die Anderen)

Belgium/France/Luxembourg 2011. Director: Bouli Lanners Cast: Zacharie Chasseriaud, Martin Nissen, Paul Bartel, Didier Toupy, Karim Leklou

Germany 2012. Director: Lars-Gunnar Lotz Cast: Edin Hasanovic, Julia Brendler, Marc Benjamin Puch, Pit Bukowski, Natalia Rudziewicz

German director Lars-Gunnar Lotz’s fine first feature is a forceful, engrossing, morally complex drama of crime, punishment, redemption, and forgiveness. Ben (Edin Hasanovic), a violent juvenile offender imprisoned for breaking the jaw of a store clerk during a robbery, is offered a chance at rehabilitation in an experimental “open” corrections facility, only to discover that his housemother there, Eva (Julia Brendler), was the victim of one of his previous vicious crimes. Eva, for her part, doesn’t recognize Ben as one of the thugs who brutally upended her life. “A potent parable of guilt and rehabilitation that remains narratively compact while finding moral complexity everywhere it looks, Shifting the Blame manages to bolster our belief in the capacity for change without resorting to feel-good storylines ... It offers powerful performances” (John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in German with English subtitles, 93 mins. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4 – 6:30 PM

Debuted in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, the beautiful, bittersweet third feature directed by Belgian actor Bouli Lanners (whose Eldorado screened in our 2009 EUFF) has been described as Huckleberry Finn in rural Luxembourg. Two young teens are left to their own devices when their mother abandons them for the summer at the country home of their late grandfather. Zak and Seth hook up with local kid Danny and spend their days trying to fend off boredom; when cash gets scarce, they’re less successful at staying out of trouble. “Lanners was a painter before he turned to acting and filmmaking, and there’s ample evidence of that background in the sumptuous visuals ... Three appealing young actors bring unforced charm, buoyancy, and vulnerability to this coming-of-age story” (David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter). “A joyous heart-warmer ... The film deftly negotiates between heartbreak and hilarity in a picaresque story notable for its boisterous good spirits, economical storytelling, and engaging central performances” (Allan Hunter, Screen). Colour, DVD, in French with English subtitles. 85 mins. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 – 8:20 PM

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