MAO'S LAST DANCER

Bruce Beresford (Australia, 2009)
OFFICIAL WEBSITE

NOMINATED - 2009 AUSTRALIAN FILM INSTITUTE AWARDS
BEST FILM, DIRECTION, SCREENPLAY, EDITING, SOUND,
COSTUME AND PRODUCTION DESIGN

From Academy Award nominee Bruce Beresford (DRIVING MISS DAISY, TENDER MERCIES) comes MAO’S LAST DANCER, the inspiring true story of Li Cunxin and his extraordinary journey from a poor upbringing in rural China to international stardom as a world-class ballet dancer.

Based on the best selling autobiography, MAO'S LAST DANCER weaves a moving tale about the quest for freedom and the courage it takes to live your own life. The film compellingly captures the struggles, sacrifices and triumphs, as well as the intoxicating effects of first love and celebrity amid the pain of exile.  

VIEW TRAILER

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF "DRIVING MISS DAISY"

"Ballet has never looked so darn sumptuous and appealing."
- Bruce Demara, Toronto Star

"A mature work from a master filmmaker relishing his work."
- Andrew Urban, Urban Cinephile

I'M STILL HERE

Casey Affleck (USA, 2010)
Starring Joaquin Phoenix
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THE TRUE STORY OF JOAQUIN PHOENIX'S RISE TO HIP HOP GLORY

The directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Casey Affleck, I'M STILL HERE is a striking portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of internationally acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, I'M STILL HERE follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.

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THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART

Tchavdar Georgiev and Amanda Pope (Russia, 2010)
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How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags.

Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist's works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions.  

Ben Kingsley, Sally Field and Ed Asner voice the diaries and letters of Savitsky and the artists. Intercut with recollections of the artists' children and rare archival footage, the film takes us on a dramatic journey of sacrifice for the sake of creative freedom. Described as "one of the most remarkable collections of 20th century Russian art" and located in one of the world's poorest regions, today these paintings are worth millions, a lucrative target for Islamic fundamentalists, corrupt bureaucrats and art profiteers. The collection remains as endangered as when Savitsky first created it - posing the question whose responsibility is it to preserve this cultural treasure?

VIEW TRAILER

"The audience is left yearning for the story of every artist whose works are housed there – and this is much more than any documentary can ever provide."
- Morph Magazine, New Zealand

“Fascinating story... well-crafted film captures the flavor of the region, but the most arresting sights are inevitably those of the bold, richly colored paintings themselves.”
- Variety

BEST WORST MOVIE

Michael Stephenson (USA, 2009)
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OPENING WEEKEND SCREENINGS INCLUDE INTRODUCTION AND Q&A
WITH PRODUCER/CSF GRADUATE BRAD KLOPMAN

In 1989, a group of unknown Utah actors starred in what would be crowned the worst movie of all time: TROLL 2. After two decades of running from this cinematic disaster, the cast can no longer hide from the cult of followers that celebrate them for their ineptitude.  

BEST WORST MOVIE, directed by TROLL 2's once-disgraced child star, Michael Paul Stephenson, unravels the stories of these unforgettable real-life characters and the colorful army of devotees who continue to revel in the film’s perfectly flawed brilliance.  

At the center of this celebrated documentary is the improbable story of a small-town Alabama dentist-turned-cult-movie-icon, and an Italian filmmaker who come to terms (or doesn't) with his internationally revered cinematic failure.  

BEST WORST MOVIE is an affectionate and intoxicatingly fun tribute to the single greatest bad movie ever made and the people responsible for unleashing it on the world. The result is a hilarious and tender offbeat journey that pays homage to lovers of bad movies and the people who make them, while investigating a deeper story about the strange nature of celebrity, the catharsis of redemption and the humanity that exists in making even the worst movie ever made.

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WINNER - BEST DOCUMENTARY - 2009 FANT-ASIA FILM FESTIVAL

"Strangely moving… insightful… consistently funny and smart about celebrity, vanity and bad movies – and what makes them lovable."
- John Anderson, Variety

"Like MAN ON WIRE, BEST WORST MOVIE is that rarest of documentaries which will entertain, and delight, practically everybody on earth."
- Gerald Peary, The Boston Phoenix

GHOST BIRD

Scott Crocker (USA, 2009)
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OPENING NIGHT SCREENING INCLUDES INTRODUCTION FROM
THE WILD EARTH GUARDIANS - MORE INFO HERE

GHOST BIRD is a non-fiction feature about a small town in Arkansas, an extinct giant woodpecker, and everybody looking for the Holy Grail of birding - the Ivory-billed woodpecker.

Following numerous sightings and its widely announced rediscovery in 2005, the world's best birders have been unable to locate even one "Lord God Bird" after over three years of intensive searching. GHOST BIRD examines the meaning of hope, faith and the limits of certainty in the quest to resurrect this lost species... unless, like the Holy Grail itself, the Ivory-bill remains forever out of reach.

VIEW TRAILER

"Scott Crocker has turned a bird-watching tale into a multilayered story that will fascinate practically everybody."
- Neil Genzlinger , New York Times

"Thanks to Scott Crocker’s crisply edited balance of scientific backbiting, naturalist noodling and a macro-philosophizing of what this possible rediscovery might mean, what could have been a niche-specific doc becomes something oddly compelling."
- David Fear, Time Out New York

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

Daniel Alfredson (Sweden, 2009)
Starring Noomi Rapace
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THE FINAL INSTALLMENT
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLING MILLENNIUM TRILOGY

Lisbeth Salander - the heart of Stieg Larsson's two previous novels - lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge - against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.  

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

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RAN

Akira Kurosawa (Japan, 1985)
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NOMINATED - 1985 ACADEMY AWARDS
BEST DIRECTOR, CINEMATOGRAPHY, AND ART DIRECTION

Literally, chaos… Resting after a wild boar hunt among spectacular green mountainscapes, 16th century daimyo Tatsuya Nakadai decides to divide his domain among his three sons, instructing them with a parable: individually, three arrows can easily be broken; together, they are strong. And then… a giant battle between color-coded armies is fought solely to the great Toru Takemitsu’s plaintive music, culminating in a single gunshot; an entire castle burns to the ground, as Nakadai’s glassy-eyed Lord Hidetora staggers down its steep stone steps; an ice-cold, knife-wielding seducer stops post-coitus to squash a moth (Mieko Harada's tour de force scene garnered laughter, cheers, and applause from hardened New York Film Festival audiences at the U.S. premiere); Hisashi Igawa’s plotter is so steeped in betrayal that, dared to switch sides, he cries, “Where could I go?” a blind man teeters on the verge of a precipice he can only sense.

A decade-long dream (he had storyboarded the entire film in his own watercolors), Akira Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear” proved the master's flair for epic sweep and stylistic innovation undimmed at the age of 75. The culmination of his career — clarified Kurosawa, "I said culmination, not conclusion." Four Oscar nominations, including Best Director, Cinematography, and Art Direction, with Emi Wada winning for her dazzling, three-years-in-the-making costumes.

VIEW TRAILER HERE

“Spectacular... The wide-screen, color-coordinated battle scenes will blow your mind, and must be seen in a theater. Don't ever think of watching RAN on a DVD or cellphone!”
– V.A. Musetto, New York Post

“More than the brilliant set pieces, it’s the shapeliness of the whole that impresses,
as if Kurosawa had held the entire 160 minutes, like a painting, in his mind’s eye.”
– Amy Taubin, The Village Voice

THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN

Mia Hansen-Løve (France, 2009)
OFFICIAL WEBSITE

WINNER - SPECIAL JURY PRIZE - 2010 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Grégoire Canvel has everything a man could want. A wife he loves, three delightful children and a stimulating job - he's a film producer.

Discovering talented filmmakers and developing films that fit his conception of the cinema-free and true to life-is precisely his reason for living. His vocation. It fulfills him and Grégoire devotes almost all his time and energy to his work. He's hyperactive, he never stops. Except on weekends, which he spends in the country with his family-gentle interludes, as precious as they are fragile. With his bearing and exceptional charisma, Grégoire commands admiration. He seems invincible.

Yet his prestigious production company, Moon Films, is on its last legs. Too many productions, too many risks, too many debts. Storm clouds are gathering. But Grégoire ploughs on at all costs. Where will his blind obstinacy lead him? One day, he is obliged to face the facts. In one word: failure. He is overwhelmed by fatigue. Which soon, secretly, turns into despair.

VIEW TRAILER

"A tale of cinema, a story about the agonies of trying to work outside the cinematic mainstream (even in France!). Yet what makes the movie so affecting is that it's also a love story about a family."
- Manohla Dargis, New York Times

"The film shows that our lives are not merely our own, but also belong to the events we set in motion - 3 ½ stars."
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

TAHAAN

Santosh Sivan (India, 2008)
OFFICIAL WEBSITE

WINNER - BEST CHILDREN'S FEATURE FILM - ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS

TAHAAN, from award-winning, internationally-renowned director Santosh Sivan (THE TERRORIST,   BEFORE THE RAINS), is a stunningly shot, fable-like story set in scenic but strife-ridden Kashmir. The conflict is used as a backdrop for the story of an eight-year-old boy, Tahaan, who tries to gain back his beloved pet donkey that has been sold along with his family's possessions to pay the family debt.

With his father missing in action for three years, Tahaan lives with his older sister, his loving, parable-telling grandfather, and mute mother, but is left more or less on his own to wander village and countryside, navigate border checkpoints, and negotiate with merchants and money lenders in an effort to regain his lost pet. More than a war movie, this is a film about striving, finding life-purpose, and finally - of right and wrong.

Like Sivan's earlier films, TAHAAN is told with warmth, humor and simple honesty, while his gorgeous cinematography offers breathtaking views of Kashmir's snow-covered mountain passes and shimmering lakes - all accompanied by a compellingly exotic musical bed.

VIEW TEASER

"An exquisitely shot, wonderfully performed work of art."
- Masala.com

"A+! One of the most beautiful films of the year."
- Hindi Film Review

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