80 Million
Poland, 2011, 102 min.
An exciting political thriller about the struggle against Communism in Poland 1981, full of suspense, humor and surprising twists and turns as five young union leaders empty the Solidarity bank account just days before the declaration of martial law.... more

After Lucia
Mexico, 2012, 102 min.
Emotionally vulnerable after the death of her mother in a car crash, Alejandra makes a drunken mistake, allowing herself to be filmed making out. Ashamed, she tries to ensure her father doesn’t find out the extent of the vicious bullying she endures at school. Winner, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film... more

Amour
Austria, 2012, 127 min.
Michael Haneke confronts the hardest questions about love and death in this tender, compassionate but devastating film about a husband (Jean-Louis Trintignant) coping with the terminal decline of his beloved wife (Emmanuelle Riva). Winner, Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival.... more

Barbara
Germany, 2012, 105 min.
A suspenseful, enigmatic, rigorously controlled film from leading German filmmaker Christian Petzold, focussed on the arrival of an inscrutable, evidently sophisticated Berlin doctor (Nina Hoss) in a provincial hospital in Cold War East Germany. Winner, Best Director, Berlin Film Festival... more

Beyond the Hills
Romania, 2012, 152 min.
Powerful, weighty drama about faith and love from the director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days. Atheist Alina arrives to stay with her childhood friend in a monastery, to the dismay of the priest. Winner: Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival... more

Blancanieves
Spain, 2012, 96 min.
In this spectacular silent movie-style adaptation of Snow White, the daughter of a famous bullfighter is mistreated by her wicked stepmother. When she runs away and joins a band of dwarfs, her natural bullfighting talent is discovered, but her stepmother plots to bring her down.... more

Buta
Azerbaijan, 2012, 98 min.
A seven-year-old boy living in a mountain village dreams of creating a mountaintop “buta” (a symbol meaning “love”) sculpture out of stones. Ilgar Najaf’s simple and elegant tale illustrates how art, love and life are inextricably intertwined.... more

Bwakaw
Philippines, 2012, 110 min.
One of the year’s most charming surprises, this life-affirming comic drama stars veteran Filipino superstar Eddie Garcia as Rene, an elderly, hilariously cantankerous gay man coming out of his shell late in life. Winner: Audience Choice, Best Actor, Cinemalaya.... more

Caesar Must Die
Italy, 2012, 76 min.
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s (Night of the Shooting Stars) docudrama tantalizingly blurs the line between fiction and reality. Inmates in a Roman prison stage a performance of Julius Caesar to profound and startling effect. Winner: Golden Bear, Berlin Film Festival.... more

Caught in the Web
China, 2012, 121 min.
Chen Kaige, the master of classic, opulent period dramas (Farewell my Concubine; The Promise), turns his attention to modern, high-energy China, office politics, sex scandals, intrigue, and cyber bullying in this topical drama about the pitfalls of the internet age.... more

Checkmate
Dominican Republic, 2011, 90 min.
David Hernandez is the famous host of a successful variety show in the Dominican Republic. When a caller to his show reveals that he is holding his family hostage, David must stay on air and play the terrorist’s game or his family dies.... more

Children of Sarajevo
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2012, 90 min.
A broken family serves as a metaphor for a war-damaged society in this potent drama from the director of Snow. Special Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes; Best Actress, Sarajevo Film Festival.... more

Clandestine Childhood
Argentina, 2012, 110 min.
The 12-year-old son of political dissidents fighting the brutal military junta in 1970s Argentina, Juan goes to school under an assumed name and gets his first crush on a girl. But when his parents suddenly need to pack up and run his life is changed forever.... more

The Clown
Brazil, 2011, 88 min.
That dream of running away to join the circus? It works in reverse here. Benjamin is a loveable clown who quits the traveling circus run by his father in search of a fan (the electrical kind) and a permanent address. Best Film, Cinema Brazil Grand Prize.... more

The Deep
Iceland, 2012, 95 min.
This real-life survival tale offers a powerfully authentic, elemental depiction of an incident that still haunts the Icelandic psyche: the sinking of the fishing trawler Breki in 1984 and the near-miraculous survival of a lone crewman.... more

Fill the Void
Israel, 2012, 90 min.
An 18-year-old in Tel Aviv’s Hassidic community must choose between her heart’s desire and familial duty in a drama that makes the conventions of the marriage plot feel brand new. Winner, 7 Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Actress.... more

Headshot
Thailand, 2011, 105 min.
A dazzling Eastern film noir, Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s slow-burn thriller follows a cop-turned-killer as a bullet to the head — which has him literally seeing life upside down — results in an increasingly fatalistic acceptance of his dark place in the universe.... more

In the Shadow
Czech Republic, 2012, 106 min.
Inspired by the darkest days of Cold War Prague when the Soviets were tightening their grip on Czechoslovakia, this suspenseful crime drama follows an honest cop whose jewelry heist investigation is taken over by State Security.... more

The Intouchables
France, 2011, 112 min.
The year’s biggest French hit (and Oscar submission) has also struck a chord with North American audiences. Francois Cluzet is the quadriplegic aristocrat who hires a young man from the projects (Omar Sy) to look after him. It’s funny, moving, a film that works.... more

Inuk
Greenland, 2010, 90 min.
The sweeping vistas and snowy landscapes of Greenland provide a sumptuous visual setting for Mike Magidson’s heartfelt and eco-friendly coming-of-age tale about a troubled Inuit teen who connects with his heritage while on a seal-hunting expedition.... more

Just the Wind
Hungary, 2012, 87 min.
The Romany community in an isolated Hungarian village struggles to continue their simple daily routine after a spate of hate crimes in this gritty naturalistic drama. Winner: Silver Bear, Amnesty International Film Prize and Peace Film Prize, Berlin Film Festival.... more

Kauwboy
Netherlands, 2012, 81 min.
Jojo, a lively 10-year-old with a difficult home life marked by a volatile father and an absent mother, finds solace in an unexpected friendship with an abandoned baby jackdaw. Winner: Best First Feature and Best Youth Film, Berlin Film Festival... more

Kon-Tiki
Norway, 2012, 118 min.
A real-life action-adventure, Kon-Tiki follows Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and five fellow scientists on a 1947 voyage of 4300 nautical miles from South America to Polynesia on a wooden raft. From the directors of PSIFF audience favorite Max Manus.... more

Lore
Australia, 2012, 109 min.
Spring 1945. As Allied forces sweep across the Motherland, Lore and her four younger siblings are stranded after their parents are imprisoned and embark on a daunting 900km trek across a devastated Germany. Winner, Audience Award, Locarno Film Festival.... more

Lost Loves
Cambodia, 2010, 110 min.
Based on a true story, Lost Loves revisits the plight of a young mother trying to keep her family alive under the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, which killed almost two million people between 1975 and 1979.... more

Nairobi Half Life
Kenya, 2012, 96 min.
In this slick Kenyan entry to the Academy Awards, young Mwas leaves his village for Nairobi to fulfill his acting dreams. He soon discovers that everything comes at a price and must balance his dreams with the necessities of survival.... more

Our Children
Belgium, 2012, 111 min.
With a story ripped from the headlines and a gut-wrenching performance from Emile Dequenne (Rosetta), Belgium’s Academy Award submission offers an intimate look at one family’s devastating spiral towards tragedy. Winner: Best Actress, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival.... more

Our Homeland
Japan, 2012, 100 min.
A poignant domestic drama from Japan, based on the filmmaker’s own experience of a tearful reunion with her brother, who had been sent to North Korea at the age of 16 and is allowed to visit his family for the first time in 25 years.... more

Pieta
South Korea, 2012, 104 min.
In Kim Ki-duk’s gripping, disturbing and brilliant psychological study, a cold -blooded loan shark is forced to reconsider his brutal lifestyle with the arrival of a mysterious woman, who claims to be his long lost mother. Winner, Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival. Warning: contains explicit scenes... more

Purge
Finland, 2012, 125 min.
Purge spotlights the legacy of Soviet oppression in Estonia. Two women from two different eras are linked by separate histories of deceit, desperation and fear in this heartstopping adaptation of Sofi Oksanen’s bestseller. Note: This film has disturbing scenes of violence against women.... more

A Royal Affair
Denmark, 2012, 137 min.
This compelling, character-driven costume drama shows how a passionate and forbidden romance changed the course of Danish history. Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Berlin Film Festival.... more

Sister
Switzerland, 2012, 97 min.
An affecting, authentic portrait of an enterprising12-year-old thief finding rich pickings among the Swiss ski set, and the older sister (Léa Sedoux) who is supposed to be taking care of him.... more

The Snitch Cartel
Colombia, 2012, 107 min.
A boy from a humble background rises through the ranks of a ruthless drug cartel in early ‘90s Colombia, determined to win over the girl he loves. But after a violent shake-up within the cartel he undertakes a dangerous new role as a DEA informant.... more

The Hypnotist
Sweden, 2012, 122 min.
Based on the international bestseller by Lars Kepler, this dose of Nordic noir revolves around a psychiatrist's reluctant use of hypnotism to glean clues from the survivor of a murder attempt. Director Lasse Hallstrom’s first Swedish film for a quarter century.... more

The Third Half
Macedonia, 2012, 113 min.
Inspired by real events, this deeply moving story of love and loyalty during WWII reveals a country’s passion for soccer and the cruel fate of most of Macedonia’s Jewish population.... more

Touch of the Light
Taiwan, 2012, 110 min.
Based on the life of the prodigious blind pianist, Huang Yu-Siang (who plays himself), this is an irresistibly heartwarming and uplifting film produced by Wong Kar-wai. Winner: Audience Award, Pusan Film Festival.... more

A Trip
Slovenia, 2011, 85 min.
Temperamental beauty 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. Winner of six Slovenian film awards, this is an honest, affecting road movie.... more

Unfair World
Greece, 2011, 118 min.
An unorthodox, burnt-out Greek cop decides to forgive all those who are treated unfairly in life – a decision that is clearly asking for trouble. Influenced by Aki Kaurismäki, this minimalist comedy, police procedural and character study won best director and acting awards at the San Sebastian Film... more

War Witch
Canada, 2012, 90 min.
This award-winning, harrowing tale of a young African girl’s kidnap by rebel soldiers features an astonishing performance by its non-professional lead. Punctuated with moments of magic and wonder, this is a powerful testament to human resilience in the darkest of times. Best Film, Actress, Tribeca F... more

When Day Breaks
Serbia, 2012, 90 min.
Retired music professor Misha Brankov learns a life-changing secret about his past in this moving tribute to the Jews and Romani who perished in Belgrade’s notorious Sajmiste concentration camp from acclaimed director Goran Paskaljevic.... more

When I Saw You
Palestine, 2012, 93 min.
This compassionate film about an intrepid Palestinian lad’s adventures in the wake of the Six Day War wraps the tragedy of being unable to return to ancestral lands in an extremely sympathetic package. Best Director, Abu Dhabi Film Festival.... more

White Tiger
Russia, 2012, 108 min.
A weird, wondrous tale of an eerie white fascist tank that appears, attacks and vanishes, leaving smoldering Soviet tanks and cremated corpses in its wake. “The film’s strong aesthetic and suspenseful action sequences could wow audiences worldwide.” Variety... more