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12 Angry Lebanese: the Documentary
Lebanon, 2009, 78 min.
For 15 months, 45 inmates in a notorious Lebanese prison worked together to present an adaptation of 12 Angry Men. This inspiring, affecting documentary demonstrates the efficacy of drama therapy and its positive effects on some of society’s most ostracized individuals. Winner, Best Documentary, Aud... more
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14 Blades
Hong Kong, 2010, 114 min.
During the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of China possessed one weapon greater than all others, the Jinyiwei, an elite force of assassins. When evil eunuch Jia takes over the Imperial Court, Qinglong, the best of the Jinyiwei, must rally loyalists to restore the Emperor to power in this martial arts act... more
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40
Turkey, 2010, 87 min.
Chaotic, modern day Istanbul--a city of 12,000,000 inhabitants and a multitude of cultural influences--provides the backdrop for this taut, suspenseful tale setting three people from radically different backgrounds on a collision course over a bag that may hold the answer to each of their dreams.... more
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Acquainted With the Night
Canada, 2010, 80 min.
20 million hungry bats, 700,000 watts of light beaming into space, 80,000 flaming rockets, 9,000 cemetery candles… In this enchanting documentary, filmmaker Michael MacNamara travels around the world exploring stories of nighttime phenomena, customs and rituals from sunset to sunrise.... more
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Africa United
United Kingdom, 2010, 87 min.
Two young Rwandan soccer players undertake the 3,000-mile trip to South Africa for the World Cup in this exuberant, hopeful and supremely entertaining road movie that, while not whitewashing the myriad problems faced by modern Africans, shows how fast things are changing.... more
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Aftershock
China, 2010, 128 min.
Combining stunning special effects with potent family drama this heartrending depiction of the impact of the massive 1976 earthquake that killed more than 240,000 in Tangshan, China uses the disaster to set up the story of a family torn apart--and the 40 years it takes them to reconnect. Winner, Bes... more
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The Albanian
Germany, 2010, 104 min.
An Albanian illegal immigrant in Berlin tries to earn the dowry demanded by the family of his pregnant beloved back home in this social-issues drama. Winner, Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Moscow Film Festival.... more
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The Angel
Norway, 2009, 97 min.
A lyrically shot tale of addiction and dysfunctional families, The Angel is a story about women inheriting and enduring their mother’s pain; a story where dependence determines every decision. Winner, Audience Award, Gothenburg Film Festival; Best Actress, Talinn Film Festival.... more
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Another Year
United Kingdom, 2010, 129 min.
Over the course of four seasons, Tom and Gerri and their single friends Mary and Ken meet to chat, eat, drink and generally get on with their lives. Naturally, in a Mike Leigh film, this turns out to be anything but mundane.... more
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Anything You Want
Spain, 2010, 101 min.
Traditional male and female gender roles are tossed out the window in this intelligent and affecting feature about a newly widowed Madrid father who takes radical action to comfort his grieving four-year-old daughter. Filmmaker Achero Mañas strikes an emotional chord in this film about unconditional... more
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As if I Am Not There
Ireland, 2010, 109 min.
A harsh dose of realism about the Bosnian War of the 1990s, director Wilson’s drama chronicles the fate of a schoolteacher forced into sexual slavery by Serbian soldiers. This depiction of the horrors of war from a woman’s point of view will stay with you.... more
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Bardsongs
Netherlands, 2010, 94 min.
Three folktales depicted in the form of lively traditional songs and set in superb locations in India, Mali and Ladakh, show that the ancient wisdom of Africans holds true for Indians, and that a universal foundation exists beneath apparent diversities of culture.... more
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Bi, Don’t Be Afraid, Bi!
Vietnam, 2010, 92 min.
Winner of several festival awards, including two International Critics Week’ prizes at the Cannes Film Festival and Best Film at Hong Kong’s Asian Film Festival, this autobiographical tale centers around life in a dysfunctional family seen through the eyes of six-year-old Bi. (Please note: contains ... more
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Bill Cunningham New York
USA, 2010, 84 min.
As a photographic contributor to the Style section of The New York Times, Bill Cunningham redefined ideas of fashion in post-WWII America. Still snapping pictures, the singular Cunningham—as captured in this joyful and affectionate documentary—gets the celebration he deserves.... more
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Black Bread
Spain, 2010, 108 min.
A ten-year-old boy confronts an adult world of lies, myths, wicked crimes and painful revelations in post-Civil War Catalonia. Be advised the film contains a scene that may offend those with a heightened sensitivity regarding cruelty to animals, though no animals were harmed during the shooting of t... more
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The Border
Slovakia, 2009, 72 min.
On August 30, 1946, the Soviet army divided the eastern European village of Slemence into two parts. One part remained in Slovakia while the other part became Ukrainian property. This fascinating documentary shows how political decisions made on paper can have disastrous consequences on the ground.
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Brotherhood
USA, 2010, 81 min.
Taut, terrifically well-directed, with a script that drives its nightmarish plot forward with dizzying precision, this cautionary tale of a final night in the rite of passage known as frat pledging makes for utterly engrossing cinema. Winner, Audience Award, Dallas, SXSW Film Festivals.... more
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Cirkus Columbia
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2010, 113 min.
Oscar-winner Tanovic here revisits the milieu of his first film, No Man's Land, using the absurdist tale of a man returning to his native Herzegovinian village in 1991 to illustrate the beginnings of the bloody internecine strife in Bosnia. Winner, Audience Award, Sarajevo Film Festival.... more
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Colors in the Dark
Germany, 2010, 85 min.
Veterans Ganz and Berger are a delight in this intimate tale about aging and the bonds and boundaries of love. They play a long-married couple who react very differently to his diagnosis of prostate cancer… A heartfelt rumination on the nature of love and existence.... more
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David wants To Fly
Germany, 2010, 96 min.
This sprightly documentary about finding your own artistic inspiration follows German writer-director David Sieveking on his road to enlightenment, a journey that involves cult director David Lynch, various headquarters of the Transcendental Meditation movement and the icy source of the Ganges.... more
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Dog Sweat
Iran, 2010, 90 min.
Secretly shot in Iran, this courageous film provides a fascinating glimpse of the quiet rebellion among the youth of that country, and the startling similarity of their quest for happiness.... more
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The Double Hour
Italy, 2009, 95 min.
A psychological thriller with fascinating story structure. Sonia meets Guido at a speed dating event; they click, fall in love and become a couple--until a surprising violent event interferes. A thrilling latter day film noir.
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Down the Shore
USA, 2010, 90 min.
This haunting story boasts superb performances by James Gandolfini and Famke Janssen as Bailey and Mary, lifelong friends (and one-time lovers) who find themselves at a crossroads when childhood secrets return to haunt their present-day lives in a small coastal town on the Jersey Shore.... more
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The Drummond Will
United Kingdom, 2010, 81 min.
A delicious black comedy that veers from quirky mystery into more dark and violent places, Butterworth’s debut features a mismatched set of brothers who attend their father’s rural funeral and find that the “eccentric” villagers are definitely not what they seem…... more
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The Edge
Russia, 2010, 119 min.
The arrival of a decorated war hero takes a Siberian gulag by storm in this spectacular thriller. After assuming control of the camp’s steam engine, he investigates rumors of an abandoned engine on a nearby island and discovers a rusted beauty and a feral German girl with a railway obsession.
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Family Tree
France, 2009, 105 min.
A half-century-old secret casts its shadow over a French family. When patriarch Frédérick chooses not to attend the funeral of his son Charles, the fall-out reveals the damage to a family that decades of living a lie can cause.... more
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Feathered Cocaine
Iceland, 2010, 80 min.
In a plot that sounds more spy thriller than documentary, an 18-year-old American travels to Iran in the mid-1970s to learn the art of falconry. Eventually, he crosses paths with Persian Gulf royalty, black market smugglers, and, possibly, the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.... more
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Fifty - Nothing
USA, 2010, 82 min.
With 50th birthdays looming, Adam and Jon decide to ditch their worries in Los Angeles for a weekend of battery recharging in Palm Springs. Johnston’s wry comedy deals with the concerns of aging boomers—loves lost, careers stalled, parents needing care—with an ironic wit.... more
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Gold and Copper
Iran, 2010, 97 min.
A Tehran mullah-in-training struggles to take care of his ailing wife and their children in this profoundly moving melodrama. A film of near-universal appeal, it puts a human face on Iran’s Muslim clergy with its unusual tale of a man forced by hardship to become a better husband and father.... more
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Grace Paley: Collected Shorts
USA, 2010, 74 min.
A rich, inspiring portrait of writer, activist and New York icon Grace Paley (1922-2007). Winner, Audience Award, Woodstock Film Festival and Denver Film Festival.... more
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Henry of Navarre
Germany, 2010, 153 min.
Protestants and Catholics at war in 16th-century France serve as the backdrop for this rousing epic—replete with bloody battles, bawdy sex, and delicious royal-court duplicity—tracing the rise of the protestant Henry, who went on to become the country’s beloved King Henry IV.
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Honey
Turkey, 2009, 108 min.
The third part of the director’s reverse-order trilogy, Honey depicts his partly autobiographical hero Yusuf as a six-year-old child growing up as an only child in the heavily wooded mountains of Rize province, northeast Turkey. Winner, Best Film, Berlin Film Festival.... more
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How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?
United Kingdom, 2010, 78 min.
This terrific-looking globe-trotting documentary traces the career of prolific English architect Norman Foster from his humble origins to the top of his profession, visits some of his most iconic structures, and explores how the “Mozart of Modernism” has been influenced by the world of art and how h... more
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How to Live Forever
USA, 2009, 94 min.
Director Mark Wexler embarks on a worldwide exploration of what it means to grow old or even live forever. Could a chain-smoking, beer-drinking centenarian marathoner have the answers? An elder porn star? Wexler also includes the insights of health, fitness and life-extension experts in this engagin... more
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I Am
USA, 2010, 76 min.
Post-concussion syndrome sent Hollywood insider Tom Shadyac—director of Liar, Liar, Bruce Almighty and many other films—on a spiritual journey to find meaning outside of the material trappings of success. This funny, deeply felt and controversial documentary is the result.... more
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I am Sindhutai Sapkal
India, 2010, 110 min.
Known as the Mother Teresa of Maharashtra, the titular poor village girl made the leap from living on the streets to raising enough funds to shelter one thousand orphans and educate another two thousand children.... more
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In the Garden of Sounds
Switzerland, 2010, 86 min.
In this transcendent documentary a blind man builds a magical garden of sound in which he works with severely handicapped children. Immersed in an environment of patience and compassion, the tension in their bodies gradually dissipates as they open to the mysteries of sound and music.... more
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Jane’s Journey
Germany, 2010, 107 min.
More than 20 years ago, primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall, now 75, decided to give up her career, as well as her private life, in order to devote all her energy to saving our endangered planet. As The Boston Globe once put it: “To be with Jane Goodall is like walking with Mahatma Gandhi.”... more
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Juan
Denmark, 2010, 102 min.
Retribution closes in on the serial seducer who has bedded and abandoned thousands of women in this thrillingly cinematic version of W.A. Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. One of the composer’s most darkly seductive scores is performed here by Concerto Copenhagen, under the baton of Lars Ulrik Mortensen,... more
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The Last Lions
USA, 2011, 88 min.
Fifty years ago there were close to half-a-million lions in Africa. Today there are around 20,000. This cogent, beautifully filmed documentary makes a much-needed case for the protection of lions and “big cats” in general. A cri de coeur that is both timely and fascinating.... more
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Life, Above All
South Africa, 2010, 106 min.
Featuring a completely winning central performance from the young Khomotso Manyaka as an intelligent and willful girl coming of age in South Africa during the AIDS epidemic, Oliver Schmitz’s powerful drama offers a message of hope for that beleaguered nation.... more
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The Light Thief
Kyrgyzstan, 2010, 80 min.
A warm, gentle comedy about an electrician in the remote Kyrgyz mountains who both helps his neighbors borrow electricity and serves as the town psychologist. A mix of poetry, naiveté and documentary that works thanks to the director/actor's profound humanity.... more
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Little Sparrows
Australia, 2010, 88 min.
Celebrating life--and the unconditional love of a mother for her three daughters--Little Sparrows centers on a family coming to terms with the matriarch’s impending death and the reality of their last Christmas together.... more
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Loose Cannons
Italy, 2010, 110 min.
The wealthy, pasta-producing Cantone family is well respected in their beautiful Baroque town in southern Italy. But situations spin out of control when eldest son Antonio announces he is gay leaving younger brother Tommaso as the family’s only hope for the future in this outrageously fun family com... more
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Lope
Brazil, 2010, 106 min.
Lope de Vega was a bright star in the literary field of Baroque Spain. In this entertaining and romantic look at his early struggles to establish himself, we encounter a Lope ruled by his passions, and mired in intrigue.... more
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Lou
Australia, 2010, 86 min.
A tender story about the relationship between 11-year-old Lou and her grandfather. Not long after Lou's father walks out of her life, her irascible and befuddled grandfather Doyle crashes in. When Doyle comes to stay, Lou discovers, against all her expectations, the healing power of love.... more
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Louder Than A Bomb
USA, 2010, 99 min.
Winner of audience awards at major U.S. film festivals, Louder Than a Bomb tells the story of the world's largest youth poetry slam competition held annually in Chicago. The vividly drawn, richly complex cast of characters makes this gripping documentary one of the most inspirational films of the ye... more
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Madly in Love
Belgium, 2010, 90 min.
A frank and funny romantic comedy about an obstinate Antwerp family, filmed in a quirkily inventive style, Madly in Love might recall It’s Complicated with its liveliness, beautiful settings, and spicy love scenes.... more
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The Matchmaker
Israel, 2010, 117 min.
A magical coming-of-age drama in which a teenage boy learns a message of love and tolerance from a Holocaust survivor in 1968 Haifa. Both the leading actor and actress nabbed Israeli Academy Awards for their poignant performances.... more
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My Life with Carlos
Chile, 2010, 82 min.
The director was only a year old when his father was brutally killed under the Pinochet regime. In this arresting documentary he revisits the legacy of the man he never knew and the regime that devastated the country.... more
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