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900 Days
Netherlands, 2011, 77 min.
History at its most fascinating and horrifying, 900 Days uses gripping testimonials by the Russian survivors of the German army’s WWII siege of Leningrad to tell the truth about events that the Soviet government kept hidden for 65 years.... more
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Allez, Eddy!
Belgium, 2012, 97 min.
A heartwarming, brightly stylized, comic coming-of-age tale about 11-year-old cycling whiz Freddy and the arrival of the first supermarket in his small Belgian village. Change brings disruption, but also opportunity.... more
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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
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Any Day Now
USA, 2012, 97 min.
Alan Cumming gives a brilliant performance as Rudy Donatello, a star attraction at an LA drag bar in the 70s who “adopts” an abandoned child with Down Syndrome with the help of his DA lover, Paul (Garret Dillahunt). Multiple Audience Award winner. Audience Awards: Tribeca, Chicago, Seattle Film Fest... more
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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
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Beyond the Walls
Belgium, 2012, 98 min.
David Lambert’s pitch-perfect Brussels-set romance between piano player Paulo (Matila Malliarakis) and bass player Ilir (Guillaume Gouix) follows in the footsteps of Ira Sachs’s Keep the Lights On in pushing the boundaries of contemporary gay cinema.... more
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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
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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
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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
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The Cleaner
Peru, 2012, 95 min.
In the midst of a mysterious and deadly epidemic in Lima, Perù, a depressed and isolated man cleans up after the dying. When he takes in a frightened young boy who has lost his mother, he’s quietly transformed by the experience of caring for another human being.... more
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The Color of the Chameleon
Bulgaria, 2012, 114 min.
This ultra-stylish spy movie pastiche follows a charismatic schemer in an authoritarian police state, who, fired from his job as a secret police informant, conjures up his own imaginary spy network that he turns against his former masters.... more
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The Daughter
Russia, 2012, 110 min.
A haunting crime drama with Dostoevskian overtones, set in provincial Russia where a serial killer is murdering teenage girls. It’s a beautifully shot, marvelously performed film about faith, hope and love.... more
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The Dead Man and Being Happy
Spain, 2012, 92 min.
A hit man with terminal cancer picks up a much younger woman with family problems. He leaves Buenos Aires for a road trip to offbeat locales across Argentina. Both characters’ stories come full circle during a dramatic showdown with the woman’s family.... more
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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
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Defiant Requiem
USA, 2012, 85 min.
A memorial concert reawakens the story of an artistic uprising in the Nazi concentration camp, Terezin, where a chorus of 150 inmates confronts the Nazis face-to-face ... and sings to them what they dare not say.... more
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Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey
USA, 2012, 113 min.
How to replace Steve Perry? That was the dilemma for anthemic rockers Journey after their lead singer quit the band. Eventually they found the perfect solution via YouTube: a street kid who fronted a Filipino cover band.... more
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Drought
Mexico, 2011, 83 min.
Award-winning director Everardo González paints a dazzling, hard-as-nails portrait of a corner of the world where water is scarce and life is hard, revealing the powerful spirit of the rancheros who never lose their determination and belief that the rain will come and life will be renewed.... more
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Elephants
France, 2012, 86 min.
A funeral triggers a shift within a group of close friends. Intimacies unravel; new bonds are forged; everyday life unfolding in this affecting, quiet and poetic drama, the first feature by French artist Emmanuel Saada.... more
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Emperor
Japan, 2012, 98 min.
Army General Fellers (Matthew Fox, Lost) investigates Japan’s Emperor Hirohito for war crimes while searching for his love, with a stellar performance from Tommy Lee Jones as General Douglas MacArthur.... more
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English Vinglish
India, 2012, 133 min.
An Indian wife and mother rediscovers her self-worth when she secretly enrolls in an accelerated English class during a stay in New York. This sweet, funny audience-pleaser proves a winning comeback vehicle for Indian megastar Sridevi after a lengthy hiatus.... more
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Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
USA, 2012, 99 min.
A thoroughly engrossing documentary about “the most famous children’s book author you have never heard of”, whose subversive and brilliant work has won him legions of fans… and more than a few enemies.... more
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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
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First Comes Love
USA, 2012, 108 min.
Filmmaker Nina Davenport chronicles her decision to become a single mother at 41 and unexpected developments she confronts in the act of conceiving and carrying the child (including speedbumps in her relationship with the sperm donor, her gay best friend), in this funny, moving and revealing explor... more
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The Girl
USA, 2012, 94 min.
Abbie Cornish gives a superb performance, at once contained and emotionally raw, as a troubled young working class Texan woman who loses custody of her child and sees an opportunity to make quick cash transporting Mexicans across the border.... more
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Great Expectations
United Kingdom, 2012, 128 min.
A beautifully appointed, sensitive and superbly acted adaptation of Dickens’ beloved novel about a humble blacksmith’s son raised up by a mysterious benefactor, and his lifelong crush on the lovely Estella. The impeccable cast includes Jeremy Irvine (War Horse), Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonha... more
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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
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The Hunt
Denmark, 2012, 111 min.
Accused of inappropriate behavior, a kindergarten teacher (Mads Mikkelsen) finds himself alone and ostracized in the community that has been his home. Innocence is no defense but it’s all he has to hold on to in this searing drama from the director of The Celebration. Winner: Best Actor, Cannes Film... more
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I Do
USA, 2012, 91 min.
Jack has dedicated himself to raising his niece since the tragic death of his brother seven years earlier – so when his work visa runs out, a “green card” marriage seems like an easy option. Until he falls in love with another man… Winner: Audience Award, Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival... more
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In The Fog
Germany, 2012, 127 min.
From the director of My Joy, “a mysterious, compelling and grim story from the Nazi-Occupied Soviet Union in 1942, shrouded in the fog of war, the fog of fear and the fathomless fog of European history.” The Guardian Winner: Fipresci Prize, Cannes Film Festival... more
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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
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Jump
Ireland, 2012, 84 min.
A fateful New Year’s Eve throws half a dozen characters into cross-purposes in this complex, wildly inventive and occasionally giddy mix of crime caper, romance and moral tale from Northern Ireland.... more
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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
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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
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La Playa D.C.
Colombia, 2012, 90 min.
A 13-year-old Afro-Colombian boy, Tomas, lands on the tough streets of Bogotá with his two brothers in this gritty but exuberant debut. After some tough knocks he goes his own way, finding work in a barbershop creating his own elaborate “tropas”.... more
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La Source
USA, 2012, 71 min.
When Princeton students learn that their custodian Josue Lajeunesse has a lifelong dream to build an aqueduct in Haiti to bring clean water to his home village of La Source, they rally to his support. Then, the 2010 earthquake hits…... more
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Liv & Ingmar
Norway, 2012, 83 min.
The radiant Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann reflects on her relationship with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman in this personal documentary that mixes her candid reminiscences, extracts from her book Changing and clips from Bergman’s films. Film buffs will need no further recommendation.... more
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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
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Love, Marilyn
USA, 2012, 105 min.
A dozen contemporary actresses (including Glenn Close, Viola Davis and Marisa Tomei) read from Marilyn Monroe’s recently discovered private papers in Liz Garbus’s multi-faceted, beautifully-made portrait of the quintessential twentieth century sex symbol.... more
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Midnight’s Children
Canada, 2012, 148 min.
Salman Rushdie adapts his own monumental novel – a picaresque that doubles as a history of modern India – into a rich, sprawling, unruly movie, full of romance, satire, magic and anger.... more
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Modest Reception
Iran, 2012, 100 min.
This perversely fascinating, blackly comic drama follows a man and a woman making their way through a war-torn, mountainous region, dispensing large sums of money in plastic bags from the back of their SUV while attaching sadistic conditions to their largesse.... more
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Mold
Turkey, 2012, 94 min.
In Anatolia, a lonely father petitions authorities for information on the son who disappeared 18 years earlier. This prime example of Turkish art-house cinema won the Lion of the Future for Best First Film, Venice Film Festival.... more
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Mumbai’s King
India, 2012, 78 min.
Slumdog Millionaire minus the millions, this unadorned, neo-realist peep into the lives of kids from the Mumbai slums serves as a tribute to their spirit and ability to live life to the fullest.... more
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Nuala
Ireland, 2012, 90 min.
This warts-and-all documentary paints a vivid picture of Irish author/TV producer/columnist/cultural commentator Nuala O'Faolain’s remarkable life, bountiful talent and uncompromising death.... more
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Out of the Clear Blue Sky
USA, 2012, 107 min.
The riveting, never-before-told inside story of Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm headquartered on the top of the World Trade Center that suffered the largest number of casualties of any organization on 9/11, and of its remarkable and controversial CEO Howard Lutnick.... more
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Papadopoulos & Sons
United Kingdom, 2012, 105 min.
No one does crisis like the Greeks. This feel-good comedy follows a London Greek family who lose it all in the latest economic crash – everything except a derelict fish and chip shop. Audience Award, Thessaloniki Film Festival.... more
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Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy
Italy, 2012, 129 min.
Marco Tullio Giordana’s (The Best of Youth) meticulous and engrossing conspiracy thriller dissects the real-life 1969 bombing of a bank in Milan’s Piazza Fontana that killed 17 people. The excellent Valerio Mastandrea is a cop whose investigation leads down the corridors of power.... more
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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
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Playground Chronicles
France, 2012, 85 min.
Brahim Fritah conveys the magic of childhood through whimsical visuals in this comedic chronicle of 10-year-old Brahim’s adventures in the Parisian suburbs, circa 1980. With charm to burn, its evocation of those last, best days of youth is warmly infectious.... more
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Putzel
USA, 2012, 88 min.
Walter (Jack Carpenter) — a “putzel” (little putz) — is content to succeed his uncle in the family’s fish business. But his uncle’s new paramour Sally (Melanie Lynskey) sees potential in the lad… Jason Chaet’s engaging debut is a breezy coming-of-age tale.... more
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Reality
Italy, 2012, 116 min.
Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone shifts gears for this Fellini-esque satire about a Neopolitan fish merchant who becomes obsessed with the idea of appearing on a Big Brother reality TV show. Winner, Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival.... more
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