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1:1
Denmark, 2006, 90 min.
Director Annette K. Olesen takes on the growing issue of racial conflict in Denmark in this story about how the near-deadly assault on a white boy destroys fragile peace between the local European and Palestinian communities.... more
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Ahlaam
Iraq, 2006, 110 min.
In Iraq’s first post-Saddam feature, three individuals from a mental hospital are forced to wander the streets of Baghdad after the U.S. invasion destroyed their home. They are stuck between the madness they once were treated for and the madness that now surrounds them. Their dreams, or hallucinatio... more
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American Visa
Bolivia, 2006, 90 min.
Simple, honest and earthy, American Visa is the story of a Bolivian English teacher trying to get a visa to the US, in post-9/11 Bolivia. Strong dialogue and contemporary visuals, plus refreshing performances by the Mexican actors Demián Bichir and Kate del Castillo make this a riveting Boliv... more
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August Days
Spain, 2006, 93 min.
This biographical road trip features two brothers, Marc and David, as they embark on a trip in search of a dead friend’s past. This visually sublime film is a languorous stroll through idyllic nature, a strong experience of cinema, as well as a mysterious biographical portrait.... more
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Bamako
Mali, 2006, 112 min.
Leading African filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako offers this mock trial set in his hometown of Bamako, Mali. The influence of Western powers over the lives of Africans is called into question, and every argument and counterargument bristles with intense conviction.... more
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The Banquet
Hong Kong, 2006, 131 min.
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s lavish, tenth century spectacle recalls recent martial arts epics, but its true heart lies in its stately chamber drama intrigue starring popular actors Daniel Wu and Ziyi Zhang, loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet.... more
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Beyond the Call
USA, 2006, 82 min.
In an Indiana Jones-meets-Mother Teresa adventure, three middle-aged men, former soldiers and modern-day knights, travel the world delivering lifesaving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of... more
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Black Butterfly
Peru, 2006, 116 min.
A schoolteacher of privilege, Gabriela, and a cynical tabloid journalist, Ángela, join forces to avenge the politically motivated murder of the teacher’s jurist fiancé during Peru’s corrupt Fujimori regime in a taut character study-cum-political thriller. ... more
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Border Café
Iran, 2006, 105 min.
A widow’s effort to run a truck stop diner near the Iran-Turkey border becomes a lesson in stifling patriarchy. Taking on gender and geography, the film deals with physical and metaphorical borders. A strong script, nuanced acting, and a sharply delineated sociopolitical sense make it as enjoyable a... more
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Border Post
Croatia, 2006, 94 min.
This comedy about people on the verge of tragedy unfolds at an army base along the Yugoslav-Albanian border in the spring of 1987. The boring daily routine of the young soldiers suddenly changes when the commanding officer decides to hide a personal problem, namely syphilis, by declaring a state of ... more
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The Caiman
Italy, 2006, 112 min.
Nanni Moretti returns to directing with this hugely entertaining and politically charged skewering of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that centers on a crumbling B-grade film director (Silvio Orlando) trying to make a satire about the PM’s criminal excesses.... more
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Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?
USA, 2006, 82 min.
When Dick Gephardt vacated his democratic Senate seat in 2004, an unknown political science instructor entered the race, defying all odds and expectations to demonstrate that with no money and lots of enthusiasm, you can become a contender. This Capra-esque documentary is an inspiring example of how... more
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Chronicle of an Escape
Argentina, 2006, 104 min.
The real-life events surrounding the escape of group of ‘disappeared’ (abducted) prisoners during the 1977 Argentinean Junta is the subject of this gripping political drama. Though rooted in history, the portrayal of torture feels terribly contemporary.The film’s riveting performances will keep audi... more
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Day Night Day Night
USA, 2006, 94 min.
Julia Loktev’s hauntingly abstract portrait of a suicide bomber in New York City not only takes us deep into the terrorist mind, but also dramatically recreates the anxiety, dread and fear inherent in the act. The film received major prizes at the Cannes and Chicago Film Festivals as well as winning... more
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Days of Glory
Algeria, 2006, 120 min.
Winner of an ensemble acting prize at the Cannes and nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Independent Spirit Awards, Days of Glory is a powerful WWII story that details the bad treatment the French heaped upon their fellow soldiers of North African descent. The film features a superb ensemb... more
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The Diary of Immaculée
USA, 2006, 38 min.
The Diary of Immaculée chronicles the life of a young woman who survived the slaughter in Rwanda, directed by Peter LeDonne.... more
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Fair Play
France, 2006, 99 min.
The competitive nature of office politics is given an innovative approach through the extracurricular activities of sports, in this brilliantly controlled and cynical tale that takes place entirely outside the office with colleagues rowing, jogging, playing squash, canoeing and even rock climbing th... more
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Floating Lamp Of The Shadow Valley
India, 2006, 64 min.
This inspirational documentary features nine-year-old Kashmir boy Arif, who serves as breadwinner of the family after his Muslim militant father abandons them for the sake of the jihad. Jala touches on Arif’s predicament with care and compassion, set in some of the most breathtaking scenery in the w... more
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Go West
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2006, 97 min.
Gay lovers Kenan, a Muslim cellist, and Milan, a Serbian student, fight to survive the brutal inter-ethnic wars of early ’90s Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dreaming of peace, happiness and acceptance, they travel west with one of them disguised in drag, in a film that provocatively addresses subjects once... more
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Grbavica
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2006, 90 min.
Winner of the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, this Sarajevo-set drama highlights the plight of the thousands of Muslim women raped during the Balkan wars through the story of Esma, a hard-working single mother haunted by events from her past.... more
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The Ground Truth: After The Killing Ends
USA, 2006, 72 min.
Documentary filmmaker Patricia Foulkrod lets veterans step and recount their heartrending experiences being in Iraq, and even worse returning from that war—wounded, traumatized, with little or no government assistance to support them. It’s a story that is not only heartbreaking, but absolutely vital... more
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An Inconvenient Truth
USA, 2006, 100 min.
The documentary, narrated by Al Gore, is the decade’s scariest film in which he shows man’s toxic effect on the environment—global warming. The biggest event-documentary since Fahrenheit 9/11, the film provides a timely, salutary look at the physical state of our Earth. ... more
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Iraq in Fragments
USA, 2006, 94 min.
The title of this poetic account of Iraq in 2003 has a double meaning, referring to the violence and instability of the crumbling nation as well as the film’s three-part structure, which focuses on Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish lives. The film took top honors at Sundance for directing, cinematography, ... more
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Libertas
Croatia, 2006, 109 min.
This is the story of Marin Drzic (a.k.a. Marino Darsa), a 16th-century poet/playwright from Ragusa-Dubrovnik, whose pointed allegories about injustice offended the nobles of his homeland. Forced into exile in Italy, he wrote Libertas, an appeal for freedom of speech and expression.... more
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The Line of Beauty
United Kingdom, 2006, 180 min.
Adapted from Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker Prize-winning novel, this richly textured gay coming-of-age story penetrates deep under the skin of ’80s Britain. Amidst the euphoria of first love, sex and high society parties, a young graduate witnesses scandal, deception and hypocrisy when he moves in with... more
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The Lives of Others
Germany, 2006, 137 min.
In this nail-biting political thriller set just years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, an agent of the East German police finds his ideology turned inside out when he is assigned to incriminate an innocent playwright. This runaway hit swept the German and Bavarian Academy Awards.... more
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Men at Work
Iran, 2006, 75 min.
Four men encounter a giant phallic rock, and decide to topple it. Based on a story by Abbas Kiarostami, this sophisticated comic allegory charts the foursome's increasingly elaborate efforts involving shovels, chain saws and even a donkey, and takes a gentle poke at gender relations.... more
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The Missing Star
Italy, 2006, 103 min.
Gianni Amelio’s latest film presents an idealistic Italian machinist who finds his worldview altered when he travels with a young female guide into the heart of China’s new industrial landscape in an effort to replace defective technology. The story is a moving narrative regarding the evolving... more
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Monkey Warfare
Canada, 2006, 75 min.
The counter-culture is alive and well—and living in Canada—according to writer-director Reginald Harkema. His trenchant, funny (and Godardian) third feature is about two former revolutionaries living under the radar in Toronto, whose lives are disrupted by the entrance of a sexy young radical.... more
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My Country, My Country
USA, 2006, 90 min.
Filmmaker Laura Poitras traveled to Baghdad shortly after the Abu Ghraib scandal became public and worked alone in the besieged country for eight months, assembling a vital snapshot of the chaotic and resilient Iraqi lives on the front lines.... more
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Nina's Journey
Sweden, 2006, 120 min.
Based on the true story of the writer-director’s mother, it’s a powerful drama about a young Jewish woman's remarkable odyssey of survival during World War II in Poland. The gripping narrative, poignantly interspersed with testimony from the real Nina, was named Best Film and Best Script at the Swed... more
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Offside
Iran, 2006, 88 min.
Renowned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi demonstrates his lighter side in this dramatic comedy about women soccer fans sneaking into Tehran's Azadi stadium to watch their team’s World Cup qualifying match, in clear violation of state law.... more
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The Old Garden
South Korea, 2006, 112 min.
A genuinely moving melodrama, based on the best-selling novel by Hwang Sok-yong, is set against the violent backdrop of the ’80s protest movements in South Korea. After The President's Last Bang’s provocative exploration of the links between sex and power, The Old Garden brilliantly intertwin... more
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Omkara
India, 2006, 150 min.
Set against the milieu of political warfare in Uttar Pradesh, this epic tale based on an interpretation of Shakespeare’s Othello, follows a man’s descent into sexual jealousy and obsession to his final destruction, bringing forth some of the most dynamic and gifted performances in Indian Cine... more
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Pages From Mauricio’s Diary
Cuba, 2006, 135 min.
Few if any recent Cuban films have tackled with such emotion and courage Cuba after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Special Period. Thus, what Gutierrez Alea’s Memories of Underdevelopment was to the early years of the Cuban revolution, Pérez Paredes’ film may do as a historical balance of the ... more
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Pan's Labyrinth
Mexico, 2006, 112 min.
Iconoclast wunderkind Guillermo Del Toro crafts a profound political allegory set during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and the horrors of the new fascist regime, in which a little girl escapes into a world of magic—populated by pagan demigods and mythological creatures—... more
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Provoked
United Kingdom, 2006, 110 min.
After ten years of brutal physical and mental abuse, Kiran (Aishwarya Rai) a Punjabi housewife living in England sets her husband (Naveen Andrews) on fire. Her story inspired a landmark case that changed British law regarding battered women.... more
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Rang De Basanti
India, 2006, 160 min.
India’s submission to the Academy Awards, Rang de Basanti, translated ‘paint it yellow,’ is about awakening, about standing up for one’s beliefs and about today’s youth of India. The film inspired ten million people to enlist public opinion and start candle marches across India creating great... more
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Salvador
Spain, 2006, 138 min.
Nominated in eight different categories for the Premios Barcelona de Cine Awards, this is the gripping profile of Catalan anarchist and bank-robber Salvador Puig Antich (Daniel Brühl, Goodbye Lenin), who struggled to avoid his 1974 execution for the assassination of Franco’s designated succes... more
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Shut up and Sing
USA, 2006, 99 min.
Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck document the scandal that dogged, and nearly destroyed, The Dixie Chicks after they criticized the president in 2003 in a quip heard around the world, as well as the group’s miraculous come back in producing their number-one selling album “Taking the Long Way” in 2005... more
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The Situation
USA, 2006, 106 min.
Philip Haas (Angels and Insects) has made the first dramatic feature about the ongoing debacle in Iraq with this smart film that uses a love-triangle between a journalist (Connie Nielsen), a CIA man and an Iraqi photographer to explore the complex issues bedeviling the war-torn country.... more
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Storm of Emotions
Israel, 2006, 106 min.
The Israeli government’s decision to order the evacuation of the Gaza Strip in 2005 caused great political and social upheaval. This extraordinary documentary charts this tumultuous time from the point of view of several Israeli Army officers.... more
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Strike
Germany, 2006, 104 min.
German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff dramatizes the creation of Poland Solidarity movement through the story of poor woman, who, despite being a simple welder, was able to ferment an international movement through sheer determination. Schlöndorff captures with sweeping majesty this crucial chapter of... more
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The Summer Palace
China, 2006, 140 min.
Two students at Beijing University in 1989 fall passionately in love. In the throes of their passionate romance, they barely notice that their country and fellow students are in the midst of an equally passion political upheaval, culminating in the events of Tiananmen Square.... more
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The Tiger's Tail
Ireland, 2006, 103 min.
John Boorman has created a triple-whammy black comedy thriller of sex, lies and devilish twists in one of his finest works to date, starring long-time collaborator Brendan Gleeson who gives a captivating and career-defining performance.
Liam O’Leary (played by Gleeson) is a wealthy Irish property... more
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The Trials of Darryl Hunt
USA, 2006, 113 min.
In 1984, a black North Carolinian teenager was convicted of life in prison for the murder of a young white woman. What transpired over the next 19 years graphically illustrates the holes in the American Justice system. Outraged without being outrageous, this is an investigative documentary of the hi... more
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An Unreasonable Man
Canada, 2006, 121 min.
From his 1966 attack on General Motors’ safety record, to his refusal to step out of the 2000 presidential election and throw his support to Al Gore, Ralph Nader, as this moving documentary demonstrates, has made being unreasonable a political credo.... more
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Water
Canada, 2006, 114 min.
The haunting finish to Deepa Mehta's “Elements” trilogy is a feast for the eyes and ears. In colonial India, eight-year-old Chuyia is sent to a home for Hindu widows. Her feisty presence has a particular effect on a young woman who falls for a Gandhian idealist.... more
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When Pigs Fly
USA, 2007, 62 min.
Ostensibly a portrait of inspirational Florida animal-lover Lory Yazurlo, a quadriplegic since a traffic accident in 1990, and her burgeoning sanctuary for an ever-increasing herd of rescued pigs, When Pigs Fly is also an incisive indictment of the nation’s attitude to workers’ compensation p... more
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The Yacoubian Building
Egypt, 2006, 161 min.
Egypt’s most ambitious and audacious movie surveys a microcosm of Cairo society by following the colorful occupants of a once dignified apartment building and their interconnected searches for love, pleasure and honor. Best First Feature, Tribeca Film Festival.... more
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