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Breakaway
Philippines, 2012, 88 min.
This powerful drama is all about the love of a father for his young son and his heart-wrenching desperation when the child is lost to human traffickers in the backstreets of Manila.... 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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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
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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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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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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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Key of Life
Japan, 2012, 128 min.
Japan's master of screwball comedy Kenji Uchida returns with this cynical and hilarious tale about a failed actor who switches identities with a stranger at a bath house — only to find himself filling the shoes of an elite assassin.... more
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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
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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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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
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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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Soongava: Dance of the Orchids
Nepal, 2012, 85 min.
Beautiful Diya dreams of becoming a professional dancer but when she breaks off her engagement and moves in with the woman she loves, flying in the face of Napalese tradition, local morals and family honor, discrimination is only the start of her problems.... more
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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
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Valley of Saints
India, 2012, 82 min.
Recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Award at Sundance for its “brave, poetic and visually arresting evocation of a beautiful but troubled region,” Musa Sayeed’s first feature is a vibrant, lyrical love story set in the spectacular Dal Lake, considered Kashmir’s crown jewel.... more
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