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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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Apart Together
China, 2010, 95 min.
After nearly 60 years, a former Nationalist soldier returns to Shanghai and the woman (now with an extended family and a common-law husband) he was forced to abandon. A subtle, beautifully written work that contrasts traditional ways with the modernity of contemporary Shanghai. Winner, Best Screenpl... more
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The Arbor
United Kingdom, 2010, 90 min.
This stunningly original picture reconstructs the life of talented British playwright Andrea Dunbar (Rita, Sue and Bob Too) who died at age 29. After spending two years conducting audio recordings with Dunbar’s family, friends, and neighbors, Barnard filmed actors flawlessly lip-synching the intervi... 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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Born to Suffer
Spain, 2010, 112 min.
A gentle, bittersweet dramatic comedy of female solidarity and subterfuge set in rural Spain. It centers on 72-year-old Flora, a spinster fearful that her relatives won’t care for her in her old age, and who marries her faithful female housekeeper in order to keep her covetous nieces at bay.... more
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Confessions
Japan, 2010, 107 min.
A mystery-cum-revenge thriller that is both psychologically and viscerally confrontational, Nakashima’s haunting film focuses on a schoolteacher who unleashes a series of vengeful actions after discovering that her deceased toddler was actually murdered by two of her 13-year-old students… Not for th... more
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Copacabana
France, 2010, 105 min.
Stung by the criticisms of her straitlaced daughter (Chammah), a footloose-and-fancy-free mom (Huppert) takes a job selling timeshares in Belgium… Fitoussi’s bright comedy is a charmer, and the real-life mother-daughter Huppert and Chammah are a delight.... more
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Desert Flower
United Kingdom, 2010, 124 min.
Daughter of a Somali shepherd, Waris Dirie went on to become a top supermodel and a spokesperson against the ongoing genital mutilation of African women. Hormann’s gorgeous biopic of this inspiring woman is anchored by supermodel Liya Kebede’s quietly determined turn in the lead.... more
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An Earthy Paradise for the Eyes
Czech Republic, 2010, 114 min.
This wry comedy chronicles the adventures of a Czech mother and her two daughters in the wake of the 1968 Russian invasion. It captures the euphoria of the liberalized Prague Spring that Soviet tanks were dispatched to repress as well as the solidarity in absurdity that persisted in the dark days fo... more
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Farewell
Netherlands, 2009, 90 min.
A tender love story compiled from breathtaking footage of the 1929 Graf Zeppelin trip around the world, and the diaries of the only female reporter on board. Her reports are front-page news, but her private diaries reveal her futile struggle with feelings for a past lover who is now shipmate, superv... more
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For 80 Days
Spain, 2010, 105 min.
The nuance of an intense childhood friendship is re-explored decades later when two 70-year-old friends are unexpectedly reunited. Despite having lived very different lives, Axun and Maite find themselves spending more and more time visiting ailing relatives in the hospital as an excuse to spend mor... 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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The Hedgehog
France, 2010, 98 min.
Disenchanted with life’s hypocrisies, 11-year-old Paloma plans to end it all on her next birthday. But while filming her gilded Parisian apartment building, she discovers that some of its inhabitants are not who she believed them to be. An unlikely trio of friendships develops and hopes bloom in Mon... 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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I Am Slave
United Kingdom, 2010, 82 min.
Powerful and shocking by turns, this drama of the modern-day slave trade features a soul-stirring performance from Wunmi Mosaku as a Sudanese woman sold into slavery who ends up “working” for a family in London without pay and while deprived of her passport.... more
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Illegal
Belgium, 2010, 95 min.
Tania, a former French teacher from Russia working as an off-the-books cleaner in Belgium, is stopped for a routine check by the police, then arrested and detained. Her constant fear of deportation and heartless treatment epitomize the difficulties illegal immigrants face in Western democracies.... 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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Leading Ladies
USA, 2010, 102 min.
This intoxicating musical explores themes of personal liberation, sexual exploration and the lure of the ballroom dance floor with its tale of two distinctly different sisters and the overbearing mother who holds each of them back from attaining their heart’s desire.... 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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Love, Lust & Lies
Australia, 2009, 87 min.
The latest entry in a series that began in 1976 examining the lives of three working-class Adelaide women who were 14 when it began. Armstrong’s (My Brilliant Career) nonjudgmental style coupled with the subjects’ innately fascinating lives make for a marvelous film.... 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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Mozart’s Sister
France, 2010, 115 min.
A treat for classical music lovers and cinephiles alike, this lively, fascinating costume drama rescues Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s talented older sister Nannerl from the dustbins of history. Beginning in 1763, it follows the Mozart family’s exhausting life on the road, traveling by coach from one roy... more
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My So-Called Enemy
USA, 2010, 89 min.
When six Palestinian and Israeli teenagers travel to the United States to participate in a women's leadership program called Building Bridges for Peace, they find the experience complicates the next seven years of their lives. An ideal companion piece to Precious Life. Winner, Best Conflict and Reso... more
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Of Love and Other Demons
Costa Rica, 2009, 97 min.
Masterful cinematography and a powerful script draw us into this tale of passion between a young noblewoman and a passionate priest bound by the confines of social mores and the smothering restraints of the Spanish inquisition. Based on Gabriel García Márquez’s novel.... more
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On the Path
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2010, 100 min.
A free-spirited flight attendant, Luna starts to question her relationship when her partner wants to join a strict Wahhabi community. Is love alone enough to survive the conflict between fundamentalist Islam and secular modernity?
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Poetry
South Korea, 2010, 139 min.
A woman takes up writing poems as a means of coping with her difficult grandson and the onset of cognitive problems in this quietly haunting film. Winner, Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival.
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Puzzle
Argentina, 2010, 87 min.
An Argentine housewife discovers a talent for jigsaw puzzles, much to the bewilderment of her affectionate but oblivious husband and two grown sons. As she pursues and perfects her puzzle-solving skills, she quietly finds her passion and asserts her independence.... more
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Rise
USA, 2010, 77 min.
February marks the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that killed the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team on its way to the World Championships. Through personal remembrances of those who knew them, Rise tells the fascinating--and largely forgotten--stories of these remarkable athletes and coaches.... more
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When We Leave
Germany, 2009, 119 min.
When a young Turkish-German woman can no longer stand her husband's ill treatment, she flees from Istanbul with her five-year-old son to her family in Berlin. But their love, affection, and loyalty soon become irrelevant as they struggle to reconcile her willful self-determination with the tradition... more
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