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The Art of the Steal
USA, 2009, 101 min.
The decades-long battle for control of the Barnes Foundation's near-priceless collection of impressionist art -- as waged by the city of Philadelphia against the collection's protectors -- is the riveting focus of Don Argott's documentary. Compulsory viewing, the film unspools like a thriller.... more
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Dark Resonance
Bangladesh, 2009, 105 min.
If a child is sent to university by parents who are beggars, is she an emancipated person who can choose her destiny or only the literate daughter of beggars? This sensitive first feature comes from award-winning painter Khalid Mahmood Mithu.... more
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The Great Contemporary Art Bubble
United Kingdom, 2009, 96 min.
The beginning of the 21st century saw an unprecedented boom in the contemporary art market -- then an unprecedented collapse. Documentarian/art critic Ben Lewis bounces around the globe, interviewing the art world's biggest stars and uncovering an extraordinary world.... more
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Heliopolis
Egypt, 2009, 96 min.
An honest and important expression of a generation's fight for their dreams in the face of harsh realities, Ahmad Abdalla's ensemble drama focuses a sharp critique of Egyptian society matched by a nostalgia-drenched longing for life before the 1952 Revolution.... more
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Learning from Light: The Vision of I.M. Pei
USA, 2009, 84 min.
A revelatory documentary exploring the vision of I.M. Pei, the distinguished 90-year-old Chinese-American architect as he works on his latest commission, the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, one of the most complex building projects of his long career.... more
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Paulista
Brazil, 2009, 83 min.
From award-winning director Roberto Moreira, Paulista is the story of three young people in search of love amid the frantic pace of São Paulo. What will a relationship unearth of their unspoken past, and can they dare hope for a happy future?... more
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The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
New Zealand, 2009, 84 min.
On paper, says comedy writer Paul Horan, yodeling lesbian twins don't really work. But for the last 30 years New Zealanders Jools and Lynda Topp have brought their kooky Kiwi sense of humor, political potency and snazzy country music stylings to dazzled audiences.... more
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Waking Sleeping Beauty
USA, 2009, 86 min.
Don Hahn's engaging look at the resurgence of the Disney company's animation tradition features head honcho (at the time) Michael Eisner, animation guru Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and future geniuses Tim Burton and John Lasseter, all holding forth on the company's slide and rebirth.... more
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