Sundance Channel : Printable Film Descriptions

Printable Film Descriptions

July 2009

Find out more about the films and series Sundance Channel has in store this month.

13 Tzameti

Appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
Making "one of the outstanding feature debuts of recent years" (The Observer), filmmaker Gela Babluani serves up a stark black-and-white thriller permeated with icy Eastern European irony. Sebastien (Georges Babluani, the director's brother), an impoverished Georgian immigrant living in France, jumps at an opportunity for riches by stealing an invitation to a secret gathering. Soon Sebastien becomes trapped in a bizarre and deadly game with little hope of escape. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at the Sundance Film Festival.

(2005) B&W (89 mins)

14 Women

Director - Mary Lambert

When the 109th Congress convened for business in January 2005, 14 senate seats were held by women, the greatest number in the 228-year history of the legislative branch. (Two years later, the number had risen to 16.) With rare personal access, filmmaker Mary Lambert presents a bipartisan profile of 14 extraordinary women who are radically altering the profile of American politics: from feisty Barbara Mikulski and down-to-earth Olympia Snowe to outspoken Barbara Boxer and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Annette Bening narrates.

(2005) Color (69 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 5PM | TUESDAY JUL 14 8:55AM | MONDAY JUL 27 7AM | MONDAY JUL 27 2PM

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Director - Cristian Mungiu

Cristian Mungiu's wrenching thriller won both the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and the Best Foreign Language Film Award from the National Society of Film Critics. Following the saga of two college roommates during Romania's late Ceausescu era trying to arrange an illegal abortion, Mungiu's exquisite and matter-of-fact horror tale examines the everyday reality of living in a totalitarian state and the human will to resist, survive and carry on. "Ferocious, unsentimental, often brilliantly directed" - New York Times.

(2007) Color (113 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 9 8PM | MONDAY JUL 27 3:30AM

The Angelmakers

Director - Astrid Bussink

Filmmaker Astrid Bussnick’s award-winning short documentary delves into a 75-year-old mystery: why did a group of Hungarian women slowly poison more than 140 men in the years after World War I? Revealing recollections from the elderly women of Nagyrev recount their town’s notorious history and create an intimate portrait of rural Hungary, where women have few rights and men often drank and beat their wives. “Astonishing viewing! A beautifully poignant tale that avoids sensationalism as it unravels the village’s open secret” - The Times.

(2005) Color (33 mins)

Approaching Union Square

Director - Marc Meyers

The lives of eleven passengers on a New York City bus are revealed in a series of individual monologue vignettes in this debut feature from Marc Meyers. While largely anonymous to each other, the travelers - including a tourist, an immigrant, a sex addict and a psychic - harbor secrets, longings, connections and intriguing inner lives otherwise invisible. Adapted from Meyers's original stage play Love & Sex: Tales From the Trenches. "A startlingly accomplished debut ... smart, confessional, rueful, funny and sad" - Montreal Gazette.

(2006) Color (81 mins)

Apres Lui

Director - Gaël Morel

French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve gives one of her most unusual and startling performances as a grieving mother in this intimate and sophisticated drama from filmmaker Gaël Morel and cowriter Christophe Honoré (Ma Mère; Dans Paris). After her son is killed in a car accident, a bookshop owner (Deneuve) becomes increasingly fixated on his friend (Thomas Dumerchez), the driver in the fatal incident. It's a rare chance to see Deneuve shed her chic icy screen persona. At one point she even attends a rock concert wearing jeans, beer in hand.

(2007) Color (91 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 2 10PM | MONDAY JUL 6 3:45AM | FRIDAY JUL 17 3AM

Iconoclasts - Season 4: Archbishop Desmond Tutu + Sir Richard Branson

Nobel-prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu devotes himself to ending injustice worldwide, fighting HIV and serving as an outspoken advocate for youth at risk. He's also chairman of the Elders, a peacekeeping group that intervenes in conflict areas around the globe, established in part by Sir Richard Branson. Branson, Virgin founder, entrepreneur and renowned adventurer, pledges his time and considerable resources to environmental and humanitarian causes. Join these surprisingly playful spirits and extraordinary allies as they reveal their inspirations and shared belief in the power of the individual to change the world.

(2008) Color (60 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 25 9PM | SUNDAY JUL 26 3:30AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 12:30PM

Army Of Shadows

Director - Jean-Pierre Melville

Jean-Pierre Melville, France's grandmaster of the policier, turns his lens from underworld to underground in this gripping psychological thriller set in occupied Paris. Lino Ventura stars as a Resistance leader arrested by the Vichy police who must later deal with the reality of a traitor. In this recently rediscovered masterpiece, Melville, himself a former member of the Resistance, deftly paints an incisive portrait of true patriotism. "Bleak and beautiful by turns, [a] rare work of art that thrills the senses and the mind" -- New York Times.

(1969) Color (145 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 14 5:45PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 15 4:15AM | SATURDAY JUL 25 6:30PM

Ashes Of American Flags

Director - Christoph Green
Director - Brendan Canty

The Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, already the subject of one of the most praised music documentaries of the past decade -- I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART -- appears on stage in this energetic performance film produced and directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty. Shot in early 2008 at venues in Washington D.C., Nashville, Tulsa, Mobile and New Orleans, ASHES OF AMERICAN FLAGS captures the joy and immediacy of a live concert, while framing it with somber nostalgia for rapidly disappearing small-city America.

See more of ASHES OF AMERICAN FLAGS at Sundance Channel's Digital Shorts.

(2009) Color (88 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 at MIDNIGHT | SATURDAY JUL 4 6PM | MONDAY JUL 27 10PM

Avenue Montaigne

Director - Daniele Thompson

A huge hit in France, filmmaker Daniele Thompson's delightful ensemble piece uses a Parisian cafe as the setting for a wry reflection on human disquiet and desire. Cecile de France plays a wide-eyed newcomer to the city who takes a job as the first female waiter at an exclusive cafe catering to citizens from the worlds of theater, music, fashion and art. There she bounces from table to table as customers deal with crises of doubt, ingratitude, vanity and longing. "Delicious ... tart and sweet, steeped in Parisian glamour" - Salon.

(2006) Color (105 mins)

Backstage

Director - Emmanuelle Bercot

Emmanuelle Seigner and Isild le Besco (À TOUT DE SUITE) star in French filmmaker Emmanuelle Berco's unnerving tale of pop celebrity and the disturbing fan adulation that energizes it. Seigner plays Lauren Waks, an egotistical Madonna-like diva, who films a TV show in which she pays a surprise musical visit to her biggest fan, Lucie (le Besco), a needy suburban teen. Soon Lucie is off to Paris, where she desperately tries to reunite with her idol, who is more than willing to let adoring Lucie play live-in groupie.

(2005) Color (112 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 14 2:30AM

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Director - Sijie Dai

Dai Sijie adapts his novel about two educated city boys assigned to a re-education camp during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Luo (Kun Chen), the son of a dentist, and Ma (Ye Liu), a sensitive violinist, are forced to perform crushing manual labor in remote mines. Yet the situation hasn't dimmed their individuality, nor their desire for the forbidden - especially when they catch sight of a beautiful local girl and discover a collection of banned novels. A moving yet bittersweet tribute to the human spirit and the transformative power of literature.

(2002) Color (111 mins)

Spectacle: Bill Clinton

Director - Dave Russell

Elvis Costello and the 42nd President of the United States in an unprecedented and revealing chat about President Bill Clinton's early career aspirations as a jazz saxophonist; the astonishing degree to which music shaped him as a man, a politician and a President; the challenges - and critical importance - of music education; the shared skills of musicians and politicians; with observations on Elvis (Presley), John Coltrane, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Nina Simone and N.W.A. Special guest musicians on the episode include Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny.

(2008) Color (60 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 8 10PM | THURSDAY JUL 9 2:45AM | SUNDAY JUL 12 9PM

Binta and the Great Idea

Director - Javier Fesser

Javier Fesser's Oscar®-nominated short tells the story of Binta (Zeynabou Diallo), a seven-year-old from Senegal, who devises a plan to help her cousin Soda (Aminata Sane) attend school to become a doctor or a teacher. Coincidentally, Binta's fisherman father hatches a plot of his own.

(2004) Color (31 mins)

Blog Wars

Director - James Rogan

In 2004, political bloggers came of age. They propelled Howard Dean from fringe candidate to front-runner. They took on Dan Rather and won. And they charted the course for the "swiftboating" of John Kerry. As the 2006 mid-term elections approached, bloggers were preparing for battle again. Filmmakers James Rogan and Phil Craig's sharp documentary examines how online democratic activism is shaping important elections by focusing on the decisive Connecticut senate race and Ned Lamont's challenge to incumbent Joe Lieberman.

(2006) Color (90 mins)

MONDAY JUL 20 9AM | MONDAY JUL 20 4:15PM

The Blonde Mystique

Director - Sally Aitken

Hugh Hefner says it's an indication that a woman wants to be noticed. Madonna calls it a different state of mind that comes with an incredible sexual connotation. Attempting to investigate exactly how fair hair seems to affect the dynamics between men and women, filmmaker Sally Aitken teams with three female subjects (two brunettes and one blonde) for a series of simple yet very revealing psychological experiments. The results may enrage or fascinate and help explain why manufacturers of hair dye say blonde shades sell 5 to 1.

(2007) Color (52 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 9PM | TUESDAY JUL 14 10:05AM

Blood, Sweat + Gears

Director - Nick Davis

In response to the doping scandals that tarnished the reputation of professional cycling, former racing cyclist Jonathan "JV" Vaughters formed Slipstream, a team whose members agree to compete without the aid of any performance-enhancing drugs. Documentary filmmaker Nick Davis chronicles the dramatic story of "the clean team" throughout 2008, a year in which the team leader was superstar David Millar -- making a comeback after a doping scandal sidelined his career -- and sees Slipstream win their first invitation to the Tour de France.

(2009) Color (93 mins)

Bob Le Flambeur

Director - Jean-Pierre Melville

American recognition of French master Jean-Pierre Melville (1917 - 1973) began with the rediscovery of this stylish noir thriller, Melville's fourth film. Roger Duchesne plays titular Bob Montagne, a middle-aged gambler with a notable white pompadour and Parisian sang-froid, who bets everything on a daring plan to rob a fashionable casino. A major influence on filmmakers ranging from Jean-Luc Godard to Quentin Tarantino, BOB was hailed by the Village Voice as "the cinematic birth of the cool! Melville's drollest, most likable gangster movie."

(1956) (102 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 14 2PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 15 12:30AM | THURSDAY JUL 30 8:15PM

Breaking News

Director - Johnny To

Bravura cinematography, choreographed action and biting social commentary highlight this cops-and-robbers thriller from Hong Kong action master Johnnie To (THE MISSION). After some policemen are humiliated in the media, a hostage stand-off escalates into a battle of wits as the cops try to exploit the situation for favorable news coverage. Featuring a breathtaking opening sequence that has been favorably compared to the legendary beginning of Orson Welles's TOUCH OF EVIL. Starring Kelly Chen (INTERNAL AFFAIRS), Simon Yam and Richie Ren.

(2004) Color (90 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 12:30AM

Cello

Director - Woo-cheol Lee

The undying aftereffects of physical and psychological trauma form but one force haunting the female protagonist in Korean filmmaker Woo-cheol Lee's atmospheric exercise in horror. Music instructor Mi-ju (Hyeon-a Seong) once had a promising career as a cellist, but a life-changing car accident brought that to an end. When a student threatens her, Mi-ju experiences flashbacks of the traumatic crash and begins to suspect that supernatural forces are threatening her as well. And that very creepy new housekeeper doesn't make matters any better.

(2005) Color (92 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 1:25AM

Children Of The Sun

Director - Ran Tal

Documentary filmmaker Ran Tal reveals a fascinating slice of Israeli history with the story of the first generation of children raised under the utopian kibbutz experiment. Following a Zionist ideal to create a new kind of human, kibbutz children were separated from their parents at birth and brought up collectively in a world of synchronized sports and manual labor. Tal, himself one of the kibbutz children, tells the story with archival home movies and colorful recollections from many of the surviving children. "Engrossing" -- Jerusalem Post.

(2007) Color (70 mins)

MONDAY JUL 20 9PM

Choking Man

Director - Steve Barron

Melding acute insight into the immigrant experience with visionary magical realism, Steve Barron serves up a parable set in New York's multi-ethnic Jamaica neighborhood. Octavio Gómez Berrios plays a near-mute dishwasher from Equador toiling at a shabby diner, while quietly pining for a radiant fellow immigrant (Eugenia Yuan). His inner world is revealed in surreal animated interludes featuring rabbits and diagrammatic figures from a Heimlich maneuver first-aid poster. Mandy Patinkin costars. "Thoroughly charming" — Salon.

(2006) Color (85 mins)

Comedy Of Power

Director - Claude Chabrol

Filmmaker Claude Chabrol and actress Isabelle Huppert, "one of the cinema's great actress-director collaborations" San Francisco Chronicle, reunite for a droll comedy of manners inspired by France's biggest business scandal. Huppert plays a dogged Parisian magistrate whose investigation brings her face-to-face with a corporate boys' club rife with sexism and abuse of power. Less courtroom thriller than a witty observation of contemporary attitudes, COMEDY OF POWER provides Huppert the opportunity to deliver another riveting performance.

(2006) Color (110 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 23 8PM | FRIDAY JUL 24 4AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 5:30PM | TUESDAY JUL 28 6:20AM | WEDNESDAY JUL 29 1:15AM

Conte de Quartier

Using images created by paint on glass, pastel and sand, animator Florence Miailhe draws a colorful portrait of a neighborhood in contemporary Paris and a handful of citizens who live there. As the Parisians independently go about their lives, the presence of a small doll serves to unify them. This film won Miailhe a Special Mention for Short Film at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

(2006) Color (16 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 8 9:40PM

A Curtain Raiser

Director - Francois Ozon

Louis Garrell (THE DREAMERS), Mathieu Amalric (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY) and Vahina Giocante star in a contemporary adaptation of a tale by Henry de Montherlant about a fussy young bachelor who becomes infuriated by his girlfriend's constant tardiness. Sharp wit, nuanced acting and lush cinematography distinguish this short film from bad-boy French auteur François Ozon (THE SWIMMING POOL).

(2006) Color (30 mins)

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

Director - Cristi Puiu

Inspired by a true medical case history, Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu's relentlessly observed chronicle of one man's descent into healthcare hell is also a haunting parable about how we treat one another. Elderly widower Dante Remus Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) has had a headache for four days. When an ambulance finally removes him from his shabby, foul apartment, he begins a dark and mordantly comic Dante-esque journey, shuttling from hospital to hospital. "Among the great works of cinematic humanism of our time" — British Film Institute.

(2005) Color (150 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 18 3:30AM

Death to the Tinman

Director - Ray Tintori

Appeared at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Evoking the work of such cinematic fantasists as Guy Maddin and Jan Svankmajer, filmmaker Ray Tintori reveals the backstory of OZ's Tin Woodman, a morbid yet tender fairy tale that includes firefighters, evangelists and dangerous flying machines.

(2006) B&W (12 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 7 5:40AM | SATURDAY JUL 11 5:15PM | SATURDAY JUL 18 8:45AM | THURSDAY JUL 30 7PM

Die Mommie Die!

Director - Mark Rucker

Written by and starring Charles Busch, DIE MOMMIE DIE! was produced by Dante Di Loreto, Anthony Edwards and Bill Kenwright of Aviator Films, LLC and also stars Frances Conroy (SIX FEET UNDER) Philip Baker Hall (MAGNOLIA), Natasha Lyonne (SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS), Jason Priestley (90210), and Stark Sands (SIX FEET UNDER). The film premiered in Dramatic Competition at 2003 Sundance Film Festival where Charles Busch was awarded a special performance Jury Prize.

Created as an ode to the Ross Hunter-style big-screen soaps of the 60's, DIE MOMMIE DIE! features theater veteran Busch as the fallen pop diva, Angela Arden. When Angela's husband, Sol (Hall), discovers that she's having an affair with tennis pro, gigolo and failed actor Tony Parker (Priestley), Angela calculatedly offs him with a poisoned suppository, or does she? What follows is a hilarious mixture of whodunits and double-crossings involving Bootsie (Conroy), the ill-fated family maid, Edith (Lyonne), Angela and Sol's spoiled, vampy daughter and Lance (Sands), their boy-toy son.

DIE MOMMIE DIE! is also now an off-Broadway play starring Charles Busch and directed by Carl Andress. Visit http://www.dmdtheplay.com for more details.

(2003) Color (90 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 3AM

Drop Back Ten

Director - Stacy Cochran

Appeared at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival
Filmmaker Stacy Cochran (MY NEW GUN; BOYS) and actor James LeGros reunite with a story about a hard-luck sports journalist who discovers the dangers of getting too close to his subject. Peter Barnes (LeGros) takes an assignment to write a puff profile of up-and-coming actor Spanks Voley (Desmond Harrington), who is slated to star in a football movie. However, when a nasty beating cancels Voley's big break, Barnes starts digging into his past. Tate Donovan delievers a memorable turn as the fictional film's high-strung producer.

(2000) Color (93 mins)

SUNDAY JUL 5 8PM | FRIDAY JUL 10 9PM | SATURDAY JUL 11 4:35AM | THURSDAY JUL 23 7AM | THURSDAY JUL 23 2:30PM

Energy War

Director - Shuchen Tan
Director - Ijsbrand van Veelen
Director - Rudi Boon

What are the geopolitical consequences of the price of oil? As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman contends in Shuchen Tan, Ijsbrand van Veelen and Rudi Boon's documentary, as the price of oil rises, petro-states like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran hinder democracy's pace and ignore complaints of human rights abuses from countries in need of energy. ENERGY WAR forecasts the primary struggle of the 21st century will be a fierce contest to discover alternatives to oil and gas and ensure a nation's place as an energy superpower.

(2007) Color (84 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 28 10PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 29 4:05AM

Engine 371

Director - Kevin Langdale

Kevin Langdale's wordless animated film considers the idea of progress by recalling how the natural wilderness was transformed during the construction of Canada's transcontinental railroad.

(2007) Color (9 mins)

Eco Trip: Episode 1

Director - Remy Weber

In this episode, David heads to the Dominican Republic to observe the organic cultivation of cocoa, the first step in the manufacture of a chocolate bar. From there, David witnesses sugar cane growth in the Everglades, where he discovers dangerous environmental consequences, pays a visit to a small organic dairy, and drops in on an independent chocolatier in Chicago.

(2009) Color (25 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 21 9:30PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 22 3:30AM | SATURDAY JUL 25 9:30AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 10:30AM

Architecture School: Episode 1

Director - Michael Selditch

In episode one, Professor Byron Mouton outlines the objectives: innovation, affordability, a bold design and use of environmentally friendly materials. Series director and co-creator Michael Selditch taught architecture and practiced as an architect for 14 years.

(2008) Color (25 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 11 9AM

Eco Trip: Episode 2

Director - Remy Weber

In this episode, David traces the journey of a t-shirt from cotton fields in the United States to a trendy store in Manhattan. In the process, David learns about organic cotton farming, the legacy of herbicides and pesticides in many farming communities and the astounding fact that the largest portion of harvested cotton ends up in the food chain.

(2009) Color (25 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 28 9:30PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 29 3:35AM

Architecture School: Episode 2

Director - Michael Selditch

In episode two, the students refine their designs and create architectural drawings, physical models and computer images prior to an intense review process by their professors and guest critics. Finally, one design emerges as the winner. Michael Selditch directs.

(2008) Color (25 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 18 9AM

Architecture School: Episode 3

Director - Michael Selditch

In episode three, construction of the new house begins with hard labor and low-tech digging. Later, an enthusiastic buyer considers purchasing the house from the previous year's project, until the dangers of living in parts of New Orleans put the sale in jeopardy.

(2008) Color (26 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 1 7:30PM | SATURDAY JUL 25 9AM

The Lazy Environmentalist: Episode 3

In this episode, an interior designer explores green options in upholstery and textiles, and a green wedding planner reveals eco-friendly decor, food and party favors.

(2009) Color (0 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 1 3:35AM | SUNDAY JUL 5 10AM

Architecture School: Episode 4

Director - Michael Selditch

Episode four finds the architecture students and many New Orleans residents concerned about neighborhood crime. In particular, the lack of security in the house's design comes into question. Meanwhile, Barack Obama visits Tulane and talks of rebuilding New Orleans.

(2008) Color (26 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 2 7:30PM

Shameless Season 2: Episode 4

Director - Dearbhla Walsh

In this episode, Steve's (James McAvoy) car is stolen during his wedding preparations.

(2005) Color (49 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 9PM

The Lazy Environmentalist: Episode 4

In this episode, Josh explores eco-friendly options in transportation and energy with a small city mayor, and suggests green solutions for a Beverly Hills beauty salon.

(2009) Color (25 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 7 9PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 8 3:45AM | SUNDAY JUL 12 10:05AM

Architecture School: Episode 5

Director - Michael Selditch

In episode five, the environmentally friendly, pre-fabricated panels speed construction, yet morale suffers as the project goes over budget and harsh criticism of the design and the students' intentions surfaces in a magazine article and among bloggers.

(2008) Color (26 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 7:30PM

Shameless Season 2: Episode 5

Director - Dearbhla Walsh

In this episode, Debbie's (Rebecca Ryan) bootleg video rental scheme runs into trouble.

(2005) Color (46 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 10 8PM

The Lazy Environmentalist: Episode 5

In this episode, Josh suggests eco-friendly options to a colorful assortment of challenging skeptics: a private chef, a courier driver and some UCLA frat brothers.

(2009) Color (27 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 14 9PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 15 2:15AM | SUNDAY JUL 19 10AM

Is Your House Killing You?: Episode 5

In this episode, an un-flued gas heater is one of many toxic time-bombs found in a family household.

(2007) Color (0 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 1 4:05AM | SUNDAY JUL 5 10:30AM

Ladette to Lady - Season 3: Episode 5

In the concluding episode, the three final ladettes try to complete their tasks with high marks while getting ready for the graduation ceremony. This year they will be required to deliver a five-minute speech, dance a waltz and make an elegant entrance while negotiating a staircase.

(2008) Color (47 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 8PM

Architecture School: Episode 6

Director - Michael Selditch

In the final episode, the students must face some hard decisions regarding paint color, exterior siding and custom windows and doors as money starts to run low. Meanwhile, the final ownership of last year's home reaches a conclusion.

(2008) Color (26 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 7:30PM

The Lazy Environmentalist: Episode 6

In this episode, Josh explores landscaping options with a designer and water conservation expert and later suggests how his brother can cut a $500-a-month utility bill.

(2009) Color (27 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 21 9PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 22 3AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 10AM

Is Your House Killing You?: Episode 6

In this episode, a nurse and her husband worry that their home is a toxic time-bomb for their children.

(2007) Color (24 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 7 9:30PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 8 4:15AM | SUNDAY JUL 12 10:35AM

Shameless Season 2: Episode 6

In this episode, Lip’s (Jody Latham) secret affair with Mandy has dire comic consequences for Ian (Gerard Kearns).

(2005) Color (48 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 17 8PM

The Lazy Environmentalist: Episode 7

In this episode, Josh visits a Brooklyn bar to explore options in eco-friendly imbibing, and advises an entertainment business on reducing waste and unnecessary travel.

(2009) Color (24 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 28 9PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 29 3:05AM

Is Your House Killing You?: Episode 7

In this episode, parents-to-be inquire about the harmful effects of exposure to chemical compounds.

(2007) Color (24 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 14 9:30PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 15 2:45AM | SUNDAY JUL 19 10:30AM

Shameless Season 2: Episode 7

In this episode, Fiona (Anne-Marie Duff) has a few surprises the morning after a wild “ladies’ night” at the pub.

(2005) Color (44 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 24 8PM

Shameless Season 2: Episode 8

In this episode, some dubious accident-claims sales reps try to strike gold after a shop door hits Frank in the face.

(2005) Color (42 mins)

Eco Documentaries - Season 2: Escape From Suburbia: Beyond the American Dream : THE GREEN

Director - Les Blank
Director - Les Blank

Veteran documentary filmmaker Les Blank (BURDEN OF DREAMS) and Gina Leibrecht present an eye-opening adventure into the hidden world of Chinese tea. Blank and Leibrecht's cameras follow noted tea importer David Lee Hoffman as he travels up remote terraced mountainsides to meet farmers whose wisdom about the cultivation of hand-made teas extends back generations. Hoffman, who champions "fair trade" and organic cultivation, is obsessive about quality tea, which is rapidly disappearing in a world of globalization and mass production.

(2007) Color (69 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 6AM | SATURDAY JUL 4 4PM

Everything's Cool

Director - Daniel B. Gold
Director - Judith Helfand

Appeared at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Mixing humor with urgency, documentarians Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand (BLUE VINYL) profile the small group of global warming messengers who continue to prod a largely apathetic public into political activism. Looking for the perfect image or most effective language, these modern-day Paul Reveres -- including author Bill McKibben (The End of Nature) and Pulitzer-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan -- worry that time is running out. Meanwhile, corporate spinmeisters and recalcitrant politicians continue to obscure scientists' warnings.

At the Sundance Film Festival, Toxic Comedy Pictures and Working Films turned the experience of viewing the film into an opportunity to take action. Visit the official web site at left and click the "Hot Stuff" tab to see some of the extras from the Everything's Cool Activist DVD.

Photograph at left by Chris Pilaro.

(2006) Color (89 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 7 10PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 8 4:45AM | SUNDAY JUL 12 11:05AM

The Favor

Director - Eva Aridjis

An unexpected phone call from the woman who broke his heart when a teenager propels middle-aged Lawrence (Frank Wood) on a personal journey of discovery in Eva Aridjis's feature. Soon Lawrence becomes the guardian of his ex's brooding teenage son (Ryan Donowho) to keep him out of foster care. Yet for someone who has spent most of his adult life alone, playing parent to a rebellious, pot-smoking 16-year-old is not without its challenges. Superb performances from Lawrence and Donowho distinguish this quiet and resonant drama.

(2007) Color (110 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 8 6:05PM | THURSDAY JUL 9 9:20AM | FRIDAY JUL 24 7:40AM | THURSDAY JUL 30 7AM | THURSDAY JUL 30 2:35PM

Fido

Director - Andrew Currie

In an inspired mating of film genres, filmmaker Andrew Currie serves up a darkly comic satire that mixes everything from zombie horror classics and Lassie to '50s communist paranoia screeds and forbidden-love melodramas. Billy Connelly plays the title character, a flesh-eating zombie, who like other members of the undead has been domesticated to serve the living. In the case of Fido, his new home is with the Robinson family: mom (Carrie-Anne Moss), dad (Dylan Baker) and their often-bullied son (K'Sun Ray). "Deliciously funny" - LA Times.

(2006) Color (0 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 7 12:45AM

Flight Of The Red Balloon

Director - Hou Hsiao-hsien

In his first film set in the West, Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien presents a masterful love letter to Paris and a cinema landmark -- Albert Lamorisse's 1956 children's classic The Red Balloon. Juliette Binoche -- earthy, appealing and with blonde tresses -- stars as Suzanne, a puppeteer and mother of a lonely seven-year-old. While vibrantly passionate, Suzanne's personal life is as chaotic as her Parisian apartment, leading her to hire a Taiwanese film student as her son's nanny. "In a class by itself... a movie of genius" -- Village Voice.

(2007) Color (115 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 15 11PM | THURSDAY JUL 16 3:30AM

The Fortune Hunter

Director - Twan Huys

Somali-born author, political activist and critic of Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali became world famous when her collaborator, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, was murdered by a radical Islamist. (Hirsi Ali wrote the screenplay for Van Gogh's Submission, a provocative short film critical of Muslim treatment of women.) Filmmaker Twan Huys follows Hirsi Ali as she endures death threats and travels to the United States, where she takes a job at a conservative thinktank and is named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential persons of the world.

(2006) (45 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 2 5:15AM | MONDAY JUL 13 11:15AM | MONDAY JUL 13 4:15PM | SATURDAY JUL 18 8AM | SATURDAY JUL 18 6:15PM

Garage

Director - Leonard Abrahamson

Comedian Pat Shortt costars with the breathtaking beauty of the west Irish countryside in filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson's acclaimed look at a dying community. Expectations are modest for middle-aged, mentally challenged Josie (Shortt), who oversees a decrepit rural filling station. However, after he forms the first friendship of his adult life with a teenage assistant (Conor Ryan), Josie senses life offers more than he previously assumed. Anne-Marie Duff costars. "Gentle and elegiac... beautifully shot and just as beautifully acted" - Guardian.

(2007) Color (82 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 2:15PM | FRIDAY JUL 3 10PM | TUESDAY JUL 14 11PM | TUESDAY JUL 21 3:50AM | FRIDAY JUL 24 at MIDNIGHT

Garbage! The Revolution Starts At Home

Director - Andrew Nisker

What if an average North American household was compelled to account for their personal garbage? Spurred by the belief that revolutions start at home, filmmaker Andrew Nisker persuaded Glen and Michele MacDonald, parents of three growing children, to measure their garbage output by retaining the family's refuse for three months. While the MacDonald's garage fills up with waste bags, foul odors and maggots, Nisker provides illuminating reporting revealing what actually happens to refuse after it disappears into a garbage truck.

(2008) Color (76 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 21 10PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 22 4AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 11PM

Gay Muslims

Director - Cara Lavan

Islam is known for its fierce antagonism toward homosexuality, yet many devout Muslims hide their sexuality, quietly living in a manner condemned by fundamentalist followers. In this revealing documentary, filmmaker Cara Lavan investigates the largely hidden population of gay Muslims in Britain. At a Pride parade, gay activists wear rainbow colored hijabs; anonymous gay and lesbian Muslims reflect on how they reconcile their religion with their lifestyle; and a scholar offers insight into Shariah law and passages from the Qur'an.

(2006) Color (49 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 10:30AM | TUESDAY JUL 7 4:45AM

The Ghost of Mae Nek

Director - Mark Duffield

For his directorial debut, British-born filmmaker and cinematographer Mark Duffield presents an accessible retelling of a popular Thai legend, which previously sparked a score of films and a stage musical. A young contemporary couple, Mak (Siwat Chotchaicharin) and Nak (Pataratida Pacharawirapong), purchase an old house in Bangkok. Alas, it comes with a tragic history and an angry black-toothed ghost named Mae Nak (Porntip Papanai). After an accident leaves Mak in a coma, Nak must discover the reason for Mae Nak's fury before it's too late.

(2004) Color (95 mins)

MONDAY JUL 20 at MIDNIGHT | SATURDAY JUL 25 1:45AM

A Girl Cut In Two

Director - Claude Chabrol

Claude Chabrol (La cérémonie), who has wittily mapped the darker reaches of the human heart in more than 60 features, tells an erotically charged story of love, jealousy and murder. Ludivine Sagnier (SWIMMING POOL) plays a smart, flirty yet relatively naïve TV weathergirl who catches the eyes of two of Lyon's most prominent citizens: a cynical novelist (Francois Berleand) with a taste for unconventional sexual adventure, and the unstable heir to a local fortune (Benoît Magimel). "Impeccably made and uncompromisingly adult" -- Los Angeles Times.

(2007) Color (114 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 23 10PM | FRIDAY JUL 24 2PM | THURSDAY JUL 30 12:35AM

Eco Documentaries - Season 2: The Greening of Southie : THE GREEN

Director - Ian Cheney

Documentary filmmaker Ian Cheney tells the unlikely story of Boston's first residential "green" building and how it united a tight-knit community. With its sloping grass roof and recycled materials, The Macallen Building seemed an odd addition to South Boston - "Southie" - a traditionally working-class neighborhood. Yet The Macallen not only won high marks for its sustainable design ideas and offered its diverse residents luxury features, its creation also spurred construction workers and environmentalists to think about the city of the future.

(2007) Color (82 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 1 4:35AM | SUNDAY JUL 5 11AM

The Ground Truth

Director - Patricia Foulkrod

Appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
Patricia Foulkrod's compelling documentary introduces a handful of disillusioned Iraq veterans as they reveal the costly long-term effects of warfare on our soldiers. From deceptive recruiters and crippling basic training exercises to actual combat and lingering post-traumatic stress disorders, THE GROUND TRUTH shows the human toll that results when young people are turned into reactive fighting machines. "An especially pointed indictment of the American military's treatment of its own people on and off the battlefield" — New York Times.

(2006) Color (72 mins)

MONDAY JUL 20 11:45PM

Gummo

Director - Harmony Korine

Considered a pivotal film of the late '90s, Harmony Korine's bizarre and plotless experimental cult drama polarized audiences upon its initial release. Filmmakers Gus Van Sant and Werner Herzog praised its vision, while others found it a disturbing portrait of the dark and troubling underside of American life - including everything from glue sniffing to hunting feral cats. And then a few just branded it a smug and willfully repellent freak show. "Makes viewers ask hard questions about what exploitation is" - Chicago Reader.

(1997) Color (88 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 16 1AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 12:05AM

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In

Director - Wolfgang Held
Director - Pola Rapaport

Filmmakers Wolfgang Held and Pola Rapaport pay tribute to the revolutionary '60s rock musical Hair. Created during the height of the Vietnam War, Hair was a seminal countercultural touchstone with its celebration of peace, love and psychedelics and on-stage nudity. Archive news clips, interviews with the creators and former cast members -- including Melba Moore, Ben Vereen, Keith Carradine, writer James Rado and composer Galt MacDermot -- and footage of the original Broadway cast highlight an all-too-brief trip back to the days of flower power.

(2007) Color (54 mins)

MONDAY JUL 27 9PM | THURSDAY JUL 30 10:45AM | THURSDAY JUL 30 7:15PM

Happily Ever After

Director - Yvan Attal

Actor and filmmaker Yvan Attal (MY WIFE IS AN ACTRESS) stars with real-life wife Charlotte Gainsbourg in a wise and deceptively breezy comedy about marriage and fidelity á la français. While the passion has cooled, Vincent and Gabrielle's marriage is stable. Yet when Gabrielle intuits that her husband has been unfaithful, she is forced to reassess her life and what she wants from it. Emmanuelle Seigner, Anouk Aimée, Claude Berri and Johnny Depp appear in small supporting roles. "Extraordinary ... an exhilarating, joyous picture" - Salon.

(2004) Color (100 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 24 1:30AM

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Director - Eddy Moretti
Director - Suroosh Alvi

Documentarians Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi tell the riveting story of Acrassicauda (Black Scorpion), Iraq's only heavy metal band. The feisty quartet started performing when Saddam Hussein was still in power. However, as bombs started falling and electricity for amps and guitars became scarce, Acrassicauda saw difficult times. How do you carry on when your practice space is blown up and your neighborhood starts looking like a gruesome '70s-era metal LP cover? "Intrepid, unlikely and altogether splendid" - New York Times.

(2007) Color (84 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 9AM | MONDAY JUL 6 4:05PM | MONDAY JUL 20 at NOON | MONDAY JUL 20 6:05PM

Heavy Metal Jr.

Director - Chris Waitt

Chris Waitt's award-winning short documentary delivers an amusing profile of Hatred, a Scottish heavy metal band composed of pre-teens. In the weeks before their first big gig, the band must contend with a bassist who quits and rehearse songs like "Satan Rocks."

(2005) Color (24 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 11:30PM | SATURDAY JUL 4 9:35PM | MONDAY JUL 20 11:30AM

Hotel Very Welcome

Director - Sonja Heiss

Making her directorial debut, filmmaker Sonja Heiss melds light comedy with wry observation for an incisive tale about five privileged young Europeans backpacking in Asia. Told in alternating narrative strands, HOTEL VERY WELCOME separately follows the quintet -- who have trekked East for enlightenment, escape or ecstasy -- as they encounter scheduling snafus, dwindling bank accounts, cultural confusion and other mundane frustrations they had hoped to avoid when they initially left home. "An episodic charmer … neatly played" -- Variety.

(2007) Color (90 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 8 11PM | THURSDAY JUL 9 3:45AM | MONDAY JUL 13 2:45AM

Iconoclasts - Season 3: Howard Schultz + Norman Lear

Director - Joe Berlinger

In this episode, two men who changed the face of America — entertainment producer Norman Lear and Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz — discuss creative entrepreneurship. In his home, Lear shows his original copy of the Declaration of Independence, while in Seattle, the pair visits the first Starbucks store.

(2007) Color (60 mins)

SUNDAY JUL 5 1PM

I for India

Director - Sandhya Suri

Appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
Sandhya Suri's intimate documentary considers issues of cultural identity and family obligation with the story of her father, a young doctor who emigrated from India to England in 1965. Over the years, Yash Pal Suri and his family in India kept in touch by corresponding via Super-8 movies and tape recordings. Four decades later, these family movies — supplemented with interviews and historic film clips — offer a revealing chronicle of assimilation, racism, changing cultures and one family's evolution. "A miraculous mini-epic" — The Guardian.

(2005) Color (70 mins)

MONDAY JUL 20 6:15AM | MONDAY JUL 20 1:30PM

I Really Hate My Job

Director - Oliver Parker

Filmmaker Oliver Parker directs an ensemble comedy about five women searching for meaning. During a chaotic evening, five employees at a fashionable London restaurant face turning points in their lives: an actress/waitress (Neve Campbell) confronts a big birthday; an aspiring writer (Shirley Henderson) becomes the cook for the evening; a kitchen staffer (Oana Pellea) foments revolution; a sweet German art student/waitress (Lara) struggles with a new romance; and the ineffective manager (Anna Maxwell Martin) nurses a broken heart. Danny Huston costars.

(2007) Color (90 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 2 8PM | FRIDAY JUL 3 4:30AM | FRIDAY JUL 3 11AM | FRIDAY JUL 17 9PM | MONDAY JUL 27 2AM

I Want to Be a Pilot

Director - Diego Quemada-Diez

Appeared at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Diego Quemada-Diez's award-winning short profiles Omondi, a 12-year-old boy living in a Kenyan slum, one of 15 million sub-Saharan African children orphaned by poverty and AIDS.

(2006) Color (12 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 8:45PM | TUESDAY JUL 7 2:20AM | MONDAY JUL 13 1:30PM | MONDAY JUL 27 9:45AM | MONDAY JUL 27 7:30PM

I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK

Director - Chan-wook Park

Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, whose visceral and controversial trilogy of thrillers SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, OLDBOY and LADY VENGEANCE earned him international acclaim, reveals a starkly different side of his cinematic sensibility with this whimsical romantic comedy set in a mental institution. Lim Su-jeong plays a production-line worker who refuses to eat after she comes to believe sh's been transformed into a cyborg. Coming to her aid is a fellow inmate, a free-spirited kleptomaniac played by Asian pop idol Jeong Ji-hun, aka Rain.

(2006) Color (107 mins)

In Between Days

Director - So Yong Kim

Appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
Filmmaker So Yong Kim won a Special Jury Prize for "independent vision" at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival for this partly autobiographical drama about a teenage Korean immigrant's loneliness and longing. A stranger in a strange land — North America — Aimie (Jiseon Kim) is not only surrounded by an enigmatic culture, she is also experiencing her first unrequited crush. Restrained and observant, IN BETWEEN DAYS was praised as "painful, funny, unsentimental, perfectly measured in its ambiguities" by the Village Voice.

(2006) Color (83 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 11:30AM | SUNDAY JUL 5 1AM

In Prison My Whole Life

Director - Marc Evans

Appeared at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
On December 9, 1981, journalist, political activist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal was arrested for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. In the quarter century since, Abu-Jamal has become the most famous and controversial resident of Death Row. On the same day as Abu-Jamal's arrest, William Francome, an Anglo-American journalist, was born. Collaborating with filmmaker Marc Evans (MY LITTLE EYE), Francome revisits the call for a new trial and America's long, troubling history of racism, police brutality and unequal punishment.

(2007) Color (98 mins)

MONDAY JUL 27 11AM | MONDAY JUL 27 5:45PM

J.S.A. - Joint Security Area

Director - Chan-wook Park

Before he gained international fame as a leading auteur of the Asia Extreme movement, South Korea’s Park Chanwook (OLDBOY) directed this political whodunit set in the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas. A major of Korean ancestry who grew up in Switzerland (Lee Yeong-ae) is assigned by the UN to investigate a shooting incident. In the course of taking conflicting depositions, she discovers that the North and South Korean soldiers involved knew each other well and had often fraternized. A "warm, sorrowful film" - New York Times.

(2000) Color (110 mins)

MONDAY JUL 27 at MIDNIGHT

Spectacle: James Taylor

Director - Dave Russell

James Taylor epitomizes the term "singer-songwriter", and in this rare, in-depth interview, he sheds light on the various influences that have shaped his music over the past 40 years or so. With a guitar readily at hand throughout the hour, Taylor shifts easily and engagingly from conversation to performance mode, playing some of his best-known songs ("Fire and Rain", "Sweet Baby James") and some of his favorites by other writers, including Carole King and George Jones. Elvis joins James in song a couple of times, to charming effect. The intimate conversation includes the very personal (Taylor's upbringing, family and occasional struggles with personal demons) and, naturally, the very musical (influences, collaborations and inspirations). Throughout it all, the pure, sweet James Taylor voice that has seduced music fans for four decades now remains a thing of beauty and comfort.

(2008) Color (60 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 15 10PM | THURSDAY JUL 16 2:30AM | SUNDAY JUL 19 9PM

Live From Abbey Road - Season 1: Jamiroquai, Damien Rice & The Goo-Goo Dolls

Director - AJ Jankel

This episode features Jamiroquai, Damien Rice and The Goo-Goo Dolls.

(2007) Color (53 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 10 11PM | SATURDAY JUL 11 11AM

Live From Abbey Road - Season 1: Kasabian, Josh Groban & The Good The Bad and The Queen

Director - AJ Jankel

This episode features Kasabian, Josh Groban and The Good The Bad and The Queen.

(2007) Color (53 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 24 11PM | SATURDAY JUL 25 11AM

The Killing of John Lennon

Director - Andrew Piddington

Filmmaker Andrew Piddington presents an examination of the dark side of celebrity worship with a carefully researched recreation of the 1980 assassination of John Lennon by 25-year-old Mark David Chapman (Jonas Ball). Using Chapman's own words, and filmed in many actual locations, Piddington takes a non-judgmental approach that nevertheless paints a devastating portrait of an angry, pathological narcissist. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival. "Harrowing … unfolds with propulsive urgency" - Variety.

(2006) Color (114 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 9 10PM | FRIDAY JUL 10 3:30AM | TUESDAY JUL 14 12:30AM | SUNDAY JUL 19 7PM

Kippur

Director - Amos Gitai

Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai presents an unrelenting portrait of the chaos of battle, inspired by his own experiences as a member of a helicopter rescue team during the Yom Kippur War. When Syria and Egypt launch a surprise attack on October 6, 1973, two young Israelis, Weinraub (Liron Levo) and Ruso (Tomer Ruso), attempt to rendezvous with their unit. Soon they are immersed in a war where battle lines are unclear, confusion and fatigue rein and glory is nonexistent. "A classic war film, at once elegiac and immediate" - Los Angeles Times.

(2000) Color (123 mins)

Kokua Festival 2008

Director - Emmett Malloy

Now in its fifth year, Hawaii's Kokua Music Festival features A-list guests - such as Willie Nelson and Eddie Vedder - while also raising funds for environmental causes. Additionally, the festival itself has a history of acting as a proving ground for environmentally friendly technologies like biodiesel generators and tableware made from vegetable byproducts. This one-hour documentary captures highlights of the 2008 Festival, at which Kokua's founder Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, Paula Fuga and Mason Jennings performed.

(2008) Color (60 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 5:15PM | SUNDAY JUL 5 12:15PM | SUNDAY JUL 5 5:40PM | MONDAY JUL 20 5:20PM | SATURDAY JUL 25 5:45PM

Live From Abbey Road - Season 1: The Kooks, Wynton Marsalis & Muse

Director - AJ Jankel

This episode features The Kooks, Wynton Marsalis and Muse.

(2007) Color (53 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 17 11PM | SATURDAY JUL 18 11AM

Kurt Cobain: About a Son

Director - AJ Schnack

Documentary filmmaker A. J. Schnack (GIGANTIC: A TALE OF TWO JOHNS) breaks nearly every established rock documentary convention in this "deeply moving" (Village Voice) examination into the short life of Kurt Cobain. The voice of the Byronic grunge rock icon is heard in excerpts from revealing interviews recorded a little more than a year before his 1994 suicide. Cobain is heard ruminating about fame, drugs, his childhood and his band as impressionistic images of locales from Cobain's life in the Pacific Northwest provide a visual counterpoint.

(2006) Color (96 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 25 at MIDNIGHT

Lady Vengeance

Director - Chan-wook Park

Dark and obsessive, the final film in controversial Korean filmmaker Park Chanwook's "revenge trilogy" - it follows SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and OLDBOY - presents a visceral conclusion to the provocative and transgressive series. A young woman (Lee Young-ae) is released from prison after serving 13 years for the kidnapping and murder of a 5-year-old boy. However, after building a reputation as a repentant model prisoner, she sets out on a mission to find the real murderer and deliver her own form of gruesome personal justice.

(2005) Color (115 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 12:45AM

The Last Mistress

Director - Catherine Breillat

French filmmaker Catherine Breillat (ROMANCE; FAT GIRL) is famous for her uncompromising features examining varied forms of human sexuality and eroticism. In her most accessible film, Breillat parts 19th century bedchamber doors to tell a story about a sexually insatiable courtesan (Asia Argento) and her longtime lover, a penniless young rake (Fu'ad Ait Aattou) who tries to end their affair when he marries a young, wealthy aristocrat. A sumptuous and passionate period piece examining the anarchy of desire. "Like an erotic dream" -- Salon.

(2007) Color (114 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 8 at MIDNIGHT | SATURDAY JUL 18 1:35AM

Le Doulos

Director - Jean-Pierre Melville

A young Jean-Paul Belmondo stars as a stylish yet sinister mobster in this classic existential gangster thriller from French master Jean-Pierre Melville. Belmondo plays Silien, a Parisian hood enlisted by a recently paroled con (Serge Reggiani) for a safe-cracking job. Yet here criminal codes, double crosses and revenge rule. Melville creates a gorgeously noir Paris modeled on American crime films of the '30s and '40s. "An unforgettable voyage into a world of trench coats, betrayal and despair" -- Los Angeles Times.Michel Piccoli costars.

(1963) (109 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 14 3:45PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 15 1PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 22 5:40PM | THURSDAY JUL 23 2:30AM | THURSDAY JUL 30 10PM

Leila Khaled, Highjacker

Director - Lina Makboul

In 1969, Leila Khaled, an attractive 24-year-old Palestinian, made headlines as the first woman to hijack an airplane. A year later, after six operations to alter her identity, she did it again. Despite reports of Khaled's death some years ago, filmmaker Lina Makboul found the former PFLP militant living openly in Jordan, where she remains politically active and unrepentant. "A fascinating journey of a woman" (Jewish Independent), LEILA KHALED, HIGHJACKER provocatively posits whether one person's terrorist can be another's freedom fighter.

(2006) Color (58 mins)

MONDAY JUL 27 10AM | MONDAY JUL 27 4:45PM

Lemon Sky

Director - Jan Egleson

Appeared at the 1988 Sundance Film Festival
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick costar in this adaptation of Lanford Wilson's challenging stage play, told in flashbacks, that explores family dynamics and defining personal narratives. Bacon plays a young college student who attempts to reunite with his estranged, abusive, working-class father (Tom Atkins) and his father's new family. The film not only won director Jan Egleston a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, it also presented Casey Affleck in his screen debut and brought together Bacon and Sedgwick, who married shortly thereafter.

(1988) Color (106 mins)

Lights in the Dusk

Director - Aki Kaurismäki

The final part of Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki's austere trilogy, which commenced with DRIFTING CLOUDS (1996) and continued with THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST (2002), is a haunting film noir about a solitary loser in contemporary Helsinki. Koistinen (Janne Hyytiainen), a night watchman, gets no respect. So when a blonde bombshell (Maria Jarvenhelmi) sidles up to him and says she senses he has rock and roll in his blood, Koistinen is oblivious that she might be interested in something other than his magnetism - like some secret security codes.

(2006) Color (75 mins)

The Lives Of Others

Director - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

This winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® presents "a teasingly complex political thriller" Salon about state power, paranoia and emotional connections with others. Set during the twilight years of the German Democratic Republic, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's film focuses on a loyal secret police surveillance expert (Ulrich Mühe) who is assigned to monitor the private lives of a playwright (Sebastian Koch) and his actress girlfriend (Martina Gedeck). "Suspenseful, ethically exacting … beautifully realized" - New York Times.

(2006) Color (0 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 22 7:30PM

Looking for Langston

Director - Isaac Julien

This experimental Berlin Film Festival award-winner by artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien (BAADASSSSS CINEMA) is a meditation on gay black identity and desire, framed by the life of poet Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance. More personal essay/fantasy than biography, LOOKING FOR LANGSTON mixes archive footage and Hughes's poetry with black-and-white dramatic scenes - luminous compositions that recall the work of George Platt Lynes and Robert Mapplethorpe - featuring Ben Ellison as Langston Hughes and Matthew Baidoo as his lover.

(1991) Color and B&W (45 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 24 3:15AM

Lost in Beijing

Director - Li Yu

Four noted stars of Chinese cinema appear in filmmaker Li Yu's darkly comic melodrama, an examination of the role of women in contemporary China and the corrupting influence of money. When Ping-guo (Fan Bingbing), a massage parlor worker, discovers she is pregnant after being raped by her employer (Tony Leung Ka Fai), her avaricious husband (Tong Da Wei) a window washer who witnessed the encounter, attempts blackmail. However, what evolves is a troublesome business arrangement in which human life becomes the ultimate commodity. Elaine Jin costars.

(2007) Color (113 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 2:30AM | MONDAY JUL 13 4:15AM | THURSDAY JUL 23 12:30AM

Spectacle: Lou Reed and Julian Schnabel

Director - Dave Russell

The normally guarded Lou Reed - widely regarded since his Velvet Underground days as music's Prince of Darkness - opens up with Elvis Costello, revealing himself to be a witty and literate raconteur. He speaks movingly, and funnily, about his love of R&B, New York, art and the mysteries of writing and creativity. Lou's close friend and collaborator (on the film "Berlin"), Julian Schnabel, joins the fray mid-show, to both heartbreaking and hilarious effect, contributing some disarmingly candid and personal remarks, as well as a riveting - and totally spontaneous - spoken-word performance. Lou breaks down one of his classic compositions on guitar, and then joins Elvis for two amazing performances.

(2008) Color (60 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 1 10PM | THURSDAY JUL 2 2:30AM | SATURDAY JUL 4 1:30AM

Madame Tutli Putli

Director - Chris Lavis
Director - Maciek Szczerbowski

Appeared at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
Filmmaker/stop-motion animators Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski present a haunting metaphysical adventure on a night train with a timid woman in red. Nominated for an Oscar® for Best Animated Short.

(2007) Color (17 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 3 5:25PM | TUESDAY JUL 7 11:35PM | SATURDAY JUL 25 3:35PM

Iconoclasts - Season 3: Madeleine Albright + Ashley Judd

Director - Joe Berlinger

Two distinctly different stories of female empowerment are reflected in the life stories of Madeleine Albright and Ashley Judd, who are featured in this episode. In Washington, D. C. they discuss their recent volunteer work with international organizations promoting democracy and health in developing countries.

(2007) Color (60 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 18 9PM | SUNDAY JUL 19 3:15AM | SUNDAY JUL 19 at NOON

Man Push Cart

Director - Ramin Bahrani

Appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
In his award-winning feature directorial debut, Ramin Bahrani presents an unforgettable character study of a typical Manhattan street vendor. Early every morning, Pakistani immigrant Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) sets up a coffee-and-bagel pushcart in Midtown. Yet solitary and stoic Ahmad is a man with a past. His wife is dead and he is so poor, his son must live with in-laws. Back home, he was known as a pop star, but his life in New York is almost an existential parable about the futility of getting by. "Subtly resonant" — Village Voice.

(2005) Color (87 mins)

The Man Who Became King

Nancy Ing Duclos and Edith Champagne's fascinating documentary follows Adongo Agada, a Sudanese refugee living in Canada, who receives unexpected news that he has been designated the new king of the Anyuak tribe in Southern Sudan. Great responsibility, danger and demigod status come with the position - as well as eight wives. But Adongo is a converted Christian who hopes to bring his family to Canada. If he refuses, the Anyuaks will be thrown into anarchy. An extraordinary story of a man torn by tribal obligation and family loyalty.

(0) Color (75 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 7:35AM | MONDAY JUL 6 2:50PM | SUNDAY JUL 19 2:45PM

Manufacturing Dissent

Director - Debbie Melnyk
Director - Rick Caine

Fans of celebrity documentarian Michael Moore (FAHRENHEIT 9/11), filmmakers Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine set out to interview the man whose successful films transformed the documentary genre. Ironically, Moore proved even more elusive than former GM head Roger Smith in Moore's 1989 hit ROGER & ME. Delving into his past and listening to former associates, Melnyk and Caine present an intriguing portrait of a driven and intelligent filmmaker with a reputation for fudging facts, being difficult and leaving a trail of unhappy acquaintances.

(2007) Color (96 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 7:45AM | MONDAY JUL 13 2:35PM

Marvelous

Director - Siofra Campbell

Martha Plimpton stars as Gwen, a hard-luck divorcee who discovers she possesses miraculous restorative powers in Siofra Campbell's satiric comedy about contemporary celebrity culture. After magically reviving a dead car battery, Gwen exercises her new powers to repair old radios and toasters, and even heal the sick. Soon Gwen is a media phenomenon, as well as a lucrative resource for her brother-in-law (Ewen Bremner), who seizes the opportunity to play Gwen's middleman. Annabella Sciorra costars as Gwen's professional manager.

(2006) Color (90 mins)

Milwaukee, Minnesota

Director - Allan Mindel

A nuanced performance from Troy Garity highlights Allan Mindel's debut feature, a Midwestern comedy which won the Young Critics Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Garrity plays a mentally challenged boy with a unique gift. He's so good at ice fishing, he's amassed a small fortune in tournament winnings. So when his overbearing mother dies suddenly, the hawks descend - including a sinister traveling salesman (Randy Quaid) who claims to be his father and a sexy blonde hustler (Alison Folland). Costarring Bruce Dern and Josh Brolin.

(2005) Color (95 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 2AM | SATURDAY JUL 11 1:30AM | TUESDAY JUL 28 12:05AM

Muhammad Ali, the Greatest

Director - William Klein

Ten pivotal years in the life of Muhammad Ali — from Cassius Clay's 1964 debut as a swaggering and savvy media star to Ali's triumph in 1974's RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE against George Foreman in Zaire — are mesmerizingly captured in this documentary portrait by William Klein. An influential photographer and filmmaker, Klein had a trained eye for the power of the media image, and recognized Ali's charisma and social significance early in his career. "Fascinating … riveting … Ali is always compelling, no matter what he's doing" — The Guardian.

(1974) Color and B&W (111 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 11:25AM | MONDAY JUL 6 10:45PM

Murderball

Director - Dana Adam Shapiro
Director - Henry-Alex Rubin

Appeared at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
Documentary filmmakers Dana Adam Shapiro and Henry-Alex Rubin extend an invitation into the ultra-macho world of quadriplegic wheelchair rugby, a rough and tumble competition that's part MAD MAX, part roller derby. Despite the Road Warrior ethos, the competition has brought meaning and hope to men coping with life in seemingly shattered bodies. Often critically compared to HOOP DREAMS, MURDERBALL was nominated for a Best Feature Documentary Oscar and won the Audience Award and a Special Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

(2005) Color (86 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 11PM | TUESDAY JUL 14 4:30AM

My Winnipeg

Director - Guy Maddin

Winnipeg native Guy Maddin presents a hallucinatory autobiography -- part myth, part fabulation, and a tiny part historic truth -- infused with the unique sensibility of one of the world's most original filmmakers. Maddin's Winnipeg is a city with an epidemic of sleepwalkers, where a law prohibits throwing away old signs, and the homeless dwell on rooftops. And as this is very much a personal reverie, Maddin includes bizarre recreated moments from his childhood, in which actress Ann Savage plays his mother. "A delirious fever dream" -- McLean's.

(2007) Color and B&W (82 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 22 11PM | THURSDAY JUL 23 5:30AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 4PM | MONDAY JUL 27 5:30AM | THURSDAY JUL 30 1:15PM

No End in Sight

Director - Charles Ferguson

Appeared at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Nominated for an Oscar® for Best Documentary, and named Best Non-Fiction Film by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics, Charles Ferguson's exacting documentary carefully explores the aftermath following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Enlightening interviews with many Washington insiders reveal repeated instances of sage cautionary advice, discarded in favor of prevailing erroneous opinions held by influential members of the Bush Administration. "Enraging ... sober, revelatory and absolutely vital" - New York Times.

(2007) Color (102 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 9:30AM | MONDAY JUL 13 6:15PM

Noise (2007)

Director - Matthew Saville

Appeared at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Innovative sound design and a refreshingly revealing perspective on police work and the psychological scars of violent crime distinguish this award-winning thriller, the feature-length directorial debut of Australia's Matthew Saville. The diverted career path of a young police constable (Brendan Cowell) suffering from tinnitus and blackouts collides with the investigation of a disturbing murder, which has filled a shocked suburban Melbourne town with guilt and suspicion. "Jaw-droppingly tense...a film of quiet exhilaration" - Empire.

(2007) Color (108 mins)

Obscene: A Portrait Of Barney

Director - Neil Ortenberg
Director - Daniel O'Connor

Barney Rosset may not be a household name, but he affected the life of every American. Founder of Grove Press and Evergreen Review, Rosset defied convention by publishing Lady Chatterley's Lover and Naked Lunch, distributing the Swedish film I AM CURIOUS YELLOW and passionately fighting censorship in America -- activities that endangered his career, freedom and financial stability. In a documentary "as vital, incisive and entertaining as its subject" Los Angeles Times, Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O'Connor celebrate a true American original.

(2007) Color (97 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 9PM

Obscure Object Of Desire, That

Director - Luis Bunuel

Six years before his death at age 83, Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel completed his final film, a characteristically comic and perverse meditation on longing and desire. Iconic Bunuel star Fernando Rey plays a respectable middle-class widower who becomes hopelessly besotted and repeatedly humiliated by a new maid, a role alternately embodied by two actresses: earthy Angela Molina and frosty Carole Bouquet (in her feature film debut). Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay (Bunuel and Jean-Claude Carriere) and Best Foreign Language Film.

(1977) Color (104 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 10 at MIDNIGHT | SUNDAY JUL 19 at MIDNIGHT

On the Road with Judas

Director - J.J. Lask

Appeared at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
With his feature debut, novelist-turned-filmmaker J.J. Lask explores the nature of storytelling and literary reality with a multilayered self-reflective experimental narrative. Plot and character are secondary in this singular puzzle-box of a film about the adaptation of a novel by Lask (played by Kevin Corrigan), the "real people" who inspired the story and the actors who play the characters in the film-within-a-film. Audacious and stimulating, this cinematic hall of mirrors is sure to prompt long discussions and bemused head-scratching.

(2007) Color (93 mins)

Once Upon A Time In The Midlands

Director - Shane Meadows

Shane Meadows (THIS IS ENGLAND), one of the leading British filmmakers to emerge in the past decade, borrows some mythic flourishes from Italian Western auteur Sergio Leone to tell this whimsical story about a crook (Robert Carlyle), his ex (Shirley Henderson) and her live-in lover (Rhys Ifans). After spotting his former wife turning down an ambush marriage proposal from her love-struck beau on a Jerry Springer-like TV show, Jimmy (Carlyle) decides it's time for a showdown to win her back. "A soulful domestic comedy" -- New York Times.

(2002) Color (105 mins)

One Take Only

Director - Oxide Pang Chun

Going solo, filmmaker Oxide Pang - who teamed with brother Danny on the Asian horror hits BANGKOK DANGEROUS (1999) and THE EYE (2002) - presents a stylish tale of a minor drug dealer (Pawarith Monkolpisit) with delusions of grandeur, and his prostitute neighbor (Wanatchada Siwapornchai). Hoping to settle down after making "that one last big score," Bank and Som discover escaping their violent world isn't as easy as it appears. Oxide Pang's energetic visuals, and charismatic performances by the two leads, highlight this fast-paced Thai thriller.

(2001) Color (89 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 2 2:35PM | FRIDAY JUL 17 1:30AM | FRIDAY JUL 17 4:35AM | SATURDAY JUL 25 3:35AM

Opening Night

Director - John Cassavetes

Appeared at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival
Gena Rowlands stars as an alcoholic Broadway star none too serenely entering middle age and confronting multiple self-doubts in John Cassavetes's incisive backstage drama. In New Haven for a tryout, Myrtle (Rowlands) is haunted by the tragic death of an obsessive fan and the new drama, in which she plays a character with uncomfortable parallels to her own life. Rowlands won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination. Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell and Cassavetes costar. "Intelligent and intriguing" - Time Out.

(1978) Color (144 mins)

The Page Turner

Director - Denis Dercourt

The brittle, competitive world of classical music is the setting for this dark tale of delayed revenge from French filmmaker Denis Dercourt. At a decisive piano recital, a judge carelessly distracts the performance of ten-year-old Mèlanie, thus altering her life. Years later, Mèlanie (Déborah François) has become the trusted nanny in the upper-middle class home of the judge (Catherine Frot) from her past. A taut psychological thriller "with an inscrutable heart, ice in its veins and an electric undercurrent of eroticism" - Salon.

(2006) Color (81 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 7:30AM | FRIDAY JUL 17 10:45AM | FRIDAY JUL 17 4:45PM | THURSDAY JUL 23 11:15AM | WEDNESDAY JUL 29 7:20AM

Paris Je T'aime

A stellar international cast joins 21 noted filmmakers to serve up a bouquet of valentines to the City of Light. From the Eiffel Tower and the Tuileries to the Bastille and Montmartre, different Parisian locations supply the settings in 18 delightful vignettes about love and romance from an academy of filmmakers including Olivier Assayas, Joel and Ethan Coen, Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuarón and Tom Tykwer, and featuring Juliette Binoche, Steve Buscemi, Ben Gazzara, Natalie Portman and Gena Rowlands. "A lovely journey" - Seattle Post Intelligencer.

(2006) Color (121 mins)

SUNDAY JUL 5 3:35PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 8 11:30AM | THURSDAY JUL 16 8PM | SATURDAY JUL 25 10PM | SUNDAY JUL 26 4:30AM

Patch

Director - Christopher Romero

Melissa Leo, Leo Burmester and Deborah Harry star in Christopher Romero's short film about the reverberating psychic echoes that follow a traumatic accident.

(2005) Color (16 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 2 5:40PM

Live From Abbey Road - Season 1: Paul Simon, Corinne Bailey Rae & Primal Scream

Director - AJ Jankel

This episode features Paul Simon, Corinne Bailey Rae and Primal Scream.

(2007) Color (53 mins)

Pierrepoint

Director - Adrian Shergold

Timothy Spall (SECRETS AND LIES) stars in the true story of Albert Pierrepoint, a fairly mundane English grocery deliveryman with a most unusual, secret second profession: between 1933 and 1955 he performed 608 hangings, including overseeing the execution of many Nazi war criminals. Adrian Shergold's unsettling film focuses on Pierrepoint as a portrait of an efficient and dutiful workman, who prides himself in his speed and the humane aspect of each execution. Juliet Stevenson (TRULY MADLY DEEPLY) costars as Pierrepoint's prim wife.

(2005) Color (90 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 10 1:45AM

Spectacle: The Police

Director - Dave Russell

Fresh off the concert trail together, Elvis and The Police team up for an action-packed hour that includes individual interviews with Sting, Andy and Stewart, as well as a raucous group session. It all provides a rare glimpse into the combustible chemistry that made The Police the biggest band in the world in the 1980s. In addition to the illuminating talk, there's plenty of amazing music: Sting illustrates the original incarnation of "Roxanne", the song which put The Police on the map; Sting and Elvis harmonize together on an Elvis gem; Andy and Elvis team up for a bit of jazz; and, for the finale, Elvis and his band, The Imposters, join forces with The Police for an unprecedented "mash-up" of a Costello classic and a Police essential, as well as a surprising cover of a time-tested hard rock anthem.

(2008) Color (60 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 29 10PM | THURSDAY JUL 30 4:20AM

The Puffy Chair

Director - Jay Duplass

Appeared at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
Brothers Mark and Jay Duplass take a cringingly honest, comic look at modern romance in a "charmer [that] wins your heart, even as it's breaking it" (Austin Chronicle). Dimly aware that his relationship with his long-time squeeze (Kathryn Aselton) may be in trouble, Josh (Mark Duplass, who also scripted), a maturity-phobic slacker, invites her on a road trip with his blissed-out younger brother (Rhett Wilkins) to pick up a used easy chair. Jay Duplass directed this winner of the Emerging Visions Audience Award at the 2005 SXSW Film Festival.

(2005) Color (85 mins)

FRIDAY JUL 10 8:45AM | FRIDAY JUL 10 4:30PM | SUNDAY JUL 19 6:25AM | SUNDAY JUL 19 4PM | THURSDAY JUL 30 11:45AM

Radiant City

Director - Gary Burns
Director - Jim Brown

Exploring the boundaries of the documentary while delivering a clever and caustic critique of contemporary residential living, filmmaker Gary Burns (WAYDOWNTOWN) and journalist Jim Brown follow the daily life of a North American family living in a recently developed suburban community. While observing how the family deals with long commutes, physical isolation, sprawl, and dependence on automobiles, RADIANT CITY also hears critical commentary from urban planners and philosophers who believe suburbia is unhealthy and physically degrading.

(2006) Color (86 mins)

MONDAY JUL 27 8:15AM | MONDAY JUL 27 3:15PM

Ran (1985)

Director - Nicholas Winding Refn

Nicolas Winding Refn's directorial debut, released when he was only 25, charts the evolving daily existential crisis of a small-time drug dealer in Copenhagen. Refn won international recognition nearly a decade later with the release of two follow-up features, Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands and Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death. Kim Bodnia plays a stone-faced tough guy who senses the noose slowly tightening when his big score runs into serious trouble. "Vibrates with youthful aggression, sly humor and gathering tension" - Los Angeles Times .

(0) Color (163 mins)

Requiem for Billy the Kid

Director - Anne Feinsilber

With allusions to Rimbaud and Verlaine, filmmaker Anne Feinsilber presents an original French take on an enduring tale of the American West. For decades theories have posited that Billy the Kid's grave does not contain the body of the notorious outlaw. Mixing Western history, vintage photos, accounts of a sheriff's recent efforts to exhume the body of Billy's mother and film clips from The Left Handed Gun and Pat Garret and Billy the Kid, Feinsilber's film reexamines the legend after more than 125 years of mythmaking.

(2007) Color (90 mins)

MONDAY JUL 20 10:05AM | MONDAY JUL 20 7:35PM

Savage Grace

Director - Tom Kalin

Appeared at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
Julianne Moore gives an "acute, captivating, and shattering" (New York Sun) performance as Barbara Baekeland, a former model whose marriage to the heir to the Bakelite plastic fortune catapulted her into international society. Barbara, known for her tart tongue and shocking behavior, and her troubled son Tony (Eddie Redmayne), came to personify decadent wealth when their story made lurid headlines in 1972. Filmmaker Tom Kalin (SWOON) and writer Howard Rodman present the engrossing saga of the Baekelands' glittering rise and gruesome fall.

(2007) Color (97 mins)

THURSDAY JUL 16 10PM | MONDAY JUL 20 1:45AM | TUESDAY JUL 28 11:30PM

Sex and Lucia

Director - Julio Medem

Spanish filmmaker Julio Medem (LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE) presents an enthralling and sensual narrative set in Madrid and on a sunny Mediterranean isle. Medem's inventive story follows Lucia (Paz Vega), an impulsive waitress, on a trip to a remote island after she learns of the death of her lover Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa), a novelist. Erotic flashbacks from Lorenzo's past with Lucia and other women, and scenes from Lorenzo's fiction, commingle to create a challenging Mobius strip of a tale, which was nominated for 11 Goya Awards.

(2001) Color (128 mins)

SUNDAY JUL 5 2:30AM | THURSDAY JUL 9 12:30AM | MONDAY JUL 20 3:30AM | TUESDAY JUL 28 1:45AM

The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez

Director - Heidi Specogna

Appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
José Antonio Gutiérrez was born in Guatemala and lost both his parents during his country's long, bloody civil war — a war that was covertly funded by the United States government. But it was as the first American military casualty of the Iraq War in 2003 that Gutiérrez is remembered. Documentary filmmaker Heidi Specogna traces Gutiérrez's short, eventful life and reveals a troubling story of illegal immigration, foster homes, and how the American military entices Latinos to enlist by promising them a fast track to citizenship.

(2005) Color (89 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 6:15AM | MONDAY JUL 13 at NOON

Shotgun Stories

Director - Jeff Nichols

Warring clans from rural Arkansas face off in this mythic parable about revenge, festering resentment, marginalized identity and class, the feature debut of filmmaker Jeff Nichols. After an old family injury prompts a primal insult, two sets of half-brothers are immersed in a spiraling, self-destructive blood feud. At its nexus are three brothers, Son (Michael Shannon), Kid and Boy, fathered by an alcoholic who abandoned his family, sobered up and found Jesus. "An understated gem ... Nichols is a talent to watch" - Los Angeles Times.

(2006) Color (90 mins)

A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake

Director - Jeroen Berkvens

Rediscovered by a new generation when his 1972 song Pink Moon was used in a car commercial, British singer and songwriter Nick Drake (1948 - 1974) is now a cult icon, an influence on everyone from Kate Bush and Lucinda Williams to Elliott Smith and Elton John. Filmmaker Jeroen Berkvens's unconventional documentary profiles the brief life of the enigmatic troubadour, a painfully shy artist who released only three albums before dying from an antidepressant overdose. "Affecting ... plays like a visual poem" - San Francisco Chronicle.

(2002) Color (48 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 1:45PM

Slingshot Hip Hop

Director - Jackie Salloum

Rap music has had a long tradition of giving voice to impoverished lives and expressing the frustrations of the oppressed. Jackie Salloum's revealing documentary charts the origin and growth of the Palestinian hip-hop movement, profiling groups who use music as a catalyst for self-esteem and to oppose Israeli occupation. Some, like Tamar, the leader of DAM, express gratitude to American rappers like Tupac and Chuck D, while others find parallels between ghetto life under military occupation and life in urban America.

(2008) Color (80 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 11 at MIDNIGHT | MONDAY JUL 20 7:30AM | MONDAY JUL 20 2:45PM | MONDAY JUL 20 10:15PM

Starting Out in the Evening

Director - Andrew Wagner

Appeared at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Frank Langella plays Leonard Schiller, a New York novelist whose work has fallen into obscurity, in Andrew Wagner's well-received drama. Schiller has been diligently toiling on his fifth book for a decade when his life is changed unexpectedly by the appearance of Heather Wolfe (Lauren Ambrose), an ambitious graduate student interested in his work. Wagner's intelligent adaptation of Brian Morton's novel features vivid, self-aware characters and was praised by Salon as "both intimate and immediate." Costarring Lili Taylor and Adrian Lester

(2007) Color (110 mins)

Eco Documentaries - Season 2: Strait Through the Ice : THE GREEN

Director - Yves Billy

The melting of Arctic polar ice has led to an unexpected and radical geographic development: the emergence of a Northwest Passage, a strategic maritime route between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Industrialized nations are keen to exploit the commercial possibilities of this shipping highway, which courses through a vulnerable, biologically unique region. Yves Billy's French documentary explores the critical issues to be resolved by a handful of powerful countries as they weigh economic potential against environmental consequences.

(2006) Color (51 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 14 10PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 15 3:15AM | SUNDAY JUL 19 11AM

Sunset Bollywood

Director - Komal Tolani

Bollywood, as Mumbai's film capital is better known, is constantly looking for a new screen sensation. But what happens to Bollywood actors after their skyrocket to fame flames out? Documentary filmmaker Komal Tolani discovers a seedy and untold side of the Bollywood story as she profiles three ill-fated Hindi "one-hit wonders" - guitar-strumming lover boy Rahul Roy, teen-queen Bhagyashree, and '80s hero Kumar Gaurav - each of whom dreams of a comeback. Featuring heartfelt interviews and a wonderful collection of vintage film clips.

(2005) Color (54 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 8PM

Tanghi Argentini

Director - Guido Thys

Belgian filmmaker Guido Thys's comic short about an office worker (Dirk van Dijck) who must learn to dance the tango to impress a woman he has met on the Internet garnered a shelf of international film awards including an Oscar® nomination for Best Live Action Short Film.

(2006) Color (14 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 4 7:15AM | SATURDAY JUL 4 3:45PM | TUESDAY JUL 14 8:10PM | FRIDAY JUL 24 6PM | FRIDAY JUL 24 10:40PM

This is England

Director - Shane Meadows

Set in the early1980s, Shane Meadows's semi-autobiographical story of a 12-year-old British boy's indoctrination into skinhead culture was hailed as "a modest, near-flawless gem" by the New York Times. Angry and friendless after his father is killed in the Falkland Islands War, Shane (Thomas Turgoose) discovers a surrogate family in a gang of hoodlums led by charismatic Woody (Joe Gilgun). However, Shane's new world changes dangerously when Combo (Stephen Graham), a racist neo-Nazi, assumes control after being released from prison.

(2007) Color (101 mins)

The Tiger and the Snow

Director - Roberto Benigni

After creating LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, the Oscar-winning comedy set during the Holocaust, actor/filmmaker Roberto Benigni takes on a no-less-audacious project: a romantic comedy set during the opening days of the Iraq War. Benigni plays a madcap poetry professor hopelessly infatuated with an elegant writer (Nicoletta Braschi). When he learns his beloved is wounded and lying near death in a Baghdad hospital, our hero impersonates a doctor and is soon dodging bullets and bombshells to win her heart. "Winsome, charming and irresistibly romantic" -Salon.

(2005) Color (114 mins)

Tina Barney: Social Studies

Director - Jaci Judelson

Born into an exclusive world of wealth and privilege, photographer Tina Barney has made a career capturing America's gentrified East Coast upper classes in revealing large-scale color portraits. Sometimes called the "Diane Arbus of the rich," Barney herself is profiled in this documentary portrait by filmmaker Jaci Judelson. Cameras follow Barney while engaged in a new project: a series of images capturing the lives of Europe's aristocrats, at home in their lavish city apartments, partying and at their country estates.

(2005) Color (56 mins)

MONDAY JUL 13 10PM

Together

Director - Lukas Moodysson

Appeared at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival
Deftly melding satirical wit and a generous understanding of human nature, Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson (SHOW ME LOVE) presents a sly, good-natured flashback to a mid-'70s Stockholm commune. Overseen by idealistic Goran (Gustaf Hammarsten), the Tillsammans commune promotes free love and a home-grown veggie diet, while censuring bourgeois influences like TV and Pippi Longstocking. However, it's difficult to keep the real world - and real emotions - at bay when Goran's sister and two kids seek refuge. "Beautifully made ... resonant" - Salon.

(2000) Color (106 mins)

SUNDAY JUL 12 3AM | WEDNESDAY JUL 22 1AM | WEDNESDAY JUL 29 8PM | THURSDAY JUL 30 2:30AM

Spectacle: Tony Bennett

Director - Dave Russell

Now in his ninth decade, the irrepressible Tony Bennett is not only the steward of the Great American Songbook, but one of the last living connections to it. In this seductive and utterly charming hour, Tony and Elvis discuss with warmth and affection many of the great songs and the colourful people responsible for them. Accompanied by (in TB's estimation) "the finest jazz pianist today", Bill Charlap, Tony sings (beautifully) several classics, and pulls a very special surprise guest from the audience for a spontaneous and irresistible duet.

(2008) Color (60 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 22 10PM | THURSDAY JUL 23 4:30AM | SUNDAY JUL 26 9PM

Touch the Sound

Director - Thomas Riedelsheimer

Scottish percussionist and Grammy™ Award-winning musician Evelyn Glennie lost most of her ability to hear when she was a teenager. Yet that loss has only heightened her other senses. As she articulately reflects on her art in this impressionistic musical odyssey directed, edited and photographed by documentarian Thomas Riedelsheimer (Rivers and Tides), Glennie describes how she hears through touch with her whole body sensitive to vibrations in the air. "Inspiring … beautifully shot and filled with gorgeous music" -- Chicago Tribune.

(2004) Color (99 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 25 4PM

Tragic Story With A Happy Ending

Director - Regina Pessoa

Regina Pessoa's award-winning animated short tells the story of a girl with a rapid heartbeat who suspects she is a bird trapped in a human body. Bold expressionist images (created by using photocopies and scratchboard) and a lively rhythmical soundtrack distinguish this whimsical fable.

(2006) B&W (8 mins)

Volver

Director - Pedro Almodovar

Best Actress Oscar® nominee Penelope Cruz stars in a playful and wise melodrama about female endurance from Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar. Earthy Raimunda (Cruz) and her eccentric extended family - which includes a sister (Lola Duenas) and their mother's ghost (Carmen Maura) - are no strangers to profound misfortune. Yet whatever the fates bring down - and quite often it's torrential - Almodovar's women struggle to survive with humor, spirited courage and elan. "Full of surprises and reversals ... the work of a master" - New York Times.

(2006) Color (121 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 7 2:35AM | TUESDAY JUL 7 2:15PM | WEDNESDAY JUL 15 8PM | SUNDAY JUL 26 10PM

Water Lilies

Director - Celine Sciamma

With her debut feature, French filmmaker Céline Sciamma presents an affecting and sophisticated portrait of adolescence. Marie (Pauline Acquart), Anne (Louise Blachère) and Floriane (Adèle Haenel) are part of a synchronized swimming team. Floriane is the star, the team captain and a boy magnet. Entranced with her beauty and charisma is Marie, a shy, reedy and awkward teen who pals with gawky Anne, who in turn pines for resident hunk François (Warren Jacquin), Flo's beau. "A remarkably realistic rendering of teen culture" - Salon.

(2007) Color (85 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 11 3:10AM | TUESDAY JUL 21 11:30PM

Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock?

Director - Harry Moses

"The whole art world is a fraud," says Teri Horton, a salty 73-year-old retired truck driver. Horton contends a painting she purchased for $5 at a junk shop is an original Jackson Pollock, worth millions. However, the lofty world of art connoisseurship - here memorably embodied by former Metropolitan Museum director Thomas Hoving - will have nothing of it, despite some intriguing forensic evidence. As much about class warfare as aesthetics, Harry Moses's "beguiling" Entertainment Weekly documentary will leave some wondering if Horton is right.

(2006) Color (74 mins)

MONDAY JUL 27 12:45PM | MONDAY JUL 27 7:45PM

The Wild Horse Redemption

Director - John Zaritsky

Uplifting and lyrical, this documentary about second chances from Oscar - winning filmmaker John Zaritsky (JUST ANOTHER MISSING KID) profiles an innovative prison rehabilitation program in Colorado that brings hardened criminals together with wild mustangs. Over a 90-day period, hard-core prisoners, many considered troublesome and undisciplined, learn the skills of patience, discipline and respect to break and socialize the unruly wild beasts. In the process, man and animal form a unique bond while mastering new skills and confidence.

(2007) Color (91 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 5:30PM

Wondrous Oblivion

Director - Paul Morrison

It's 1960, and in East London David Wiseman (Sam Smith), the 11-year-old son of a Jewish tailor, is obsessed with cricket. Alas, David's skill doesn't equal his passion. When a Jamaican family moves in next door, the neighbors are concerned; meanwhile, David notices the cricket net in the garden. Soon he is not only receiving lessons from the patriarch (Delroy Lindo) but also befriending his cute daughter (Leonie Elliott). The San Francisco Chronicle praised Paul Morrison's story about difference and tolerance as "a gentle fable, full of wit and charm."

(2003) Color (106 mins)

WEDNESDAY JUL 8 6:20AM | WEDNESDAY JUL 8 3:05PM | SATURDAY JUL 18 7PM

The World

Director - Zhang Ke Jia

Called one of today's great young filmmakers, China's Jia Zhangke presents an engaging ensemble drama about a group of young theme park employees. Tao (Zhao Tao), a dancer, and her boyfriend Taisheng (Chen Taisheng) work at "World Park," a real-life Beijing attraction where iconic structures--the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, St. Peter's--are reproduced in reduced scale. Jia's astute observations of Tao and her friends mix bittersweet nostalgia with daily life in the new wired universe for a quietly perceptive vision of contemporary China.

(2004) Color (140 mins)

TUESDAY JUL 7 6AM | TUESDAY JUL 7 4:30PM | SATURDAY JUL 11 10PM | SUNDAY JUL 26 7:35AM

Iconoclasts - Season 3: Wynton Marsalis + John Besh

Director - Bruce Sinofsky

This episode presents musician Wynton Marsalis and chef John Besh reflecting upon the importance of the city of New Orleans in their life and work. Meeting at musical and culinary events in New York, Montreal and New Orleans, Marsalis and Besh movingly testify to the city's enduring cultural influence.

(2007) Color (60 mins)

SATURDAY JUL 11 9PM | SUNDAY JUL 12 12:35PM

You're Gonna Miss Me

Director - Keven McAlester

In the mid-1960s, Roky Erickson was frontman for the cult rock band 13th Floor Elevators. He was renowned for his distinctive voice - often cited as an influence on Janis Joplin - and as a pioneer of "psychedelic rock." However, within a few years, schizophrenia, a drug arrest, time in an asylum for the criminally insane and electric shock treatments had changed his life. Documentary filmmaker Keven McAlester follows Erickson's long journey in a moving story of pain, healing, family co-dependency, survival and new beginnings.

(2005) Color (92 mins)

MONDAY JUL 6 6AM | MONDAY JUL 6 1:15PM | SATURDAY JUL 18 at MIDNIGHT