Panels & Events

The Buzz

The inside story on some of the international films at this year's festival: the beetle (Israel), with a poignant, character-driven story and deep social commentary, the film is perched at the intersection of cultural politics and personal relationships, dealing with age-old questions of love, legacy, war and human interconnectedness when a 40-year-old VW Beetle breaks down in the Middle Eastern desert. BLACK ICE (Finland/Germany) takes a chilling look at adultery, obsession and subterfuge as a "wronged" woman plots revenge on an unfaithful husband and his unsuspecting mistress. CHILDHOODS (France) uses a conceptual format of six fictionalized vignettes to piece together the early lives of some of cinema's most influential men: Fritz Lang, Orson Welles, Jacques Tati, Jean Renoir, Alfred Hitchcock, and Ingmar Bergman. -DUNYA & DESIE (Netherlands) explores cross-cultural identity in a rapidly shrinking world and the unexpected friendship between a reserved Moroccan girl from a traditional Muslim family and her bubbly Dutch cohort, who perpetually mistakes sex for true love. EMPTY NEST (Argentina/Spain/France/Italy) is a twist on the modern love story with both comedic narrative and revealing commentary on marriage; it follows a neurotic couple late in life, grasping new meaning in the mundane and answers to the mysteries of commitment, marriage, love and growing old. THE END OF AMERICA (US) looks at America's dangerous passage from functional democracy to fear-driven nation through the lens of writer Naomi Wolf. Shedding light on the terrifying absence of due process in a state of fear and surveillance, the documentary expresses both her fear and her plea to restore our nation's most cherished values. THE ENGLISH SURGEON (UK) narrates the simple life of a humble, bespectacled surgeon who struggles against the confines of the archaic Ukraine medical system to save a patient with a supposedly inoperable affliction. HARVARD BEATS YALE 29-29 (US) documents the 1968 football game between Harvard and Yale, a famed duel of Ivy League sportsmanship. Illuminating interviews from players such as Tommy

Lee Jones touch on sportsmanship, camaraderie, competition, defeat, human toil and the Vietnam anti-war sentiments of that time. HAZE (US) takes a look at contemporary collegiate life, the epidemic of binge drinking, rapid-fire drinking games, alcohol-laden hazing rituals and the hidden culture of extremism and violence that goes along with it. LUKE AND BRIE ARE ON A FIRST DATE (US) follows two twenty-somethings for an evening of bizarre distractions, snowballing misunderstandings and electric moments of connection that illuminate the strange culture of courtship and paints a disarming portrait of modern romance. At times unromantic, perhaps defeatist, the film is nonetheless poignantly true-to-life. MOSCOW, BELGIUM (Belgium) traces the story of a no-nonsense, working class 41-year-old mother defending her somewhat defeated teen-sweetheart husband, who, after leaving his family for a 22-year-old student, finds out she might be more than he can handle. MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH (US) explores the fate of a deeply conflicted, nonconformist American family with two decades of primary sources collected and arranged in an emotionally-wrought narrative that forces viewers to ponder what constitutes contentment, the nature of familial responsibility and the efficacy of conventional happiness. ONE DAY YOU'LL UNDERSTAND (France/Germany) is a meditation on loss, memory, identity, and family legacy as a son, against his mother's wishes, seeks to uncover a harrowing family history and their survival in WWII's Vichy France. OUR CITY DREAMS (US) weaves the stories of five female artists spanning decades, ideologies and cultures, who all inhabit New York City today. PICASSO AND BRAQUE GO TO THE MOVIES (US) examines the work of Pablo Picasso and George Braque's complex friendship, their Cubist explorations and how strongly the new technology of the motion picture influenced their movement, work and sensibilities. A PRESIDENT TO REMEMBER: IN THE COMPANY OF JOHN F. KENNEDY (US), follows cinema verite style (Albert Maysles and P.A. Pennebaker) in a sweeping, intimate retrospective on John F. Kennedy's life and career, from the elections through the nerve-wracking Cuban-missile crisis and the launch of Civil Rights legislation. ROAD AHEAD: THE FIRST GREEN LONG MARCH (US) deals with the cause of environmental crisis in China as ardent documentarians ask explosive questions about attitudinal, bureaucratic, economic and generational obstacles with brave skeptical affronts on established order. SLEEP DEALER (US/Mexico) is a geopolitical take on the cyberpunk genre, mixing timely political realities with visionary science fiction in an Orwellian nightmare of the not-so-distant future in which Mexico has been cut off from the United State by a huge wall, and workers pilot machines, patrol borders,

fly planes, and fire guns at human targets in an elaborate virtual reality. slumdog millionaire (UK) depicts the transformation of a wunderkind slum dweller after winning the Indian "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" game show. We watch as he embarks on a colorful joyride through contemporary India. terribly happy (Denmark) is a darkly comic thriller about Copenhagen cop whose mission to rescue a seductive woman from her brutish husband snowballs into a wrought entrenchment in the macabre provincial order of a small-town justice system. two lovers (US) is the story of a small-town uninspired man ultimately torn apart by the most timeless romantic dilemma. As two relationships plod unchecked towards an inevitable ultimate decision: security or passion? Family obligation or personal fulfillment? The girl next door or the vixen? (Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow) what no one knows (Denmark) is the story of an irresponsible and unhappy bumbler with a shattered marriage and lackluster career who stumbles into a deadly tangle of personal and political secrets when his sister dies. Suddenly, everything appears connected and what seemed routine family dysfunction and ultimately leads to discoveries of sinister doings at the highest levels. the wrestler (US) is a poignant portrait of an aging professional wrestler struggling to come to terms with his life's choices at the twilight of his career.

GOLDEN STARFISH COMPETITION FILMS Features Category BOOGIE DANCERS MY MOTHER, MY BRIDE, AND I '77 TROUBLED WATER VASERMIL Documentary Category HERB AND DOROTHY LOOT MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH NURSERY UNIVERSITY THE RED RACE Shorts Category EVE FINGERS GLORY AT SEA I AM SO PROUD OF YOU JERRYCAN

A CONVERSATION WITH FRANCES MCDORMAND The quintessential American actor, winning both critical acclaim and popular respect for her interpretations of such archetypal American characters as Stella Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” (for which she earned a 1988 Tony nomination) and Marge Gunderson in FARGO (for which she won the Academy Award in 2000). McDormand’s versatility and intelligence have built a career out of modern classics. While widely known for her popular collaborations with the Coen Brothers on BLOOD SIMPLE, THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE, RAISING ARIZONA, and the upcoming BURN AFTER READING, McDormand’s prolific résumé has also encompassed such diverse endeavors as stage roles in “The Country Girl” directed by Mike Nichols, “Far Away” directed by Stephen Daldry, and The Wooster Group’s “To You, the Birdie!”, television stints on Hill Street Blues and The Simpsons, as well as an impressive filmography which includes MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY, WONDER BOYS, LAUREL CANYON, LONE STAR, SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE, and four Academy Award nominations for her work in MISSISSIPPI BURNING, ALMOST FAMOUS, NORTH COUNTRY, and the aforementioned FARGO. We are deeply honored that this consummate film, stage, and television performer will join us this year in conversation with film critic and historian Elvis Mitchell. Sat, Oct 18th 2:00pm. Bay Street Theater.

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