4:00PM - Capawock Theatre

Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir)

Writer/Director: Ari Folman

Animated Documentary/ Israel/ 90 minutes
Oscar nominee, Best Documentary; winner, Israeli Film Academy (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay)

With an introduction by Paul Karasik, noted cartoonist and author

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare and the men decide there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War. That’s when Ari realizes he can't remember a thing about that period of his life so he sets out to interview old comrades. Israel’s Oscar submission is surprising, haunting, and visually stimulating. “Get ready to be knocked for a loop,” says Rolling Stone.

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4:00PM - Vineyard Playhouse

Tulpan

Director: Sergey Dvortsevoy

Comedy–Drama / Kazakhstan / 100 mins

Prix Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival.

A gorgeous mélange of tender comedy,ethnographic drama, and wildlife extravaganza. Following his Russian naval service, young dreamer Asa returns to his sister’s nomadic brood on the desolate Hunger Steppe to begin a hardscrabble career as a shepherd. But before he can tend a flock of his own, Asa must win the hand of the only eligible bachelorette for miles—his alluringly mysterious neighbor Tulpan. The film’s gentle humor and stunning photography transport audiences to this singular, harshly beautiful region and its rapidly vanishing way of life.

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7:00PM - Capawock Theatre

Departures (Okurubito)

Director: Yôjirô Takita

Drama / Japan / 130 minutes

2009 Academy Award Winner, Best Foreign Language Film

Introduction by Peter Grilli, President of the Japan Society of Boston

A delightful, sensitive story about a cellist in a premiere Tokyo orchestra, who suddenly finds himself unemployed. Answering an ad featuring the word “departures,” he imagines a career in travel…and finds himself in a far different field. Lured by the salary, he eventually develops a deep respect for ancient traditions and for the people he now serves.

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7:00PM - KathArine Cornell Theatre

The Pope’s Toilet (El Baño del Papa)

Directors: Cesar Charlone, Enrique Fernández
Drama–Comedy / Argentina/ 90 mins
International Jury Award, São Paulo International Film Festival, 2009 Grand Prize Cinema Brazil nominee

Introduction by Mindy Todd, Host/Producer of The Point heard on WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station.

It’s 1988, and papal fever has gripped the Uruguayan border town of Melo. Speculation is rife that over fifty thousand Brazilians will cross into Melo for John Paul II’s visit and locals are convinced it will spell both their spiritual and material salvation. Petty smuggler Beto’s brainchild is to build a WC in front of his house and charge for its use; his efforts bring unexpected consequences.

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7:00PM - VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE

Cherry Blossoms (Kirschblüten)

Director: Doris Dörrie

Drama–Romance / Germany / 127 mins

Best Actor, Best Production, Bavarian Film Festival; Best Lead Actor, German Film Awards

Special introduction by Karin Oehlenschlaeger of the Goethe Institut of Boston

When he loses his adored wife, Rudi discovers she once longed for a life in Japan. Off-balance, he leaves Germany for Tokyo. This clash of cultures film won Best Actor and Best Production at the Bavarian Film Festival. Japan is also the setting for OKURUBITO, the story of one man’s attempt to survive the financial recession by taking a career he never imagined he’d ever consider.

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9:30PM - Capawock Theatre

35 Shots of Rum (35 Rhums)

Writer/Director: Claire Denis

Drama / France / 100 mins

Special jury award, Gijon International Film Festival

Young Josephine and her father, Lionel, have a close and affectionate relationship but are also, in a sense, stuck in their lives, unable to move or change. That is, until an interesting boy in the apartment upstairs begins to show interest in Josephine. This is unconventional love story by French director Claire Denis, whose mentor, Yasujiro Ozu, is considered a master in the exploration of what it means to be human. The film is also a far too rare glimpse into Paris’s large African community. One of the highlights of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.

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9:00PM - KathArine Cornell Theatre

Serbis

Director: Brillante Mendoza
Drama /Philippines / 93 mins
2009 Asian Film Award, Golden Kinnaree Award, Bangkok International Film Festival, Golden Palm nominee, Cannes Film Festival

The travails of the Pineda family in the Filipino city of Angeles include bigamy, unwanted pregnancy, possibly incest, and bothersome skin irritations. The story is set in the dilapidated movie theater that doubles as family business and living space. At one time a prestige establishment, the theater now runs porn double bills and serves as a meeting ground for hustlers of every conceivable persuasion. The film captures the sordid, fetid atmosphere as it weaves together subplots involving family members, customers, and even a runaway goat.

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9:30PM - VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE

Shall We Kiss? (Un Baiser S’il Vous Plaît)

Writer/Director: Emmanuel Mouret
Romantic Comedy / France / 96 mins

When Gabriel and Emilie meet by chance, he offers her a ride, and they spend the evening talking, laughing and getting along famously. At the end of the night, Emilie declines Gabriel's offer of "a kiss without consequences". Emilie admonishes him that the kiss could have unexpected consequences, and tells him a story, unfolding in flashbacks, about the impossibility of indulging your desires without affecting someone else's life.

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