A discussion with Filmfest DC guest filmmakers: Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, Directors of The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom
and Dan Sturman, Director of Soundtrack for a Revolution. We are pleased to invite doc... more
Three beautiful silent-era films from Spain feature live musical accompaniment conducted by Gillian Anderson and performed on two pianos by Max Midroit and Ju-Ping Song. The composers are Sergi Casanelles, Elias Constantopedos, Shruti ... more
The regulars at Bologna's Margherita Café are, to use the technical term, "losers." But they're an entertaining lot and likely to be as cherished by viewers as they are by the film's protagonist, an 18-year-old dubbed "The Kid." Set in... more
A delicacy for opera devotees, the latest musical film from veteran Spanish director Carlos Saura (Blood Wedding, Carmen) goes backstage in 18th-century Vienna as "Don Giovanni" is written and rehearsed. Mozart and Salieri both feature... more
Winner of the Jury Award, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay Awards at this year's Thessa-loniki Film Festival, this ironic and immensely touching film encapsulates Romania's shift from communism to capitalism. Ion (Victor Rebengiuc), is ... more
This enchanting father-and-son idyll was shot in Quintana Roo, on clear blue waters that contain the planet’s second-largest barrier coral reef. A descendent of Mayans, Jorge lives there simply, working as a fisherman with his father. ... more
A wistful account of loss woven with the hope of possibility, this Egyptian ensemble piece is even set in a lost place: Cairo's Heliopolis neighborhood, once the city’s European quarter. In a series of overlapping stories, writer-direc... more
"It would be nice to go back in time and start over," says Alice (Katharine Schüttler), a mysterious young woman who seems to be on a mission. Driving through the beautiful Alsace-Lorraine countryside, she purposefully crashes her car ... more
Delia is the happiest girl in the world. She has just won a luxury car after taking part in a beverage promotional contest. All she has to do is star in a TV commercial while driving the car and reciting a testimonial line to perfectio... more
Get ready to rock'n'roll as the music of the '60s era goes behind the Iron Curtain in this toe-tapping musical romantic comedy. After a prolonged stay in the U.S., a Brylcreemed Hungarian teenybopper teaches his Communist-era peers abo... more
The Sun Behind the Clouds updates the struggle for Tibetan independence, focusing on the March 2008 demonstration against Chinese rule, the largest since the 1959 takeover of that nation. The Dalai Lama is given the opportunity to exp... more
Beyond Ipanema is a film about the cycle of discovery of Brazilian music in the world. Why does Bossa Nova still lure DJs 50 years after it was created? What makes the Tropicália movement resonate so deeply with names like Beck and Dev... more
This thoroughly madcap dark comedy follows a divorcing middle-aged couple forced to remain together until they can sell their house. Although husband Juhani (Hannu-Pekka Bjorkman) prepares a new list of "house rules" to make life beara... more
Brought to the screen by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy; Black Robe) is the inspiring true story of Li Cunxin. Born in 1961, Li lived with his six brothers and impoverished parents in China's Shandong Province. In the midst of the... more
Soft-spoken yet focused in the
distinctly unassuming vein of his Midwestern
upbringing, bassist and composer Charlie Haden's long-overdue documentary biography plays like a
particularly warm and intimate musical composition. And ... more
On the shabby side of London, a run-down block of council estate flats has become the unchallenged playground of a group of violent thugs and drug dealers. Graffiti covers the front doors and the elderly residents must stay inside or b... more
Lauded Palme d'Or winning director Ken Loach crafts a whimsical dramedy that skillfully walks the tricky line between the comedic and the serious. Eric Bishop is a wreck. One of his panic attacks has just spurred a car crash that lande... more
This tight thriller is soon to be remade as a vehicle for Mark Walhberg under the direction of the current star Baltasar Kormakur, a favorite son of Filmfest DC by virtue of such vivid directorial efforts as 101 Reykjavik and The Sea. ... more
In a crowded Rio de Janeiro nightclub, the mutual attraction is nearly instantaneous between handsome Roberto (Reynaldo Gianecchini) and beautiful Paula (Paola Oliveira). Grabbing a nearby hotel room, they immediately grab each other, ... more
Set in 1942 amid the Japanese invasion of China, this lavish spy thriller keeps us guessing and rethinking what we know until the very end. After the resistance manages a series of assassinations of members of the Japanese-controlled p... more
Three beautiful silent-era films from Spain feature live musical accompaniment conducted by Gillian Anderson and performed on two pianos by Max Midroit and Ju-Ping Song. The composers are Sergi Casanelles, Elias Constantopedos, Shruti ... 
The regulars at Bologna's Margherita Café are, to use the technical term, "losers." But they're an entertaining lot and likely to be as cherished by viewers as they are by the film's protagonist, an 18-year-old dubbed "The Kid." Set in... 
A delicacy for opera devotees, the latest musical film from veteran Spanish director Carlos Saura (Blood Wedding, Carmen) goes backstage in 18th-century Vienna as "Don Giovanni" is written and rehearsed. Mozart and Salieri both feature... 
Winner of the Jury Award, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay Awards at this year's Thessa-loniki Film Festival, this ironic and immensely touching film encapsulates Romania's shift from communism to capitalism. Ion (Victor Rebengiuc), is ... 
This enchanting father-and-son idyll was shot in Quintana Roo, on clear blue waters that contain the planet’s second-largest barrier coral reef. A descendent of Mayans, Jorge lives there simply, working as a fisherman with his father. ... 
A wistful account of loss woven with the hope of possibility, this Egyptian ensemble piece is even set in a lost place: Cairo's Heliopolis neighborhood, once the city’s European quarter. In a series of overlapping stories, writer-direc... 
"It would be nice to go back in time and start over," says Alice (Katharine Schüttler), a mysterious young woman who seems to be on a mission. Driving through the beautiful Alsace-Lorraine countryside, she purposefully crashes her car ... 
Delia is the happiest girl in the world. She has just won a luxury car after taking part in a beverage promotional contest. All she has to do is star in a TV commercial while driving the car and reciting a testimonial line to perfectio... 
Get ready to rock'n'roll as the music of the '60s era goes behind the Iron Curtain in this toe-tapping musical romantic comedy. After a prolonged stay in the U.S., a Brylcreemed Hungarian teenybopper teaches his Communist-era peers abo... 
The Sun Behind the Clouds updates the struggle for Tibetan independence, focusing on the March 2008 demonstration against Chinese rule, the largest since the 1959 takeover of that nation. The Dalai Lama is given the opportunity to exp... 
Beyond Ipanema is a film about the cycle of discovery of Brazilian music in the world. Why does Bossa Nova still lure DJs 50 years after it was created? What makes the Tropicália movement resonate so deeply with names like Beck and Dev... 
This thoroughly madcap dark comedy follows a divorcing middle-aged couple forced to remain together until they can sell their house. Although husband Juhani (Hannu-Pekka Bjorkman) prepares a new list of "house rules" to make life beara... 
Brought to the screen by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy; Black Robe) is the inspiring true story of Li Cunxin. Born in 1961, Li lived with his six brothers and impoverished parents in China's Shandong Province. In the midst of the... 
Soft-spoken yet focused in the
distinctly unassuming vein of his Midwestern
upbringing, bassist and composer Charlie Haden's long-overdue documentary biography plays like a
particularly warm and intimate musical composition. And ... 
On the shabby side of London, a run-down block of council estate flats has become the unchallenged playground of a group of violent thugs and drug dealers. Graffiti covers the front doors and the elderly residents must stay inside or b... 
Lauded Palme d'Or winning director Ken Loach crafts a whimsical dramedy that skillfully walks the tricky line between the comedic and the serious. Eric Bishop is a wreck. One of his panic attacks has just spurred a car crash that lande... 
This tight thriller is soon to be remade as a vehicle for Mark Walhberg under the direction of the current star Baltasar Kormakur, a favorite son of Filmfest DC by virtue of such vivid directorial efforts as 101 Reykjavik and The Sea. ... 
In a crowded Rio de Janeiro nightclub, the mutual attraction is nearly instantaneous between handsome Roberto (Reynaldo Gianecchini) and beautiful Paula (Paola Oliveira). Grabbing a nearby hotel room, they immediately grab each other, ... 
Set in 1942 amid the Japanese invasion of China, this lavish spy thriller keeps us guessing and rethinking what we know until the very end. After the resistance manages a series of assassinations of members of the Japanese-controlled p...