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New Directors/New Films 2007
Detailed Program and Schedule Information
The Museum of Modern Art The Walter Reade Theater
Roy and Niuta Titus 1 Theater 165 W. 65th St., plaza level
11 West 53 Street
NEW YORK, February 21, 2007—The Department of Film at The Museum of
Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center present the 36th edition of
New Directors/New Films, two weeks geared toward showcasing films by new or
emerging international directors. This year’s festival runs March 21 to April 1, 2007,
with screenings at MoMA’s Titus 1 Theater and Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater.
New Directors/New Films 2007 consists of 26 feature-length films and five shorts,
with nine first-time feature directors receiving a chance to present their work. The
series features films from around the world, including Algeria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
China, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland,
Romania, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United States. Curators for this year’
s selection are Sally Berger, Jytte Jensen, and Laurence Kardish of the Museum of
Modern Art and Marian Masone, Joanna Ney, and Richard Peňa of the Film Society.
This year’s opening night will begin with The Inner Life of Martin Frost, by
renowned American novelist, New York icon and film director, Paul Auster. Reworking
a character from his 2002 novel The Book of Illusion, Auster’s film stars the British
mainstay David Thewlis as Frost, an exhausted writer escaping to a country house to
rest. His isolation is savagely short-lived, however, as several odd visitors crowd into
Auster’s serio-comic fantasy narrative to disrupt Frost’s break. The film will screen at
MoMA’s Titus 1 Theater on March 21 at 6:00 p.m.
The second opening night film, screening at 9:00 p.m. also at MoMA, is Glue, a
breakout first feature by Argentine director Alexis Dos Santos. Glue is a sensitive look
at the family dysfunction and sexual experimentation shaping the lives of three
adolescents growing up together in a remote town in Patagonia. The film’s dynamic
and improvisational style sets the lives of its young protagonists against the wild,
breathtaking landscape of Patagonia. Both films will have additional screenings at the
Walter Reade Theater.
One of New Directors/New Films most popular events, the HBO Films Roundtable,
will be held again this year and will focus on the topic “Written and Directed By….” The
live public discussion will gather several of the festival’s participating filmmakers to
comment on the pitfalls and possibilities of directing original written material from
scratch. Writer/directors Paul Auster, Julia Loktev, Kim Massee, and New
Directors/New Films alumni Eric Mendelsohn (Judy Berlin, ND/NF ‘99), Ryan Fleck
and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, ND/NF ‘06) are among those currently confirmed to
attend the event, to be held Sunday, March 25, 1:00 p.m. at the Walter Reade Theater.
For the second year, the Film Society will also feature a matinee series in conjunction
with New Directors/New Films at the Walter Reade Theater. Afternoons from March
26 to March 30, ND/NF Classics will take a retrospective look at ten notable and still
relevant documentary films screened since New Directors/New Films’ inception.
Among this year’s selections is Barbet Schroeder’s touchstone documentary,
General Idi Amin Dada, an at times absurdly funny and provocative dissection of
the life of the famous Ugandan dictator (made even more famous by Forest Whitaker’s
performance in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland). The Film Society will
also be screening Jehane Noujaim’s famous inside look at the Al Jazeera news
network, Control Room (2004); Julia Loktev’s documentary debut Moment of
Impact (1998); and Nathaniel Kahn’s heartfelt examination of his genius father —
and rather eccentric family man — Louis Kahn, in his 2003 film, My Architect.
Tickets for New Directors/New Films go on sale to the public on March 2 and tickets
for all New Directors/New Films screenings are available at the Walter Reade
Theater and Alice Tully Hall box offices, online at filmlinc.com (plus a $1.25 service
charge per ticket), and by phone at CENTERCHARGE, (212) 721-6500 (plus a $5.50
handling charge per ticket). Tickets for MoMA screenings are also available at
MoMA's Film and Media desk. Ticket prices are $12 for the general public, $10 for
Film Society and MoMA members. Series tickets (10 or more different films) are $10
for the general public and $8 for members and will only be sold by mail order through
the Alice Tully box office.
HBO Films Roundtable tickets are $10 for the general public and $6 for Film Society
and MoMA members.
Tickets for ND/NF Classics are $10 for the general public, $6 for members, $7 for
students and $5 for children and seniors. A special $24 Series Pass admits one
person to each film in the series, available only at the Walter Reade Theater box office.
New Directors/New Films 2007 is made possible through the generosity of The Irene
Diamond Fund and sponsored by Stella Artois. Additional support comes from HBO
Films and The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, with public funds from
the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. The program is also supported
in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation
deserves great art.
FILMS
7 Years
Jean-Pascal Hattu, France, 2006; 86m
Sat Mar 24: 6:15pm at The Museum of Modern Art
Mon Mar 26: 8:45pm at the Walter Reade Theater
Waiting to visit her husband in prison, Maïté is approached by Jean, an attractive
young man. Although deeply in love with her husband, she is also lonely and yearning
for some kind of physical connection, so she eventually gives in to Jean’s advances.
Then she discovers that Jean is, in fact, a guard at the very prison where her husband
Vincent is being held. Director Jean-Pascal Hattu based 7 Years on stories he
collected from women involved with men who were doing time, creating this multi-
layered look at people trying to get by while waiting for their sentences to expire.
PRECEDED BY
Sophie
Birgitte Stærmose, Denmark, 2007; 14m
A couple’s sweet stroll through Copenhagen’s red light district turns decidedly sour.
The Art of Crying
Peter Schonau Fog, Denmark, 2006; 106m
Sun Mar 25: 3:00pm at WRT
Mon Mar 26: 8:45pm at MoMA
11-year-old Allan believes he has a happy, normal family—at least until his father has
one of his crying jags and threatens to kill himself. The only one who can truly comfort
dad is Allan’s sister Sanne, but father’s spirit also soars when he has the opportunity to
give one of his rousing funeral eulogies; so, as Allan reasons, why not see to it that
there are plenty of them? With perfect balance, this pitch-black, inverted fairy tale
sustains a cheerful/mournful tone to illuminate a taboo subject. Director Peter Schonau
Fog’s unique accomplishment is to present the horror within one family through the
blissfully innocent eyes of its youngest child.
Audience of One
Michael Jacobs, US, 2006; 88m
Thu Mar 22: 9:00pm at MoMA
Sat Mar 24: 6:15pm at WRT
Ten years ago, Richard Gazowsky, pastor of the Voice of Pentecost Church in San
Francisco, received a “prophetic whisper” from God to make movies. Now, in Michael
Jacobs’ riveting documentary, Pastor Gazowsky and his congregation are gearing up
to make Gravity: The Shadow of Joseph, a $50 million dollar Biblical sci-fi epic.
Audience of One is fascinating study of magical thinking, an example of the “faith-
based reality” sometimes alluded to in discussions of contemporary politics. And in the
end, how different is Pastor Gazowsky from the thousands of others who sacrifice
everything to be in the movies?
Congorama
Philippe Falardeau, Canada/Belgium/France, 2006; 106m
Wed Mar 28: 9:00pm at WRT
Thu Mar 29: 6:00pm at MoMA
At the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958, the Belgian colony of Congo played a
prominent role, with exhibits spread over several buildings, even including a populated
pygmy village. It was, indeed, Congorama in Brussels, and it’s where the multi-level,
strange narrative of Philippe Falardeau’s second feature begins, sort of (the action
starts in the present). With the help of a superb cast headed by the Dardenne Brothers
regular Olivier Gourmet, Congorama spins a tale of three continents, uncertain
parentages, unlikely relationships, unaccredited inventions… and an ostrich. It is a dry
comic riff on the extended notion of family and the metaphysics of a small world on a
large planet.
Cowboy Angels
Kim Massee, France, 2007; 100m
Fri Mar 23: 9:00pm at WRT
Sun Mar 25: 3:45pm at MoMA
Young Pablo lives with his emotionally disconnected mother in a cheap Paris hotel.
She takes off whenever she pleases, leaving her 11-year-old son to fend for himself
among the cafés where mother and son are known only too well. When she deserts him
once again, Pablo decides he’s had it. He convinces Louis, a down-on-his-luck poker
player, to drive him to Spain to search — from among his mother’s many ex-lovers —
for the man who could be his father. Kim Massee, an American raised in France,
explores this relationship between two males who each need to find someone to
belong to.
Day Night Day Night
Julia Loktev, US, 2006; 94m
Fri Mar 30: 9:00pm at WRT
Sat Mar 31: 6:30pm at MoMA
A 19-year old girl of unknown origin or ethnicity makes contact with her handlers in a
drab motel room. The nameless girl learns and recites her instructions: she is being
prepared to become a suicide bomber. The location will be Times Square. Director
Julia Loktev (Moment of Impact, ND/NF 1998) strips her narrative of motivations: we
never learn the circumstances that have brought the girl to this place. The tense
narrative concentrates on mood, gesture and a telling accumulation of details. The
simple eloquence of novice actress Luisa Williams’ performance recalls the work of
Robert Bresson. Loktev’s first dramatic feature is both audacious and quietly
spectacular. An IFC First Take release.
El Custodio
Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina, 2006; 95m
Thu Mar 22: 6:00pm at MoMA
Sat Mar 24: 8:45pm at WRT
The remarkable character actor Julio Chavez (A Red Bear, ND/NF 2003) disappears
into the nearly silent role of a middle-aged bodyguard for an important politician, and
the cleverly paced, slow-burning tale is a mesmerizing portrait of a man whose all-
consuming job is that of an invisible human shield. The measured movements of
Chavez’s alienated Ruben are destined to reach a breaking point, when this shadow
can no longer deny his own repressed feelings. Director Rodrigo Moreno develops his
masterfully wrought psychological thriller in the celebrated minimalist style that has put
recent Argentine cinema on the international map. Chavez received the Best Actor
award at this year’s Havana International Film Festival for this performance.
PRECEDED BY
Sun in Winter
Samuel Collardey, France, 2006; 17m
A young student and his older friend, the local farmhand, share joyful moments of
camaraderie, bonding over work and play before their worlds separate forever.
Euphoria
Ivan Vyrypaev, Russia, 73m; 2006
Wed Mar 28: 8:45pm at MoMA
Thu Mar 29: 6:00pm at WRT
A theater director making his feature film debut, Ivan Vyrypaev sets this stunning fable
of passion and revenge in a remote region of the Russian steppe and strikes an
impudent tone somewhere between Bulgakov and Flannery O’Connor. Pasha is a
village goatherd so smitten with Vera that he concludes they must be destined for each
other, no matter that she is married and has a small daughter and hostile dog named
Pirate. Nothing can dissuade him from pursuing her by land and sea, and their mad
romance — she submits as if struck by lightning — culminates in a Western-style finale
that is both improbable and metaphorically inevitable.
PRECEDED BY
The Tube with a Hat
Radu Jude, Romania, 2006; 23m
A boy from a small village wakes his father and drags him and the family’s gigantic and
broken television set over hill and dale to the city to get it fixed in time to watch a Bruce
Lee movie.
Glue
Alexis Dos Santos, Argentina/UK, 2006; 110m
Wed Mar 21: 9:00pm at MoMA
Fri Mar 23: 6:00pm at WRT
Two boys, Lucas and Nacho, and their sidekick, Andrea, are growing up in a small
remote town in Patagonia where they are experiencing the growing pains of
adolescence. Lucas contends with his parents’ imminent divorce. Nacho obsesses
over music and sex, while Andrea is preoccupied with her too-slowly developing body.
Once the three connect they become inseparable. This award-winning feature by first-
time filmmaker Alexis Dos Santos reflects an intensity possible only by a talented risk-
taking cast and a story rooted in the director’s intimate knowledge of his subject.
Scenes were shot in an improvisational style, capturing the wild beauty of Patagonia’s
hot, dry and windswept summer landscape. A Picture This! Entertainment release.
Gradually…
Maziar Miri, Iran, 2006; 81m
Fri Mar 30: 6:00pm at MoMA
Sun Apr 1: 3:00pm at WRT
Mahmoud is a hard-working itinerant welder. When his troubled wife Pari disappears,
leaving their daughter behind, the gossip mill in his hometown begins to churn. Helpful
and malicious neighbors offer conflicting accounts of what they think has happened,
and Mahmoud abandons his job to search for his runaway wife. With well-drawn
characters and a great deal of suspense, director Maziar Miri’s second feature film
explores gender prejudices in his native Iran and reveals the delicate balancing act that
women must enter into to exist within the repressive system imposed on them. This is a
deeply felt, beautifully constructed story that brings a new perspective to love and
marriage, Iranian style.
Great World of Sound
Craig Zobel, US, 2006; 106m
Fri Mar 30: 8:30pm at MoMA
Sat Mar 31: 12:30pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 5:15pm at WRT
You’ve all seen the ads—Show us Your Talent, We’ll Make You a Star. For his feature
film debut, Craig Zobel shines a harsh light on the upside—and downside—of looking
for shortcuts to fame. Martin (Pat Healey) and Clarence (Kene Holliday) are a
production company’s A-team, setting up shop in hotel rooms in large towns and
medium-sized cities to audition local musicians for a shot at the gold ring. Both men
seem to believe they’re supporting new talent, until problems arise — first small, then
larger. Many of the actors playing auditioning townspeople are actual amateur
musicians, and their performances add a touching poignancy.
The Inner Life of Martin Frost
Paul Auster, US, 2007; 94m
Wed Mar 21: 6:00pm at MoMA
Thu Mar 22: 8:30pm at WRT
Sat Mar 24: 1:00pm at WRT
Having submitted his manuscript to his publisher, renowned novelist Martin Frost
needs to recharge himself in seclusion. He is loaned a place in the country — where
his isolation is short-lived. For his second feature film, American novelist and director
Paul Auster plays with the character from his 2002 novel, The Book of Illusion. David
Thewlis essays the writer looking for peace, and Irene Jacób, Michael Imperioli and
Sophie Auster play his unwelcome guests. Without missing a beat in moving from the
page to the screen, Auster’s serio-comic fantasy narrative remains mysterious,
haunting, and enticing.
Love for Sale: Suely in the Sky
Karim Aïnouz, Brazil/France/Germany, 2006; 90m
Sat Mar 24: 3:45pm at MoMA
Sun Mar 25: 8:15pm at WRT
In this follow-up to his internationally successful debut feature Madame Satã, Karim
Aïnouz creates a very different portrait of an indomitable survivor. Returning to her
hometown
in poor northeastern Brazil, Hermila (Hermila Guedes) awaits the arrival of her
boyfriend, though her spunk and zest for life take on an increasingly desperate edge
when it becomes clear that he will not be coming. Guedes’ major achievement is
making Hermila likeable even in her most desperately miscalculated actions of
despair. Breathtaking camerawork by veteran cinematographer Walter Carvalho
captures not only the soulful decency of the townspeople but makes the empty
landscape and rich colors an integral part of their characterization. A Strand
Releasing release.
Meanwhile
Diego Lerman, Argentina, 2006; 90m
Sat Mar 31: 1:00pm at MoMA
Sun Apr 1: 8:00pm at WRT
Violeta can’t decide if she wants to move to Ibiza with her boyfriend Mono or just break
up with him. Dalmiro’s ceramics business isn’t going so well, but things might be
looking up. Sergio and Susana are trying to start a family. These and other characters
form the rich tapestry in Meanwhile, the second feature by Diego Lerman. He focuses
here on those in-between moments in people’s lives — those times after a decision’s
possibilities have been accepted but before it’s been put into effect. His characters
move in and out of each other’s orbits, sometimes affecting final decisions or
inadvertently foreshadowing unexpected consequences, together creating a portrait of
a generation used to waiting and enduring.
PRECEDED BY
The Last 15
Antonio Campos, US, 2006; 15m
When a family gathers for dinner, money becomes the key topic of discussion, with
alarming results.
Once
John Carney, Ireland, 2006; 85m
Thu Mar 22: 6:00pm at WRT
Fri Mar 23: 8:30pm at MoMA
When not playing for change, an Irish street musician fixes vacuum cleaners in his
father’s repair shop. One day, a flower-selling Czech immigrant shows up with her
broken vacuum and announces that she is also a musician. Drawn to each other —
and to each other’s musical talents — they launch a career together. With time, their
musical bond becomes even more personal. Director John Carney has cast
musicians, rather than actors, in these finely drawn roles, and the result, a kind of
cinema verité musical, is near perfect. A Fox Searchlight release.
The Only One
Geoffrey Enthoven, Belgium, 2006; 88m
Wed Mar 28: 6:00pm at MoMA
Thu Mar 29: 8:45pm at WRT
Living unhappily with his daughter Gerda after his wife’s death, Lucien (Nany Buyl, one
of Belgium’s most renowned actors) is determined to return to an independent life in
his own home. But that isn’t so easy. Everyone has plans for Lucien, including Mathilde,
his best friend’s wife, with whom he has had a longstanding affair. When his much
younger neighbor, Sylvia, arrives on the scene and — to Lucien’s surprise — seems to
take an interest in him, all kinds of possibilities emerge. Directed by Geoffrey Enthoven
with a decidedly light touch, The Only One is that rare film about aging that completely
avoids sentimentality.
PRECEDED BY
Eternally Yours
Atsushi Ogata, Japan, 2006; 15m
When a crook tries to take advantage of a forgetful elderly woman, surprises are in
store.
The Other Half
Ying Liang, China, 2006; 111m
Sat Mar 31: 3:15pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 6:45pm at MoMA
Xiaofen lives in one of the dynamically growing cities in Southwestern China, but her
work for a law firm interviewing clients and documenting their cases is merely routine.
When not at work, she must deal with her down and out boyfriend, a drunk and a
gambler and who’s now on the lam. Life is also hard for her girlfriends and her mother,
and Xiaofen is increasingly distressed by what she witnesses around her. In his
second feature film, director Ying Liang (Taking Father Home, 2005) playfully pits
youth culture against more traditional ways and interrelates one woman’s reality to the
changing economic and social structures in contemporary China.
Padre Nuestro
Christopher Zalla, US, 2007; 105m
Sat Mar 31: 9:00pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 1:00pm at MoMA
On the run in his native Mexico, Juan makes a quick getaway by jumping on a truck
carrying illegal migrants to New York City. One of the other travelers is Pedro, a young
man about Juan’s age who hopes to link up in New York with his father Diego. Since
he doesn’t know Diego, Pedro carries a letter of introduction written by his mother.
Arriving in New York, Juan disappears — and so have Pedro’s belongings and his
letter. Grand Jury Prize winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Christopher Zalla’
s beautifully shot first feature offers a new riff on the immigrant theme of re-inventing
oneself in America.
Red Road
Andrea Arnold, UK, 2006; 113m
Sun Mar 25: 6:30pm at MoMA
Tue Mar 27: 9:00pm at WRT
Red Road is in a rough neighborhood in Glasgow whose streets are constantly
monitored by surveillance cameras. On one of the screens in one of the command
stations, a security officer, a woman, catches a glimpse of a man whose sudden
appearance at first surprises and then obsesses her. What follows is a modernist
suspense story, pitch perfect and unpredictable. For her debut feature, Andrea Arnold,
an Oscar-winning short filmmaker, takes up Dogma’s latest challenge: three different
filmmakers using the same set of characters. Hers is the first, and she delivers a
powerful tale that leaves its viewers breathless. A Tartan Films release.
Reprise
Joachim Trier, Norway, 2006; 105m
Sat Mar 31: 6:00pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 3:45pm at MoMA
There is nothing reprised about Reprise, a shooting star of a debut feature that is
wildly inventive and wise beyond the youthful exuberance of its makers. Two young men
are both friends and writers. On the same day they send their manuscripts off from the
same mailbox. When they do, their lives also take off, in ways that are at once
unpredictable and understandable. Joachim Trier, who made super-8mm films before
he learned to read and write, celebrates life’s options even when they are lousy. The
daring risks he takes as a filmmaker propel this vivacious cinematic meditation about
creativity, madness and love into an engrossing adventure. Trier’s previous
accomplishments inform the torque of Reprise: he was, for two years running, Norway’
s national skateboard champion.
Rome Rather Than You
Tariq Teguia, Algeria/France/Germany, 2006; 111m
Wed Mar 28: 6:00pm at WRT
Thu Mar 29: 8:45pm at MoMA
This innovative visual portrait of a generation focuses on the story of Zina and Kamel
— promising and resourceful young people who, disillusioned by Algeria’s ongoing
civil war, decide to seek a future elsewhere. Bolstered by spirited repartee full of
youthful flourish and vitality, they search the city of Algiers and its suburbs for a certain
Bosco, an elusive smuggler who, it is said, can provide them with fake passports.
Debut director Tariq Teguia depicts modern day Algiers as a dreamlike landscape of
devastation, a world of immediate contrasts filled with a sense of foreboding that
mirrors the mood of the two protagonists.
Salty Air
Alessandro Angelini, Italy, 2006; 87m
Fri Mar 23: 6:00pm at MoMA
Sun Mar 25: 5:45pm at WRT
A riveting debut feature by Alessandro Angelini, Salty Air charts the emotional
minefield that opens up as a young man attempts to reach into a past everyone else
would rather forget. Fabio is a social worker in a prison. When Sparti, a stone-faced
new transfer, arrives, Fabio suspects Sparti may be his own father, a man convicted
for murder who, years before, told his wife and two young children to forget him. Aided
by some wonderful performances — especially by Giorgio Pasetti as Sparti —
Angelini allows the rawness of the emotions being tapped to really burst forth;
encounters and confrontations often veer off in uncharted directions, as the jagged
rhythms of the film give it a seething, explosive quality.
Shelter
Simon Puccioni, Italy, 2006; 99m
Sat Mar 24: 1:00pm at MoMA
Mon Mar 26: 6:00pm at WRT
Anna (Maria De Medeiros) and Mara (Antonia Liskova) are returning to Italy from a
holiday abroad when they discover that Anis, a young Moroccan, has hidden himself in
their trunk in order to cross the border. Anna, an upper class young woman whose
mother and brother run a shoe factory, is eager to help the young man; Mara, a worker
at that factory, wonders what the new arrival will mean for her. Second-time director
Simon Puccioni is particularly adept at creating characters that are attractive and well-
meaning, as well as sexually and morally ambivalent. When a crisis develops, the trio’s
individual strengths and weaknesses come into play in unexpected ways.
PRECEDED BY
Stuff
Karl Raudsepp-Hearne, Canada, 2007; 7m
How to move in with a guy and teach him to share in just a few months!
Stealth
Lionel Baier, Switzerland, 2006; 112m
Fri Mar 30: 6:00pm at WRT
Sat Mar 31: 3:45pm at MoMA
Lionel lives the good life: a steady job with Swiss Radio, a handsome boyfriend and a
totally supportive family. But still, something is missing. Tales of the American western
frontier help him fill the void. Suddenly, he finds out that his ancestors may, in fact, be
Polish. Now he is obsessed with all things Poland, including an undocumented Polish
woman he meets on the street. Ultimately, he persuades his sister to take off with him
for points east, and on the way, they discover their true selves. Director Lionel Baier,
born in Switzerland of Polish descent, has clearly used his own background as the
basis for this warm, witty and authentic voyage of discovery.
War/Dance
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, US, 2007; 105m
Sat Mar 24: 3:30pm at WRT
Mon Mar 26: 6:00pm at MoMA
In Northern Uganda, the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that abducts children
and turns them into mindless soldiers, has killed Rose’s parents, Nancy’s father, and
made Dominic into an assassin. All three children now live in Patongo, a large refugee
camp where they attend a one-room school and practice for the annual National Music
Competition held in Kampala, where schools from across the country vie for awards.
Husband-and-wife documentary team Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine let the children
tell their stories of horror, record their rehearsals, and follow them on their first trip to
Kampala, where the three show with pride, joy and exuberance what talent and heart
can achieve. A THINKfilm release.
What the Sun Has Seen
Michal Rosa, Poland, 2006; 107m
Sun Mar 25: 1:00pm at MoMA
Tue Mar 27: 6:00pm at WRT
Unknown to each other, a little boy, a young teenage girl, and a man in his fifties named
Jozef (Krzysztof Stroinski) are each desperate to raise a certain amount of money. Set
in a large Silesian city in southern Poland, What the Sun Has Seen follows them in
their determination to succeed in spite of all the obstacles and disappointments that
befall them along the way, and eventually their lives begin to intertwine. Director Michal
Rosa based his story on newspaper articles and scenes he observed on the street.
Together these tales create a touching portrait of the struggle for human dignity in a
land that still bears the scars of war.
HBO Films Roundtable: Written and Directed by…
A Live Discussion
Sun Mar 25: 1:00pm at WRT
Someone has slipped a terrific script into your mailbox or tossed it over your garden
wall. That’s a lucky break if you happen to be Joel Schumacher. If your name is John or
Jane Doe, you are the recipient of a lottery ticket you can’t cash in on. How do you get
this film project moving if you lack the necessary contacts and funds to make it happen?
Even before the inception of the independent film movement, fledgling writers and
would-be directors have taken a more realistic approach, developing their own scripts
and daring to direct them themselves. From among the many talented filmmakers in
this year’s edition of New Directors/New Films, more than half dozen directed from
their own scripts. An even greater number co-wrote their screenplays.
This year’s HBO Roundtable will discuss the pitfalls as well as the benefits of working
from your own material. How does a filmmaker find a story to film, and is that a
struggle? Or do their own stories compel them to become directors? Confirmed to
participate in the discussion are Paul Auster, Julia Loktev, Kim Massee, and
New Directors/New Films alumni Eric Mendelsohn (Judy Berlin, ND/NF ‘99),
Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, ND/NF ‘06).
Detailed Program and Schedule Information
The Museum of Modern Art The Walter Reade Theater
Roy and Niuta Titus 1 Theater 165 W. 65th St., plaza level
11 West 53 Street
NEW YORK, February 21, 2007—The Department of Film at The Museum of
Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center present the 36th edition of
New Directors/New Films, two weeks geared toward showcasing films by new or
emerging international directors. This year’s festival runs March 21 to April 1, 2007,
with screenings at MoMA’s Titus 1 Theater and Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater.
New Directors/New Films 2007 consists of 26 feature-length films and five shorts,
with nine first-time feature directors receiving a chance to present their work. The
series features films from around the world, including Algeria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
China, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland,
Romania, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United States. Curators for this year’
s selection are Sally Berger, Jytte Jensen, and Laurence Kardish of the Museum of
Modern Art and Marian Masone, Joanna Ney, and Richard Peňa of the Film Society.
This year’s opening night will begin with The Inner Life of Martin Frost, by
renowned American novelist, New York icon and film director, Paul Auster. Reworking
a character from his 2002 novel The Book of Illusion, Auster’s film stars the British
mainstay David Thewlis as Frost, an exhausted writer escaping to a country house to
rest. His isolation is savagely short-lived, however, as several odd visitors crowd into
Auster’s serio-comic fantasy narrative to disrupt Frost’s break. The film will screen at
MoMA’s Titus 1 Theater on March 21 at 6:00 p.m.
The second opening night film, screening at 9:00 p.m. also at MoMA, is Glue, a
breakout first feature by Argentine director Alexis Dos Santos. Glue is a sensitive look
at the family dysfunction and sexual experimentation shaping the lives of three
adolescents growing up together in a remote town in Patagonia. The film’s dynamic
and improvisational style sets the lives of its young protagonists against the wild,
breathtaking landscape of Patagonia. Both films will have additional screenings at the
Walter Reade Theater.
One of New Directors/New Films most popular events, the HBO Films Roundtable,
will be held again this year and will focus on the topic “Written and Directed By….” The
live public discussion will gather several of the festival’s participating filmmakers to
comment on the pitfalls and possibilities of directing original written material from
scratch. Writer/directors Paul Auster, Julia Loktev, Kim Massee, and New
Directors/New Films alumni Eric Mendelsohn (Judy Berlin, ND/NF ‘99), Ryan Fleck
and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, ND/NF ‘06) are among those currently confirmed to
attend the event, to be held Sunday, March 25, 1:00 p.m. at the Walter Reade Theater.
For the second year, the Film Society will also feature a matinee series in conjunction
with New Directors/New Films at the Walter Reade Theater. Afternoons from March
26 to March 30, ND/NF Classics will take a retrospective look at ten notable and still
relevant documentary films screened since New Directors/New Films’ inception.
Among this year’s selections is Barbet Schroeder’s touchstone documentary,
General Idi Amin Dada, an at times absurdly funny and provocative dissection of
the life of the famous Ugandan dictator (made even more famous by Forest Whitaker’s
performance in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland). The Film Society will
also be screening Jehane Noujaim’s famous inside look at the Al Jazeera news
network, Control Room (2004); Julia Loktev’s documentary debut Moment of
Impact (1998); and Nathaniel Kahn’s heartfelt examination of his genius father —
and rather eccentric family man — Louis Kahn, in his 2003 film, My Architect.
Tickets for New Directors/New Films go on sale to the public on March 2 and tickets
for all New Directors/New Films screenings are available at the Walter Reade
Theater and Alice Tully Hall box offices, online at filmlinc.com (plus a $1.25 service
charge per ticket), and by phone at CENTERCHARGE, (212) 721-6500 (plus a $5.50
handling charge per ticket). Tickets for MoMA screenings are also available at
MoMA's Film and Media desk. Ticket prices are $12 for the general public, $10 for
Film Society and MoMA members. Series tickets (10 or more different films) are $10
for the general public and $8 for members and will only be sold by mail order through
the Alice Tully box office.
HBO Films Roundtable tickets are $10 for the general public and $6 for Film Society
and MoMA members.
Tickets for ND/NF Classics are $10 for the general public, $6 for members, $7 for
students and $5 for children and seniors. A special $24 Series Pass admits one
person to each film in the series, available only at the Walter Reade Theater box office.
New Directors/New Films 2007 is made possible through the generosity of The Irene
Diamond Fund and sponsored by Stella Artois. Additional support comes from HBO
Films and The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, with public funds from
the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. The program is also supported
in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation
deserves great art.
FILMS
7 Years
Jean-Pascal Hattu, France, 2006; 86m
Sat Mar 24: 6:15pm at The Museum of Modern Art
Mon Mar 26: 8:45pm at the Walter Reade Theater
Waiting to visit her husband in prison, Maïté is approached by Jean, an attractive
young man. Although deeply in love with her husband, she is also lonely and yearning
for some kind of physical connection, so she eventually gives in to Jean’s advances.
Then she discovers that Jean is, in fact, a guard at the very prison where her husband
Vincent is being held. Director Jean-Pascal Hattu based 7 Years on stories he
collected from women involved with men who were doing time, creating this multi-
layered look at people trying to get by while waiting for their sentences to expire.
PRECEDED BY
Sophie
Birgitte Stærmose, Denmark, 2007; 14m
A couple’s sweet stroll through Copenhagen’s red light district turns decidedly sour.
The Art of Crying
Peter Schonau Fog, Denmark, 2006; 106m
Sun Mar 25: 3:00pm at WRT
Mon Mar 26: 8:45pm at MoMA
11-year-old Allan believes he has a happy, normal family—at least until his father has
one of his crying jags and threatens to kill himself. The only one who can truly comfort
dad is Allan’s sister Sanne, but father’s spirit also soars when he has the opportunity to
give one of his rousing funeral eulogies; so, as Allan reasons, why not see to it that
there are plenty of them? With perfect balance, this pitch-black, inverted fairy tale
sustains a cheerful/mournful tone to illuminate a taboo subject. Director Peter Schonau
Fog’s unique accomplishment is to present the horror within one family through the
blissfully innocent eyes of its youngest child.
Audience of One
Michael Jacobs, US, 2006; 88m
Thu Mar 22: 9:00pm at MoMA
Sat Mar 24: 6:15pm at WRT
Ten years ago, Richard Gazowsky, pastor of the Voice of Pentecost Church in San
Francisco, received a “prophetic whisper” from God to make movies. Now, in Michael
Jacobs’ riveting documentary, Pastor Gazowsky and his congregation are gearing up
to make Gravity: The Shadow of Joseph, a $50 million dollar Biblical sci-fi epic.
Audience of One is fascinating study of magical thinking, an example of the “faith-
based reality” sometimes alluded to in discussions of contemporary politics. And in the
end, how different is Pastor Gazowsky from the thousands of others who sacrifice
everything to be in the movies?
Congorama
Philippe Falardeau, Canada/Belgium/France, 2006; 106m
Wed Mar 28: 9:00pm at WRT
Thu Mar 29: 6:00pm at MoMA
At the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958, the Belgian colony of Congo played a
prominent role, with exhibits spread over several buildings, even including a populated
pygmy village. It was, indeed, Congorama in Brussels, and it’s where the multi-level,
strange narrative of Philippe Falardeau’s second feature begins, sort of (the action
starts in the present). With the help of a superb cast headed by the Dardenne Brothers
regular Olivier Gourmet, Congorama spins a tale of three continents, uncertain
parentages, unlikely relationships, unaccredited inventions… and an ostrich. It is a dry
comic riff on the extended notion of family and the metaphysics of a small world on a
large planet.
Cowboy Angels
Kim Massee, France, 2007; 100m
Fri Mar 23: 9:00pm at WRT
Sun Mar 25: 3:45pm at MoMA
Young Pablo lives with his emotionally disconnected mother in a cheap Paris hotel.
She takes off whenever she pleases, leaving her 11-year-old son to fend for himself
among the cafés where mother and son are known only too well. When she deserts him
once again, Pablo decides he’s had it. He convinces Louis, a down-on-his-luck poker
player, to drive him to Spain to search — from among his mother’s many ex-lovers —
for the man who could be his father. Kim Massee, an American raised in France,
explores this relationship between two males who each need to find someone to
belong to.
Day Night Day Night
Julia Loktev, US, 2006; 94m
Fri Mar 30: 9:00pm at WRT
Sat Mar 31: 6:30pm at MoMA
A 19-year old girl of unknown origin or ethnicity makes contact with her handlers in a
drab motel room. The nameless girl learns and recites her instructions: she is being
prepared to become a suicide bomber. The location will be Times Square. Director
Julia Loktev (Moment of Impact, ND/NF 1998) strips her narrative of motivations: we
never learn the circumstances that have brought the girl to this place. The tense
narrative concentrates on mood, gesture and a telling accumulation of details. The
simple eloquence of novice actress Luisa Williams’ performance recalls the work of
Robert Bresson. Loktev’s first dramatic feature is both audacious and quietly
spectacular. An IFC First Take release.
El Custodio
Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina, 2006; 95m
Thu Mar 22: 6:00pm at MoMA
Sat Mar 24: 8:45pm at WRT
The remarkable character actor Julio Chavez (A Red Bear, ND/NF 2003) disappears
into the nearly silent role of a middle-aged bodyguard for an important politician, and
the cleverly paced, slow-burning tale is a mesmerizing portrait of a man whose all-
consuming job is that of an invisible human shield. The measured movements of
Chavez’s alienated Ruben are destined to reach a breaking point, when this shadow
can no longer deny his own repressed feelings. Director Rodrigo Moreno develops his
masterfully wrought psychological thriller in the celebrated minimalist style that has put
recent Argentine cinema on the international map. Chavez received the Best Actor
award at this year’s Havana International Film Festival for this performance.
PRECEDED BY
Sun in Winter
Samuel Collardey, France, 2006; 17m
A young student and his older friend, the local farmhand, share joyful moments of
camaraderie, bonding over work and play before their worlds separate forever.
Euphoria
Ivan Vyrypaev, Russia, 73m; 2006
Wed Mar 28: 8:45pm at MoMA
Thu Mar 29: 6:00pm at WRT
A theater director making his feature film debut, Ivan Vyrypaev sets this stunning fable
of passion and revenge in a remote region of the Russian steppe and strikes an
impudent tone somewhere between Bulgakov and Flannery O’Connor. Pasha is a
village goatherd so smitten with Vera that he concludes they must be destined for each
other, no matter that she is married and has a small daughter and hostile dog named
Pirate. Nothing can dissuade him from pursuing her by land and sea, and their mad
romance — she submits as if struck by lightning — culminates in a Western-style finale
that is both improbable and metaphorically inevitable.
PRECEDED BY
The Tube with a Hat
Radu Jude, Romania, 2006; 23m
A boy from a small village wakes his father and drags him and the family’s gigantic and
broken television set over hill and dale to the city to get it fixed in time to watch a Bruce
Lee movie.
Glue
Alexis Dos Santos, Argentina/UK, 2006; 110m
Wed Mar 21: 9:00pm at MoMA
Fri Mar 23: 6:00pm at WRT
Two boys, Lucas and Nacho, and their sidekick, Andrea, are growing up in a small
remote town in Patagonia where they are experiencing the growing pains of
adolescence. Lucas contends with his parents’ imminent divorce. Nacho obsesses
over music and sex, while Andrea is preoccupied with her too-slowly developing body.
Once the three connect they become inseparable. This award-winning feature by first-
time filmmaker Alexis Dos Santos reflects an intensity possible only by a talented risk-
taking cast and a story rooted in the director’s intimate knowledge of his subject.
Scenes were shot in an improvisational style, capturing the wild beauty of Patagonia’s
hot, dry and windswept summer landscape. A Picture This! Entertainment release.
Gradually…
Maziar Miri, Iran, 2006; 81m
Fri Mar 30: 6:00pm at MoMA
Sun Apr 1: 3:00pm at WRT
Mahmoud is a hard-working itinerant welder. When his troubled wife Pari disappears,
leaving their daughter behind, the gossip mill in his hometown begins to churn. Helpful
and malicious neighbors offer conflicting accounts of what they think has happened,
and Mahmoud abandons his job to search for his runaway wife. With well-drawn
characters and a great deal of suspense, director Maziar Miri’s second feature film
explores gender prejudices in his native Iran and reveals the delicate balancing act that
women must enter into to exist within the repressive system imposed on them. This is a
deeply felt, beautifully constructed story that brings a new perspective to love and
marriage, Iranian style.
Great World of Sound
Craig Zobel, US, 2006; 106m
Fri Mar 30: 8:30pm at MoMA
Sat Mar 31: 12:30pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 5:15pm at WRT
You’ve all seen the ads—Show us Your Talent, We’ll Make You a Star. For his feature
film debut, Craig Zobel shines a harsh light on the upside—and downside—of looking
for shortcuts to fame. Martin (Pat Healey) and Clarence (Kene Holliday) are a
production company’s A-team, setting up shop in hotel rooms in large towns and
medium-sized cities to audition local musicians for a shot at the gold ring. Both men
seem to believe they’re supporting new talent, until problems arise — first small, then
larger. Many of the actors playing auditioning townspeople are actual amateur
musicians, and their performances add a touching poignancy.
The Inner Life of Martin Frost
Paul Auster, US, 2007; 94m
Wed Mar 21: 6:00pm at MoMA
Thu Mar 22: 8:30pm at WRT
Sat Mar 24: 1:00pm at WRT
Having submitted his manuscript to his publisher, renowned novelist Martin Frost
needs to recharge himself in seclusion. He is loaned a place in the country — where
his isolation is short-lived. For his second feature film, American novelist and director
Paul Auster plays with the character from his 2002 novel, The Book of Illusion. David
Thewlis essays the writer looking for peace, and Irene Jacób, Michael Imperioli and
Sophie Auster play his unwelcome guests. Without missing a beat in moving from the
page to the screen, Auster’s serio-comic fantasy narrative remains mysterious,
haunting, and enticing.
Love for Sale: Suely in the Sky
Karim Aïnouz, Brazil/France/Germany, 2006; 90m
Sat Mar 24: 3:45pm at MoMA
Sun Mar 25: 8:15pm at WRT
In this follow-up to his internationally successful debut feature Madame Satã, Karim
Aïnouz creates a very different portrait of an indomitable survivor. Returning to her
hometown
in poor northeastern Brazil, Hermila (Hermila Guedes) awaits the arrival of her
boyfriend, though her spunk and zest for life take on an increasingly desperate edge
when it becomes clear that he will not be coming. Guedes’ major achievement is
making Hermila likeable even in her most desperately miscalculated actions of
despair. Breathtaking camerawork by veteran cinematographer Walter Carvalho
captures not only the soulful decency of the townspeople but makes the empty
landscape and rich colors an integral part of their characterization. A Strand
Releasing release.
Meanwhile
Diego Lerman, Argentina, 2006; 90m
Sat Mar 31: 1:00pm at MoMA
Sun Apr 1: 8:00pm at WRT
Violeta can’t decide if she wants to move to Ibiza with her boyfriend Mono or just break
up with him. Dalmiro’s ceramics business isn’t going so well, but things might be
looking up. Sergio and Susana are trying to start a family. These and other characters
form the rich tapestry in Meanwhile, the second feature by Diego Lerman. He focuses
here on those in-between moments in people’s lives — those times after a decision’s
possibilities have been accepted but before it’s been put into effect. His characters
move in and out of each other’s orbits, sometimes affecting final decisions or
inadvertently foreshadowing unexpected consequences, together creating a portrait of
a generation used to waiting and enduring.
PRECEDED BY
The Last 15
Antonio Campos, US, 2006; 15m
When a family gathers for dinner, money becomes the key topic of discussion, with
alarming results.
Once
John Carney, Ireland, 2006; 85m
Thu Mar 22: 6:00pm at WRT
Fri Mar 23: 8:30pm at MoMA
When not playing for change, an Irish street musician fixes vacuum cleaners in his
father’s repair shop. One day, a flower-selling Czech immigrant shows up with her
broken vacuum and announces that she is also a musician. Drawn to each other —
and to each other’s musical talents — they launch a career together. With time, their
musical bond becomes even more personal. Director John Carney has cast
musicians, rather than actors, in these finely drawn roles, and the result, a kind of
cinema verité musical, is near perfect. A Fox Searchlight release.
The Only One
Geoffrey Enthoven, Belgium, 2006; 88m
Wed Mar 28: 6:00pm at MoMA
Thu Mar 29: 8:45pm at WRT
Living unhappily with his daughter Gerda after his wife’s death, Lucien (Nany Buyl, one
of Belgium’s most renowned actors) is determined to return to an independent life in
his own home. But that isn’t so easy. Everyone has plans for Lucien, including Mathilde,
his best friend’s wife, with whom he has had a longstanding affair. When his much
younger neighbor, Sylvia, arrives on the scene and — to Lucien’s surprise — seems to
take an interest in him, all kinds of possibilities emerge. Directed by Geoffrey Enthoven
with a decidedly light touch, The Only One is that rare film about aging that completely
avoids sentimentality.
PRECEDED BY
Eternally Yours
Atsushi Ogata, Japan, 2006; 15m
When a crook tries to take advantage of a forgetful elderly woman, surprises are in
store.
The Other Half
Ying Liang, China, 2006; 111m
Sat Mar 31: 3:15pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 6:45pm at MoMA
Xiaofen lives in one of the dynamically growing cities in Southwestern China, but her
work for a law firm interviewing clients and documenting their cases is merely routine.
When not at work, she must deal with her down and out boyfriend, a drunk and a
gambler and who’s now on the lam. Life is also hard for her girlfriends and her mother,
and Xiaofen is increasingly distressed by what she witnesses around her. In his
second feature film, director Ying Liang (Taking Father Home, 2005) playfully pits
youth culture against more traditional ways and interrelates one woman’s reality to the
changing economic and social structures in contemporary China.
Padre Nuestro
Christopher Zalla, US, 2007; 105m
Sat Mar 31: 9:00pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 1:00pm at MoMA
On the run in his native Mexico, Juan makes a quick getaway by jumping on a truck
carrying illegal migrants to New York City. One of the other travelers is Pedro, a young
man about Juan’s age who hopes to link up in New York with his father Diego. Since
he doesn’t know Diego, Pedro carries a letter of introduction written by his mother.
Arriving in New York, Juan disappears — and so have Pedro’s belongings and his
letter. Grand Jury Prize winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Christopher Zalla’
s beautifully shot first feature offers a new riff on the immigrant theme of re-inventing
oneself in America.
Red Road
Andrea Arnold, UK, 2006; 113m
Sun Mar 25: 6:30pm at MoMA
Tue Mar 27: 9:00pm at WRT
Red Road is in a rough neighborhood in Glasgow whose streets are constantly
monitored by surveillance cameras. On one of the screens in one of the command
stations, a security officer, a woman, catches a glimpse of a man whose sudden
appearance at first surprises and then obsesses her. What follows is a modernist
suspense story, pitch perfect and unpredictable. For her debut feature, Andrea Arnold,
an Oscar-winning short filmmaker, takes up Dogma’s latest challenge: three different
filmmakers using the same set of characters. Hers is the first, and she delivers a
powerful tale that leaves its viewers breathless. A Tartan Films release.
Reprise
Joachim Trier, Norway, 2006; 105m
Sat Mar 31: 6:00pm at WRT
Sun Apr 1: 3:45pm at MoMA
There is nothing reprised about Reprise, a shooting star of a debut feature that is
wildly inventive and wise beyond the youthful exuberance of its makers. Two young men
are both friends and writers. On the same day they send their manuscripts off from the
same mailbox. When they do, their lives also take off, in ways that are at once
unpredictable and understandable. Joachim Trier, who made super-8mm films before
he learned to read and write, celebrates life’s options even when they are lousy. The
daring risks he takes as a filmmaker propel this vivacious cinematic meditation about
creativity, madness and love into an engrossing adventure. Trier’s previous
accomplishments inform the torque of Reprise: he was, for two years running, Norway’
s national skateboard champion.
Rome Rather Than You
Tariq Teguia, Algeria/France/Germany, 2006; 111m
Wed Mar 28: 6:00pm at WRT
Thu Mar 29: 8:45pm at MoMA
This innovative visual portrait of a generation focuses on the story of Zina and Kamel
— promising and resourceful young people who, disillusioned by Algeria’s ongoing
civil war, decide to seek a future elsewhere. Bolstered by spirited repartee full of
youthful flourish and vitality, they search the city of Algiers and its suburbs for a certain
Bosco, an elusive smuggler who, it is said, can provide them with fake passports.
Debut director Tariq Teguia depicts modern day Algiers as a dreamlike landscape of
devastation, a world of immediate contrasts filled with a sense of foreboding that
mirrors the mood of the two protagonists.
Salty Air
Alessandro Angelini, Italy, 2006; 87m
Fri Mar 23: 6:00pm at MoMA
Sun Mar 25: 5:45pm at WRT
A riveting debut feature by Alessandro Angelini, Salty Air charts the emotional
minefield that opens up as a young man attempts to reach into a past everyone else
would rather forget. Fabio is a social worker in a prison. When Sparti, a stone-faced
new transfer, arrives, Fabio suspects Sparti may be his own father, a man convicted
for murder who, years before, told his wife and two young children to forget him. Aided
by some wonderful performances — especially by Giorgio Pasetti as Sparti —
Angelini allows the rawness of the emotions being tapped to really burst forth;
encounters and confrontations often veer off in uncharted directions, as the jagged
rhythms of the film give it a seething, explosive quality.
Shelter
Simon Puccioni, Italy, 2006; 99m
Sat Mar 24: 1:00pm at MoMA
Mon Mar 26: 6:00pm at WRT
Anna (Maria De Medeiros) and Mara (Antonia Liskova) are returning to Italy from a
holiday abroad when they discover that Anis, a young Moroccan, has hidden himself in
their trunk in order to cross the border. Anna, an upper class young woman whose
mother and brother run a shoe factory, is eager to help the young man; Mara, a worker
at that factory, wonders what the new arrival will mean for her. Second-time director
Simon Puccioni is particularly adept at creating characters that are attractive and well-
meaning, as well as sexually and morally ambivalent. When a crisis develops, the trio’s
individual strengths and weaknesses come into play in unexpected ways.
PRECEDED BY
Stuff
Karl Raudsepp-Hearne, Canada, 2007; 7m
How to move in with a guy and teach him to share in just a few months!
Stealth
Lionel Baier, Switzerland, 2006; 112m
Fri Mar 30: 6:00pm at WRT
Sat Mar 31: 3:45pm at MoMA
Lionel lives the good life: a steady job with Swiss Radio, a handsome boyfriend and a
totally supportive family. But still, something is missing. Tales of the American western
frontier help him fill the void. Suddenly, he finds out that his ancestors may, in fact, be
Polish. Now he is obsessed with all things Poland, including an undocumented Polish
woman he meets on the street. Ultimately, he persuades his sister to take off with him
for points east, and on the way, they discover their true selves. Director Lionel Baier,
born in Switzerland of Polish descent, has clearly used his own background as the
basis for this warm, witty and authentic voyage of discovery.
War/Dance
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, US, 2007; 105m
Sat Mar 24: 3:30pm at WRT
Mon Mar 26: 6:00pm at MoMA
In Northern Uganda, the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that abducts children
and turns them into mindless soldiers, has killed Rose’s parents, Nancy’s father, and
made Dominic into an assassin. All three children now live in Patongo, a large refugee
camp where they attend a one-room school and practice for the annual National Music
Competition held in Kampala, where schools from across the country vie for awards.
Husband-and-wife documentary team Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine let the children
tell their stories of horror, record their rehearsals, and follow them on their first trip to
Kampala, where the three show with pride, joy and exuberance what talent and heart
can achieve. A THINKfilm release.
What the Sun Has Seen
Michal Rosa, Poland, 2006; 107m
Sun Mar 25: 1:00pm at MoMA
Tue Mar 27: 6:00pm at WRT
Unknown to each other, a little boy, a young teenage girl, and a man in his fifties named
Jozef (Krzysztof Stroinski) are each desperate to raise a certain amount of money. Set
in a large Silesian city in southern Poland, What the Sun Has Seen follows them in
their determination to succeed in spite of all the obstacles and disappointments that
befall them along the way, and eventually their lives begin to intertwine. Director Michal
Rosa based his story on newspaper articles and scenes he observed on the street.
Together these tales create a touching portrait of the struggle for human dignity in a
land that still bears the scars of war.
HBO Films Roundtable: Written and Directed by…
A Live Discussion
Sun Mar 25: 1:00pm at WRT
Someone has slipped a terrific script into your mailbox or tossed it over your garden
wall. That’s a lucky break if you happen to be Joel Schumacher. If your name is John or
Jane Doe, you are the recipient of a lottery ticket you can’t cash in on. How do you get
this film project moving if you lack the necessary contacts and funds to make it happen?
Even before the inception of the independent film movement, fledgling writers and
would-be directors have taken a more realistic approach, developing their own scripts
and daring to direct them themselves. From among the many talented filmmakers in
this year’s edition of New Directors/New Films, more than half dozen directed from
their own scripts. An even greater number co-wrote their screenplays.
This year’s HBO Roundtable will discuss the pitfalls as well as the benefits of working
from your own material. How does a filmmaker find a story to film, and is that a
struggle? Or do their own stories compel them to become directors? Confirmed to
participate in the discussion are Paul Auster, Julia Loktev, Kim Massee, and
New Directors/New Films alumni Eric Mendelsohn (Judy Berlin, ND/NF ‘99),
Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, ND/NF ‘06).
| © 2007 by C. E. Murphy. All Rights Reserved. |
| A scene from Gradually [Be Ahestegi], featuring Mohammad-Reza Foroutan. Directed by Maziar Miri, Iran, 2006; 81m Photo Credit: The Match Factory |
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