Tag: 2011

Director: Lee Hirsch
Stars: Ja’Meya Jackson, Kelby Johnson, Lona Johnson
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

A documentary on peer-to-peer bullying in schools across America.

Director: Dee Rees
Stars: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis
Genre: Drama
Country: USA

A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.

Director: Cindy Meehl
Stars: Buck Brannaman, Gary Myers, Bibb Frazier
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

An examination of the life of acclaimed ‘horse whisperer’ Buck Brannaman, who recovered from years of child abuse to become a well-known expert in the interactions between horses and people.

Director: Azazel Jacobs
Stars: John C. Reilly, Jacob Wysocki, Bridger Zadina
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA

The story of a bullied fifteen-year-old boy in a small town as he struggles to adjust to his difficult life.

Director: Joseph Cedar
Stars: Shlomo Bar-Aba, Lior Ashkenazi, Aliza Rosen
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Israel

Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are father and son as well as rival professors in Talmudic Studies. When both men learn that Eliezer will be lauded for his work, their complicated relationship reaches a new peak.

Director: Ruben Östlund
Stars: Erik Hemmendorff, Ruben Östlund
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden | France

An astute observation based on real cases of bullying. In central Gothenburg, Sweden, a group of boys, aged 12-14, robbed other children on about 40 occasions between 2006 and 2008. The thieves used an elaborate scheme called the ‘little brother number’ or ‘brother trick’, involving advanced role-play and gang rhetoric rather than physical violence.

Director: Seung-jun Yi
Stars: Cho Young-Chan, Kim Soon-ho, Choi Jungah
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Country: South Korea | Japan | Finland

Young-Chan comes from planet of snail where deaf blind people live slow and quiet lives. When Young-Chan came to Earth, nobody understood his language and he was desperate. Then an angel walked into his life. Soon-Ho knows how it is to be lonely and soon becomes an inseparable part of his life. Young-Chan also discovers an amazing world under his fingers as he learned to read books with braille. Hopes began to grow and he dreams of writing a book.

Director: Eric Khoo
Stars: Tetsuya Bessho, Motoko Gollent, Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Genre: Documentary, Music
Country: Animation, Biography, Drama

A story based on the life and short stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, a mangaka known for his gekiga style of alternate Japanese manga.

Director: Wim Wenders
Stars: Pina Bausch, Regina Advento, Malou Airaudo
Genre: Documentary, Music
Country: Germany | France | UK | USA

A tribute to the late German choreographer, Pina Bausch, as her dancers perform her most famous creations.

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Stars: Kôki Maeda, Ohshirô Maeda, Masami Nagasawa
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan

Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents’ divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.

Director: Nadav Lapid
Stars: Yiftach Klein, Yaara Pelzig, Michael Moshonov
Genre: Drama
Country: Israel | France

A member of an Israeli anti-terrorist unit clashes with a group of young radicals.

Director: Roman Polanski
Stars: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: France | Germany | Poland | Spain | USA

Two pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.

Director: Miranda July
Stars: Miranda July, Hamish Linklater, David Warshofsky
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: France | Germany | USA | UK

When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves.

Director: Alejandro Landes
Stars: Porfirio Ramire Aldana, Jarlinsson Ramirez Reinoso, Yor Jasbleidy Santos Torres
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Colombia | Argentina | Uruguay | Spain | France

Confined between his bed and his wheelchair, Porfirio – a man who lives in a town on the edge of the Amazon – dreams of being able to fly.

Director: Valérie Massadian
Stars: Kelyna Lecomte, Marie Delmas, Alain Sabras
Genre: Drama
Country: France

Nana is 4 years old and lives in a stone house beyond the forest. Back from school, a late afternoon, all she finds is silence in the house. A journey into the darkness of her childhood. The world from her height.

Director: Clay Jeter
Stars: Sarah Hagan, Austin Vickers, Haley Strode
Genre: Drama
Country: USA

A series of vignettes involving memories of companionship and sexual awakening shared by two second cousins.

Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Stars: Nadezhda Markina, Andrey Smirnov, Aleksey Rozin
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Russia

When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife Elena’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan …

Director: Ann Hui
Stars: Andy Lau, Deannie Ip, Hailu Qin
Genre: Drama
Country: Hong Kong

After suffering a stroke, an altruistic maid announces that she wants to quit her job and move into an old people’s home.

Director: David Sington
Stars: Andrew Luan, Robert Shiller, Louis Hyman
Genre: Documentary, History
Country: UK

An examination of the causes of the economic crisis of 2008.

Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Stars: André Wilms, Blondin Miguel, Jean-Pierre Darroussin
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Finland | France | Germany

When an African boy arrives by cargo ship in the port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home.

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK | USA

A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he’s hiding a terrible secret.

Director: Ignacio Ferreras
Stars: Tacho González, Álvaro Guevara, Mabel Rivera
Genre: Animation, Drama
Country: Spain

An astonishing cocktail of friendship, resistance and life set among the unexpected landscape of an elderly care facility.

Director: Stephen Cone
Stars: Molly Kunz, Eric Hulsebos, Tyler Ross
Genre: Drama
Country: USA

A vivid, dynamic Southern coming-of-age drama, takes place in the transitional space between high school and college, when life seems to be all questions and no answers, and the future is scarily wide open. Set in and around a Charleston, SC Baptist church, weaving through this ensemble piece are three main characters – Brea, an introspective pastor’s daughter experiencing debilitating doubt, the hyperactive Laura, Brea’s best friend and a devout believer, and Tim, the open-hearted son of a single father, confronting his homosexuality for the first time.

Director: Steve McQueen
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale
Genre: Drama
Country: UK | Canada | USA

A sex addict’s carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.

Director: J.C. Chandor
Stars: Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA

Follows the key people at an investment bank, over a 24-hour period, during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.

Director: Pablo Giorgelli
Stars: Germán de Silva, Hebe Duarte, Nayra Calle Mamani
Genre: Drama
Country: Argentina | Spain

Reluctantly, a dour long-distance truck driver agrees to give a lift to a Paraguayan single mother and her five-month-old daughter to Buenos Aires. Can the palpable silence soften up the taciturn trucker’s sullen heart?

Director: Cyril Tuschi
Stars: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Pavel Khodorkovsky, Marina Khodorkovskaya
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Drama
Country: Germany

Khodorkovsky, the richest Russian, challenges President Putin. A fight of the titans begins. Putin warns him. But Khodorkovsky comes back to Russia knowing that he will be imprisoned, once he returns. When I heard about it, I asked myself: why didn’t he stay in exile with a couple of billions? Why did he do that? A personal journey to Khodorkovsky.

Director: Patrick Wang
Stars: Sebastian Banes, Patrick Wang, Trevor St. John
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA

When his partner Cody dies in a car accident, Joey learns that their son, Chip, has been willed to Cody’s sister. In his now solitary home life, Joey searches for a solution. The law is not on his side, but friends are.

Director: Evan Glodell
Stars: Evan Glodell, Tyler Dawson, Jessie Wiseman
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance
Country: USA

Two friends spend all their free time building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang “Mother Medusa.”

Director: Xiaoshuai Wang
Stars: Jingchun Wang, Wenqing Liu, Guo Liuxing Zhong
Genre: Crime, Drama, History
Country: China | France

11-year-old Wang lives with his family in a remote village in China. Life is tough, but they make the most of what little they have. When Wang is selected to lead his school’s daily gymnastics, his teacher recommends that he wear a new shirt, which forces his family to make a great sacrifice. Soon after, Wang encounters a wounded man on the run and their fates are intertwined.

Director: Céline Sciamma
Stars: Zoé Héran, Malonn Lévana, Jeanne Disson
Genre: Drama
Country: France

A family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children.

Director: Nancy Buirski
Stars: Jane Alexander, Lindsay Almond Jr., Edward L. Ayers
Genre: Documentary, Drama, History
Country: USA

A racially-charged criminal trial and a heart-rending love story converge in this documentary about Richard and Mildred Loving, set during the turbulent Civil Rights era.

Director: Duncan Jones
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA | Canada | France | Germany

A soldier wakes up in someone else’s body and discovers he’s part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.

Director: Gerardo Naranjo
Stars: Stephanie Sigman, Noé Hernández, Irene Azuela
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Mexico

After entering a beauty contest in Tijuana, a young woman witnesses drug-related murders and is forced to do the gang’s bidding.

Director: Jean-François Laguionie
Stars: Jean Barney, Chloé Berthier, JB Blanc
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama
Country: France | Belgium | Canada

Three characters of different social classes escape their unfinished painting in search of the Painter, hoping he will complete it.

Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Stars: Leïla Bekhti, Hafsia Herzi, Hiam Abbass
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: France | Belgium | Italy

A comedy/drama set in a village and centered on a battle of the sexes, where women threaten to withhold sexual favors if their men refuse to fetch water from a remote well.

Director: Agnieszka Holland
Stars: Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Fürmann, Agnieszka Grochowska
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Poland | Germany | Canada

A dramatization of one man’s rescue of Jewish refugees in the German-occupied Polish city of Lvov.

Director: Frederick Wiseman
Stars: Philippe Decouflé, Naamah Alva, Daizy Blu
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA | France

A look inside Paris’ Crazy Horse, a club that boasts the greatest and most chic nude dancing in the world.

Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Stars: Leyla Zareh, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Shahab Hosseini
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran

Story of a young lawyer in Tehran in search of a visa to leave the country, which is what Mohammad Rasoulof did during the winter of 2010/11.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA | India

Young Albert enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert’s hopeful journey takes him out of England and to the front lines as the war rages on.

Director: John Michael McDonagh
Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: Ireland

An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is partnered with an up-tight F.B.I. agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.

Director: Maïwenn
Stars: Karin Viard, JoeyStarr, Marina Foïs
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France

A journalist covering police assigned to a juvenile division enters an affair with one of her subjects.

Director: Jaume Balagueró
Stars: Luis Tosar, Marta Etura, Alberto San Juan
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Spain

You wake day after day to the comfort and security of your home. But how safe is it really?

Director: Michel Ocelot
Stars: Julien Béramis, Marine Griset, Michel Elias
Genre: Animation, Family, Fantasy
Country: France

Tales of the Night weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, to the Land of the Dead. From the imagination of internationally renowned animator Michel Ocelot.

Director: Valérie Donzelli
Stars: Valérie Donzelli, Jérémie Elkaïm, César Desseix
Genre: Drama
Country: France

When their young son is diagnosed with a brain tumor, young parents Roméo and Juliette unite in the fight for his survival.

Director: Chanoch Ze’evi
Stars: Bettina Göring, Katrin Himmler, Monika Hertwig
Genre: Documentary, History
Country: Israel | Germany

A look into the lives of the descendants of the top Nazi officials who worked under Hitler’s command.

Director: Tristan Patterson
Stars: Sid Rocket, Josh ‘Skreech’ Sandoval
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

Josh ‘Skreech’ Sandoval, a local skate legend and new father in Fullerton, California, has to come to terms with the fact that it’s time to grow up and be responsible for his son and family.

Director: Ralph Fiennes
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: UK

A banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.

Director: James Marsh
Stars: Nim Chimpsky, Stephanie LaFarge, Herbert Terrace
Genre: Documentary
Country: UK | USA

Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.

Director: Tom McCarthy
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Jeffrey Tambor
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sport
Country: USA

A struggling lawyer and volunteer wrestling coach’s chicanery comes back to haunt him when the teenage grandson of the client he has double-crossed comes into his life.

Director: Ben Rivers
Stars: Jake Williams
Genre: Documentary
Country: UK

After working at sea, a man realizes his dream of moving to the middle of the forest.

Director: Julia Loktev
Stars: Gael García Bernal, Hani Furstenberg, Bidzina Gujabidze
Genre: Thriller
Country: USA | Germany

An engaged couple’s backpacking trip in the Caucasus Mountains is derailed by a single misstep that threatens to undo everything the pair believed about each other and about themselves.

Director: Sarah Polley
Stars: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada | Spain | Japan

A happily married woman falls for the artist who lives across the street.

Director: Oren Moverman
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, Sigourney Weaver
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA

Set in 1999 Los Angeles, veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, works to take care of his family, and struggles for his own survival.

Director: Frédéric Jardin
Stars: Tomer Sisley, Serge Riaboukine, Julien Boisselier
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: France | Belgium | Luxembourg

A cop with a connection to the criminal underworld finds his secret life exposed when he and his partner are caught stealing cocaine from a powerful drug dealer, a move that puts his son’s life in jeopardy.

Director: Philippe Falardeau
Stars: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada

At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.

Director: Markus Schleinzer, Kathrin Resetarits
Stars: Michael Fuith, David Rauchenberger, Christine Kain
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Austria

Five months in the life of a pedophile who keeps a 10-year-old boy locked in his basement.

Director: Andrés Baiz
Stars: Quim Gutiérrez, Martina García, María Soledad Rodríguez
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Colombia | Spain

Shattered by the unexpected news of their irreversible break-up, an aspiring orchestra conductor is puzzled by his girlfriend’s mysterious and seemingly inexplicable case of disappearance. But, can he look beyond the facts?

Director: Vera Farmiga
Stars: Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, Dagmara Dominczyk
Genre: Drama
Country: USA

A chronicle of one woman’s lifelong struggle with her faith.

Director: Jannicke Systad Jacobsen
Stars: Helene Bergsholm, Malin Bjørhovde, Henriette Steenstrup
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Country: Norway

In Skoddeheimen, Norway, 15-year-old Alma is consumed by her hormones and fantasies that range from sweetly romantic images of Artur, the boyfriend she yearns for, to daydreams about practically everybody she lays eyes on.

Director: Alex Gibney
Stars: Alex Gibney, Dave Kaplan, Bob Costas
Genre: Documentary, Sport
Country: USA

After the Chicago Cubs blow an opportunity to reach the World Series in 2003, Cubs fans blame the team’s misfortune on fellow fan Steve Bartman, who interfered with a foul ball and prevented Moises Alou from making a catch.

Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Stars: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France | Belgium | USA

An egomaniacal film star develops a relationship with a young dancer against the backdrop of Hollywood’s silent era.

Director: Chantal Akerman
Stars: Stanislas Merhar, Marc Barbé, Aurora Marion
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium | France

A tale of an occidental merchant, Kaspar Almayer, whose dreams of riches for his beloved daughter, Nina, collapse under the weight of his own greed and prejudice.

Director: Michael Glawogger
Stars: Emma, Ning, Toh
Genre: Documentary
Country: Germany | Austria | Thailand | France

An examination of the lives, needs, troubles and hopes of prostitutes in Thailand, Bangladesh and Mexico.

Director: Sebastián Borensztein
Stars: Ricardo Darín, Ignacio Huang, Carolina Hsu
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina | Spain

A well-ordered hardware store owner in Buenos Aires will see his life turn upside down when he helps a stranded Chinese man who doesn’t speak a word of Spanish find his uncle in the bustling city. But can this coexistence bear fruit?

Director: Jim Hemphill
Stars: Lea Thompson, John Shea, Danielle Harris
Genre: Drama
Country: USA

Musician and starving artist Robert reconsiders his own failed marriage to Emily after his daughter announces that she’s engaged.

Director: Steve James
Stars: Tio Hardiman, Ameena Matthews, Toya Batey
Genre: Documentary, Crime
Country: USA

A year in the life of a city grappling with urban violence.

Director: Susanne Rostock
Stars: Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Marge Champion
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Music
Country: USA

Most people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer. This film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally.

Director: Joachim Trier
Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Hans Olav Brenner, Ingrid Olava
Genre: Drama
Country: Norway | Denmark | Sweden

One day in the life of Anders, a young recovering drug addict, who takes a brief leave from his treatment center to interview for a job and catch up with old friends in Oslo.

Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Neil Young
Genre: Documentary, Music
Country: USA

Neil Young returns to his birth Canadian province of Ontario to revisit his old haunts and to perform in Toronto’s vintage Massey Hall.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Spain

A brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.

Director: Andrea Segre
Stars: Tao Zhao, Rade Serbedzija, Marco Paolini
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy | France

A study of the friendship between a Chinese woman and a fisherman who came to Italy from Yugoslavia many years ago, who live in a small city-island in the Veneto lagoon.

Director: Morten Tyldum
Stars: Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Norway | Sweden | Denmark | Germany

An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.

Director: Júlia Murat
Stars: Sonia Guedes, Lisa Fávero, Luis Serra
Genre: Drama
Country: Brazil | Argentina | France

Each citizen of Jotuomba plays an integral role in village life. Madalena is responsible for baking bread; each morning she stacks her rolls as Antonio prepares the coffee. The two share a morning ritual of arguments and insults, followed by an amicable cup of coffee on the bench outside Antonio’s shop. At midday the church bells ring, summoning the villagers to mass. In the early evening, they all share a meal together. And so life proceeds in Jotuomba, the days languidly drifting into one another.

Director: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
Stars: Emad Burnat, Soraya Burnat, Mohammed Burnat
Genre: Documentary, War
Country: Palestine | Israel | France | Netherlands

A documentary on a Palestinian farmer’s chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.

Director: Yoav Potash
Stars: Deborah Peagler, Joshua Safran, Nadia Costa
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Crime
Country: USA

The story of the battle to free Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of brutal domestic violence. Over 26 years in prison cannot crush the spirit of this determined African-American woman, despite the injustices she has experienced, first at the hands of a duplicitous boyfriend who beat her and forced her into prostitution, and later by prosecutors who cornered her into a life behind bars for her connection to the murder of her abuser. Her story takes an unexpected turn two decades later when a pair of rookie land-use attorneys cut their teeth on her case — and attract global attention to the troubled intersection of domestic violence and criminal justice.

Director: Alma Har’el
Stars: n/a
Genre: Documentary, Drama, Musical
Country: USA

Bombay Beach is one of the poorest communities in southern California located on the shores of the Salton Sea, a man-made sea stranded in the middle of the Colorado desert that was once a beautiful vacation destination for the privileged and is now a pool of dead fish. Film director Alma Har’el tells the story of three protagonists. The trials of Benny Parrish, a young boy diagnosed with bipolar disorder whose troubled soul and vivid imagination create both suffering and joy for him and his complex and loving family. The story of CeeJay Thompson, a black teenager and aspiring football player who has taken refuge in Bombay Beach hoping to avoid the same fate of his cousin who was murdered by a gang of youths in Los Angeles; and that of Red, an ancient survivor, once an oil field worker, living on the fumes of whiskey, cigarettes and an irrepressible love of life.

Director: Joe Cornish
Stars: John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Country: UK

A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Stars: Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Turkey | Bosnia and Herzegovina

A group of men set out in search of a dead body in the Anatolian steppes.

Director: Andrea Arnold
Stars: Kaya Scodelario, James Howson, Solomon Glave
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK

A poor boy of unknown origins is rescued from poverty and taken in by the Earnshaw family where he develops an intense relationship with his young foster sister, Cathy.

Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Stars: Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Magne-Håvard Brekke
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: France | Germany

A chronicle of the romance between Camille and Sullivan, which begins during their adolescence and picks up after Sullivan’s 8-year absence from exploring the world.

Director: Tomas Alfredson
Stars: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France | UK | Germany | USA

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.

Director: Carl Colby
Stars: William Colby, Dale Andrade, Zbigniew Brzezinski
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
Country: USA

A son’s riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller. The secret world of a legendary CIA spymaster. Told by William Colby’s son Carl, the story is at once a probing history of the CIA, a personal memoir of a family living in clandestine shadows, and an inquiry into the hard costs of a nation’s most cloaked actions.

Director: Alison Bagnall
Stars: Greta Gerwig, Olly Alexander, Eleonore Hendricks
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA

Reeling from her husband’s affair, Rose collides with a marooned teenager in a boarded-up Delaware beach town.

Director: Gareth Evans
Stars: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy
Genre: Action, Thriller
Country: Indonesia | France | USA

A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.

Director: Ross McElwee
Stars: Adrian McElwee, Ross McElwee
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA | France

Filmmaker Ross McElwee (Sherman’s March, Bright Leaves) finds himself in frequent conflict with his son, a young adult who seems addicted to and distracted by the virtual worlds of the internet. To understand his fractured love for his son, McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux in Brittany for the first time in decades to retrace his own journey into adulthood. A meditation on the passing of time, the praxis of photography and film, and the digital versus analog divide.

Director: Lech Majewski
Stars: Rutger Hauer, Michael York, Charlotte Rampling
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Poland | Sweden

This movie focuses on a dozen of the five hundred characters depicted in Bruegel’s painting. The theme of Christ’s suffering is set against religious persecution in Flanders in 1564.

Director: Antoine Delesvaux, Joann Sfar
Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Hafsia Herzi, François Damiens
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Country: France

Set in Algeria in the 1920s, a rabbi’s cat who learns how to speak after swallowing the family parrot expresses his desire to convert to Judaism.

Director: Bertrand Bonello
Stars: Noémie Lvovsky, Hafsia Herzi, Céline Sallette
Genre: Drama
Country: France

At an elegant Parisian bordello at the dawn of the 20th century, exists a cloistered world of pleasure, pain, hope, rivalries, and most of all, slavery.

Director: Peter Richardson
Stars: Harry Bruton, Ray Carnay, Cody Curtis
Genre: Documentary, Drama, Family
Country: USA

In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize a terminally ill person’s request to end his or her life with medication. At the time, only Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands had legalized the practice. ‘How to Die in Oregon’ tell the stories of those most intimately involved with the practice today — terminally ill Oregonians, their families, doctors, and friends — as well as the passage of a similar law in Washington State.

Director: Michael Collins
Stars: n/a
Genre: Documentary, Crime, Mystery
Country: USA | UK

When a teenager from a political family in the Philippines is accused of a double murder, the country’s entire judicial system is put to the test after years of alleged corruption.

Director: Michael Perlman
Stars: Ethan Gutmann, David Kilgour
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
Country: USA

The fates of a woman living in Beijing and a man living in New York become inextricably linked because of a common conviction… The award winning “Free China: The Courage To Believe” tells the story of a mother and former Communist Party member, Jennifer Zeng, who along with more than 70 Million Chinese were practicing a belief that combined Buddhism and Daoism until the Chinese Government outlawed it.

Director: Bill Filipiak, Louise Palanker
Stars: Bill Cowsill, Bob Cowsill, Richard Cowsill
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Family
Country: USA

The story of the real-life family pop group consisting of six kids and their mother that inspired TV’s “Partridge Family.”

Director: Thom Fitzgerald
Stars: Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker, Kristin Booth
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA | Canada

A lesbian couple escape from their nursing home and head up to Canada to get married. Along the way, they pick up a young, male hitchhiker.

Director: Kelly Duane, Katie Galloway
Stars: Scott Crow, Brandon Darby, Matthew Vadum
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

A pair of childhood friends from Texas who set out to prove themselves.

Director: Terence Davies
Stars: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Ann Mitchell
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK | Australia

The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.

Director: Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Jafar Panahi
Stars: Jafar Panahi, Igi, Mrs. Gheirat
Genre: Documentary
Country: Iran

It’s been months since Jafar Panahi, stuck in jail, has been awaiting a verdict by the appeals court. By depicting a day in his life, Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb try to portray the deprivations looming in contemporary Iranian cinema.

Director: Tom Lin
Stars: Jiao Xu, Hui-Min Lin, Rene Liu
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Taiwan | China | Hong Kong

12-year-old Mei grew up with her grandparents in the mountains, but now lives with her parents in the city. Her parents constantly fight and she ignored at home. Mei withdraws into her own world and imagination.

Director: Marcus O. Rosenmüller
Stars: Gedeon Burkhard, Michael Mendl, Catherine Flemming
Genre: Drama, Music, War
Country: Germany

Three musically talented children look to the future, but their hopes crumble when Germany and Russia enter into war.

Director: David Weissman, Bill Weber
Stars: Ed Wolf, Daniel Goldstein, Guy Clark
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
Country: USA

A deep and reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of this unimaginable crisis.

Director: Paul Mariano, Kurt Norton
Stars: Jeff Adachi, James H. Billington, Robin Blaetz
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

Director: Daniele Anastasion, Eric Strauss
Stars: Joshua Milton Blahyi Jr., Janice Blahyi, Joshua Blahyi
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Drama
Country: USA | Georgia | Liberia

Tells the story of Joshua Milton Blahyi – aka General Butt Naked – a brutal warlord who murdered thousands during Liberia’s horrific 14-year civil war. Today, the General has renounced his violent past and reinvented himself as Evangelist Joshua Milton Blahyi. This portrait takes viewers on Joshua’s crusade to redeem his past, as he confronts his victims and attempts to rehabilitate the former child soldiers who once fought for him. Whatever you make of him — liar or madman, charlatan or genuine repentant — the film challenges viewers to ask important questions about both the power and the limits of forgiveness, amid a nation’s search for healing and justice.

Director: Joshua Marston
Stars: Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Lacej, Refet Abazi
Genre: Drama
Country: USA | Albania | Denmark | Italy | UK

An Albanian family is torn apart by a murder, resulting in a blood feud that makes eldest son Nik a prime target and forces his sister, eldest daughter Rudina, to leave school in order to take over the family business.

Director: Göran Olsson
Stars: Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale
Genre: Documentary, History
Country: Sweden | USA

Footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.

Director: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
Stars: n/a
Genre: Documentary, History
Country: Israel

Can justice truly be served in the occupied territories given the current system of law administered by Israel for Palestinians?

Director: Gilles Penso
Stars: Ray Harryhausen, Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Country: France

The life and work of the renowned film visual effects artist and producer.

Director: Gabrielle Provaas, Rob Schröder
Stars: Louise Fokkens, Martine Fokkens
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Country: Netherlands

A documentary on Louise and Martine Fokkens, 69-year-old twin sisters who have worked as prostitutes in the red-light district in Amsterdam for over 40 years.

Director: Mark Racco
Stars: Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, Nirvana
Genre: Documentary, Music
Country: USA

On Halloween 1991, Nirvana played live at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. Songs from both albums, “Bleach” and “Nevermind”, were performed.

Director: Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Kimberlee Acquaro
Stars: Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Jean Kilbourne, Jim Steyer
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media’s limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman.

Director: Robert Guédiguian
Stars: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan
Genre: Drama
Country: France

A union pensioner and his wife are robbed, but find that merely getting the assailants brought to justice is not enough for their consciences.

Director: Gorô Miyazaki
Stars: Sarah Bolger, Chris Noth, Anton Yelchin
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family
Country: Japan

A group of Yokohama teens look to save their school’s clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Director: David Gelb
Stars: Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.

Director: Takashi Miike
Stars: Kôji Yakusho, Munetaka Aoki, Naoto Takenaka
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan | UK

A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.

Director: Bryan Storkel
Stars: Ben Crawford, Brad Currah, David Drury
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

Holy Rollers follows the rise of arguably the largest and most well-funded blackjack team in America-made up entirely of churchgoing Christians. While they succeed in taking millions from casinos, how will they manage to find a place for faith and God in the arena of high stakes gambling?

Director: Danfung Dennis
Stars: Nathan Harris, Ashley Harris, The Marines of Echo Company
Genre: Documentary, Action, History
Country: USA | UK | Afghanistan

What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home? Hell and Back Again is a cinematically revolutionary film that asks and answers these questions with a power and intimacy no previous film about the conflict in Afghanistan has been able to achieve. It is a masterpiece in the cinema of war.

Director: Corinna Belz
Stars: Gerhard Richter, Norbert Arns, Hubert Becker
Genre: Documentary
Country: Germany

A documentary on the German artist that includes glimpses at his studio, which has not been seen in decades.

Director: Pip Chodorov
Stars: Pip Chodorov, Ken Jacobs, Hans Richter
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Country: France | USA

What is experimental film, and why is it called that? Artists and poet working in celluloid since before WWI have always found themselves in a no man’s land. Excluded both from the art world and from the film industry, they bodly created a grassroots network for making and showing their films. They also created a profound body of work that continues to influence our culture. I wanted to share a few of the films I love and introduce you some of the free, radicals artists who made them.

Director: Jason Cohn, Bill Jersey
Stars: Charles Eames, Ray Eames, James Franco
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Country: USA

The husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames were America’s most influential and important industrial designers. Admired for their creations and fascinating as individuals, they have risen to iconic status in American culture. ‘Eames: The Architect & The Painter’ draws from a treasure trove of archival material, as well as new interviews with friends, colleague, and experts to capture the personal story of Charles and Ray while placing them firmly in the context of their fascinating times.

Director: Han-min Kim
Stars: Hae-il Park, Seung-ryong Ryu, Mu-Yeol Kim
Genre: Action, History, War
Country: South Korea

A skilled Korean archer goes up against the mighty force of Manchus with the sole purpose of rescuing his kidnapped sister.

Director: Sang-soo Hong
Stars: Joon-Sang Yoo, Sang-Jung Kim, Seon-mi Song
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: South Korea

A professor in the film department at a provincial university goes to Seoul to meet his senior, who works as a film critic, and stays in a northern Seoul village for three days.

Director: Liz Garbus
Stars: Bobby Fischer, David Edmonds, Anthony Saidy
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
Country: USA | UK

‘Bobby Fischer Against the World’ is a documentary feature exploring the tragic and bizarre life of the late chess master Bobby Fischer. The drama of Bobby Fischer’s career was undeniable, from his troubled childhood, to his rock star status as World Champion and Cold War icon, to his life as a fugitive on the run. This film explores one of the most infamous and mysterious characters of the 20th century.

Director: Constance Marks, Philip Shane
Stars: Kevin Clash, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Oz
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA

The Muppet Elmo is one of the most beloved characters among children across the globe. Meet the unlikely man behind the puppet – the heart and soul of Elmo – Kevin Clash.

Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Stars: Thomas Doret, Cécile de France, Jérémie Renier
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: Belgium | France | Italy

Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in a state-run youth farm. In a random act of kindness, the town hair-dresser agrees to foster him on week-ends.