Tuesday, December 29, 2015

SFFLA 2016

17th Scandinavian Film Festival L.A.

9, 10, 23, 24, 2016 - WGA in Beverly Hills


 

Screening Schedule:

 
Saturday, January 9
 
12:00 The Idealist (114 min) - Denmark
02:30 Maiko: Dancing Child (70 min) - Norway
04:00 The Wave (104 min) - Norway
06:00 Opening Gala Reception
07:30 Opening Night Film: The Fencer (93 min) - Finland
 
 
 
Sunday, January 10
 
11:30 Horizon (80 min) - Iceland
01:00 Intermezzo (1936, 93 min) - Sweden
03:00 A War (115 min) - Denmark
05:30 Rams (93 min) - Iceland
07:30 Catwalk (short film 11 min) - Sweden
08:00 A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (101 min) - Sweden
 
 
 
Saturday, January 23
 
12:30 Moomins on the Riviera (80 min) - Finland
02:30 The Summer of Sangailé (88 min) - Lithuania
04:30 The Butterfly Man (short film 15 min) - Estonia
05:00 1944 (100 min) - Estonia
07:30 Rosita (90 min) - Denmark
 
 
 
Sunday, January 24
 
01:00 The Other Girls (83 min) - Finland
03:00 The Lesson (108 min) - Latvia
05:30 A Second Chance (102 min) - Denmark
07:30 Girls Lost (106 min) - Sweden
 
 
For more information please visit SFFLA2016 
 


Thursday, December 24, 2015

Golden Globe® Foreign Language Film Series 2016


 

GOLDEN GLOBE FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM SERIES 2016

January 4 - 9, 2016 at the Aero and Egyptian Theatres

Presented by the American Cinematheque and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
 


The nominees for Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture in a foreign-language category will screen the week of the Golden Globe Award Show at the Aero Theatre with filmmakers in person, culminating with a free symposium with the directors of all of the nominated films and a reception for all attendees.
The nominees are: THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT, Belgium/France/Luxembourg; THE CLUB, Chile; THE FENCER, Finland/Germany/Estonia; MUSTANG, France; SON OF SAUL, Hungary.
Please join us for a FREE panel discussion and reception with the directors of the Golden Globe Best Foreign-Language Film Nominees, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Scroll down to rsvp.
This seminar will also stream online. Click here to watch.
All films in original language with English subtitles.

AERO THEATRE

1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403
 

Monday, January 4 - 7:30 PM - Aero Theatre

 
"An original and brilliantly acted chamber drama in which Larraín’s fiercely political voice comes through as loud and clear as ever."
Scott Foundas, Variety

THE CLUB

2015, Music Box, Chile, 98 min. Dir. Pablo Larraín
Member screening!
An unassuming residence in a Chilean beach town serves as a retirement home for disgraced priests in this thought-provoking drama, a Silver Bear winner at the Berlin International Film Festival. When a new member to this club is confronted by a former victim of his misdeeds, the fallout results in a visit by Father Garcia (Marcel Alonso), who must balance his hope to save these souls with the need to protect the Catholic Church.
Admission to this private screening is by invitation only.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
 
 

Tuesday, January 5 - 7:30 PM - Aero Theatre

 
A religiously incorrect but irresistibly funny work of the imagination.”
Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter
 

THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT
(LE TOUT NOUVEAU TESTAMENT)

2015, Belgium/France/Luxembourg, 113 min. Dir. Jaco Van Dormael.
According to this surreal satire from writer-director Jaco Van Dormael (MR. NOBODY, TOTO THE HERO), those hoping to find God should focus their search on an apartment building in Brussels, where the deity (Benoit Poelvoorde) spends his days making human life more difficult. His daughter (Pili Groyne) hopes to put a stop to this and sets off to recruit some new apostles (Catherine Deneuve among them).
In French with English subtitles.
Discussion following with writer-director Jaco Van Dormael.
 
 

Wednesday, January 6 - 7:30 PM - Aero Theatre

 
“All you need to know is in the haunted eyes of [lead actor Géza] Röhrig, whose raw and riveting performance deserves superlatives.”
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

SON OF SAUL

(SAUL FIA)

2015, Sony Pictures Classics, Hungary, 107 min. Dir. László Nemes.
Member screening!
As a concentration camp Sonderkommando, Saul (Géza Röhrig, mesmerizing here) has grown numb to the sight of murder on an industrial scale; he is living on borrowed time himself. But when he sees a boy who miraculously survived the gas chamber only to be smothered by the camp doctor, Saul makes a decision – this child will get a proper Jewish burial, no matter what. With an unrelenting focus on its central character, SON OF SAUL stands as one of the most stunning Holocaust dramas ever made. The Grand Prix winner at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Admission to this private screening is by invitation only.
In Hungarian, Yiddish, German and Polish with English subtitles.
 
 
 

Thursday, January 7 - 7:30 PM - Aero Theatre

 
"What makes the transfixing film so effective is that the director refuses to portray [the girls] simplistically, as misunderstood angels, and she has enough trust in her audience to leave the drama's implicit feminism unstate.”
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

MUSTANG

2015, Cohen Film, France, 97 min. Dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven.
When five sisters take an innocent walk on the beach with a few male friends, things get blown way out of proportion in this affecting drama set in northern Turkey. The girls’ conservative grandmother cracks down, confining them to a home that becomes a prison/wife factory – but these young women have a spirit that refuses to be broken. Buoyed by superb performances (all the more impressive given this is the feature debut of Ergüven and most of her lead actresses), MUSTANG is as powerful as it is timely.
In Turkish and Arabic with English subtitles.
Discussion following with director Deniz Gamze Ergüven.
 
 

Friday, January 8 - 7:30 PM - Aero Theatre

 
“A local story with universal resonance”
Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter

THE FENCER

(MIEKKAILIJA)

2015, 93 min, Finland/Estonia/Germany, 93 min. Dir. Klaus Härö.
This touching 1950s-set drama about love and a man who finds meaning in his life through children who need him stars Märt Avandi as Endel Nelis, a young man who leaves Leningrad to escape the secret police. Arriving in Haapsalu, Estonia, he finds work as a teacher and founds a sports club for his students, teaching them his great passion – fencing. But Endel is faced with a hard choice when the children want to participate in a national fencing tournament in Leningrad.
In Estonian and Russian with English subtitles.
Discussion following with director Klaus Härö.
 
 

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028
 

Saturday, January 9 - 1:00 PM - Egyptian Theatre

 
This event will be broadcast LIVE on the web. Click here.
Free Event! Live Web Stream!
GOLDEN GLOBE FOREIGN-LANGUAGE NOMINEES SEMINAR
Please join us for a FREE panel discussion with the filmmakers of the Golden Globe nominees for Best Foreign-Language Film in person!

The following directors are confirmed to appear: Pablo Larraín, Jaco Van Dormael, László Nemes, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, and Klaus Härö.
Moderated by Mike Goodridge (writer on film with 20 years in print, recently edited the Filmcraft series of books and wrote the Filmcraft Directing book).*
A dessert reception for the entire audience will follow the symposium in the lobby. This is a free event; RSVP here for priority admission. Those who do not RSVP will be admitted on a first come, first served basis as space permits. Doors will open at 11:30 AM.
 

Golden Globe Foreign-Language Nominees SeriesClick here for detailed listings, guest updates and more information.
Visit the Golden Globes page on
For more information on the Golden Globe Awards and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, please visit: www.goldenglobes.org. * All guests are subject to availability.
 
American Cinematheque
Egyptian Theatre -
6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028
Aero Theatre - 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403
www.americancinematheque.com - 323.466.FILM
tickets: Aero Theatre
 
 

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

TOP 20 - BEST OF 2015





My favorite 20 BEST FILMS of 2015 (in alphabetical order):



ARABIAN NIGHTS
As Mil e uma Noites
Miguel Gomes (Portugal)



THE ASSASSIN
刺客聶隱娘
Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Taiwan)




CAROL
Todd Haynes (US/UK)




CASA GRANDE
Felippe Gamarano Barbosa (Brazil)




THE CLAN
El Clan
Pablo Trapero (Argentina)




EASTERN BOYS 
Robin Campillo (France)




FOREIGN BODY
Obce ciało
Krzysztof Zanussi (Poland)




GRUBER IS LEAVING 
Gruber geht
Marie Kreutzer (Germany)




HOW TO WIN AT CHECKERS (EVERY TIME)
พี่ชาย 
Josh Kim (Thailand)




IRAQI ODYSSEY
Samir (Iraq)




MAGICAL GIRL
Carlos Vermut (Spain)




MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART
山河故人
Jia Zhangke (China)




SON OF SAUL
Saul fia
László Nemes (Hungary)




TALE OF TALES
Matteo Garrone (Italy)




TAXI
تاکسی
Jafar Panahi (Iran)




THEEB
ذيب
Naji Abu Nowar (Jordan)



THE WALK 
Robert Zemeckis (US)




WINTER SLEEP 
Kis Uykusu
Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)




THE WOLFPACK
Crystal Moselle (US)




XENIA
Ξενία
Panos H. Koutras (Greece)