Cinema Italian Style 2015

11th Italian Film Festival in Los Angeles

Egyptian & Aero Theatres - November 12-16, 2015

THURSDAY, NOV. 12 at 6:30 PM - Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood

Italy’s Official Oscar Submission!

DON’T BE BAD

NON ESSERE CATTIVO

2015, 101 min, Dir: Claudio Caligari

 

                

The final film from writer-director Claudio Caligari follows friends Cesare (Luca Marinelli) and Vittorio (Alessandro Borghi) around the outskirts of Rome in Ostia, where the fast-moving nightlife of the 1990s threatens to pull them apart. This Pasolini-èsque crime drama won eight awards at the Venice International Film Festival. In Italian with English subtitles.


All the remaining screenings will be at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica

FRIDAY, NOV. 13 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

AN ITALIAN NAME

IL NOME DEL FIGLIO

2015, Films Distribution, 94 min, Italy, Dir: Francesca Archibugi

                 

Based on the recent French film WHAT’S IN A NAME?, this boisterous comedy starts simply enough, at a dinner party where soon-to-be parents Alessandro Gassmann and Micaela Ramazzotti (both Nastro d'Argento winners) hope to enjoy an evening with some old friends (Valeria Golino, Luigi Lo Cascio and Rocco Papaleo). But all hell breaks loose when the subject of the child’s name is broached. In Italian with English subtitles.

THE DINNER

I NOSTRI RAGAZZI

2014, Film Movement, 92 min, Italy, Dir: Ivano de Matteo

                

This superb adaptation of Herman Koch’s bestseller will give any parent nightmares. Pediatrician Luigi Lo Cascio and lawyer Alessandro Gassmann dine together every week with their wives; they have a lot to talk about when video surfaces that could implicate their teenage kids in the death of a homeless woman. De Matteo skillfully plays on audience assumptions from start to devastating finish in this look at how close violence remains to even the most placid surface. In Italian with English subtitles.

SATURDAY, NOV. 14 at 4:30 PM

THE WAIT

L’ATTESA

2015, 100 min, Italy/France, Dir: Piero Messina

 

                 

In her villa in Sicily, Anna (Juliette Binoche) is mourning her son Giuseppe when his fiancée (Lou de Laâge) arrives to spend Easter weekend with him. Unable to break the news to the young woman, Anna allows her to wait for Giuseppe, getting to know this link to her son a little better before the truth inevitably emerges. Messina earned a Golden Lion nomination at the Venice Film Festival for this stylish feature debut. “Benefiting enormously from its evocative Sicilian setting, this widescreen experience makes bewitching use of space, time and sound, creating an almost meditative atmosphere.” - Peter Debruge, Variety. In Italian and French with English subtitles.


SATURDAY, NOV. 14 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

ME, MYSELF AND HER

IO E LEI

2015, Lucky Red, 97 min, Italy, Dir: Maria Sole Tognazzi

                

Perhaps Italy’s first romantic comedy with a female couple at the center, ME, MYSELF AND HER stars Sabrina Ferilli as happily out restaurateur Marina and Margherita Buy (from Tognazzi’s previous A FIVE STAR LIFE) as Federica, a previously married architect whose fear of what others might think gives her pause about the relationship. With a light tone, this warm look at the everyday struggles of two people to build a life together strikes a universal chord. In Italian with English subtitles.

GOD WILLING

SE DIO VUOLE

2015, Intramovies, 87 min, Italy, Dir: Edoardo Maria Falcone

                

Edoardo Maria Falcone earned David di Donatello and Nastro d’Argento Best New Director awards for this knowing father-son comedy. Alessandro Gassmann stars as a priest hilariously stalked by arrogant cardiac surgeon Tommaso (Marco Giallini), an avowed atheist who is thrown for a loop by an announcement from his only son (Enrico Oetiker) – the young man wants to become a priest, too. A box office hit in Italy. In Italian with English subtitles.


SUNDAY, NOV. 15 at 5:00 PM

LATIN LOVER

2015, Rai Com, 104 min, Italy, Dir: Cristina Comencini

 

                

Italian actor Saverio (a charismatic Francesco Scianna) personified the Latin lover of the title, portraying a legion of romantic leads onscreen and fathering five daughters (each with a different woman). Ten years after Saverio’s death, his hometown of Apulia stages a memorial, bringing ex-wives, children and former associates together to regrind old axes. Beginning with this ensemble comedy setup, LATIN LOVER ultimately emerges as a love letter to the glory days of Italian film. With Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Marisa Paredes and Virna Lisi (in her final performance). In Italian with English subtitles.


SUNDAY, NOV. 15 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

THE LEGENDARY GIULIA

NOI E LA GIULIA

2015, Intramovies, 115 min, Italy, Dir: Edoardo Leo

                

Diego (Luca Argentero), Claudio (Stefano Fresi) and Fausto (director Leo) are all busts at their respective occupations and leave the city for an abandoned farm they hope to turn into a magnet for tourists. The boys have to think fast when the local mafia tries to muscle in on things, but a buried car (the Alfa Romeo Giulia of the title) that plays classical music becomes a surprise attraction. A Nastro d'Argento winner for Best Comedy and Supporting Actor Claudio Amendola. In Italian with English subtitles.

ITALIAN GANGSTERS

2015, Minerva Pictures, 87 min, Italy, Dir: Renato de Maria

                

This unusual docudrama presents a rogue’s gallery of criminals from postwar Milan, painting multifaceted portraits of such notorious underworld figures as Enzo Barbieri and Paolo Casaroli. Cut together in rat-a-tat style, archival footage, scenes from films and actors speaking the gangsters’ own words resurrect both these larger-than life characters and a freewheeling (if dangerous) era of Italian history. “The mastery and excitement that Italian cinema was once known for springs to life again in ITALIAN GANGSTERS.” - Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter. In Italian with English subtitles.


MONDAY, NOV. 16 at 7:30 PM

MY MOTHER

MIA MADRE

2015, Alchemy, 106 min, Italy/France, Dir: Nanni Moretti

 

                

Filmmaker Nanni Moretti’s latest may have a touch of autobiography to it; the film profiles a director (David di Donatello Award winner Margherita Buy) under both personal and professional duress. As her mother (Giulia Lazzarini) lies in a hospital bed nearing the end of her life, Margherita’s current production hits a snag in the person of its difficult lead actor (John Turturro, providing some nice comic relief). This moving new drama took home the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In Italian and English with English subtitles.

 

Asian World Film Festival 2015

Showcasing the Best Films from the Asian World

October 26 - November 2, 2015

ArcLight Cinemas in Culver City & iPic Theatres in Westwood

 

 

Featuring 30 films from ASIA including 16 Oscar® entries!

All films that participate in the Festival will have a unique chance to be guided through the challenging awards season, showcasing their foreign films to the Oscar® Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and all Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention and awards consideration. 

 

THE GALAS:

 

Opening Night Film: THE SHAMELESS (무뢰한 South Korea) directed by Oh Seung-uk

Centerpiece Film: PIKU (India) directed by Shoojit Sircar

Closing Night Film: THE ASSASSIN (刺客聶隱娘 Taiwan) directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien

 

 

 

FILMS IN THE COMPETITION:

 

12 CITIZENS (十二公民 China)

100 YEN LOVE (百円の恋 Japan)

COURT (India)

HEAVENLY NOMADIC (Kyrgyzstan)

HOW TO WIN AT CHECKERS (EVERY TIME) (Thailand)

JALAL'S STORY (Bangladesh)

JACKPOT (Trúng số - Vietnam)

THE LAST REEL (Cambodia)

MEMORIES ON STONE (Iraq)

MOIRA (Georgia)

SIVAS (Turkey)

TALAKJUNG VS. TULKE (Nepal)

UNSOLVED LOVE (Russia)

UTOPIA (Afghanistan)

VOID (وينن - Lebanon)

THE WANTED 18 (Palestine)

 

 

 

FILMS OUT OF COMPETITION:

 

4 O'CLOCK AT PARADISE (الرابعة بتوقيت الفردوس‏ - Syria)

KID KULAFU (Philippines)

FROM A TO B (من ألف إلى باء - United Arab Emirates)

MEN WHO SAVE THE WORLD (Malaysia)

ROAD TO THE SKY (China)

STEPPE GAMES (Russia)

THEEB (ذيب - Jordan)

UNDER HEAVEN (Kyrgyzstan)

 

 

 

SPECIAL SCREENINGS:

 

LET PAN (Myanmar)

MY VOICE, MY LIFE (Hong Kong)

THIEF OF THE MIND (Mongolia)

 

 

For more information and the festival schedule please visit: ASIAN WORLD FILM FESTIVAL 

 

 

Argentina: New Cinema 2015

14th Annual Argentine Film Festival in Los Angeles

Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood - November 20-22, 2015

Presented by the American Cinémathèque and the Consulate General and Promotion Center of the Argentine Republic in Los Angeles, with the support of Latino Media Visions. Sponsored by REMY MARTIN.

FRIDAY, NOV. 20 at 7:30 PM

Argentina’s Official Oscar Submission!

THE CLAN

EL CLAN

2015, Fox Searchlight, 110 min, Dir: Pablo Trapero

 

                

Old habits die hard: The “disappearances” that marked the Videla regime in Argentina continued after the dictator’s fall in 1981, but the motive changed from politics to money. Arquimedes Puccio (Guillermo Francella, brilliantly cold-blooded here), kidnapped wealthy men and women and held them for ransom in his home, using domineering control over his family and - for a time - the tacit protection of police to do it. This riveting true story boasts great period detail (including a truly inspired soundtrack) and shocking violence, and was a huge box office hit in Argentina. In Spanish with English subtitles.


SATURDAY, NOV. 21 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

PAPERS IN THE WIND

PAPELES EN EL VIENTO

2015, 98 min, Dir: Juan Taratuto

 

                

Based on a novel by Eduardo Sacheri (The Secret in Their Eyes), this Argentine box office hit takes a bittersweet look at the country’s most popular sport. Lifelong friends and fervent fans of Buenos Aires’ Independiente soccer team, Fernando (Diego Peretti), Mauricio (Pablo Echarri) and El Ruso (Pablo Rago) try to help when Fernando’s brother dies, leaving all his family’s money invested in the fortunes of one struggling athlete. In Spanish with English subtitles.

THE BOSS, ANATOMY OF A CRIME

EL PATRON, RADIOGRAFIA DE UN CRIMEN

2014, 98 min, Argentina, Venezuela, Dir: Sebastián Schindel

 

                

Based on a true story, this powerful exposé of worker exploitation and social stratification in Argentina follows Hermógenes Saldivar (Joaquín Furriel, named Best Actor at the Guadalajara Film Festival), an illiterate farmhand who sees his new job at a Buenos Aires butcher shop as the key to a new life. But the boss (Luis Ziembrowski) is a slave driver whose abuse pushes Hermógenes to the breaking point. In Spanish with English subtitles.


SUNDAY, NOV. 22 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

FRANCIS: PRAY FOR ME

FRANCISCO – EL PADRE JORGE

2015, 100 min, Dir: Beda Docampo Feijóo

 

                 

Pope Francis has stirred the hopes of millions around the world since ascending to the papacy in 2013, but before that he was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a humble Buenos Aires priest. Starring Darío Grandinetti (WILD TALES), this informative biopic traces the prelate’s life and the evolution of his faith as he rises through the ranks of the Catholic Church. In Spanish with English subtitles.

INDIO, THE MOVIE

INDIO, LA PELICULA

2015, 113 min, Argentina, Dir: Carlos Alberto Solari

 

Among Argentina’s most popular and beloved artists, Indio Solari has been making music for nearly 40 years, but has never been the focus of a motion picture – until now. Shot with 12 HD cameras, a Condor cam and a helicopter, this exciting concert film captures the singer and his band, Los Fundamentalistas del Aire Acondicionado, whipping 45,000 fans into a frenzy at Estadio Ciudad de la Plata.

 

Polish Film Festival 2015

16th Annual Polish Film Festival Los Angeles

OCTOBER 13-22, 2015

Egyptian Theatre - Laemmle's NoHo7 and Royal

The Polish American Film Society is proud to announce the 16th Annual Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles (October 13 – 22, 2015) celebrating the greatest achievements of Polish filmmakers.

The festival will open with THE CITIZEN (Obywatel) by Jerzy Stuhr, winner of the Special Jury Award at Gdynia Film Festival, on October 13, 2015 with a star-studded gala during which both Polish and American moviemakers will walk the red carpet at Hollywood's legendary Egyptian Theatre. An extravagant start to a ten-day-long celebration of Polish Cinema through October 22, 2015 with subsequent  screenings at the Laemmle's NoHo 7 and Royal Theaters.

For the sixteenth time, the Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles will present the most recent achievements of Polish cinema, feature films, documentaries, animations, and a series of short films, including:

ALL ABOUT MY PARENTS (Pani z przedszkola) by Marcin Krzysztalowicz
ANATOMY OF EVIL (Anatomia zla) by Jacek Bromski
BODY (Cialo) by Malgorzata Szumowska
CARTE BLANCHE by Jacek Lusinski
CLOSE-UPS (Zblizenia) by Magdalena Piecorz 
DISCO POLO by Maciej Bochniak
GODS (Bogowie) by Lukasz Palkowski
A GRAIN OF TRUTH (Ziarno prawdy) by Borys Lankosz  
FANCIFUL (Piate nie odchodz) by Katarzyna Jungowska
FIELD OF DOGS (Onirica) by Lech Majewski
FOREIGN BODY (Obce cialo) by Krzysztof Zanussi
KARSKI by Magdalena Lazarkiewicz
LIFE MUST GO ON (Zyc nie umierac) by Maciej Migas
STONES FOR THE RAMPART (Kamienie na szaniec) by Robert Glinski
WATERLINE (Jeziorak) by Michal Otlowski
WARSAW 44 (Miasto 44) by Jan Komasa
WARSAW BY NIGHT by Natalia Koryncka-Gruz

  

 

In the segment of movies made abroad by Polish filmmakers, with Polish talent, or with Polish subject, they are planning to present:

 

JOURNEY TO ROME by Tomasz Mielnik

ONCE MY MOTHER by Sophia Turkiewicz

AGAINST NIGHT by Stefan Kubicki  

IT HAPPENED AGAIN by Wojciech Fry-Lewis

MESSIAH by Mark Grabianowski

SHADOWS by Paul Kowalski

THE VIGILANTE by Matthew K. Firpo

 

The following are the 2015 Awards of the 16th Annual Polish Film Festival:

 

• Pola Negri Award: ANDY GARCIA
• Piotr Lazarkiewicz Award for Young Talent: ANNA PROCHNIAK, ADAM BOBIK
• Adam Bratcher Music Debut Award: ALEKSANDER GRUZ
• Bridging the Borders Award for a Short Film: THE SHADOW FOREST (Las cieni) by Andrzej Cichocki
• Cinema Without Borders Special Jury Award for a Short Film:  INTERRUPTION (Przerwanie) by Adam Suzin
• The Hollywood Eagle Animation Award:  IT'S QUITE TRUE! (To pewna wiadomosc!) by Joanna Jasinska-Koronkiewicz  
• The Hollywood Eagle Documentary Award: CALL ME MARIANNA (Mow mi Marianna) by Karolina Bielawska
• The Hollywood Eagle Best Feature Award: WARSAW 44 (Miasto 44) by Jan Komasa

The following guests are invited from Poland: Tomasz Kot, Lukasz Simlat, Magdalena Lazarkiewicz, Adam Bobik, Maciej Bochniak, and Joanna Kulig.

The Festival is sponsored by the Polish Film Institute, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, POLAM, Polish Filmmakers Association, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, ELMA, Polish Center of Los Angeles, Helena Modjeska Art and Cultural Club, Shakespeare Vodka, and Andrzej Dobrzynski.

For a complete schedule of screenings please visit Polish Film Festival

Recent Spanish Cinema 2015

21st Spanish Film Festival

Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood - October 15-18, 2015

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 at 7:30 - Opening Night

MARSHLAND     

LA ISLA MINIMA

2014, Outsider Pictures, 105 min, Spain, Dir: Alberto Rodriguez

Spain’s democracy was still on wobbly legs in 1980, particularly in the backwater of Andalusia where this tense crime drama is set. City policemen Juan (Javier Gutiérrez) and Pedro (Raúl Arévalo) are dispatched to the depressed rural area to investigate the disappearance of two sisters; the cops’ differing backgrounds – one a ruthless veteran, the other an idealistic rookie – lead to increasingly unsettling discoveries. Winner of 10 Goya Awards, including Best Film, Director, Lead Actor (Gutiérrez) and Cinematography (Alex Catalán’s aerial shots are truly dazzling). “This superbly crafted, richly textured thriller is one of the strongest Spanish films of the year.” - Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter. In Spanish with English subtitles.


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 at 7:30 - Double Feature!

HAPPY 140

FELICES 140

2015, Latido Films, 98 min, Spain, Dir: Gracia Querejeta

 

                

Elia (Maribel Verdu) has just hit the jackpot – literally. One of the things she spends her 140 million Euro lottery prize on is a 40th-birthday bash in the Canary Islands, to which she invites a motley group of family and friends, including the ex she still pines for. But proximity to wealth can warp even the closest relationships, and the reunion soon takes a shocking turn. “Querejeta has assembled one of the best possible casts which Spanish cinema can provide.” - Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter. In Spanish with English subtitles.

SIDETRACKED

LAS OVEJAS NO PIERDEN EL TREN

2014, Film Factory, 103 min, Spain, Dir: Alvaro Fernandez Armero

 

                

The midlife crises of three Spanish couples provide the laughs in this gleeful ensemble comedy. Luisa (Inma Cuesta of THREE MANY WEDDINGS) and Alberto (Raúl Arévalo) move to the countryside, thinking it a better place to raise kids, though the change puts a damper on their sex life. Luisa’s sister (Candela Peña) and Alberto’s brother (Alberto San Juan) have their own relationship challenges - her obsessive pursuit scares men away, while his much-younger girlfriend is a little on the impulsive side. In Spanish with English subtitles.


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 at 8:00 - Spielberg Theatre

SHREW’S NEST

MUSARAÑAS

2014, Film Factory, 95 min, Spain/France, Dir: Juanfer Andrés, Esteban Roel

 

                

First-time feature directors Juanfer Andrés and Esteban Roel (and producer Alex De La Iglesia) lead viewers through a terrifying psychological maze in 1950s Spain. At its center is the apartment of Montse (Macarena Gómez, in one of the wildest performances you’ll see all year), who has raised her younger sister to the brink of adulthood. But agoraphobia and religious ritual have taken their toll on Montse, and when an injured young man (Hugo Silva) turns up at the door, help is the last thing she gives him. With Luis Tosar as the spectral father figure. In Spanish with English subtitles.


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 at 7:30 - Double Feature!

REQUIREMENTS TO BE A NORMAL PERSON

REQUISITOS PARA SER UNA PERSONA NORMAL

2015, 90 min, Spain, Dir: Leticia Dolera

 

 

Everybody tries to fit in, but few people go about it as methodically as Maria de las Montañas (writer-director Leticia Dolera), who hopes to reach normality through a seven-item checklist. Her mentally challenged younger brother (Jordi Llodrà) and overweight friend (Manuel Burque) seem to have most of the bases covered, and the success of Maria’s quest may boil down to just being herself. Brightly colored and boasting a jangly folk score from Luthea Salom, this romantic comedy is, as one might hope from its title, charmingly eccentric. Winner of the Best New Screenwriter, Cinematography and Editing Awards at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles.

OFF COURSE

PERDIENDO EL NORTE

2015, DeAPlaneta International, 102 min, Spain, Dir: Nacho Garcia Velilla

 

                

Hugo (Yon González) and Braulio (Julián López) both have university degrees and no jobs. They think they can escape the economic doldrums by leaving Spain for Germany, but what looked like a land of opportunity on TV presents more challenges to the two friends than they expected in this sparkling comedy. One of the most successful films of the year in Spain! In Castilian and German with English subtitles.


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 at 7:30 - Double Feature!

MAGICAL GIRL

2014, Films Distribution, 127 min, Spain/France, Dir: Carlos Vermut

 

                

Luis (Luis Bermejo) has a 12-year-old daughter with a terminal illness and a last wish – to have a dress just like the main character of her favorite Japanese anime series. The unemployed professor doesn’t have the money to purchase the dress, but thinks he can get it with a little help from a former teacher (José Sacristán) and an unbalanced young woman (Goya and Feroz winner Bárbara Lennie). Vermut’s sure directorial hand weaves multiple storylines together in this haunting (and occasionally intense) drama. In Spanish with English subtitles.

NOTHING IN RETURN

A CAMBIO DE NADA

2015, 6 Sales, 93 min, Spain, Dir: Daniel Guzmán

                

Seeking escape from his parents’ acrimonious divorce, teen Dario (Miguel Herrán) gets into minor scrapes with lifelong buddy Luismi (Antonio Bachiller) and finds a surrogate family in Madrid with a mechanic and a 90-year-old junk dealer. With his background as an actor, writer-director Guzmán has a sharp eye for detail, and this Málaga Best Film winner has an appealing naturalism from first frame to last. “A high-energy, feel-good movie with the warmest of hearts.” – Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter. In Spanish with English subtitles.