Switzerland

Switzerland’s submission for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this is a moving story about the heart. Edmond’s has gotten a little weaker recently. It still beats out a fiercely independent rhythm, however, and this causes him to reject the idea of moving to a nursing home. So Rose is sent to him as a home carer, but he rejects her ministrations, too. Rose knows what it is like for a heart to lose its vigor, as her own heart has still not recovered. She knows the acute pain of accepting the inevitable. When Edmond takes a bad fall one day, he is forced to accept Rose’s help and the two cannot stay disconnected for long.

US Premiere

Award-winning filmmaker Hajo Schomerus (known internationally for his remarkable short films) presents his new documentary spotlighting a different kind of religious strife in the Holy Land.  

At age 80, French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard still commands attention from the worldwide league of cineastes, to become, perhaps, even a household name with his “Lifetime Achievement” Oscar in 2010.  His latest foray, Film Socialisme, is a sometimes screaming collage of daring, dense and demanding references to the tragedies of late 20th century politics, economics and film history. Structured as a “symphony in three parts,” he looks for meaning as a concerned European behind longtime existential angst for our rootless times. Å disco-gambling cruise ship on the Mediterranean sets the overall stage, then moving to a family gas station with a pet llama, the film becomes a dizzying montage (revisiting the famous Odessa Steps sequence of Eisenstein), along with some Hollywood-bashing. Using a variety of digital imagery including pristine HD footage and pixilated cell phone recordings, multi-layered soundtracks, and trademark use of fragmented subtitles, he returns again to the cruise ship.

recommended for age 5+

This beautifully hand-drawn (English language) animated feature from France’s animation studio, Folimage, is a deservedly popular thriller for kids--currently being nominated for major animated feature awards.  

“My love of Wagner is tearing me apart,” says Stephen Fry.  Brought face to face with Hitler through a shared passion—the glorious operatic repertoire of history’s most controversial composer, Richard Wagner—famed British television personality Stephen Fry is forced into a confusing juggling match with his Jewish history in one hand, and his love for Wagner in the other. 

Director Georges Gachot Present

An intimate tribute to Nana Caymmi, one of Brazil’s most cherished musical icons.

Producer Frank Matter Present

This debut feature from Nicola Bellucci on the healing powers of “aural therapy” is a cinematic and sonic achievement, blending artful cameracraft with intricate soundscapes. Living in a Swiss hamlet tucked away in the mountains, blind musician and child therapist Wolfgang Fasser guides his youthful patients into the mysteries of sound and music, while working to ease pain and relieve tension. With quiet reverence, Nicola Bellucci observes this almost alchemistic phenomenon, and allows audiences to witness a remarkable journey into new sensory worlds, as children are given an indispensable key to improve their daily lives.

Like The Beatles and David Lynch before him, young German filmmaker David Sieveking sets off on a journey of enlightenment to better understand the teachings of Transcendental Meditation (TM), a controversial spiritual movement that's been criticized by some for using financially manipulative practices.  Travelling from Fairfield, Iowa (a founder Maharishi center), to India to Berlin, this artistic pilgrimage showcases Sieveking's charm in this tale on the fallibility of his idols, among them cult filmmaker and TM devotee David Lynch. Scenic backdrops and a playful musical score add to the depth of Sieveking’s whimsical and provocative documentary.