4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days | Romania | 2007 | 113 minutes
Synopsis : Director Cristian Mungiu's drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days unfolds in Romania in the late '80s, during the last waning days of Communist rule. Anamaria Marinca and Laura Vasiliu play, respectively, Otilia and Gabita, two female friends and students who share a Bucharest flat. They soon find themselves saddled with an overwhelming problem: Gabita is expecting. With abortion illegal in Romania at that time, the women seek an illicit termination at the hands of one Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov) in a seedy Romanian hotel - but Bebe refuses to accept money in return for his services and demands a certain "alternate" commodity instead.
Director : Cristian Mungiu
Screenwriter : Cristian Mungiu
Cinematographer : Oleg Mutu
Editor : Dana Bunescu
Cast : Anamaria Marinca, Laura Visiliu, Blad Ivanov
Awards : Golden Palm, FIPRESCI and Cinema Prize for the French National Education System - 2007 Canes International Film Festival
Bio : Cristian Mungiu was born in 1968 in Iasi, Romania. He studied English literature at the University of Iasi and Film directing at the University of Film in Bucharest. He worked as a teacher and a journalist for written press, radio and television until 1994. During his film studies, he worked as an assistant director for foreign productions shot in Romania. After his graduation, in 1998, he made several shorts. His first feature, “Occident”, was premiered in Director’s Fortnight in Cannes in 2002 and later won prizes at several festivals. He co-founded Mobra Films in 2003.
Control | UK/USA | 2007 | 119 minutes
Synopsis : Directed by acclaimed music photographer Anton Corbijn and based on Deborah Curtis' "Touching From A Distance", Control is the story of the late Joy Division Singer Ian Curtis' life, from te band's rise to fame to his tragic suicide. Control documents the relationships with both his wife and his girlfriend, his batle with epilepsy and the road to success with his band, Joy DIvision. WIth a score by New Order featuring original tracks from the 70s by WEarsaw and Joy Division
Director : Anton Corbijn
Screenwriter : Matt Greenhalgh
Cinematographer : Martin Ruhe
Editor : Andrew Hulme
Cast : Sam Rilley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara
Awards : Golden Camera - 2007 Cannes International Film Festival
Bio : "Anton Corbijn was born in Strijen, Netherlands.His first photographs he took in 1972 during a live concert. In 1979, enchanting by the musical world, he moved to London, where he gets into immediate contact with the most popular bands and artists of the time: Post Punk, Joy Division, Magazine, PIL Ltd., etc. He loved music and he loved photography. In CorbijnÕs photos people are pictured as earnest people, caught in calm moments, far removed from summit of their stages. At a time when authenticity as a revolutionary concept had long been derided, Corbijn boldly and unwaveringly entered a battle he could not win. It was a battle against the superiority of soullessly and artificially images of man."
Ezra | Nigeria/France/Austria | 2007 | 110 minutes
Synopsis : Eleven days after the start of the revolution the Russians give into the demands of the students and the their soldiers and tanks leave Budapest. It's a joyful moment for all of Hungary. Viki persuades Karcsi that he must return to the water polo team and represent the new Hungary at the Olympics. It is only when the team has left Hungary that the truth is revealed -- the Hungarians have been betrayed. The Russians return with tank guns blazing, determined to put down the Hungarian revolution and establish once and for all their iron-fisted rule over all the countries under the sway of the Soviet Empire.
Director : Newton Aduaka
Screenwriter : Newton Aduaka, Alain-Michel Blanc
Cinematographer : Carlos Arango de Montis
Editor : Sebastien Campana
Cast : Mamoudo Turay Kamara, Mariame N'Diaye, Mamusu Kallon, Richard Gant, Mercy Ojelade, Emile Abossolo-Mbo
Awards : Best Film - 2007 Durban International Film Festival
Bio : "Born in Ogidi, Eastern Nigeria, in 1966, Newton Aduaka moved to Lagos in 1970 after the Biafran War, and then to England in 1985. Following a diploma course in video arts and post-production, he studied film history, art and technique at the London International Film School, graduating in 1990. He wrote and published short stories while working as a sound mixer on a wide range of productions. In 1997 he set up Granite FilmWorks with Maria Elena L'Abbate to produce personal, cutting-edge and uncompromising films. As a director, his short films include Carnival of Silence (1994), Voices Behind the Wall (1990) and On The Edge (1997), which won him three prestigious awards and numerous special mentions. His debut feature Rage (2000) was released to huge critical acclaim, becoming the first independent film by a black film-maker to gain a national release in Britain. It was also very successful in international film festivals, winning many prizes including Best Director at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. Since then he has directed commercials and a further short film, Funeral (2002), commissioned for the Cannes Film Festival alongside similarly-themed work from internationally renowned directors such as Walter Salles, Arturo Ripstein and Amos Gitai."
Foster Child | Philippines | 2007 | 98 minutes
Synopsis : Thelma, together with her husband Dado and two teenage sons Gerald and Yuri belongs to an urban poor family in Manila. They are hired by a local Foster Care Facility to provide temporary home and carre to abandoned babies pending the babies formal adoption. This is the story of such an event, when Thelma's latest foster child, John-John is to be turned over to his adoptive American parents. Every moment with the three year old John-John becomes precious as Thelma goes through the day.
Director : Brilliante Mendoza
Screenwriter : Ralson Jover
Cinematographer : Odyssey Flore
Editor : Charliebebs Gohetia
Cast : Cherry Pie Picache, Eugene Domingo, Jiro Manio, Kier Alonzo
Awards : Official Selection - 2007 Quinzaine Des Realisateurs Cannes
Bio : He was born in 1960 in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. He studied Fine Arts Major in Advertising at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He started his career as a production designer in feature films, televsion, theatre, and in television advertising for the past ten years.
Irina Palm | Belgium/Germany/Luxemburg/France | 2007 | 103 minutes
Synopsis : Legendary rocker Marianne Faithfull (of "As Tears Go By" and Broken English fame) stars in director Sam Garbarski's gently observed comedy-drama Irina Palm (2007). She portrays Maggie, a working-class quinquagenarian increasingly desperate to cover the cost of her ailing grandson's (Corey Burke) operation. When denied one loan and prospective job after another, a hopeless Maggie plunges headfirst into the underground skin trade of Soho London and prostitutes herself, under the aegis of new boss Mikky (Miki Manojlovic). Equipped with a new name, Irina Palm, Maggie begins working customers with a stimulatory technique so popular that patrons are soon lining up around the corner to be "serviced" by her.
Director : Sam Garbarski
Screenwriter : Martin Herron, Philippe Blasband
Cinematographer : Christophe Beaucarne
Editor : Ludo Troch
Cast : Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojlovic, Kevin Bishop
Awards : Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost" - 2007 Berlin International Film Festival
Bio : Born in Kraling near Munich on 1948, he moved to Belgium at the age of 22. In 1970 he founded an advertising company, which he ran until 1997. From 1997-2003 he directed more than 50 commercials, some of which received awards. He directed his first short film in 1998, making he debut as a feature film director in 2003 with Le Tango Des Rashevski. The film was a hit on the international festival circuit and also enjoyed a successful theatrical run.
Love and Honor | Japan | 2006 | 121 minutes
Synopsis : Yoji Yamada's torchy Japanese drama Love and Honor (AKA Bushi no Ichibun) follows the heartbreaking plight of Shinnojo (Yoji Yamada), a young man employed as a "food taster" for the imperial family. Shinnojo's position comes to a sudden and tragic end when he consumes poisoned fish intended for the clan leader and is forever robbed of his sight. Forced to give up his job, Shinnojo thus heads home and sinks into a deep and seemingly inescapable depression. Contemplating suicide, Shinnojo is only stopped by the love of his wife, Kayo, who insists that she will also commit seppuku if he proceeds. Begrudgingly, he agrees to relinquish his self-destructive thoughts, but financial problems from his unemployment linger on. With no other recourse, Shinnojo must send Kayo off to the clan bursar to appeal for monetary assistance. Nothing, however, can prepare him for the bursar's demand for his wife's body in exchange for monetary help - or for his wife's sudden complicity in this arrangement.
Director : Yoji Yamada
Screenwriter : Yoji Yamada, Emiko Hiramatsu, Ichiro Yamamoto
Cinematographer : Mutsuo Naganuma
Editor : Iwao Ishii
Cast : Takuya Kimura, Rei Dan, Takashi Sasano
Awards : Best Cinematography, Best Lighting, Best Supporting Actor - 2007 Awards of the Japanese Academy; Best New Actress, Best Supporting Actor - 2007 Kinema Junpo Awards; Official Selection Panorama - 2007 Berlin International Film Festival
Bio : "Yoji Yamada, born September 13, 1931 in Osaka, Japan, is a Japanese director best known for his Tora-san series of films. He has won many awards throughout his lengthy career and is well-respected in Japan and by critics throughout the world. His wrote his first screenplay in 1958, and directed his first movie in 1961. Yamada continues to make movies to this day. His movies have won the Best Picture award at the Japanese Academy Awards four times: in 1977 for The Yellow Hankerchief , in 1991 for My Sons, in 1993 for A Class to Remember, and in 2002 for The Twilight Samurai. In 2003 The Twilight Samurai was nominated for the 76th Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film. His 2004 film, The Hidden Blade (Kakushi Ken Oni no Tsume), was nominated for sixteen awards and won three."
Ou-vas Tu, Moshe | Morocco | 90 minutes
Synopsis : In the early 1960s, shortly after Morocco obtained its independence from France, thousands of Moroccan Jews left their homeland for Israel and other countries fearing uncertainty and in search of better life. When Mustapha, the manager of the only bar in the town of Bejjad, finds out that the Jews are leaving, he panics. With all the non-Muslims gone, he will be forced to close down the bar. How can he save it? By keeping one Jew! Easier said than doneÉ.When he runs out of tricks and is about to lose hope the perfect solution is found where nobody thought of looking. If only all other problems could be solved so easily.
Director : Hassan Benjelloun
Screenwriter : Hassan Benjelloun
Cinematographer : Kamal Derkaoui
Editor : Aube Foglia
Cast : Simon Elbaz, Abdelkader Lotfi, Hassan Essakalli, Mohamed Tsouli, Rim Shmaou
Bio : Writer, Director and producer, Hassan BenjellounÕs first feature film The OtherÕs Feast releases in 1990. This was followed by Yarit in 1994, YesterdayÕs Friends in 1997, The lips of silence in 2000, the Dark Room received the top prize at the African Festival of Khouribga and the silver Yennega prize of the Fespaco Festival. The film also received a special mention from the jury of the Carthage Festival of Tunisia.
Persepolis | France | 2007 | 95 minutes
Synopsis : ÒPersepolisÓ is the poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution. We meet nine-yearold Marjane when the fundamentalists first take power Ð forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands; follow her as she cleverly outsmarts the Òsocial guardiansÓ and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden, while living with the terror of government persecution and the Iran/Iraq war; then on to Austria as a teenager, where her parents send her to school in fear for her safety and, she has to combat being equated with the religious fundamentalism and extremism she fled her country to escape. Marjane eventually gains acceptance in Europe but finds herself alone and horribly homesick, and returns to Iran to be with her family, though it means putting on the veil and living in a tyrannical society. After a difficult period of adjustment, she enters art school and marries, continuing to speak out against the hypocrisy she witnesses. At age twenty-four, she realizes that while she is deeply Iranian, she cannot live in Iran. She then makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her homeland for France, optimistic about her future, shaped indelibly by her past.
Director : Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Screenwriter : Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Cinematographer :
Animation: Marc Jousset, Christian Desmares
Editor : Stephane Roche
Cast : Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux
Awards : Jury Prize (tied wih Silent Light") - 2007 Cannes International Film Festival
Bio : Marjane Satrapi born November 22, 1969 in Rasht, Iran is a contemporary graphic novelist, illustrator and children's book author. Satrapi's career began in earnest when she met David B., a French comics artist. She adopted a style similar to his, especially in her earliest works. Satrapi became famous worldwide because of her critically acclaimed, autobiographical graphic novels Persepolis and Persepolis 2, which describe her childhood in Iran and her adolescence in Europe in an intelligent and engaging portrait of everyday life. Vincent Paronnaud is a French comics artist, famous for his macabre humor.
Postmodern Life of My Aunt | Hong Kong | 2006 |113 minutes
Synopsis : Auntie, who divorced long time ago, lives alone after retirement in a middle-class apartment in Shanghai, Although she lives in this society, she has no connection with it. This summer, her twelve-year-old nephew, Kuan Kuan, has broken his leg by accident. His mother is too busy to take care of him and sends him to Auntie's home for recovery. His arrival totally upsets Auntie's quiet life. Kuan Kuan is typical of the "New Generation". Auntie regards him as a weird teenager. They fight constantly and think of the other one as an unreasonable monster. The nephew encounters a crazy "New Generation" girl. They try a hoax to get Auntie's money, which makes Auntie so mad that she kicks him out.
Director : Ann Hui
Screenwriter : Lia Qiang
Cinematographer : Yu Lik-wai, Kwan Pun-leung
Editor : Liao Chingsong
Cast : Sigin Gaowa, Chow Yun-fat, Vicky Zhao Wei, Lisa Lu
Awards : Nominated for Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress - 2006 Golden Horse Film Festival; Official Selection 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival
Sankara | Sri Lanka | 2006 | 85 minutes
Synopsis : A young Buddhist monk arrives at a temple in order to restore its paintings. These paintings depict a moral story where Lord Buddha said that a man with a big target in life must not be swayed by passion, the five senses and especially beautiful women. While attempting to return the object to its owner, his repressed inner feelings are awoken plunging the young monk's inner spititual world into turmoil. One night the paintings are destroyed. While restoring them again Ananda begins to realize that he is trapped in a web of his worldy desires and attachments- like that depicted in those paintings.
Director : Prasanna Jayakody
Screenwriter : Prasanna Jayakody
Cinematographer : Palitha Perera
Editor : Ravindra Guruge
Cast : Thumindhu Dodatenna, Sanchini Ayendra, nilupa Heenkendaarachchi
Awards : Silver Pyramid - 2006 Cairo International Film Festival; Official Selection - 2006 International Film Festival of Kerala; Official Selection - 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival
Bio : A young Buddhist monk arrives at a temple in order to restore its paintings. These paintings depict a moral story where Lord Buddha said that a man with a big target in life must not be swayed by passion, the five senses and especially beautiful women. While attempting to return the object to its owner, his repressed inner feelings are awoken plunging the young monk's inner spititual world into turmoil. One night the paintings are destroyed. While restoring them again Ananda begins to realize that he is trapped in a web of his worldy desires and attachments- like that depicted in those paintings.
Shotgun Stories | USA | 2007 | 92 minutes
Synopsis : On his death, Cleaman Hayes leaves behind him seven sons ffrom two marriages. On the one side, the barely-named Son, Boy and Kid retain a painful memory of the violent, alcoholic father who abandoned them; on the other, Cleaman Jr., Mark, Stephen and John recall a kind, devout father and a childhood o comfort. His death unleashes hatred and incomprehension in the heart of both clans. In his debut feature, Jeff Nochols delivers a story of blind vengance, where justice and rivalry take on near-biblical proportions. The director creates an atomosphere of tension and drama, its violence remaining central without being oppressive. Beautifully photographed, the light and the cotton fields of Arkansas almost become characters themselves. The most notable American independent film of recent times.
Director : Jeff Nichols
Screenwriter : Jeff Nichols
Cinematographer : Adam Stone
Editor : Steven Gonzales
Cast : Michael Shannon, Douglas Ligon, Barlow Jacobs
Awards : New American Cinema Award - 2007 Seattle International Film Festival; Official Selection - 2007 Age d'Or Brussel Film Festival; Jeff Nichols - 2007 New American Cinema Award; Official Selection - 2007 Seattle International Film Festival
Bio : On his death, Cleaman Hayes leaves behind him seven sons ffrom two marriages. On the one side, the barely-named Son, Boy and Kid retain a painful memory of the violent, alcoholic father who abandoned them; on the other, Cleaman Jr., Mark, Stephen and John recall a kind, devout father and a childhood o comfort. His death unleashes hatred and incomprehension in the heart of both clans. In his debut feature, Jeff Nochols delivers a story of blind vengance, where justice and rivalry take on near-biblical proportions. The director creates an atomosphere of tension and drama, its violence remaining central without being oppressive. Beautifully photographed, the light and the cotton fields of Arkansas almost become characters themselves. The most notable American independent film of recent times.
The Edge of Heaven | Germany/Turkey | 2007 | 122 minutes
Synopsis : Ejat seems disapproving about his widower father AliÕs Choice of prostitute. Yeter for a live in girlfriend, but he grows fond of her when he discovers she sends money home to Turkey for her daughterÕs university studies. YeterÕs sudden death distances father and son. Nejat travels to Istanbul to search for YeterÕs daughter Ayten. Political activist Ayten has fled the Turkish police and is already in Germany. She is befriended by a young woman, Lotte, who invites rebellious Ayten to stay in her home, a gesture not particularly pleasing to her conservative mother Susanne. When Ayten is arrested and her asylum plea is denied, she
Director : Fatih Akin
Screenwriter : Fatih Akin
Cinematographer : Rainer Klausmann
Editor : Andrew Bird
Cast : Baki Davrak, Patrycia Ziolkowska, Nusel Koese
Awards : Best Screenplay - 2007 Cannes Film Festival
The Namesake | India | 112 minutes
Synopsis : A couple coming to terms with living in a new culture discover their troubles are compounded by their son in this drama from filmmaker Mira Nair. Ashoke (Irfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) are a young couple who are brought together in an arranged marriage and soon leave Calcutta to seek their fortune in America. As the couple becomes accustomed to one another, they learn to deal with the coolness and superficiality of life in New York, even as they revel in the opportunities the city offers them. Before long, Ashima gives birth to a baby boy, and pressed to choose a name, they dub the infant Nikhil, though he soon picks up the nickname Gogol, after Ashoke's favorite author. By the time the child is old enough to attend school, he insists upon being called Gogol at all times, and he displays little interest in his Indian heritage. Several years on, Gogol has decided he wants to be called Nick (and is now played by Kal Penn) and has become a thoroughly Americanized teenager, openly rebelling against his parents, smoking marijuana in his room, and dating Maxine (Jacinda Barrett), a preppy blonde from a wealthy family. Ashoke and Ashima are uncertain about how to deal with their son's attempts to cut himself off from their culture, but Nick begins expressing some uncertainty himself when he meets Moushumi (Zuleikha Robinson), a beautiful girl who also comes from a family of Indian expatriates.
Director : Mira Nair
Screenwriter : Sooni Taraporevala based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri
Cinematographer : Frederick Elmes
Editor : Allyson Johnson
Cast : Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn, Zueleikha Robinson
Awards : Outstanding Actor Kal Penn - 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards; Official Selection - 2006 Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival; Official Selection Toronto Film Festival: Official Selection 2007 New Jersey International Film Festival; Official Selection - 2007 Dubai International Film Festival
Tribu | Philippines | 2007 | 95 minutes
Director : Jim Libiran
Screenwriter : Jim Libiran
Cinematographer : Albert Banzon
Editor : Lawrence Ang
Cast : Karl Eigger Balingit, Og Sacred, Young Cent, Jamir Garcia, Ira Marasigan, Malou Crisologo, Rey Javier Guevarra, Havy Bagatsing, Charena Escala, Albert Moreno
Awards : Official Selection 2007 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
Bio : Tondo-native JIM LIBIRAN bagged a Palanca award in 2006 for his screenplay Tribu. He is a writer, poet, journalist, news documentary maker, and TV producer. He spent many years in the print media, working as writer, editor or columnist for various newspapers. He has a decade of experience in television, working for various TV stations Ð first working as a researcher, then as segment producer in the news and current affairs department. Rising from the ranks, he became a head writer, executive producer, correspondent, and then as manager. As a broadcast journalist, he is part of the team that produced documentaries and reports on Iraq, the Taliban defeat in Afghanistan, the rebellions in Mindanao, EDSA DOS uprising, and recently, State of War. Some of his poetry collections have won literary awards. He is a member of the Filipino poetry group LIRA. Tribu is LibiranÕs first full length film. He teams up with Filmless Films to produce this riveting story of the lives of adolescent street gangs in ManilaÕs working class district of Tondo.
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