Iran Director: Asghar Farhadi
From the director of Fireworks Wednesday (winner of the Festival's 2006 Gold Hugo), this complex mystery launches with the lighthearted weekend reunion of a group of old college pals. Sepideh has brought along her new friend Elly, hoping she'll hit it off with Ahmad, newly divorced from his German wife and in search of an Iranian bride. But when Elly disappears from their seaside bungalow, compounding lies and deception quickly lead to catastrophe.
Persian with subtitles, 119 minutes
Japan Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
The internationally acclaimed director of Nobody Knows, After Life, and Still Walking returns with a romantic fantasy that explores the complexities of love, loneliness, and loss through the story of a life-size inflatable doll. Air doll "Nozomi" is middle-aged loner Hideo's only companion in life, but when she suddenly comes to life and begins exploring the world on her own, her journey begs the question—what really makes us human?
Japanese with subtitles, 125 minutes
Mexico Director: Carlos Carrera
The most chilling frame of this thriller, from the director of The Crime of Father Amaro, may be the one that reads: “based on actual events.” In the border town of Juárez, Mexico, hundreds of women have gone missing or turned up as sun-burnt corpses in the desert, but new police Captain Blanca Bravo (Ana de la Reguera) is determined to stop the savagery. Jimmy Smits also stars.
Spanish, English, Tzotzil with subtitles, 122 minutes
Poland Director: Feliks Falk
Work is everything to young psychiatrist Konstanty Grot—something his wife often teases him about. But when he brings his patient Pawel home for treatment, Konstanty discovers hidden secrets from Pawel's past… and endangers his own family in the process. This thoughtful thriller paints a portrait of a man who risks his professional and personal life in the search for justice.
Polish with subtitles, 102 minutes
France / Taiwan Director: Tsai Ming-Liang
A four-time award winner at the Festival, master Tsai Ming-Liang (Goodbye, Dragon Inn; What Time Is It Over There?) returns with a sumptuously staged, boldly visual film about a Taiwanese filmmaker who casts French actors in his latest disaster-fraught film—despite not speaking a word of French. An artistic tip of the hat to FranÇois Truffaut and the spirit of the New Wave, Face stars Truffaut regulars Jean-Pierre LÉaud and Fanny Ardant.
French, Taiwanese with subtitles, 141 minutes
UK Director: Andrea Arnold
Oscar® winner Andrea Arnold asserts her place at the pinnacle of contemporary British cinema with Fish Tank, her keenly observed and unflinchingly realistic portrait of life in a rough Essex housing project. Mia (Katie Jarvis, a revelation in her first screen role) is an alienated, emotionally volatile teenager whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of her mother's charming new boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender, named best actor at last year's Festival for Hunger).
124 minutes
France Director: Julie Lopes-Curval
While visiting her parents in France, Audrey discovers her grandmother's diary, the only memento of a woman who abandoned her family. Audrey's search for understanding uncovers a family secret buried under 50 years of silence, and ultimately illuminates her relationship with her own mother (Catherine Deneuve) and the deep, complex bonds between three generations of women.
English, French with subtitles, 105 minutes
Russia Director: Valery Todorovsky
Moscow, 1955. Soviet uniformity is the order of the day, but incurring the wrath of all the grim-faced comrades in Russia isn't enough to stop a group of young "hipsters" from donning outrageous threads, puffing up their pompadours, pushing up their cleavage, throwing back martinis, and shakin' their hips. Could this romantic, infectiously fun musical be this year's Slumdog Millionaire?
Russian with subtitles, 125 minutes
France / UK Director: Ken Loach
Estranged from his first wife, abandoned by his second, and plagued by a pair of rebellious teenage stepsons, depressed postman Eric Bishop seeks solace in his devotion to the Manchester United football team. When advice-bearing former star Eric Cantona magically materializes in his bedroom one night, Bishop realizes he must begin putting his life back together. Lauded director Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barley) directs this gentle, whimsical comedy.
116 minutes
USA Director: Tina Mabry
They weren't the first to dream of escaping their small Mississippi town, but-raised among their family's vicious cycle of abuse, addiction, and lies—three young black children learn the hard way that their dreams will never be enough. Based on a true story, Mississippi Damned is the brutally honest tale of what happens when a family's haven is also its prison.
120 minutes
Hungary Director: Péter Gárdos
For the rambunctious seventh graders at an early-20th-century boarding school, the preferred extracurricular activity is playing increasingly outrageous pranks on one brainy classmate. The lax Father Zoltan thinks boys will be boys, but when stern young Father Weigl begins to implement his own secret plan to curb the kids' "anarchic activity," he unwittingly sets the entire school on a tragic course.
Hungarian with subtitles, 93 minutes
France / Italy Director: François Ozon
As her new relationship with coworker Paco begins to bloom, single working mother Katie learns she’s pregnant. Baby Ricky soon dominates Katie’s attention, straining the couple’s relationship as well as her bond with her young daughter. Ambitious French director FranÇois Ozon (Swimming Pool, 8 Women) delivers a gritty family drama that takes flight in fantastical directions when a discovery is made: Ricky is growing wings. Please note new screening dates for Ricky.
French with subtitles, 90 minutes
UK Director: Bruce Webb
Fifteen-year-old lads Robbie and Ziggy have been best mates all their lives. When Robbie finds out he's got a fatal heart condition, he's got just one final wish: "You've got to get a girl to shag me," he pleads with Ziggy. Now it's up to Ziggy to get a girl into Robbie's bed… by any means necessary. Packed with plenty of delightfully slangy Brit wit, this hilarious and heartwarming tale is a mature account of what it means to be a friend.
100 minutes
France / Italy Director: Marco Bellocchio
The closely guarded story of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's secret lover and son is revealed in fittingly operatic proportions in this electrifying tour de force. Thunderstruck by the young Mussolini's charisma, Ida Dalser gives up everything to help champion his revolutionary ideas. When he disappears during World War I and later resurfaces with a new wife, the scorned Dasler and her son are locked away in separate asylums for more than a decade. But Ida will not disappear without a fight….
Italian with subtitles, 128 minutes
