Paprika
April 17 * 7:30pm
Japan, 2006 * 90 min * Satoshi Kon * 35mm * Rating: R
In this bone-crushingly awesome anime tale, reality and the dream world are on a collision course after a DC-Mini -- an experimental device that can record dreams -- is stolen from a psychiatric research facility. When the thief begins intertwining the patients' nightmares with the staff's dreams, it's clear that the DC-Mini has fallen into dangerous hands. Can Dr. Atsuko Chiba and her alter ego, a sprightly avatar named Paprika, stop the madness?
Blind Mountain
April 18 * 7:00pm
China * 2008 * 95 min * Yang Li * 35mm * Rating: NR
Winner of Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival 2007. Young student Bai Xuemei is sold as a "wife" by human traffickers to a remote village. Raped and beaten, she leads the life of a sex slave and child-bearer with no hope of escape because of the villagers' apathy and selfishness. This controversial film emains focus on the captive, even as it tears at the audience and pokes at political points. In Mandarin, with English subtitles.
Nobody Knows
April 18 * 9:30pm
Japan * 2004 * 141 min * Hirokazu Koreeda * 35mm * Rating: PG-13
Based on a true story, four siblings are abandoned by their mother in a small apartment in Tokyo and must gradually learn to make their own way. Beautifully shot and brilliantly acted, Koreeda's fourth film is at once harrowing and tender; an urban horror story with overtones of fairy tale. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Painted Fire
April 19 * 7:00pm
South Korea * 2002 * 117 min * Kwon-taek Im * 35mm * Rating: NR
Im Kwon-taek's ninety-fifth film, Chihwaseon (Painted Fire), tells the story of renowned nineteenth-century painter Jang Seung-up (Choi Min-Sik), an artist whose revolutionary work - and persona - has forever changed the face of Korean art. Mr. Im is a visual artist inspired at times as much as his subject matter: for this film he won Best Director at Cannes Film Festival 2002. In Korean with English subtitles.
Sunflower
April 19 * 9:30pm
China/Hong Kong * 2005 * 129 min * Yang Zhang * 35mm * Rating: NR
Sunflower is a powerful and touching look at the compelling inner dynamics of one post-Cultural Revolution family in Beijing and their struggle over thirty years to adjust to each other as the fabric, politics, and social morels of Chinese society change ever so rapidly. Written and directed by Zhang Yang, Sunflower parallels the upheavals in Xiangyang's life with those of his country, exploring the tension between tradition and modernity with insight and intimacy. In Mandarin and English with English subtitles.
The 11th Hour
USA, 2007 * 95 min *Nadia Conners / Leila Conners * DVD* Rating: PG
This documentary from well-known activist and actor Leonardo DiCaprio examines the state of the global environment with renewed energy in the wake of recent natural disasters. Included are interviews with over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss their visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's beleaguered ecosystems.