Venice Film Festival - Silver Lion Winner

Zanan-e bedun-e mardan (Original Title)

Directed by Shirin Neshat

Germany, Austria, France | 2009 | 100 minutes

In Farsi with English Subtitles | Rating: 18+ 

Synopsis:  The powerful feature debut from artist Shirin Neshat is based on the novel by Shahrnoush Parsipour which interweaves the lives of four disparate women in the tumultuous summer of 1953 during an American led, British backed coup d'état. Middle-aged Fakhri is trapped in a loveless marriage, contending her feelings for an old flame who has just returned from America. Young Zarin tries to escape the devastating realization that she can no longer see the faces of men. Politically awakened Munis must resist the seclusion imposed by her brother, while Faezeh remains oblivious to the turmoil in the streets and longs only to marry Munis’ domineering brother. As the political turmoil swells in the streets of Tehran, each woman is liberated from her predicament. But it’s only a matter of time before the world outside seeps into the lives of these women.

(NEW FILM RESTORATION!) | FAMILY FRIENDLY

Directed by Steven Spielberg
USA | 1977 | 137 minutes

In English | Rating: G

Synopsis:  Celebrate Steven Spielberg's landmark film starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon and acclaimed French film director François Truffaut in the story of a group of people who attempt to contact alien intelligence. Cable worker Roy Neary (Dreyfuss) along with several other stunned bystanders experience a close encounter of the first kind - witnessing UFOs soaring across the sky. Meanwhile, government agents have close encounters of the second kind - discovering physical evidence of extraterrestrial visitors in the form of a lost fighter aircraft from World War II and a stranded military ship that disappeared decades earlier only to suddenly reappear in unusual places. Roy and the agents follow the clues that have drawn them to reach a site where they will have a close encounter of the third kind - contact.

Special Audience Discussion with NYUAD Professor Seung-hoon Jeong

Milyang (Original Title)

Directed by Lee Chang-dong
South Korea | 2007 | 142 minutes

In Korean with English Subtitles | Rating: 18+

Synopsis:  Lee Chang-dong's riveting, critically lauded drama is a beautifully rendered exploration of motherhood, grief, faith, and emotional survival. Cannes Best Actress Award-winner Jeon Do-yeon plays Shin-ae, a single mother who relocates to her husband's hometown Miryang ("Secret Sunshine") for a new start after his sudden passing. Attempting to make a new life there for her young son is a challenge, and she manages to befriend only a bumbling repair man with dubious intentions. When tragedy strikes again, Shin-ae undergoes an emotionally shattering journey that pits her against everything she's known about humanity, love, forgiveness, and God.

Venice Film Festival - Silver Lion Winner

(NEW FILM RESTORATION!)

Directed by Federico Fellini

Italy | 1954 | 108 minutes

In Italian with English Subtitles | Rating: G 

Synopsis:  There has never been a face quite like that of actress Giulietta Masina. Her husband, the legendary Federico Fellini, directs her in La strada, winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1956. In a story of true outsiders, Masina plays Gelsomina, a naïve young woman sold by her desperate mother to boorish strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) to be both his wife and performance assistant as he tours central Italy. Zampanò - a brute by trade and by nature - repeatedly abuses Gelsomina as she struggles to learn the ropes; meanwhile, she finds a kindred spirit in his rival the Fool (Richard Basehart). Soon all three find themselves part of the same travelling circus, but with tragic consequences. With La strada, Fellini left behind the familiar signposts of Italian neo-realism for a poetic fable of love and cruelty, evoking brilliant performances and winning the hearts of audiences and critics worldwide.

Program Details Announcing Soon!

  
Overview:  Exciting and original storytelling from international filmmakers where you can discover a director’s first or second feature film, fresh styles and challenging ideas in narrative work from around the world. Also included are nonfiction films that explore remarkable stories and issues in the world around us.

Venice Film Festival - Golden Lion Nominee

(NEW FILM RESTORATION!)

El verdugo (Original Title)

Directed by Luis García Berlanga
Spain | 1963 | 92 minutes

In Spanish with English Subtitles | Rating: PG

Synopsis:  This masterpiece of black humor, beloved in Spain but too little seen elsewhere, threads a scathing critique of Franco-era values through a macabre farce about an undertaker who marries an executioner’s daughter and reluctantly takes over her father’s job so the family can keep their government-allotted apartment. As caustic today as it was in 1963, this early collaboration between Luis García Berlanga and his longtime screenwriter Rafael Azcona is an unerring depiction of what Berlanga called “the invisible traps that society sets up for us.” A furiously funny personal attack on capital punishment, The Executioner evaded the state censors who sought to suppress it, and today is regarded as one of the greatest Spanish films of all time.

(NEW FILM RESTORATION!) | FAMILY FRIENDLY

Directed by Robert Wise

USA | 1965 | 174 minutes (with intermission)

In English | Rating: G 

Synopsis:  One of the most beloved films of all time, Robert Wise’s sumptuous adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway show is one of cinema’s greatest musical extravaganzas. In this true-life story, Julie Andrews lights up the screen as Maria, a spirited young Austrian woman who leaves the convent to become a governess for Captain von Trapp’s (Christopher Plummer) seven unruly children. Her charm and songs soon win the hearts of the children – and their father. But when Nazi Germany unites with Austria, Maria is forced to attempt a daring escape with her new family. The Sound of Music bursts with unforgettable songs and glorious CinemaScope images shot on location in Salzburg, Austria and was restored in a gorgeous new print for the film’s 50th anniversary.

(NEW FILM RESTORATION!)

Sommaren med Monika (Original Title)

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Sweden | 1953 | 97 minutes

In Swedish | English Subtitles | Rating: 18+

Synopsis:  Inspired by the extraordinary Harriet Andersson, in the first of her many roles for him, Ingmar Bergman had a major international breakthrough with this unsentimental and ultimately ravaging tale of young love. A girl (Harriet Andersson) and boy (Lars Ekborg) from working-class families in Stockholm run away from home to spend a secluded, romantic summer at the beach, far from parents and responsibilities. Inevitably, it is not long before the pair are forced to return to reality. The atmospheric visuals by Gunnar Fischer, Bergman’s cameraman of choice in the 1950s, effectively contrast the airy, idyllic, seaside locales of the couple’s summer passion with the darker, drabber realities of their working-class life in the city. The original Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika), presented here, is a work of stunning maturity and one of Bergman’s most important films.

Venice Film Festival - Golden Lion Selection - Announcing Soon!

Join us for a special screening to celebrate the 75th Venice International Film Festival this year.

Overview:  Exciting and original storytelling from international filmmakers where you can discover a director’s first or second feature film, fresh styles and challenging ideas in narrative work from around the world. Also included are nonfiction films that explore remarkable stories and issues in the world around us.

(NEW FILM RESTORATION!) | FAMILY FRIENDLY

Directed by Ted Wilde

USA | 1928 | 86 minutes

In English | Rating: G

Synopsis:  Speedy was the last silent feature to star Harold Lloyd—and one of his very best. The slapstick comedy legend reprises his “Glasses Character,” this time as a good-natured but scatterbrained New Yorker who can’t keep a job.Silent comedy legend Harold Lloyd stars as a die-hard Yankees fan who can't keep a job, but is determined to save the last horse-drawn trolley in New York. He finally finds his true calling when he becomes determined to help save the city’s last horse-drawn streetcar, which is operated by his sweetheart’s crusty grandfather. From its joyous visit to Coney Island to its incredible Babe Ruth cameo to its hair-raising climactic stunts on the city’s streets, Speedy is an out-of-control love letter to New York that will have you grinning from ear to ear.

(NEW FILM RESTORATION!)

Directed by Luchino Visconti

Italy | 1948 | 160 minutes

In Italian with English Subtitles | Rating: G 

Synopsis:  In the poor Sicilian village of Aci Trezza the fisherman have been exploited for generations by wholesalers who price-fix the cost of a catch. Tired of this practice, a young solider named Ntoni (Antonio Arcidiacono) returns home from war and convinces his family to mortgage their home in order to buy their own boat. With this vessel, the family can work privately and sell their catch directly to the consumer. All goes well until a storm sends their equipment to the bottom of the sea. With their business plans sunk, the family has a hard time keeping their head above water. Shot on location with non-professional actors, Luchino Visconti’s haunting second film remains a masterpiece of Italian cinema as well as a landmark Neorealist work.