Lebanon (2009)

Name of Film	Lebanon (2009)
Original Title	Levanon
Director	Samuel Maoz
Country	Israel
Language	Hebrew
Mins	90 mins
Format to be screened
Festival & Awards	2010 Won Asia Pacific Screen Award                                                           Best Screenplay Samuel Maoz                                                 Jury Grand Prize Samuel Maoz                                                 Award of the Israeli Film Academy                                                 Bronze Camera 300 Best Cinematography                                                 Golden Frog Best Cinematography                                                 DFWFCA Award       Best Foreign-Language Film                                                 European Discovery of the Year             Samuel Maoz                                                 European Film Award                                                 Silver Ribbon Best Director - Non-European Film                                                 Wolgin Award                                                 Golden Reel Award                                                 Human Values Award                                                 Golden Lion    Samuel Maoz                                                 Nazareno Taddei Award             Samuel Maoz                                                 SIGNIS Award - Honorable Mention Samuel Maoz
Producer	Uri Sabag Einat Bikel
Synopsis	The film depicts the inside of a tank, and the view from inside through the gun sight (every change in the horizontal and vertical viewing direction is accompanied by the hydraulic whine of the traversing gun turret). The film is set during the 1982 Lebanon war - the same war as in Waltz and the film Beaufort. There are four Israeli soldiers inside: the driver in the tank's hull, the loader, the gunner and the commander in the turret. Part of the time, there is also the body of a dead Israeli soldier (kept there until it is taken away by helicopter), a Syrian POW, a visiting higher officer, and a visiting Phalangist (Lebanese Maronite Catholic allied with Israel) who threatens the POW. The duty of the soldiers is to clear a Lebanese area from lebanese citizens. They are instructed to use phosphorus grenades that are forbidden by international treaty, but to use a code word for them, to conceal their use. The gunner has never fired the tank's cannon in a war situation, and is hesitant at first. As a result, a fellow Israeli soldier is killed. The soldiers have to cope with the deteriorating state of the tank, the heat, bad atmosphere and small space inside, occasional failure of the communication equipment, navigational problems, and mutual quarrels.
Note on Director	Shmuel (Shmuel) Maoz was born in Tel Aviv. At the age of 20, he was a gunner in one of the first Israeli tanks to enter Lebanon in the 1982 Lebanon War.[2] After the war, he trained as a cameraman at the Beit Zvi theater school, and did art direction in film and television productions.
High Resolution Pictures
Trailer Link	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMRD3z_mTqI
Sources	New York Times, Wikipedia, IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1483831/ http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/459384/Lebanon/overview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMRD3z_mTqI

Woman Sesame Oil Maker

Name of Film	Woman Sesame Oil Maker (The Women from the Lake of Scented Souls)
Original Title	Xiang hun nu
Director	Xie Fei
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Mins	105 min
Format to be screened	DC
Festival & Awards	1993 - Golden Berlin Bear/Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention
Production design	Ma Huiwu, Wang Jie
Synopsis	Illiterate villager Second Sister Xiang (Siqin Gaowa) was sold as a tongyangxi (child bride) to her present husband, a man with a lame leg, when she was seven. She has an intellectually disabled son Dunzi, who suffers from epileptic fits and is now grown up, and a younger daughter Zhi'er. Through her diligence she has started a successful sesame oil mill and now becomes the richest person in her village. A Japanese lady investor decides to invest in her business after visiting her mill. Meanwhile, Sister Xiang tries to find a bride for her son. She engineers her son's marriage with Huanhuan (Wu Yujuan), a peasant girl whose family is in dire financial straits. One night, Dunzi nearly strangles Huanhuan to death during a fit. Huanhuan runs back home, but her mother-in-law makes sure she returns. Huanhuan witnesses her drunk father-in-law beating Sister Xiang in bed. She also chances on Sister Xiang in an adulterous affair with family friend Ren, who fathered her daughter Zhi'er. Ren later initiates a break-up with Sister Xiang. Sister Xiang falls ill. She is heartbroken, despite her sesame oil being awarded top prize by the provincial government. Sister Xiang gradually realizes that Huanhuan, like her, suffers as a kindred spirit. She decides to release Huanhuan by asking Huanhuan to go for a divorce. But Huanhuan states that her life is already ruined. She then breaks down.
Note on Director	The film is adapted and directed by Xie Fei and tells the story of a woman in a small village in Hebei[1] who runs a small sesame oil business that becomes unexpectedly successful, but who then uses her money to buy for her mentally disabled son a peasant bride. The film won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival in 1993, a prize it shared with Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet.[2][3]
High Resolution Pictures
Trailer Link

The Tree (2010)

Name of Film	The Tree (2010)
Original Title
Director	Julie Bertuccelli
Country	Australia, France
Language	English
Mins	100 mins
Format to be screened
Festival & Awards	Australian Film Institute AFI Award AFI Young Actor Award Bratislava International Film Festival Best Actress Grand Prix Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards FCCA Award B São Paulo International Film Festival International Jury Award
Producer	Rosemary Blight .... executive producer Yael Fogiel .... executive producer Yael Fogiel .... producer Laetitia Gonzalez .... executive producer Kent Smith .... executive producer Sue Taylor .... executive producer Sue Taylor .... producer Flaminio Zadra .... associate producer
Synopsis	After the sudden death of her father, 8-year-old Simone shares a secret with her mother Dawn. She’s convinced her father speaks to her through the leaves of her favourite tree and he’s come back to protect them. But the new bond between mother and daughter is threatened when Dawn starts a relationship with George, the plumber, called in to remove the tree’s troublesome roots. As the branches of the tree start to infiltrate the house, the family is forced to make an agonising decision. But have they left it too late?
Note on Director	Julie Bertuccelli started her film career as an assistant director, working with acclaimed directors such as Krzysztof Kieślowski, Bertrand Tavernier, Otar Iosseliani and Emmanuel Finkiel.   She has also directed several acclaimed documentaries.  Her feature debut was Since Otar Left, which she both wrote and directed.  It went on to win several major awards including International Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival and a Cesar Award for best first feature. Bertuccelli first explored the idea of grief in Since Otar Left (which also won accolades in France). Like The Tree, it builds its story on the power of the imagination. Two sisters conceal from their mother the news of their father’s death, and the mother survives in a world of pretence. For Bertuccelli, there was no such consolation in real life. A press kit informs us that while preparing to film The Tree, she received news of the death of her husband and father of her children. I would not normally mention this wholly personal misfortune, but since The Tree is also about the death of a husband and father, it is difficult not to speculate on how much of its power can be traced to the director’s bereavement.
Trailer Link	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB-pUrRPFvQ
Sources	http://www.thetreefilm.com/Reviews http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1496005/

A Separation (2011)

Name of Film	A Separation (2011)
Original Title	Jodaeiye Nader az Simin
Director	Asghar Farhadi
Country	Iran
Language	Persian
Mins	123 mins
Format to be screened
Festival & Awards	Berlin International Film Festival 2011: Golden Berlin Bear Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost" Silver Berlin Bear - Best Actor: (Peyman Moaadi) & (Shahab Hosseini) Silver Berlin Bear - Best Actress: (Sareh Bayat) & (Leila Hatami) Durban International Film Festival 2011: Best Film Best Screenplay: (Asghar Farhadi) Fajr Film Festival 2011: Audience Award - Best Film Crystal Simorgh Award - Best Cinematography Crystal Simorgh Award - Best Director (Asghar Farhadi) Crystal Simorgh Award - Best Screenplay Crystal Simorgh Award - Best Sound Recorder (Mahmoud Samakbashi) Diploma of Honor - Best Actor in Supporting Role: (Shahab Hosseini) Diploma of Honor - Best Actress in Supporting Role (Sareh Bayat) Pula Film Festival 2011: Golden Arena Award - International Competition: Best Film Sydney Film Festival 2011: Official Competition Award - Best Film Yerevan International Film Festival 2011: Grand Prix: Golden Apricot - Best Film World Cinema Amsterdam Festival 2011: Parool Audience Award - Best Film Saint Petersburg International Film Festival "KinoForum" 2011: Grand Prix - Best Film Melbourne International Film Festival 2011: Most Popular Feature Film - Asghar Farhadi 15th Iran Cinema Celebration: Best Film Best Director Best Original Screenplay Best Supporting Actor San Sebastian International Film Festival 2011: Another Look Award Fukuoka International Film Festival 2011: Audience Award - Best Film Riga International Film Festival 2011: FIPRESCI prize Vancouver International Film Festival 2011: Rogers People's Choice Award[18] British Independent Film Awards 2011: Best Foreign Film Award
Producer	Negar Eskandarfar .... executive producer Asghar Farhadi .... producer
Synopsis	A married couple are faced with a difficult decision, to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimers.
Note on Director	Asghar Farhadi (Persian: اصغر فرهادی, born 1 January 1972 in Khomeynishahr, Province ofIsfahan) is an Iranian screenwriter and film director. Asghar Farhadi is a graduate of Theatre, with a BA in Dramatic Arts and MA in Stage Direction from Tehran University and Tarbiat Modarres University. Farhadi made short 8mm and 16mm films in Isfahan branch of Iranian Young Cinema Society before moving on to writing plays and screenplays for IRIB. He also directed such TV series as the popular A Tale of a City and co-wrote the screenplay of Ebrahim Hatamikia’s Low Heights. Dancing in the Dust was his feature film debut,[1] which he followed with the critically acclaimed A Beautiful City. His third film, Fireworks Wednesday won the Gold Hugo at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival. His fourth film, About Elly won the Silver Bear for Best Director at 59th InternationalBerlin Film Festival as well as Best Picture at Tribeca Film Festival. It is about a group of Iranians who take a trip to the Caspian Sea that turns tragic. Famous film theorist and film criticDavid Bordwell has called About Elly a masterpiece. [2] His latest film Nader and Simin, A Separation premiered on 9 February 2011 at the 29th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran and received rave reviews from Iran Society of Film Critics. It won Farhadi four awards including Best Director (for the third time after Fireworks Wednesdayand About Elly). On 15 February it also played in competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival which finally earned him Golden Bear for best film becoming the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. In June 2011, A Separation won the Sydney Film Prize in competition with Cannes Festival's winner The Tree of Life directed by Terrence Malick .[1]
High Resolution Pictures
Trailer Link	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Sswx_vrWk
Sources	Wikipedia and IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1832382/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_and_Simin,_A_Separation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asghar_Farhadi

AMNESTY

Name of Film	Amnesty (2011)
Original Title	Amnistia
Director	Buyar Alimani
Country	Albania
Language	Albanian
Mins	83 mins
Format to be screened
Festival & Awards	Best Foreign Language Filmat the 84th Academy Awards
Producer	Tefta Bejko
Synopsis	The Albanian government has issued a law allowing prisoners to meet their married spouse in private once a month. Elsa then went to Tirana specific date to meet her husband jailed for unpaid rent. Sheptim went there also to meet his wife, imprisoned for forgery and forgery. A story of abandonment begins between these two solitary beings. (http://www.arizonafilms.net/amnistie.html)
Note on Director	The film ‘Amnesty’ by Albanian director Bouyar Alimani has premiered at the Berlinale.  Alimani has been living and working in Greece for the past twenty years. ‘Amnesty’ is his first film and also the first Albanian film in Berlinale’s history. The story is about the life conditions of the two leading parts and brings them together at the end in a sensitive way. Alimany studied at Tiranna’s School of Arts and always tried to work with Greek directors. As he puts it: “I have studied theater in Albania, but grew up artistically in Greece. And I am not being diplomatic. I have two home countries, honestly.” (http://eu.greekreporter.com/2011/02/15/albanian-director%E2%80%99s-amnesty-film-premiered-at-berlinale/)
High Resolution Pictures
Trailer Link	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSGooM5dGIg
Sources	Wikipedia and IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1815586/ http://www.arizonafilms.net/amnistie.html