Films: By Genre/Subject

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  All Will Be Well

  Poland , 2007 , 96 min. When a fatherless boy with a dying mother sets off on a journey to a distant holy shrine in hopes of a miracle, his companion is an alcoholic track coach in need of some faith himself. Polish helmer Tomasz Wiszniewski puts a tender but tough-minded spin on the road movie.... more
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  American / Sandinista

  USA , 2007 , 30 min. As Nicaragua descended into civil war in the 1980s, the American government backed the Contras in an effort to destabilize the government. This fascinating documentary follows three American engineers whose grassroots activism changed global politics. ... more
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  Bean

  USA , 2008 , 20 min. At fifteen, Bean has had a hard time saying goodbye to her surrogate father. So when her mother takes up with a good-for-nothing, Bean takes action.... more
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  By the Numbers

  USA , 2008 , 8 min. Claude is obsessed with numbers—and with finding love in all the wrong places. Driven to desperation, he places his fate in the hands of the New York telephone network.... more
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  Celine's Downward Spiral

  Singapore , 2008 , 14 min. In this unsettling documentary, Celine discusses with candor her lifetime battle against serious depression.... more
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  A Christmas Tale

  France , 2008 , 150 min. In Arnaud Desplechin’s knowingly wild tragicomedy, three generations of a troubled French family gather at Christmas only to renew old feuds. Catherine Deneuve is the matriarch-in-crisis, Mathieu Amalric the hard-drinking prodigal son.... more
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  Cinema Q: The Lost Coast

  USA , 2008 , 74 min. The Lost Coast examines the remnants of a love triangle among three old high-school friends who reunite one Halloween night in San Francisco. On a quest to score Ecstasy, they instead confront increasing sexual confusion, guilt, and longing.... more
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  Cinema Q: Prodigal Sons

  USA , 2008 , 86 min. Director Kimberly Reed IN-PERSON Digital presentation - Prodigal Sons tells the story of three fascinating siblings: filmmaker Kim, a transgender woman; Todd, a gay man; and Marc, their adopted brother who discovers he’s the grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. The bond ... more
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  The Class

  France , 2008 , 128 min. Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Laurent Cantet’s docudrama examines an extraordinary teacher’s attempt to quell the culture clashes erupting in a tough French high school—arguably a microcosm of postmillennial France.... more
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  Cook County

  USA , 2008 , 93 min. A visceral study of the methamphetamine plague in rural America, Cook County tells the story of drug manufacturer-slash-addict Bump, whose downward spiral threatens to destroy his family. Can teenaged Abe prevent the seemingly inevitable?... more
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  Count Backwards from Five

  USA , 2007 , 8 min. A visually stunning, sad portrayal of the director's dying brother.... more
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  Death's Chaplain

  USA , 2008 , 3 min. Reflections of a Texas chaplain working on death row.... more
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  The Desert Within

  Mexico , 2008 , 110 min. After bringing destruction upon his Mexican village for having his newborn son baptized during a period of religious persecution, Elías drives his family into the desert in search of atonement—with even more disastrous consequences.... more
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  The Garden

  USA , 2008 , 99 min. Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s impassioned documentary focuses on a fourteen-acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles—and the pitched battle for its survival between a group of mostly immigrant farmers and the well-connected developer who’s determined to raze it.... more
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  Gifts Like White Elephants

  USA , 2008 , 9 min. Gifts adapts the complex Hemingway short story “Hills Like White Elephants” for the late adolescents of today.... more
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  Gomorrah

  Italy , 2008 , 137 min. The Camorra crime family is profiled in Matteo Garrone’s gritty fictionalized account of everyday corruption and violence in Naples—from money running to assassinations by the thousands; Gomorrah took the Grand Prix at Cannes this year.... more
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  The Guitar

  USA , 2008 , 95 min. In The Guitar, Amy Redford’s first feature, a diagnosis of terminal throat cancer sends meek Melody Wilder (Saffron Burrows) into a frenzy of indulgence, during which she buys herself a classic red Fender guitar—and experiences life for the first time.... more
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  The Hustler

  USA , 1961 , 135 min. Paul Newman gives a bitterly passionate performance as “Fast Eddie” Felson—a cocksure poolroom ace who learns harsh life lessons while paying dearly for his hubris and cynicism. SDFF 31 will present The Hustler in a brand-new 35mm print.... more
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  Insomnia

  USA , 2002 , 118 min. From acclaimed director Christopher Nolan (Memento) comes the story of Will Dormer (Al Pacino), a weary LAPD detective who’s investigating a brutal murder in a small Alaskan town—even as he too is being scrutinized far too closely for comfort by an eager local rookie.... more
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  Irish Twins

  USA , 2007 , 19 min. Michael and Seamus may be close in age, but the sharp contrasts of their sensibilities and loyalties become clear when they meet in a neighborhood pub on the eve of their father’s funeral.... more
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  Last Chance Harvey

  Great Britain , 2008 , 120 min. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star as the unlikely pair slowly learning the answer to the question at heart. Could this be their one last chance at romance?... more
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  Laurel Canyon

  USA , 2002 , 103 min. Academy Award winner Frances McDormand stars in this sexy, witty drama as a hard-living, free-thinking rock-and-roll record producer who suddenly finds herself sharing her home with her strait-laced grown son and his archconservative bride-to-be.... more
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  Lullaby

  Great Britain , 2007 , 14 min. A remarkable portrayal of a mother who is determined to move on after a family tragedy.... more
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  Mermaid

  Russia , 2007 , 115 min. Mermaid has been compared to Amélie for its visual richness—not to mention its oodles of charm, romance, and whimsy. This modern-day Russian fairy tale centers on a young, silent girl who can control the weather and make wishes come true.... more
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  Must Read After My Death

  USA , 2008 , 73 min. Juxtaposing old home movies and family photos with a cache of audio tapes recorded for psychiatrists, first-time feature filmmaker Morgan Dews reveals the ravaging effects of his grandparents’ turbulent marriage in intimate—and deeply unsettling—detail.... more
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  My Marlon and Brando

  Turkey , 2008 , 93 min. In this docudrama, two actors fall in love on a Turkish movie set but are separated when they must return home—she to Istanbul, he to Kurdistan. Just as the United States prepares to invade Baghdad, she undertakes the harrowing journey to be with her man.... more
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  My Wooden Dog

  Poland , 2007 , 17 min. In this bittersweet fable, Tadek, an oddball hero, tries to bring about a happy ending to his relatives' troubles. When his clumsy schemes fail, the world in his quirky head crumbles.... more
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  Natural Causes

  USA , 2008 , 91 min. After both a six-day fling and a year-long relationship, a twenty-something tries to make sense of the ephemeral nature of love. Three writer-directors drew from their own painful experiences to develop a nonlinear plot as compelling as their visual style.... more
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  The New Year Parade

  USA , 2008 , 87 min. In this unsentimental kitchen-table drama set against the background of the annual Mummers Parade, the divorce of a Philadelphia couple leaves their teenaged daughter and twenty-something son grappling with painful doubts about love.... more
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  Night Owls

  Czech Republic , 2008 , 88 min. Though she dabbles in art, lethargic Ofka chooses to work nights at a convenience store owned by her brother-in-law instead of studying for a career. But when the store is robbed during her shift, Ofka gets a jolt in the direction of adulthood.... more
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  Nobody's Fool

  USA , 1994 , 110 min. As Sully, a sixty-year-old handyman who’s finally ready to grow up, Paul Newman offers the finest performance of his autumnal years in this richly humorous, deeply humane dramedy (which is also Jessica Tandy’s swan song) about small-town life in upstate New York.... more
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  Norma Grace

  USA , 2008 , 12 min. A glimpse into the life of a fading Hollywood star. ... more
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  Not for Today, but for All Time...

  USA , 2008 , 5 min. A look back at the movies and movie theaters that, day by day, fall into disrepair despite the ongoing struggle of film preservationists. ... more
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  O'Horten

  Norway , 2007 , 90 min. One dark Norwegian winter, a railroad engineer on the verge of retirement tries to reinvigorate a life deadened by routine. Using wit both dry and absurdist, director Bent Hamer (Factotum) shows just how far a little imagination can take an old man.... more
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  One Book, One Denver FREE Film Series: Wendy And Lucy

  USA , 2008 , 80 min. Screens Monday, September 26th at 7pm - FREE Screening as part of One Book, One Denver's Community Events 35mm presentation - Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) gives a powerful breakout performance in this feminine variation on Into the Wild. Wendy Carroll (Williams) is d... more
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  Premature

  USA , 2008 , 15 min. Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx, has no one to turn to when she discovers she’s pregnant—so she must face the most difficult decision she will ever make alone.... more
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  Sex Is No Laughing Matter

  Japan , 2007 , 137 min. Yuri, an art school teacher, initiates an affair with Mirume, a student half her age, in this mischievous study of the affairs of love. When she disappears, Mirume’s friend En steps in to drive a narrative that blurs the line between farce and drama.... more
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  Side Effects

  USA , 2008 , 9 min. Love intercedes in an unlikely way when Paul (Arye Gross) decides that suicide might be the best way to get over his ex-wife. ... more
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  Sikumi (On the Ice)

  USA , 2008 , 15 min. A powerful story of an Inuit hunter who witnesses a murder by an Inuit writer-director with a bright future in cinematic storytelling.... more
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  Slumdog Millionaire

  Great Britain , 2008 , 120 min. Jamal, a teenager from the slums of Mumbai is suspected of cheating on an Indian game show, until he is given a chance to recount the events that taught him everything he knows.... more
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  Small Change

  Australia , 2007 , 7 min. This award-winning short illustrates how a simple act of kindness can help a young girl whose family is splitting up experience a bit of happiness amid the pain.... more
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  The Song of Sparrows

  Iran , 96 min. MUST END Thursday, May 14 35mm presentation - Karim works at an ostrich farm outside of Tehran, Iran. He leads a simple and contented life with his family in his small house, until one day when one of the ostriches runs away. Karim is blamed for the loss and is fired from the farm. So... more
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  Spider

  Australia , 2007 , 10 min. Jill and Jack are always hurting each other’s feelings. Will this be the day they simply go too far?... more
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  The Talented Mr. Ripley

  USA , 1999 , 139 min. To commemorate the passing of Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, SDFF 31 presents this dark tale of status-seeking, gold-digging, and, ultimately, murder, set in 1950s Italy. Minghella directed; Pollack executive produced.... more
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  Terribly Happy

  Denmark , 2008 , 99 min. MUST END April 22 35mm Presentation - In this twisted, darkly comic thriller, Robert Hanson (Jakob Cedergren) is a Copenhagen police officer who, following a nervous breakdown, is transferred to a small provincial town to take on the mysteriously vacated Marshal position. He subsequen... more
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  The Clearing

  USA , 2008 , 10 min. In a city where the government censors its citizens from within via implanted microchips, Wyatt finds an old photograph from his late wife with a message he cannot read; now he must decide how far to go in order to understand it.... more
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  These Were the Feets of Ashley

  Canada , 2008 , 13 min. Fresh from a date with the beautiful Ashley, Neil’s convinced it was a disaster. But with the help of his friend Jeff, he begins to exorcise his personal demons.... more
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  Three Monkeys

  Turkey , 2008 , 109 min. MUST END Thursday, June 4 35mm presentation - After his critically acclaimed mood pieces Distant and Climates, Turkey’s leading filmmaker moves in a more plot-driven direction while retaining his mastery of ambience, nuance and astonishing cinematography. Winner of the ... more
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  Two Lovers

  USA , 2008 , 100 min. MUST END Thursday, April 9 35mm presentation - Set in the insular world of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Two Lovers is a classic romantic drama, with Joaquin Phoenix giving a raw and vulnerable performance as Leonard, a charismatic but troubled young man who moves back into his childhood ... more
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  The Vault

  USA , 2008 , 3 min. One man’s beautiful yet dark, noirish journey into the unexplainable, inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. ... more