Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) is upon us again, and we have whittled down their list of 100+ international shorts and full-length films to pick what we have determined to be the best and most interesting of the bunch.

Portland International Film Festival 2012 runs from February 9th through the 25th, with more than one screening for most movies (exceptions generally being shorts and midnight film series).

This particular list below focuses on some opening week films that are really worth watching!

Those interested in documentaries can see a list of documentaries we recommend for PIFF 2012 or see here for all PIFF coverage.

ABU, SON OF ADAM
India

Directed by Salim Ahmed
Struggling to meet the financial needs for his much-desired life-long journey to Mecca, a religious man must decide how to make his important religious pilgrimage happen without sacrificing his own dignity or steering away his own moral compass.
02/12 – 3:00pm – Cinemagic
02/14 – 8:45pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/16 – 8:45pm – Pioneer Place 5

ALMANYA — WELCOME TO GERMANY
Germany

Directed by Yasemin Samdereli
A cultural comedy about the history of Turkish immigrants in Germany, Almanya flows back and forth between Turkish and German customs and language while remaining highly respectful to both cultures. It treads equally in laugh-out-loud and tear-jerking territory that is suitable for all ages and interests. Winner the Audience Award at Chicago Film Festival.
02/10 – 6:00pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/11 – 3:15pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/12 – 8:00pm – Lake Twin Cinema

AMADOR
Spain

Directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa
In this dark comedy, a pregnant Bolivian immigrant who has just moved to Spain becomes a caretaker for an elderly man; when he suddenly passes away, she must decide how to cover up his death to keep her financial stability.
02/10 – 8:30pm – Twin Lake Cinema
02/12 – 5:00pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/14 – 8:45pm – Lloyd Mall 5

BREATHING
Austria

Directed by Karl Markovics
A jailed teenager finds a renewed sense of purpose after parole officer gives him a new job and new responsibilities. A film lauded for its day-to-day quality and appropriately posited scenes and shots, Breathing is less mind-blowing than it is simply a solid tale of what happens when life exerts pressure on an individual.
02/10 – 6:15pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/12 – 8:00pm – Cinemagic
02/14 – 6:00pm – Twin Lake Cinema

CLOWN: THE MOVIE
Denmark

Directed by Mikkel Norgaard
Low-budget absurdist humor, about Frank and Casper, who are on a males-only retreat with an 11-year-old boy. Stupid and hilarious, in a raw and vile way, Clown: The Movie was a commercial success in Denmark.
02/16 – 8:45pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/18 – 5:30pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/20 – 8:00pm – Pioneer Place 5

THE FAIRY
France

Directed by Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy
A romantic comedy that has one foot in fantasy and the other in sunshine and rainbows. With physical comedy, dance routines, and implications of magic abound, The Fairy is a real-life cartoon set to a soundtrack of playful jazz!
02/10 – 8;45pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/11 – 3:30pm – Lloyd Mall 5
02/14 – 8:30pm – Lake Twin Cinema

FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD
Albania

Directed by Joshua Marston
Where new and old cultural norms clash comes the dramatic tale of Forgiveness of Blood. An Ancient Balkan code of law forces Mark and his family into hiding, leaving his teenage children – much more interested in modern technologies, significant others, and their future – to decide whether they will adhere to age-old customs or find a new way to survive.
02/10 – 8:30pm – Cinemagic
02/12 – 5:0pm – Lloyd Mall 5

FOUND MEMORIES
Brazil

Directed by Julia Murat
Found Memories is a film that seems completely whimsical, portraying the tale of two women – one a widow and one a young photographer – who meet under ordinary circumstances and form a bond that feels just a touch magical and outside of normal space-time.
02/11 – 6:00pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/13 – 8:45pm – Pioneer Place 5
02/16 – 8:45pm – Cinemagic

GOODBYE FIRST LOVE
France

Directed by Mia Hansen-Love
Falling in love for the first time marks its participants forever, whether for bad or for good. Goodbye First Love explores bittersweet nostalgic memories, and the personal growth that often comes from them.
02/12 – 2:00pm – Lloyd Mall 5
02/17 – 8:45pm – Cinema 21

HABEMUS PAPAM
Italy

Directed by Nanni Moretti
A totally absurd satire that poked fun at Catholic Church, by playing out what might happen should a successor to the papal throne change his mind at the last minute.
02/15 – 6:00pm – Lake Twin Cinema
02/17 – 6:00pm – Cinema 21

IDENTITY CARD
Czech Republic

Directed by Ondrej Trojan
A coming of age story, only it takes place in Czechoslavakia, in the early ‘70s. A tale about youth, Western influence, corrupt law officials, and clashing generations.
02/16 – 6:45pm – Lloyd Mall 5
02/18 – 5:30pm – Cinemagic

KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND
Norway

Directed by Marius Holst
In 1915, an isolated Norwegian reform school attempted to reform wayward teenagers through abuse and manual labor. King Of Devil’s Island tells the true story about one teenager who decided to stand up to authority and find his way out.
02/11 – 8:30pm – World Trade Center Theater
02/13 – 6:00pm – Whitsell Auditorium

MONSIEUR LAZHAR
Canada

Directed by Philipps Falardeau
A group of Montreal students are forced to cope with a teacher’s sudden suicide, and find comfort and sympathy in their replacement teacher, an Algerian refugee who is simultaneously trying to provide comfort and sympathy to his students while dealing with his own problems as one who has fleed his native land.
02/11 – 3:00pm – Lake Twin Cinema
02/13 – 6:15pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/15 – 8:45pm – Pioneer Place 5

MR. TREE
China

Directed by Jie Han
Tales about urbanization in China are certainly nothing new, but taking a look at that historical phenomenon through the study of an individual character – and a particularly eccentric one, at that – creates a cultural comedy with a unique sense of humor that only the Chinese possess.
02/12 – 12:45pm – Cinemagic
02/14 – 6:15pm – Lloyd Mall 5
02/18 – 3:00pm – Cinema 21

TALES OF THE NIGHT
France

Directed by Michel Ocelot
An animated film for those with interests in mystery, lost civilizations, and diverse cultural backgrounds, Tales Of The Night (Les Contes De La Nuit) flies through ancient cultures from Asia, Africa, and South America like shadow puppet-driven patterned prose.
02/12 – 5:30pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/15 – 6:15pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/18 – 1:00pm – World Trade Center Theater

TARGET
Russia

Directed by Alexander Zeldovich
A future film, Target is a science fiction adventure written by novelist Vladimir Sorokin, and involves an age-reversal contraption, secret facilities, and cosmic side effects. According to the PIFF festival guide, Target is quite unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
02/10 – 6:30pm – Lloyd Mall 5
02/17 – 8:00pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/19 – 7:45pm – Cinemagic

TURN ME ON, DAMMIT!
Norway

Directed by Jannicke Systad Jacobsen
A sex-obsessed fifteen-year-old girl must figure out how to manage the awkward sexual and social circumstances she unwittingly puts herself in.
02/12 – 8:00pm – Lloyd Mall 5
02/15 – 6:15pm – Cinemagic
02/19 – 12:00pm – Cinemagic

WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Lebanon

Directed by Nadine Labaki
When Lebanon’s Christian and Muslim populations erupt in violent conflict, one small village navigates its way through the conflicts, thanks to a sneaky group of women who interfere in both dramatic and hilarious ways.
02/11 – 8:30pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/13 – 6:00pm – Lake Twin Cinema

Film times and schedules are subject to change.
Please consult the PIFF website for up-to-date details.

Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) is upon us again, and we have whittled down their list of 100+ international shorts and full-length films to pick what we have determined to be the best and most interesting of the bunch.

Portland International Film Festival 2012 runs from February 9th through the 25th, with more than one screening for most movies (exceptions generally being shorts and midnight film series).

This particular list below focuses on the best documentaries of the bunch, ordered alphabetically.

See here for all PIFF coverage.

EL SICARIO: ROOM 164
United States

Directed by Gianfranco Rosi and Charles Bowden
At this crucial point during Mexico’s drug wars, El Sicario: Room 164 reveals details about a hitman who worked for 20 years for drug cartels in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.
02/20 – 12:45pm – Cinema 21

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN
United States

Directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton
A multicultural and multi-lingual film that compares and contrasts the lives of four teenage girls, all adopted from China, all living different lives in the United States.
02/19 – 12:00pm – World Trade Center Theater
02/22 – 6:15pm – Cinema 21

THIS IS NOT A FILM
Iran

Directed by Jafar Panahi
A film shot secretively with an iPhone and digital camera, to humbly tell the story of documentarian Jafar Panahi, who has been banned from filmmaking due to his work and is currently appealing a prison sentence.
02/18 – 6:00pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/19 – 8:45pm – World Trade Center Theater

UNFINISHED SPACES
United States

Directed by Benjamin Murray and Alysa Nahimas
Three architects began construction on a series of Cuban National Arts Schools during the first days of Fidel Castro’s rule. But after the Cuban Revolution took a Soviet turn, the project was abandoned. Now, after the death of Castro, the project’s original architects are finding a way to continue their original challenge.
02/21 – 3:30pm – Whitsell Auditorium

WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?
Uganda

Directed by Kimi Takesue
This revelatory documentary gives others a view into everyday Ugandan life, by focusing on numerous community-oriented events and spaces — such as a high-society wedding, a boxing club, a beauty salon, and a school for survivors of the civil war.
02/13 – 8:45pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/19 – 5:00pm – World Trade Center Theater

WHORE’S GLORY
Austria

Directed by Michael Glawogger
In this bold documentary, prostitutes from developing countries like Thailand, Bangladesh, and Mexico are humanized, as they candidly discuss the issues they face through a variety of colorful tales.
02/23 – 8:15pm – Cinema 21

Film times and schedules are subject to change.
Please consult the PIFF website for up-to-date details.

The visual aesthetics of LO(VE are undeniably impressive to even to the most jaded film-goer.

SIFF 2011 is upon us. The Northwest’s largest film festival and one of the biggest in the country continues its grand tradition of bringing a vast cornucopia of films to the Seattle area. This year the festival will feature 441 films from countries all across the globe, and will spread them over 25 days at various theaters in the region.

I don’t have any screeners yet, but I can already point to a handful of movies that I’m incredibly excited for.

Cult director Alex de la Iglesia returns with The Last Circus, a blood and guts romp about two warring circuses during the Spanish Civil War. I loved his Accion Mutante and 800 Bullets, and this film seems to be in a similar vein.

Miranda July also brings her twee sensibilities to the festival with The Future. Like in Me and You and Everyone We Know, her new film also stars July and is sure to be about almost everything except for what the blurb says it’s about.

Norwegian Wood is a Japanese film based on the Murakami novel. From the trailer, it features a lot of sad, longing looks and snow. The soundtrack is by Jonny Greenwood, who, if you’ve seen There Will Be Blood, is actually pretty good at this kind of thing.

Late Autumn is a Korean love drama filmed right here in Seattle. It stars one of the hottest Korean actors (in every sense of the word), Hyeon Bin (of My Lovely Samsoon fame). It’s a piece of Locale-porn (“Hey! I’ve been there!”) wrapped around a Korean melodrama, which I’m always a sucker for. From director Kim Tae-Yong, who made the very capable Memento Mori.

Also, Seattle gets to watch the new Winnie the Pooh film about a month earlier everyone else. That’s kinda cool, right?

Anyways, there are way more films than this that will be worth watching, but these are the ones I can name off the top of my head. Watch this space for previews, reviews and more.

If you are looking for films from today, Sunday, the 30th, you can see them here. Below are choice picks for the FINAL week of the San Francisco International Film Festival! Get your butt out there.

Full festival details and movie listings here.

—

American Teacher

If you’re an average American, you know that teachers are underpaid and underappreciated. This film certifies this, by chronicling the stories of four teachers throughout the United States.
Directed by Vanessa Roth – USA

SHOWTIMES
Tue, May 3 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)
Thu, May 5 @ 3:45 (Kabuki)

the ballad of genesis and lady jaye

A combination of HD and 16mm, Marie Losier’s first feature film documents a love story between Losier and her former love and muse, Lady Jaye. Plenty of sound collages and whimsical sets.
Directed by Marie Losier – USA

SHOWTIMES
Thu, May 5 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)

the black power mixtape

Sweden — land of the blue-eyed, blonde-haired lasses and lads! This collage-style documentary exposes recently redscovered Swedish footage from the 1967-75 Black Power Movement, with commentary by leading African American artists, activists, musicians, and scholars.
Directed by Goran Hugo Olsson – SWEDEN

SHOWTIMES
Tue, May 3 @ 6:00 (New People)

The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams

Warner Herzog becomes the first filmmaker allowed into Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc caverns in Southern France, site of the world’s oldest prehistoric art. Listen to his soothing (?) voice narrate about centuries-old drawings, and see it all in 3-D.
Directed by Werner Herzog – USA

SHOWTIMES
Tue, May 3 @ 6:00 (New People)

Cinema Komunisto

Ah, the Yugoslavian film industry — perhaps as tumultuous as its political past — and just as much influenced by it, including direct intervention from President Josip Broz Tito, to create and recreate the nation’s history, in a 1982 revision of history kind of way.
Directed by Mila Turajlic – SERBIA

SHOWTIMES
Tue, May 3 @ 6:30 (PFA)
Wed, May 4 @ 3:15 (Kabuki)

detroit wild city

Detroit is a city that evokes as much dread as it does curiosity, depending on who you ask. This documentary explores how complex Detroit’s present situation, and its future, is and can potentially be.
Directed by Florent Tillon – FRANCE/USA

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 2:45 (New People)
Wed, May 4 @ 8:40 (PFA)

the dish and the spoon

When one tries to make the most out of heartbreak, beautiful things can happen. Two young, hurting souls explore how to act the part of happy lovers.
Directed by Alison Bagnall – USA

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 3:30 (Kabuki)

la dolce vida

A classic Fellini of high society life in postwar Rome. Newly restored and beautiful.
Directed by Federico Fellini – ITALY/FRANCE

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 12:30 (Castro)

end of animal

Explore darkness with the U.S. Premiere of this South Korean, genre-hopping film in which “a pregnant teenager finds herself in a taxi with a passenger who counts down to cataclysm.”
Directed by Jo Sung-hee – SOUTH KOREA

SHOWTIMES
Tue, May 3 @ 4:15 (Kabuki)

kinyarwanda

An atypical, well-rounded film documenting of the Rwandan genocide, through narratives from Tutsi and Hutu perspectives.
Directed by Alrick Brown – USA/RWANDA

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 12:30 (Kabuki)
Tue, May 3 @ 8:00 (New People)
Thu, May 5 @ 5:00 (Kabuki)

the journals of musan

When refugees escape to new lands, transitions are different on even basic human needs. With The Journals Of Musan, N. Korean defector Seung-chul discovers the difficulties of assimilation, even with a shared language.
Directed by Park Jung-bum – SOUTH KOREA

SHOWTIMES
Fri, Apr 29 @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 8:30 (New People)
Mon, May 2 @ 1:00 (Kabuki)

the light thief

“An electrician affectionately known as Mr. Light finds himself in a difficult position when a politician embraces his dream of generating wind energy for his impoverished town. This allegory of a man confronting injustice dramatizes the challenges facing the economies of Central Asia.”
Directed by Aktan Arym Kubat

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 8:45 (PFA)

microphone

Ahmad Abdalla’s second feature film explores Alexandria music scene, and about the struggle of succeeding as an artist in the Egyptian city.
Directed by Ahmad Abdalla – EGYPT

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 8:45 (PFA)

mind the gap

“A series of experimentally minded shorts from established masters such as Jay Rosenblatt, Peter Tscherkassky and Kerry Laitala and relative newcomers such as Zackary Drucker — and featuring Jonathan Caouette’s (Tarnation) newest work — this program will be sure to surprise and confound and illuminate worlds real and imagined.”

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 9:45 (Kabuki)

position among the stars

A film that follows an Indonesian family dwelling in the countryside, Position Among The Stars explores how traditional Islam and Western materialism clash.
Directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich – NETHERLANDS

SHOWTIMES
Wed, May 4 @ 9:00 (Kabuki)

the salesman

A used car salesman in his 60′s ponders the meaning of life as he ages.
Directed by Sebastien Pilote – CANADA

SHOWTIMES
Sun, May 1 @ 6:15 (Kabuki)
Tue, May 3 @ 8:50 (PFA)
Thu, May 5 2 2:00 (Kabuki)

yves saint laurent l’amour fou

“Few figures loom larger in the annals of 20th-century style than legendary French fashion designed Yves Saint Laurent. Thoretton’s film documents his high-glamour, high-drama career via surviving business and life partner Pierre Berge — just as the latter prepares to sell off much of their astounding art collection in ‘the auction of the century’.”
Directed by Pierre Thoretton – FRANCE

SHOWTIMES
Tue, May 3 @ 7:00 (Kabuki)
Thu, May 5 @ 8:15 (Kabuki)

If you are looking for films from today, Wednesday, the 27th, you can see them here. Below are choice picks for the remainder of this week!

Full festival details and movie listings here.

—

Asleep In The Sun

This Argentine film evokes the tag words: “metaphysical mystery,” “canine-crazed,” “soul-deep,” “Kafkaesque world,” “psuedo scientists,” “self-possessed,” and “’50s decor.” It certainly targets a very specific audience, but that audience will love it.
Directed by Alejandro Chomski – ARGENTINA

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Apr 28 @ 3:30 (Kabuki)
sat, Apr 30 @ 6:15 (New People)

At Ellen’s Age

Like Eat, Pray, Love, this film documents what happens when the comforts of the middle-class life are disrupted. Unlike Eat, Pray, Love, this film is less “mall mom” and more surreal and quirky.
Directed by Pia Marais – GERMANY

SHOWTIMES
Fri, Apr 29 @ 7:00 (PFA)

the black power mixtape

Sweden — land of the blue-eyed, blonde-haired lasses and lads! This collage-style documentary exposes recently redscovered Swedish footage from the 1967-75 Black Power Movement, with commentary by leading African American artists, activists, musicians, and scholars.
Directed by Goran Hugo Olsson – SWEDEN

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 30 @ 9:00 (Kabuki)
Tue, May 3 @ 6:00 (New People)

the Cave Of Forgotten Dreams

Warner Herzog becomes the first filmmaker allowed into Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc caverns in Southern France, site of the world’s oldest prehistoric art. Listen to his soothing (?) voice narrate about centuries-old drawings, and see it all in 3-D.
Directed by Werner Herzog – USA

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 30 @ 9:00 (Kabuki)
Tue, May 3 @ 6:00 (New People)

The Cinema Komunisto

Ah, the Yugoslavian film industry — perhaps as tumultuous as its political past — and just as much influenced by it, including direct intervention from President Josip Broz Tito, to create and recreate the nation’s history, in a 1982 revision of history kind of way.
Directed by Mila Turajlic – SERBIA

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 30 @ 3:15 (Kabuki)
Tue, May 3 @ 6:30 (PFA)
Wed, May 4 @ 3:15 (Kabuki)

detroit wild city

Detroit is a city that evokes as much dread as it does curiosity, depending on who you ask. This documentary explores how complex Detroit’s present situation, and its future, is and can potentially be.
Directed by Florent Tillon – FRANCE/USA

SHOWTIMES
Fri, Apr 29 @ 7:00 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 2:45 (New People)
Wed, May 4 @ 8:40 (PFA)

the dish and the spoon

When one tries to make the most out of heartbreak, beautiful things can happen. Two young, hurting souls explore how to act the part of happy lovers.
Directed by Alison Bagnall – USA

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Apr 28 @ 8:45 (PFA)
Fri, Apr 29 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 3:30 (Kabuki)

end of animal

Explore darkness with the U.S. Premiere of this South Korean, genre-hopping film in which “a pregnant teenager finds herself in a taxi with a passenger who counts down to cataclysm.”
Directed by Jo Sung-hee – SOUTH KOREA

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Apr 28 @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Sat, Apr 30 @ 9:00 (New People)
Tue, May 3 @ 4:15 (Kabuki)

the journals of musan

When refugees escape to new lands, transitions are different on even basic human needs. With The Journals Of Musan, N. Korean defector Seung-chul discovers the difficulties of assimilation, even with a shared language.
Directed by Park Jung-bum – SOUTH KOREA

SHOWTIMES
Fri, Apr 29 @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 8:30 (New People)
Mon, May 2 @ 1:00 (Kabuki)

My Joy

Simply sold by this quote from Time Out, London: “There are hints of Tarkovsky in the poetic exploration of place and memory… the sense of a Dantean journey and a vision of utter hell are powerfully conveyed.”
Directed by Sergei Loznitsa – UKRAINE

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 30 @ 5:45 (Kabuki)
Tue, May 3 @ 9:00 (Kabuki)

Nostalgia For The Light

This film captures parallels between natural surroundings, memory, and the mysterious by digging through Chilean history and events occuring in the universe.
Directed by Patricio Guzmán – CHILE

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Apr 28 @ 6:15 (PFA)

pink saris

Documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto captures the life and works of Sampat Pal Devi, founder of India’s Gulabi Gang, which defends the rights of untouchable women and fights for other social needs of repressed women.
Directed by Kim Longinotto – ENGLAND/INDIA

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Apr 28 @ 6:15 (Kabuki)

sound of noise

“The sound-and-image anarchists behind the 2001 cult short Music For One Apartment And Six Drummers concoct a delightful comic cocktail mixing modern urban symphony, police procedural and love story. The up-tempo feature debut boasts the most complex and wacky musical numbers since Caro and Jeunet’s Delicatessen.”
Directed by Ola Simonsson, Johannes Stjarne Nilsson

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Apr 28 @ 3:45 (Kabuki)
Fri, Apr 29 @ 9:00 (Kabuki)

a useful life

“A man who has spent his entire adult life working in a film archive faces a new beginning with the threatened closure of the institution in this loving black-and-white ode to a life lived among the reels, a deadpan comedy of cinema and obsolescence from the director of Acne.”
Directed by Federico Veiroj – URAGUAY

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 30 @ 3:45 (Kabuki)

ulysses

Director Oscar Godoy explores loneliness and isolation, and the idea that money cannot bring happiness or love.
Directed by Oscar Godoy – ARGENTINA/CHILE

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 30 @ 3:45 (Kabuki)

This week’s San Francisco International Film Festival round-up is quite beefy, so we’re splitting it into two parts! For now, what you can see from Sunday through Wednesday.

—

Asleep In The Sun

This Argentine film evokes the tag words: “metaphysical mystery,” “canine-crazed,” “soul-deep,” “Kafkaesque world,” “psuedo scientists,” “self-possessed,” and “’50s decor.” It certainly targets a very specific audience, but that audience will love it.
Directed by Alejandro Chomski – ARGENTINA

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Apr 24 @ 8:45 (Kabuki)
Thu, Apr 28 @ 3:30 (Kabuki)
sat, Apr 30 @ 6:15 (New People)

At Ellen’s Age

Like Eat, Pray, Love, this film documents what happens when the comforts of the middle-class life are disrupted. Unlike Eat, Pray, Love, this film is less “mall mom” and more surreal and quirky.
Directed by Pia Marais – GERMANY

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Apr 24 @ 6:15 (Kabuki)
Wed, Apr 27 @ 3:30 (Kabuki)
Fri, Apr 29 @ 7:00 (PFA)

the colors of the mountain

Soccer is a way of life in Latin America. What happens when soccer-playing youth come too close in contact with contended territories? The Colors Of The Mountain explores that idea.
Directed by Carlos Cesar Arbelaez – COLOMBIA

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 23 @ 1:00 (Kabuki)
Sun, Apr 24 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)

hot coffee

Do you remember when a foolish (or is it brilliant?) consumer spilled hot coffee and turned around to sue McDonald’s for millions? Director Susan Saladoff does, and uses that case as a jump-off point to explore the ludicrous nature of the American legal system.
Directed by Susan Saladoff – USA

SHOWTIMES
Mon, Apr 25 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)
Tue, Apr 26 @ 2:00 (Kabuki)

the light thief

“An electrician affectionately known as Mr. Light finds himself in a difficult position when a politician embraces his dream of generating wind energy for his impoverished town. This allegory of a man confronting injustice dramatizes the challenges facing the economies of Central Asia.”
Directed by Aktan Arym Kubat

SHOWTIMES
Mon, Apr 25 @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 8:45 (PFA)

microphone

Ahmad Abdalla’s second feature film explores Alexandria music scene, and about the struggle of succeeding as an artist in the Egyptian city.
Directed by Ahmad Abdalla – EGYPT

SHOWTIMES
Mon, Apr 25 @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 8:45 (PFA)

Nostalgia For The Light

This film captures parallels between natural surroundings, memory, and the mysterious by digging through Chilean history and events occuring in the universe.
Directed by Patricio Guzmán – CHILE

SHOWTIMES
Tue, Apr 26 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)
Thu, Apr 28 @ 6:15 (PFA)

position among the stars

A film that follows an Indonesian family dwelling in the countryside, Position Among The Stars explores how traditional Islam and Western materialism clash.
Directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich – NETHERLANDS

SHOWTIMES
Tue, Apr 26 @ 8:50 (PFA)
Wed, Apr 27 @ 6:00 (Kabuki)
Wed, May 4 @ 9:00 (Kabuki)

a useful life

“A man who has spent his entire adult life working in a film archive faces a new beginning with the threatened closure of the institution in this loving black-and-white ode to a life lived among the reels, a deadpan comedy of cinema and obsolescence from the director of Acne.”
Directed by Federico Veiroj – URAGUAY

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Apr 24 @ Noon (New People)
Mon, Apr 25 @ 7:00 (PFA)
Sat, Apr 30 @ 3:45 (Kabuki)

ulysses

Director Oscar Godoy explores loneliness and isolation, and the idea that money cannot bring happiness or love.
Directed by Oscar Godoy – ARGENTINA/CHILE

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Apr 24 @ Noon (New People)
Mon, Apr 25 @ 7:00 (PFA)
Sat, Apr 30 @ 3:45 (Kabuki)

The San Francisco International Film Festival opens on the evening of Thursday, April 21st.
Here are our recommended picks for the opening days, April 21st through April 23rd!

Full festival details and movie listings here.

—

the colors of the mountain

Soccer is a way of life in Latin America. What happens when soccer-playing youth come too close in contact with contended territories? The Colors Of The Mountain explores that idea.
Directed by Carlos Cesar Arbelaez – COLOMBIA

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 23 @ 1:00 (Kabuki)
Sun, Apr 24 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)

hot coffee

Do you remember when a foolish (or is it brilliant?) consumer spilled hot coffee and turned around to sue McDonald’s for millions? Director Susan Saladoff does, and uses that case as a jump-off point to explore the ludicrous nature of the American legal system.
Directed by Susan Saladoff – USA

SHOWTIMES
Fri, Apr 22 @ 6:30 (New People)
Mon, Apr 25 @ 6:30 (Kabuki)
Tue, Apr 26 @ 2:00 (Kabuki)

the light thief

“An electrician affectionately known as Mr. Light finds himself in a difficult position when a politician embraces his dream of generating wind energy for his impoverished town. This allegory of a man confronting injustice dramatizes the challenges facing the economies of Central Asia.”
Directed by Aktan Arym Kubat

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 23 @ 7:15 (Kabuki)
Mon, Apr 25 @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 8:45 (PFA)

microphone

Ahmad Abdalla’s second feature film explores Alexandria music scene, and about the struggle of succeeding as an artist in the Egyptian city.
Directed by Ahmad Abdalla – EGYPT

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 23 @ 7:15 (Kabuki)
Mon, Apr 25 @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 8:45 (PFA)

mind the gap

“A series of experimentally minded shorts from established masters such as Jay Rosenblatt, Peter Tscherkassky and Kerry Laitala and relative newcomers such as Zackary Drucker — and featuring Jonathan Caouette’s (Tarnation) newest work — this program will be sure to surprise and confound and illuminate worlds real and imagined.”

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 23 @ 4:45 (Kabuki)
Sun, May 1 @ 9:45 (Kabuki)

mysteries of lisbon

Set in baroque, old-world Portugal, Mysteries Of Lisbon is based on a 19th-century Portuguese novel and is “like Dickens filtered through a surrealist’s gaze.”
Directed by Raul Ruiz – PORTUGAL/FRANCE

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 23 @ 12:15 (Kabuki)

pink saris

Documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto captures the life and works of Sampat Pal Devi, founder of India’s Gulabi Gang, which defends the rights of untouchable women and fights for other social needs of repressed women.
Directed by Kim Longinotto – ENGLAND/INDIA

SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 23 @ 1:00 (New People)
Thu, Apr 28 @ 6:15 (Kabuki)

How To Die In Oregon

This film does not beat around the bush. Beginning with a terminally-ill cancer patient who dies on camera, How To Die In Oregon explores the sensitive issue of physician-assisted suicide.
Directed by Peter D. Richardson – UNITED STATES

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 9:30am (B1)
Mon, Feb 21 @ 7:30 (B1)

7 Days In Slow Motion

Explore the humor and drama of growing up in middle-class Indian household, where education is valued to an extreme, but children will be children.
Directed by Umakanth Thumrugoti – INDIA

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 12:15pm (B1)
Sun, Feb 20 @ 3:45pm (B2)

Budrus

Nicholas D. Kristof described this documentary as, “This year’s must-see documentary.” Budrus captures a family man, Ayed Morrar, who was inspired to fight against the powers of injustice on the Israeli-Palestinian border.
Directed by Julia Bacha – UNITED STATES

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 2:15 (WH)

Louder Than A Bomb

For those inspired by spoken word and poetry, Louder Than A Bomb is a fascinating replay of a competition involving 600 high school students from 60 schools throughout Chicago.
Directed by Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel – UNITED STATES

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 2:30 (B1)
Mon, Feb 21 @ 5:00pm (WH)

The Four Times

Take a breather with The Four Times (Le Quattro Volte) which follows four different stories in rural Southern Italy.
Directed by Michelangelo Frammartino – ITALY

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 2:45 (B3)

My Tehran For Sale

A feature film that was filmed in secret, My Tehran For Sale boldly captures Tehran’s underground art, music, and theater scene. It is Moussavi’s astounding first feature film.
Directed by Granaz Moussavi – IRAN

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 5:15 (B3)

My Joy

Simply sold by this quote from Time Out, London: “There are hints of Tarkovsky in the poetic exploration of place and memory… the sense of a Dantean journey and a vision of utter hell are powerfully conveyed.”
Directed by Sergei Loznitsa – UKRAINE

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 6:45 (B3)
Mon, Feb 21 @ 2:00pm (CM)

Some Days Are Better Than Others

Four Portlanders with different — yet very Portland, Oregon-esque — lives spend their days trying to find meaningful human connections. The sell here is the acting debut of The Shins’ frontman James Mercer and Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein.
Directed by Matt McCormick – UNITED STATES

SHOWTIMES
Sun, Feb 20 @ 7:30pm (WH)

A Somewhat Gentle Man

Yet another black comedy from the great Scandinavian North, featuring a mix of bizarre and fascinating characters. This is either your jam, or it isn’t.
Directed by Hans Petter Moland – NORWAY

SHOWTIMES
Mon, Feb 21 @ 2:15pm (B3)
Tue, Feb 22 @ 6:00pm (B1)
Wed, Feb 23 @ 6:45pm (B2)

Eastern Plays

Eastern Europe post the fall of the Soviet Union is quite a place — full of unemployment, cynicism, and nationalism. Kalev’s feature film was this year’s Bulgarian submission for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
Directed by Kamen Kalev – BULGARIA

SHOWTIMES
Mon, Feb 21 @ 6:45pm (B4)
Tue, Feb 22 @ 9:00pm (B3)
Wed, Feb 23 @ 9:00pm (CM)

Honey

This feature by Semih Kaplanoglu follows a child named Yusuf, who is opened up to the natural world through his father, a wild honey collector. As a Turkish film, it explores forests in a way not often seen in that part of the world.
Directed by Semih Kaplanoglu – TURKEY

SHOWTIMES
Tue, Feb 22 @ 6:15pm (B3)
Wed, Feb 23 @ 6:15pm (B3)

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

Sophie Fiennes documents the work of Anselm Kiefer’s sculptures and installations, constructed by earth, ash, gold, acid, glass, concrete, and lead.
Directed by Sophie Fiennes – GREAT BRITAIN

SHOWTIMES
Tue, Feb 22 @ 8:15pm (WH)

Circo

Circo is a road movie and documentary about a small traveling circus in Mexico, La Gran Circo De Mexico.
Directed by Aaron Schock – MEXICO

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Feb 24 @ 3:30pm (B1)

The Woods

“This satirical attack on young, modern, globally conscious citizens tells the story of eight grown-up American children creating utopian society as best they can. With gorgeous super-16 footage and an eclectic soundtrack featuring Dirty Projectors, Sun Araw, and Lucky Dragons, filmmaker Matthew Lessner playfully subverts counter-culture films of the ’70s while questioning the shortcomings of his own complacent generation. In a world where new technologies merely distract us from reality, the greatest revolution can only begin by leaving everything behind.”—Sundance Film Festival
Directed by Matthew Lessner – UNITED STATES

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Feb 24 @ 6:30pm (C21)
Sat, Feb 26 @ 5:30pm (C21)

Nostalgia For The Light

This film captures parallels between natural surroundings, memory, and the mysterious by digging through Chilean history and events occuring in the universe.
Directed by Patricio Guzmán – CHILE

SHOWTIMES
Thu, Feb 24 @ 6:30pm (C21)
Sat, Feb 26 @ 12:45pm (WH)

Of Love And Other Demons

A Costa Rican film based off of the novel by Gabriel García Márquez, this film is this year’s Costa Rican submission for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and shows what happens when a demonically-possessed girl and a priest are forced into one another’s lives.
Directed by Hilda Hidalgo – COSTA RICA

SHOWTIMES
Fri, Feb 25 @ 9:00pm (C21)
Sat, Feb 26 @ 2:30pm (C21)

The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector
Directed by Vikram Jayanti
Starring: Phil Spector, Lana Clarkson

Last year, legendary producer Phil Spector was (spoiler alert!) sent to jail for 19 years to life for the murder of Lana Clarkson. The circumstances were suspect, the scene of the crime grisly; Lana Clarkson had been shot point blank in the mouth inside of Spector’s home, and immediately after the incident Spector called 911, stating that he thought he “killed someone.”

Now, someone who knows nothing of the circumstances would probably react with a response akin to “What a horrible crime! Phil Spector must be a horrible, insane individual.” But what this new, BBC produced documentary posits is a slightly askew version of the above sentiment; more like: “What a horrible tragedy! Phil Spector is an insane individual. I wonder if the two are connected.”

Phil Spector, the creator of the influential “Wall of Sound” in the sixties, songwriter of such hits as “Unchained Melody” and “Be My Baby,” as well as the producer for artists such as the Ramones, John Lennon and  George Harrison, has always been a little off. In interviews, he’s frank, catty, egotistical and somewhat sociopathic. In personal interactions he can be irresponsibly hostile, literally using his large collection of firearms to “hold hostage” creative partners. And in his love life he’s downright volatile, as many interviews with his former lovers (including his most famous ex Ronnie Spector) will attest to. But is an infamously caustic image and some circumstantial evidence enough for conviction?

The documentary, which simply inserts scenes from his 2007 mistrial into a lengthy in-house interview with the man himself, intentionally lends a sympathetic ear to the mad genius. The interviewer asks multiple questions about Spector’s state of mind, asks him how he views his career, especially in relation to his peers. And for the most part, Spector is very honest about his position in life. He knows he’s consorted with the best of the best, he knows he ranks among them. But he’s also aware of the fame he’s accumulated, or moreso the fame that has eluded him. Like a proto-Kanye West, Phil Spector’s ego is both his greatest asset and his Achilles’ heel.

It’s endlessly entertaining to watch Phil Spector talk and talk and talk about his friends. He talks about Brian Wilson’s frustration at not being able to recreate Phil’s Wall of Sound. He does a fairly goofy John Lennon impersonation while reciting a story about almost suing Martin Scorcese (“Who’s this Martin Skeezy?”) into oblivion. He seems both jealous and perplexed about the worshiped heaped upon Buddy Holly (“He only worked for three years! And he gets a stamp?!”) Only Phil Spector could honestly come up with this kind of stuff and make it somewhat plausible, much less utterly charming.

None of this trivializes the events that happened in his house that fateful day. No matter how famous the man is, or how troubled Lana Clarkson was– multiple accounts from her closest friends claim she was depressed and desperate in regards to her career, speaking of suicide on many occasions—Phil Spector was at least somewhat responsible for this event. But rather than framed with the drama of a psychotic sociopath, perhaps the events of that night are best explained by his own voice, one of a successful but unsatisfactory past, one still troubled by the ghosts of his childhood, and one that’s lived a life that no one else (even Brian Wilson) could begin to fathom.

The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector begins its run at the Northwest Film Forum beginning December 3rd and continues through the 9th.