Flash of Genius
Special thanks to Mel & Paulette Blumenthal
USA, 119 min.

Based on a true story, Flash of Genius compellingly relates college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns’ David and Goliath battle with the U.S. auto industry. When Kearns (Greg Kinnear in an Oscar®-caliber performance) invents the intermittent windshield wiper, he thinks he has struck gold. But his aspirations are dashed after the auto giants who embraced the creation unceremoniously shun him. He becomes a man obsessed with justice and the conviction that his life’s work – or for that matter, anyone’s work – be acknowledged by those who stand to benefit. But at what price? Directed by Marc Abraham (producer of City of Men, Air Force One), this feature debut also stars Lauren Graham (as Kearns’ longsuffering wife), Alan Alda, and Dermot Mulroney. This moving portrayal of one man’s refusal to compromise his dignity and the toll it ultimately takes raises questions that linger long after the final credits. (USA, 2008, 119 min. Courtesy of Universal Studios)

Life. Support. Music.
Special thanks to Ellen & Bill Hunt
USA, 79 min.
*Jason Crigler expected

Hugely popular with festival audiences, this inspiring commentary on the resiliency of the human spirit traces the incredible story of 34-year-old guitarist Jason Crigler. A session musician for Norah Jones, Aimee Mann and others, Jason was well on his way to becoming a rock star in his own right when he suffered a devastating brain hemorrhage during a New York concert. Not content to accept the doctors’ dire prognosis, Jason’s family – including his pregnant wife – took charge of his recovery. Thus begins a long, implausible, and, at times, mystifying journey to recovery and return to music. Filmmaker Eric Daniel Metzgar deftly weaves together his own material, footage shot by the hospital staff, and deeply intimate home videos to create a poetic portrait that reveals the power of love, the miraculous effects of unwavering faith and intense optimism, and the undeniable healing properties of music. (USA, 2008, 79 min. Courtesy of Merigold Moving Pictures)

Pressure Cooker
Special thanks to Melva Bucksbaum & Raymond Learsy
USA, 99 min.
Director Mark Becker expected

Wilma Stephenson, who teaches culinary arts at northeast Philadelphia’s Frankford High School, is a force to be reckoned with. Brusque, demanding, and vehemently focused on teaching kids how to concoct soufflés, salads, and sauces, she commands a classroom kitchen of students from a variety of disadvantaged backgrounds. Equal parts boot camp instructor, coach, and den mother, she inspires her inner-city senior class – many of whom are trying to overcome broken homes and abusive pasts – as they prepare for a citywide cooking competition. At stake are scholarships to some of the country’s top culinary schools. In this engaging documentary, filmmakers Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker capture an inspirational journey of self-discovery and cooking as the students, with the hard-won but unwavering support of Stephenson, dare to chase after their dreams and reach for opportunities they never could have otherwise imagined. (USA, 2008, 99 min. Courtesy of Participant Media)

A Secret
France, 110 min.

Adapted from Philippe Grimbert’s bestselling novel, A Secret is veteran director Claude Miller’s (Under Suspicion) most personal feature to date. Spanning three eras, from World War II to 1980’s Paris, this beautifully filmed drama provides a provocative look at how individual choices can reverberate through subsequent generations. At its heart is François, a gawky, shy Parisian teenager in the 1950s who never lives up to the expectations of his robust, athletic father and mother. His deep-seated feelings of inadequacy turn out to be justified, as François discovers uncomfortable truths about his parents’ lives as a young Jewish couple during the Nazi Occupation. Director Miller transforms a complex spiral of events into a sleek, cogent mosaic, supported by a first-rate cast that includes Ludivine Sagnier, Cécile de France, Julie Depardieu and Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and The Butterfly) as the adult François. (France, 2007, 110 min. Courtesy of Strand Releasing)

REMEMBERING SYDNEY POLLACK
Tootsie
Special thanks to Reel People: The Friends of Aspen Film
USA, 116 min.

We can think of no more fitting tribute to our dear friend and Independent by Nature Award 2002 recipient, Sydney Pollack than screening a new print of one of his most beloved films, Tootsie. When Sydney passed away this spring, both the film industry and movie lovers mourned the loss of a truly special and talented man. His films conveyed the genuine warmth and compassion that Sydney embodied. Directing, producing, and acting, his contributions to our enjoyment of the movies were enormous. Join us for a special free community screening of this comedy classic starring Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Bill Murray and a memorable cameo by Sydney himself. (1982, USA, 116 min. Special thanks to Sony Pictures Entertainment)

How About You
Special thanks to Pamela Levy & Rick Crandall
Ireland, 100 min.

A humorous and deeply human tale, How About You, adapted from a short story by Maeve Binchy, upends our notions of youthful irreverence and senior decorum. Ellie (Hayley Atwell), a fun-loving and fearless young woman, is left in charge of a residential home in the Irish countryside run by her older sister Kate (Orla Brady). Her youth and inexperience lead to bitter conflict with four curmudgeonly – and often hilariously uncivilized – residents: faded (but still martini-fueled) screen beauty Georgia, played with verve by Vanessa Redgrave, spinster sisters Hazel (Imelda Staunton) and Heather (Brenda Fricker), and a finicky former judge, Donald (Joss Ackland). Directed by Anthony Byrne (Short Order), this award-winning cast portrays an unlikely group of characters that develop relationships that are not only surprising, but also transformative. In a film filled with compelling performances and vivid individuals, we discover a story about the rejuvenating power of other people. (Ireland, 2007, 100 min. Courtesy of Strand Releasing)

Traveling with Pets
Special thanks to Libby Sullivan
Russia, 97 min.

Luminous and beautifully acted, Traveling with Pets is a delicately evocative tale of one woman’s midlife awakening. Living a sheltered life on the outskirts of a rural Russian town, Natalja is little more than a slave to her boorish husband, tending his prized cow and selling the milk to passengers on the trains that rumble by their house. One day, Natalja’s colorless world begins to turn remarkably brighter, and she embarks on a journey of self-realization, highlighted by whimsical moments of magical realism. Former actress Vera Storozheva shows subtle skill as director and cinematographer Oleg Loukichev’s richly textured images visually echo Natalja’s transformation. But it’s actress Kseniya Kutepova who truly shines. Reminiscent of a young Tilda Swinton, she brings an unspoken intelligence and warmth to a woman whose heart is finally stirring and whose mind has at long last been freed to dream. Winner of the Grand Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival. (Russia, 2007, 97 min. Courtesy of Studio SLON)

Waltz with Bashir
Israel/France/Germany, 87 min.

Haunted by a past he can’t recall – his military service in the 1982 Lebanese war – Israeli documentary filmmaker Ari Folman embarks on a quest to reconstruct his wartime experiences. Interviewing old friends and comrades around the world, Folman departs from normal documentary form, choosing to visualize their stories through animation, painting a vivid, disturbing and deeply compelling picture of what it was like to be young, Israeli, and conscripted in the early ’80s. As Folman delves deeper into the mysteries of the past, his recollections finally begin to bubble up in surreal images, conveying the feverish atmosphere of warfare, where fear, horror — and, later, guilt — distort and distend perception and memory. As in Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about the Holocaust, Folman’s animation both illustrates and transforms the horrors to which he bears witness. Waltz with Bashir premiered to critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival this spring and has been nominated for several Israeli Film Academy Awards. (Israel/France/Germany, 2008, 87 min. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)

STRANDED I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains
Special thanks to Peter & Sam Louras
France/Uruguay, 126 min.

In October 1972, a Uruguayan rugby team boarded a flight for a game they would never play. Their plane crashed in the Andes in a blinding snowstorm. Miraculously, 16 of the original 45 passengers stayed alive for 72 days on a frozen glacier, despite brutal conditions, but how they did it shocked the world. If this is a story that you think you know, think again. Filmmaker Gonzalo Arijon, a childhood friend of several of the survivors, goes beyond banner headlines to capture the essence of this extraordinary drama. Exceptionally crafted reenactments set the stage for an experiential journey, as 35 years later and for the first time on film, the now middle aged men recount their amazing ordeal and reflect on how it subsequently shaped their lives. Fascinating and deeply personal, this multi-award winning documentary is a moving testament to a group of courageous, resourceful young men who faced the unimaginable and lived to share their experience. (France/Uruguay, 2007, 126 min. Courtesy of Zeitgeist Films)

Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Special thanks to Howard & Marcy Gross
USA, 72 min.

Documentarian Gini Reticker brings us the truly remarkable story of a women’s peace movement that changed the course of a nation’s history. Shortly after warlord Charles Taylor was elected Liberia’s president in 1997, the country’s second civil war broke out. In the midst of her country’s seemingly endless crisis, Leymah Gbowee, an ordinary Liberian woman inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr., took an extraordinary step by gathering the women of her church to pray for peace. That seemingly simple act spawned a national coalition of Christian and Muslim women who, through daylong sit-ins and some rather unconventional means, eventually forced the warring male leaders into a ceasefire agreement. Equal parts lively, gripping drama and inspiring example, Pray the Devil Back to Hell celebrates how a powerful vision of peace transformed history, all because of grassroots courage and commitment. Best Documentary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. (USA, 2008, 72 min. Courtesy of Fork Films)

Ballast
Special thanks to Adam Lewis
USA, 96 min.

Debuts such as this are rare indeed. On the surface, a stark portrait of a family in crisis, this quietly unassuming, unexpectedly affecting feature has drawn comparisons to European cinema. But Ballast – winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Best Director and cinematography Awards – is distinctly American in its humanistic flavor. Newcomer Lance Hammer wrote and directed this winter’s tale of three people in a small Mississippi Delta town whose static lives are irrevocably thrown off balance in the wake of a startling death: Marlee, a single mother struggling to earn a living; her 12-year-old son, James; and Lawrence, the boy’s uncle. Hammer draws out authentically nuanced performances from his trio of non-professional actors. Every frame is artfully composed, every cut economically executed to transmit a hauntingly sensitive story and reveal the characters’ layered emotions. Hammer has a remarkable feel for the topography of human relationships and a stirring cinematic voice. (USA, 2007, 96 min. Courtesy of Lance Hammer)

The Brothers Warner
Special thanks to Lita Warner Heller
USA, 89 min.
Director Cass Warner expected
CELEBRATING LITA WARNER HELLER

Cass Warner, Harry Warner’s granddaughter, wrote and directed this fond portrait of the four film pioneers who founded and ran the Warner Bros. studio for more than 50 years. Dedicated to their movie mantra, “educate, entertain, and enlighten,” Harry, Sam, Abe and Jack Warner successfully translated their vision into commercial success (The Jazz Singer and Casablanca, to name just two). Through never-before-seen photos and footage, as well as the recollections of family members and colleagues like Dennis Hopper, Debbie Reynolds, Norman Lear and others, the film traces the brothers’ resourcefulness (they opened their first storefront theater by hanging a sheet on the wall and borrowing chairs from a funeral parlor), the personal tragedies they overcame, and the battles they fought on the way to creating a studio legend. The Brothers Warner offers a rare inside, personal look at Hollywood’s “Golden Years.” (USA, 2008, 89 min. Courtesy of Warner Sisters Productions, Inc.)

The Pope's Toilet
Uruguay/Brazil/France, 90 min.
Also screens at Isis Theatre, Sat Sept 27

The inhabitants of the tiny, threadbare Uruguayan border town of Melo get by on petty smuggling and impossible dreams. Then the impossible happens – Melo is somehow picked as a stop in John Paul II’s 1988 Latin American tour! With more than 50,000 Brazilians expected, the impoverished villagers are galvanized into frenzied preparations – fueled with hope that the event will bring them both spiritual and economic salvation. While most plan to hawk food and drink, the film centers on Beto, an irrepressible schemer who aims to serve a different need by building the town’s only pay toilet. Infused with moments of droll wit and cleverly inserted news footage, directors Enrique Fernández and César Charlone (also cinematographer, The Constant Gardener, City of God) have fashioned an ironic parable based on real life events. One of the year’s most popular Latin American films, it was also Uruguay’s official Oscar® entry. (Uruguay/France/Brazil, 2007, 90 min. Courtesy of Film Movement)

Teddy Bear
Special thanks to Marty Flug
Czech Republic, 98 min.

With a clever script and deftly comic insight, this immensely likable latest feature from acclaimed Czech director/writer team Jan Hr?ebejk and Petr Jarchovsky´ (Beauty in Trouble, Filmfest 07) casts a revealing eye on the rollercoaster ride of marriage. With their characteristic blend of seriousness and humor, the filmmakers interweave the complex relationships of a trio of couples as they negotiate, with varying success, the bumps and dips of 30-something life. Though pals since childhood, the three men at the film’s center have each harbored long-held secrets. As they are revealed (as secrets are wont to do) the ramifications–both sobering and silly–end up affecting all three couples. With outstanding ensemble performances (including Beauty in Trouble stars Anna Geislerová and Roman Luknár, and a delightful cameo by iconic Czech director Jir?í Menzel) this bittersweet comedy about friendship, love, honesty and responsibility has been compared to The Big Chill. (Czech Republic, 2007, 98 min. Courtesy of Menemsha Films)

Music in the Movies: Film Clips & Conversation with Composer Dario Marianelli
Special thanks to Diane & Bruce Halle

Dario MarianelliJoin us for this very special program of conversation and film clips with award-winning composer, Dario Marianelli, who will discuss the creative process of writing music for the big screen. Recent winner of both the Oscar and Golden Globe for Atonement – who can forget the typewriter’s refrain – Mr. Marianelli has just completed scoring The Soloist, his latest collaboration with Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement). To be released in theaters later this fall, The Soloist stars Robert Downey Jr., as a homeless man in Los Angeles who plays violin and dreams of playing the concert hall. Jamie Foxx and Catherine Keener also star. We will screen a selection of clips from this new film, as well as a few from Atonement and Pride & Prejudice.

Dario Marianelli was born in Pisa, Italy, educated at the National Film and Television School in London, and is now based in the UK. Only in his mid-40s, Mr. Marianelli has already composed scores for an array of talented directors, in a wide range of genres. In addition to his collaborations with director Joe Wright, Mr. Marianelli has composed scores for Terry Gilliam (The Brothers Grimm), Neil Jordan (The Brave One), Michael Winterbottom (In this World), Julien Temple (Pandaemonium), and many others. His compositions have ranged in tone from dramatic and suspenseful (The Brothers Grimm, The Warrior) to the romantic (Pride & Prejudice) to the gothic and theatrical (V for Vendetta). (Program lasts approx. 90 minutes.)

Religulous
Special thanks to Neil & Susan Karbank
USA, 99 min.

One of comedian and political satirist Bill Maher’s (Real Time with Bill Maher) favorite targets is organized religion. He has teamed up with equally uninhibited director Larry Charles (Borat, Curb Your Enthusiasm) to make this funny, smart, and unabashedly irreverent documentary that questions the assumptions that underscore religious belief. Beginning with his own background (he interviews his mother about their Catholic/Jewish family), the cameras follow Maher as he travels around the globe, from heartland America and Amsterdam to the Holy Land and the Vatican, on an unusual spiritual journey. While interviewing believers – everyone from prominent religious leaders to a guy playing Jesus at the Holy Land Experience theme park in Florida – Maher brings his characteristic honesty and
skepticism to the endeavour. Given its outrageous methods, wisecracking attitude, and ultimately serious, thought-provoking intent, Religulous is rapidly garnering a reputation as one of the year’s most controversial films. (USA, 2008, 99 min. Courtesy of Lionsgate Films)

Crimes Against Nature
Special thanks to John Catto
USA, Program runs 120 min.
Director Angus Yates and NPR’s Richard Harris expected

Inspired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bestseller of the same name and narrated by Morgan Freeman, this new investigative documentary offers an insightful, and startlingly frank assessment of our environmental state of the union. Crimes Against Nature chronicles the current administration’s systematic dismantling of federal environmental legislation, a real life drama pitting ordinary citizens against corporate interests. What’s at stake are basic rights including access to clean air and water. We travel with Kennedy as he tracks coal mining from its point of extraction in the Appalachian Mountains to the coal-burning power plants in the Ohio Valley. Along the way, we meet a variety of individuals like a mother-turned-activist fighting the coal industry and energy lobbyists-turned-policymakers busily rewriting the EPA ’s mandate. The case is made that the health of our planet is far greater than red and blue politics. From the Beltway’s inner sanctum to neighbor playgrounds, director Angus Yates distills a far-reaching and complex story into an urgent call to action. (USA, 2008, 100 min. Courtesy of Interface Media)

*This premiere will be followed by a conversation with director Angus Yates and NPR science and environment correspondent Richard Harris about the current state of environmental policy and the role of Americans and the media in influencing its future.

I've Loved You So Long
Special thanks to Esther Pearlstone
France/Germany, 117 min.

French novelist and screenwriter Philippe Claudel brings intelligence and compassion to his debut feature about two sisters, divided long ago by a shocking tragedy, who are searching to find closure on the past and forge a new life together. Kristin Scott Thomas (The Other Boleyn Girl, The English Patient) gives a sensational performance as the mysteriously aloof Juliette, whose move into sister Léa’s house in their French hometown sets off a journey toward redemption. Though Léa (Elsa Zylberstein), her husband Luc and their friends hesitate, Léa’s two adopted daughters take an immediate liking to their newfound aunt. As secrets are revealed, piecing together Juliette’s past bit by suspenseful bit, the two sisters slowly rebuild a bond of trust that was destroyed fifteen years earlier. A critical and box office hit in France, I’ve Loved You So Long explores the terrain of forgiveness to utterly engrossing effect. (France/Germany, 2008, 117 min. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)

Lemon Tree
Israel/Germany/France, 106 min.
Also plays Aspen sun sept 28.

Lemon Tree is that rare find – an intelligent, engaging film about a hot-button political issue. This beautifully shot drama from acclaimed Israeli director Eran Riklis (The Syrian Bride) straddles the Palestinian-Israeli chasm with irony, generosity, anger, and, yes, even guarded) optimism. The lemon grove of the title belongs to Salma, a widow who lives in a tiny Palestinian village on the West Bank. When the Israeli Minister of Defense builds a house next door, the lemon trees planted by Salma’s late father are deemed a security risk. The ensuing legal battle reveals unexpected alliances and a cascade of unintended consequences. An outstanding cast, led by Hiam Abbass (The Visitor, The Syrian Bride) as Salma, and Rona Lipaz-Michael as the Defense Minister’s wife, aids Riklis in presenting a thoughtfully conceived microcosm of the struggles between Israelis and Palestinians. This Berlin Film Festival Audience Award Winner is also nominated for Best Director and Best Actress for the Israeli Academy Awards. (Israel/Germany/France, 2008, 106 min. Courtesy of IFC Films)

The Class
Take a classroom full of outspoken, multi-ethnic teens from a tough Parisian junior high, none of them professional actors, add a real-life teacher trying to make a difference, and you’ve got Laurent Cantet’s engrossing portrait of the new France. It’s a new school year and the French teacher strives to make literature relevant to his feisty polyglot charges, who constantly test the boundary between respect and anarchy. Based on his autobiographical bestseller, François Bégaudeau plays himself in this refreshingly unsentimental addition to the canon of classroom movies. Using a gripping documentary style, director Cantet tracks the complex dynamics and fluid emotions of this social “laboratory” to captivating effect. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, this is France’s Oscar® submission for Foreign Language Feature. (France, 130 min. PG-13. Print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.)

Peter Pan
Special thanks to Juliet Shield-Taylor & J. David Taylor
USA, 74 min.

Do you believe in fairies? Fly away with us to Never Land as we celebrate the 55th anniversary of this beloved Disney classic with an exclusive Colorado engagement of a film that has not been available in theaters for more than 20 years. Based on J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play, this fanciful story, with unforgettable characters like Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Darling children, and, of course, Peter Pan, still appeals to both young and old. The film was the last project by the group of animators who had worked for the Disney studio since the days of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and together defined the iconic hand-drawn Disney look. If you’ve only seen this childhood favorite on the small screen, or if, like Mr. Darling, you last saw it “Many years ago, when you were very young,” grab your teddy (or other favorite cuddly) and join us for a magical afternoon! (USA, 1953, 74 min. Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures)