Films from Around the World

Director Dyana Gaye, 2009.
48 min.
In French / Wolof with English subtitles

Tuesday, April 9th at 7:00 PM

La Maison Française,
4101 Reservoir Road NW

Admission:
$8 Adults,
$5 Seniors and Students
Get tickets here.

Director Dardennes Brothers,
Rosetta, 1999, 95 min., 2 PM
The Son, 2002, 103 min. 4:30 PM
In French with English subtitles

Saturday, March 2nd

The National Gallery of Art
East Building Concourse, Auditorium
4th & Constitution Ave NW,
Washington, District of Columbia 20565

Free  

Rosetta: Rosetta took European critics by storm when it opened, and even made a semi-successful foray into the American market. Its stark narrative—a teenage girl uses her meager resources to eke out an existence in a trailer park for herself and her alcoholic mother—profited greatly from the raw performance of actress Émilie Dequenne. "This may sound like the grimmest sort of neorealism, but the Dardennes keep the story so ruthlessly unsentimental and physical it would be a disservice to describe it as neo anything"—Jonathan Rosenbaum.

Trailer: click here

The Son: The Son (Le Fils) weaves together the tale of Olivier, a middle-aged carpenter at a rehabilitation center for boys, and Francis, a new trainee. Although Olivier is divorced and living a quietly routine existence, he refuses to take on Francis as his apprentice until, curiously, he changes his mind. The reason for this shift of character, and the seeming oddness of their relationship, become the focal point of the film.

Trailer:click here

Philip Mosley, author of The Cinema of the Dardenne Brothers: Responsible Realism, introduces the program.

With thanks to the Embassy of Belgium.

Director Nabine Labaki, 2011, 110 min.
In Arabic with English subtitles.

Tuesday, March 12th at 7:00 PM

La Maison Française,
4101 Reservoir Road, NW 

Admission:
$8 General Admission
$5 Seniors and Students

Get tickets here.

Set in a remote village where the church and the mosque stand side by side, "Where Do We Go Now?" follows the efforts of the town's women as they try to keep their headstrong men from starting a religious war. The women – heartsick over sons, husbands and fathers lost to previous flare-ups – unite to distract the male population with clever ruses, from faking a miracle to hiring a troop of Ukrainian strippers.

Trailer: click here 

Press review:
“Lebanese actor-director Nadine Labaki uses music and dance to tell her vibrant pacifist fable.” -Mark Kermode, The Guardian

“A likeable comedy with heart and brains” Ian Freer, Empire

Awards:
2011 Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard
San Sebastian Film Festival - Winner Best Picture audience award
Toronto Film Festival - Winner Best Picture Audience Award People’s Choice

Director Jean-Christophe Dessaint, 2012, 90 min., French with English subtitles

Saturday, March 16th at 10:00 AM
Avalon Theatre
5612 Connecticut Avenue NW

Admission:
$6.50 Adults and Kids
$3.50 Avalon Members & Cinematheque members

To purchase tickets in advance, please visit: www.theavalon.org

AND FOR SCHOOLS:

Thursday, March 21st at 10:30AMLa Maison Française
4101 Reservoir Road NW
Please reserve: 202 944 6265

In a cabin deep in the forest, a child and his father lead a wild and hard life in almost complete isolation. The child grows up both fearing and admiring his father. The ghosts haunting the forest are his only companions, until the day he meets Manon, a young girl from a neighboring village. At her side, he discovers the existence of love – sending him on a tireless search for the place where his father’s love for him is hiding.

Trailer: click here  

Director Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond, 2010
87 min.
In French with English subtitles.

Wednesday, March 20th at 8:00 PM

Avalon Theatre,
5612 Connecticut Avenue NW

To purchase tickets in advance, please visit the Avalon website