FRIDAY, DEC. 02 – 8:30 PM
ROMANIA
First of All, Felicia
(Felicia, înainte de toate)
Romania/France/Belgium/Croatia 2009.
Directors: Razvan Radulescu, Melissa de Raaf
Cast: Ozana Oancea, Ileana Cernat, Vasile Mentzel, Victoria Cocias, Gelu Nitu
Prominent Romanian screenwriter Razvan Radulescu, who scripted Cristi Puiu’s extraordinary The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, debuts as a director with First of All, Felicia, a collaboration with Dutch film curator Melissa de Raaf. “Radulescu and de Raaf have co-written and directed a simple yet rich story confined to a single day. It dawns for Felicia (Ozana Oancea) with expectations that her sister will drive her to the Bucharest airport for her flight to Amsterdam, where Felicia has lived with her husband and son for years. The sister flakes out, triggering a chain of frustrating complications that conspire to keep Felicia waiting with her excessively protective yet well-intentioned mother (Ileana Cernat) at the airport. Even by the extraordinarily high standard of Romanian film acting, Oancea and Cernat attain rare levels of emotional honesty” (AFI Film Fest, Los Angeles). “With its long takes, quiet realism, and fusion of dark humour and poignancy,Felicia bears all the hallmarks of recent Romanian cinema” (Hollywood Reporter). Colour, 35mm, in Romanian and Dutch with English subtitles. 108 mins.
FRIDAY, DEC. 02 – 6:30 PM CZECH REPUBLIC
Protector
(Protektor)
Czech Republic/Germany 2009. Director: Marek Najbrt
Cast: Jana Plodková, Marek Daniel, Klára Melísková, Tomás Mechácek, Jiří Ornest
Marek Najbrt’s highly stylish wartime drama won six Czech Lions, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay, and Actress (Jana Plodková), and was also the official Czech submission to last year’s Academy Awards. “Set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, this luscious-to-look-at sophomore feature from Najbrt observes a marriage, and a country, under siege. For the gorgeous Hana (Plodková), a rising Jewish starlet, the occupation stifles the release of her breakthrough movie and the fame she craves. But for her insecure husband, Emil (Marek Daniel), a lowly reporter for a Prague radio station, the arrival of the Nazis proves a career boon: recognizing that a familiar radio voice could be a useful propaganda tool, Emil’s German overlords are willing to overlook his Jewish wife. For the moment” (Jeanette Catsoulis, New York Times). “Provocative ... resonant ... Najbrt’s handsome drama brings a cool, noirish slant to its story” (Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter). Colour and B&W, Digibeta video, in Czech and German with English subtitles. 103 mins.
Screenings restricted to 18+.
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