155m; U.S.
Director: John Cassavetes
Cast: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk and Fred Draper
Synopsis (IMDB); Mabel, a wife and mother, is loved by her husband Nick but her madness proves to be a problem in the marriage. The film transpires to a positive role of madness in the family, challenging conventional representations of madness in cinema.
125m; Italy
Director: Elio Petri
Cast: Gian Maria Volonté, Mariangela Melato and Gino Pernice
Synopsis (IMDB): Lulù is a real hard worker. For this reason he is loved by the masters and hated by his own colleagues. The unions decide agitations against the masters. Lulù doesn’t agree till he cuts, by accident, one of his own fingers. Now, after he understood the worker’s conditions, he agrees the unions and participates to the strike. He immediately is fired and, not only is abandoned by his lover, but also by the other workers. But the fights of the unions allow him under a new legislation to be hired again. At this point his mind starts giving signs of collapse.
113m; U.S.
Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver
Synopsis (IMDB): Tess McGill is a frustrated secretary, struggling to forge ahead in the world of big business in New York. She gets her chance when her boss breaks her leg on a skiing holiday. McGill takes advantage of her absence to push ahead with her career. She teams up with investment broker Jack Trainer to work on a big deal. The situation is complicated after the return of her boss.
Release Date: 1996 Duration: 107 min
Cast: José Wilker
Xica da Silva (released as Xica in the United States) is a 1976 Brazilian film directed and written by Carlos Diegues, based on the novel by João Felício dos Santos pt:João Felício dos Santos. It stars Zezé Motta, Walmor Chagas and José Wilker. It was chosen as the Brazilian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 49th Academy Awards, but it failed to get a nomination. The film is based on the novel Memórias do Distrito de Diamantina, written by João Felicio dos Santos (who has a small role in the film as a Roman Catholic pastor). It is a romanticized retelling of the true story of Chica da Silva, an 18th century African slave in the state of Minas Gerais, who attracts the attention of João Fernandes de Oliveira, a Portuguese sent by Lisbon with the Crown’s exclusive contract for mining diamonds, and eventually becomes his lover. He quickly asserts control, letting the intendant and other authorities know that he’s onto their corruption scheme. Eventually Lisbon hears of João’s excesses and sends an inspector. José, a political radical, provides Xica refuge.
82m; South Africa/Zimbabwe
Director: Darrell James Roodt
Cast: Kudzai Chimbaira, Farai Veremu, Natasha Gandi, Mildred Chipuriro, Phinneus Ncube, Folen Murapa
Synopsis: Painful and topical drama about labour migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa. Seen through the eyes of a 19-year-old orphan girl, Roodt shows that border inhabitants don’t have much choice.
Contact: Hubert Bals Fund, bits@osfilmes.com.br
100m; India
Director: Kiran Rao
Cast: Prateik, Monica Dogra and Kriti Malhotra
Synopsis (IMDB): The lives of 4 different people in the city of Mumbai get entwined by fate and luck; Shai – an investment banker with a penchant for photography, Arun – a lonely painter, Munna – the “dhobi” who aspires to become an actor and Yasmin – making a video in her camcorder for her brother, who hasn’t been to Mumbai before. The film follows how their lives are changed by the presence of one another. Will it be for better or for worse?
11m; U.S.
Director: Sami Khan
Synopsis: Earving and his teenage son Terry don’t have the best relationship, so to get through this weekend they’re going to have to do some heavy lifting – literally.
Contact: View online – http://vimeo.com/12451848
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