Independent distributor bringing exciting world cinema and alternate screen content to Australia and New Zealand
(M) Dir. Kelly Reichardt, USA, 2008. 80 min | Drama
By the acclaimed director of Meeks Cutoff and Old Joy (Sundance, Best Film Rotterdam Tiger competition). A woman’s life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job. When her car breaks down, and her dog is taken to the pound, the thin fabric of Wendy’s financial situation comes apart, and she is led through a series of increasingly dire economic decisions. Starring Michelle Williams.
(MA) Dir. Petri Kotwica, Finland, 2008. 107 min | Drama, Thriller
Set in Finland during the icy months of winter, Black Ice is a tale of passion, betrayal and vengeance. A middle aged woman, her cheating husband and his young mistress are sucked into a thundering inferno of jealousy and rage that will leave each of them scarred.
(G) Dir. Eran Riklis, Israel/Germany/France, 2008. 106 min | Drama
Berlin Film Festival 2008 Panorama. An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East. A Palestinian widow must defend her lemon tree field when a new Israeli Defence Minister moves next door to her and threatens to have her lemon grove torn down. Starring Hiam Abbass.
(R) Dir. Catherine Breillat, France, 2001. 87 min | Drama
Elena is fifteen and diabolically beautiful. She is neither more futile nor more stupid than her younger sister, but she doesn’t realise that she is no more than an object of desire. And, as an object, all she can do is to be taken. Or be had. Indeed, this is the subject, the loss of girls’ virginity, which opens the door to tragedy during one summer holiday period. From the director of Romance, Anatomy of Hell and An Old Mistress.
(R) Dir. Catherine Breillat, France, 2007. 104 min | Drama
A biting, dramatic period feature based on the 19th century novel by Barbey d’Aurevilly sees the young and dashing Ryno de Marigny about to marry the virtuous Hermangarde. But can he give up his mistress of many years, the tempestuous Vellini. Beautifully photographed and full of rich secondary characters, this intimate chamber piece is full of betrayals, confidences and secrets. Starring Asia Argento and Roxane Mesquida.
(G) Dir. Fernando Trueba, Spain/France/Italy, 2000. 105 min | Documentary
A musical documentary celebrating the music of some of the world’s greatest Latin Jazz musicians. Narrated by the film’s director Fernando Trueba (Belle epoque), musicians including Jerry Gonzalez, Gato Barbieri and the late Tito Puente, are introduced before their respective performances, filmed and recorded under the finest conditions at the Sony Music Studios in New York.
(PG) Dir. Majid Majidi, Iran, 1999. 90 min | Adventure, Drama
A fable of a child’s innocence and a complex look at faith and humanity. Visually magnificent and wrenchingly moving, the film tells the story of a blind boy whose inability to see the world only enhances his ability to feel its powerful forces.
(M) Dir. Tony Gatlif, France/Spain, 2000. 97 min | Musical, Drama
Set in the dramatic, arid landscape of Andalusia, Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom) creates a vivid impression of a region and its culture, in which music, machismo and passion intertwine. The plot centres around a grieving father struggling to protect his family from a rival family, and is underscored by vibrant music with a mix of Andalusian and North African influences.
(M) Dir. Tony Gatlif, France, 2006. 103 min | Drama
A young woman, Zingarina, travels to Transylvania, in the heart of Romania, in search of her lover, the father of her unborn child. Searching amongst the Romany Gypsy community where music is a central part of life. Transylvania, starring Asia Argento, Amira Casar and Birol Unel, closed the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
(M) Dir. Hubert Sauper, France/Austria/Belgium, 2004. 111 min | Documentary
Winner Best Documentary, 2004 European Film Awards and Nominee Best Documentary Academy Award
Some time in the 1960’s, in the heart of Africa, a new animal was introduced into Lake Victoria as a little scientific experiment. The Nile Perch, a voracious predator, extinguished almost the entire stock of the native fish species. However, the new fish multiplied so fast, that its white fillets are today exported all around the world. This documentary is captivating with fascinating subject matter.
(M) Dir. Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong, 1997. 96 min | Drama, Romance
A chamber drama about two male lovers from Hong Kong, Yiu-Fai and Po-Wing, who start off seeking a new life but end up separating on their way to a waterfall in Argentina. When they meet again, the two realise that being romantically involved is not going work. Instead, Yiu-Fai meets young Chang from Taiwan, bringing a new hope to his life, while Po-Wing continues to suffer on a downwards spiral. From the director of In the Mood for Love and 2046.
(M) Dir. Laurent Cantet, France/Canada, 2005. 108 min | Drama
On the sun-drenched island of Haiti at the end of the 1970s, tourists idle away their vacations in the palm-fringed paradise of the beach hotels. Three North American women, converge on the island looking for flirtation, relaxation and respite from their mundane jobs and marriages. Starring Charlotte Rampling.
(M) Dir. Tony Gatlif, France, 2004. 103 min | Adventure, Drama
Winner Best Director Cannes Film Festival 2004. From the director of Latcho Drom, Vengo and Swing. Beginning in Paris and travelling overland through Spain, a young couple make their way to Algeria, the land their parents were forced to leave years before. Great music, as in all Gatlif films. Stars Romain Duris and Lubna Azabal.
(G) Dir. Tony Gatlif, France, 1993. 103 min | Documentary
Winner Un Certain Regard Award, Cannes Film Festival 2003. The film takes the viewer on a journey west, from India to Spain, with stops along the way, to dramatise Romany’s nomadic culture. Gatlif holds his camera on the elemental essentials of this life: water, the wheel, fire, beasts of burden and of sustenance, colorful clothes, jewelry, musical instruments, song, and dance. Throughout, via song and dance, young and old celebrate, embody, and teach the cultural values of family, journey, love, separateness, and persecution.
(PG) Dir. Tony Gatlif, France, 2002. 90 min | Comedy, Drama
Swing tells the story of 10-year-old Max, whose love of Manouche jazz takes him to the Manouche (one of the many different gypsy populations) neighbourhood where he quickly makes friends with Swing, a young gypsy girl who is the same age, and whose charisma, self-confidence and freedom fascinate him. From the director of Latcho Drom and Vengo.
(M) Dir. Buddhadeb Dasgupta, India, 2002. 90 min | Drama
Set during the time when man is about to set foot on the moon for the first time, this timeless tale of a young girl from a small Bengali village and her quest for an education speaks to a universal contemporary audience.