Contemporary Movies – Potential Films

LET THE CHILD BE THE GUIDE

Curious to see how the Method works first hand, filmmaker Alexandre Mourot sets his camera up in the oldest Montessori school in France (with kids from 3 to 6) and observes. The teacher remains discreet. Alexandre was warmly welcomed in a surprisingly calm and peaceful environment, filled with flowers, fruits and Montessori materials. He met happy children, who were free to move about, working alone or in small groups. Some children were reading, others were making bread, doing division, laughing or sleeping. The children guided the film director throughout the whole school year, helping him to understand the magic of their autonomy and self-esteem – the seeds of a new society of peace and freedom, which Maria Montessori dedicated her life work to.

WILD THINGS

Wild Things spends a year on the frontline with environmental activists hell-bent on saving their futures from the ravages of climate change.

THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN

The story of a machine and the ghosts we all carry within us. Elli is an android and lives with a man she calls her father. She can recall memories of beach holidays and anything else he programs her to remember.

IT MUST BE HEAVEN

Elia Suleiman escapes from Palestine seeking an alternative homeland, only to find that Palestine is trailing behind him. The promise of a new life turns into a comedy of errors: however far he travels, from Paris to New York, something always reminds him of home.

THE THIRD WIFE

In 19th-century rural Vietnam, 14-year-old May becomes the third wife of wealthy landowner Hung. Soon, she learns that she can only gain status by asserting herself as a woman who can give birth to a male child. May’s hope to change her status turns into a real and tantalizing possibility when she gets pregnant. Faced with forbidden love and its devastating consequences, May finally comes to an understanding of the brutal truth: the options available to her are few and far between.

WORKING WOMAN

Life at work becomes unbearable for Orna. Her boss appreciates and promotes her, while making inappropriate advances. Her husband struggles to keep his new restaurant afloat, and Orna becomes the main breadwinner for their three children. When her world is finally shattered, she must pull herself together to fight, in her own way, for her job and a sense of self-worth.

MOTHER IS WRONG

Captain Marianne Aubrais is a detective with the Le Havre Police Department. Should she believe a child who tells her that his mother is not his mother?

I AM NO BIRD

Women spend their lives receiving contradictory messages about marriage: an aspiration, a fantasy, a trap. An ancient institution, whose meaning has been fiercely debated the world over, it can be difficult to pin-point what marriage means to modern women.

ROCKABUL

ROCKABUL follows Afghanistan’s first rock band District Unknown. In the war torn capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, where Rock music is forbidden by Islam.

WAJIB - The Wedding Invitation

Writer-director Annemarie Jacir’s multi-award winning comic drama explores the lives of Palestinians living in Israel

THE SONG KEEPERS

Australia’s answer to The Buena Vista Social Club, The Song Keepers tells the inspiring story of an Aboriginal women’s choir and their first tour of Germany.

MARINA ABRAMOVIC IN BRAZIL - The Space in Between

Marina Abramović travels through Brazil, in search of personal healing and artistic inspiration, experiencing sacred rituals and revealing her creative process.

SCREWDRIVER

After fifteen years of imprisonment, Ziad struggles to adjust to modern Palestinian life as the hero everyone hails him to be. Unable to distinguish reality from hallucination he unravels and forces himself to go back to where it all began.

RUSSIAN ARK

Sokurov’s extraordinary masterpiece is a unique journey through time and Russian history. Filmed entirely in the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, this groundbreaking film recreates 300 years of history in a single, unedited, feature length take.